Kult of Athena

System:  All Kult of Athena is a medieval department store!!!
What: Everything, but in this case a Hanwei Sword
Quality: *****
Selection: ****
Customer Service: *****

The Experience:   
First off, about the quality, it's all about the sword.  I ordered the Hanwei Banshee.  It's a Thai Dha, an awesome short sword, begs to be swung and cleave things.  That being said, it's a Hanwei and I researched the sword before I bought it.  They are a department store and I can't say everything they sell is great, I really don't know.  In this case you have to know what you are looking for.  They do sell SCA legal armor, but not all their armor is SCA legal.   Caveat Emptor as they say, they have a wide selection and I'm know some of it is significantly better than others.  That leads to selection.  Like I said it's a department store, if your looking for something specific they may or may not have it.  But the odds are good they have something similar.  It all comes down to knowing what you are buying.  Customer service was excellent.  The price on my sword was the lowest one I found for that weapon, with the exception of a used one on ebay.  I'll pay the extra $10 difference to get a new one vs used.  Aprroximately a week, from order to delivery,   This is definitely someplace I would order from again.


http://www.kultofathena.com/

Fighting Videos.

This is just a general disclaimer and explanation of the fighting videos I posted.  First not videos apply to all games.  You are responsible for translation and interpretation of what can and cannot be used in your system, and what is and is not useful overall.  The majority of these are taken from European sword texts and represent actual combat techniques. While we all play some kind of medieval game, simulating combat, we aren't trying to actually hurt each other so not all techniques can or should be used.  Secondly  with the exception of game specific videos I only pull from European styles.  Yellow Fever is at epidemic levels in foam fighting.  Everyone coming into the game wants to be a ninja or a samurai, and is of the opinion that European fighting is nothing more than Conan type hack and slash.  These videos show the techniques, and if you watch you see how and why each one is used, pay attention to footwork, body mechanics, leverage, etc.  But mostly enjoy them and learn how to incorporate the concepts they teach into your own fighting style.

House of Andar

What:  Boots

Quality:  *****
Selection:***
Service:*****

The Experience:  There is a long story about a pair of boots I bought from Regal Boots at the faire.   I won't repeat that story unless requested as I don't want to give him any more attention than necessary.    Suffice to say I found the experience to be completely miserable and was overcharged for the priviledge.  but I'm not here to talk about him.  I found the same pair of boots I got from him, at House of Andar for a third of the price.$119 vs $280.  This time I ordered these
http://www.dancestore.com/houseofandar/Mens-Black-Leather-Calf-High-Renaissance-Boots/productinfo/311-BK/
  It took approximately a week, from order to delivery, with two pair sitting on my doorstep.  They don't have many styles and only two colors.  If your looking for a tall boot, you'll notice that they all look the same, but the prices are different.  The pictures don't show it but there is a distinct difference in quality.  The more expensive boots are made with better leather, it's thicker and stiffer.   The cheaper boots feel more like a moccasin, while the others feel more like a real boot.  My first pair was the cheaper ones, that I paid  nearly $300 for from someone else.  They were a good boot, very comfortable.  If you need arch support like I do, you might want an insert  but thats about it.  If you are hard on boots, I am very hard on boot, spend the money on the better ones, or get the low top boots which are also the thicker leather.  If you are just looking for something to walk around in, and complete your outfit, the cheaper pair are still an awesome boot.  For hardcore fighting though, the tougher the better.

http://www.dancestore.com/houseofandar/See-Our-Boots/products/89/