Custom Rehilted Sidesword by Jesse Belsky

I think I’m done buying swords for awhile. It’s just getting too unwieldy an obsession (heh). But that doesn’t mean I can’t upgrade what I already have. I’ve had the Hanwei Renaissance Sidesword for years. It’s actually a pretty decent little blade, but I never liked the hilt furniture. Not really a fan of how wire feels, and the grip was plastic. Plus the guard looks and feels clunky to me.

Recently (actually last year; I’m just too lazy to post often) I commissioned Jesse Belsky to make a new hilt for it, and this is what came back. Jesse mostly does custom work for weddings, graduations and other events, sometimes fencers or stage and film production. This guard design pops up a lot on his site and I really liked it, especially cause it’s ambidextrous so lefties can wield it. It feels even better in the hand than the original did, and there’s no apparent change in balance or anything. This is actually a plainer version compared to the incredible designs he usually does, but it’s still way fancier that anything else I own, so I’m very pleased with it! His pictures are much better than mine, so I’ll just link to his:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This job cost me about $1300 in total and took a few months beginning to end. Jesse was very easy and pleasant to work with, was upfront about prices and designs, and I moved up his wait list faster than I expected. He provided multiple design options and recommendations, and accommodated my fussy requests without extra time or cost to the job. I’d definitely endorse his work for your event, stage production or whatever purpose!