MAKOTO Wooden Roman Gladius Gladiator Trooper Greek Sword New

This sword is a nice wood reproduction. It has a realistic shape and feel comfortable to hold in the hand. It was used as a prop sword. It worked great. I am not sure how well the wood would stand to actual striking for mock fighting. It is lightweight and rigid with a clear lacquer finish. I was going to paint it but like the way it looked so left it as it was. I am happy with the purchase.

I needed a cheap prop to paint for a Spartan photo session, and I didn't have a big budget to do it. This sword was cheap, so I didn't feel badly painting it and making it look better. Is it made well? Not really. Don't go sparring with this thing. It will probably fall apart. Does it have flaws? Yeah it does. It's crooked in places. Was it inexpensive? Yep...and that's all I needed it to be. I filled in cracks with spackle, painted the thing and wrapped the handle in leather to make it look like a metal sword and not a cheap piece of wood, so for me, this sword worked great...for you? Probably depends upon your intentions. Keep in mind that the pics I posted are after I painted and repurposed it. You're getting a cheap wooden sword. This is what I did to to it after the fact.

This gladius has great details, including the grip and the tapering of the blade. The right size (though gladii were not all one standard size). It is, however, really light. This means that you could give one to a school age child without much danger of him hurting anybody. But it is really light for a trainer, so you can work your moves but not really build your strength and power. Durability-wise, so far it has survived three weeks of me smacking a heavy bag with it, but I do not expect it to last forever and do not know how it would do sparring. I like it, though, and would buy another.

The pommel is not well secured. Pops right off. The handguard is wobbly. Then wood itself does not feel durable. It feels extremely light and fragile. And it came shipped with a dent on oneside of the "blade" edge. It is a really expensive costume prop. Considering it looks like wood. I could have saved a couple more bucks, and got a display gladius that is metal.

Pictures show different shades in the wood but it’s just one color. The piece above the handle is loose.

recommended, described, packaged well, came quickly

The craftsmanship isn't the best, particularly at the grip, but it isn't bad for the cost. It also isn't nearly as sharp as pictured as pictured by the seller, which is a bit of a disappointment.

Bought it to engrave a few things as a going away gift, but it is so poorly put together I ended up letting my son play with it.