Haft Feder 135 - First Impressions & early Review

Hi everyone, Julian Schuetze here and I will be giving first impressions of a couple Haft Feders. Both the current standard “tournament” model and the upcoming “shorty” model. We’ve been using these for a couple months now: sparring at the club, used in a couple tournaments, and toured around so others can check them out. I feel like we’ve used both decently enough to be able to give you some preliminary thoughts about what they’re about. I want to avoid the term review because I feel like I need to be able to comment on things like durability and observations after some long-term use to call it a “review”, so just keep that in mind.

It's always worth reiterating that feders are, at the end of the day, a tool for your fencing, and personal preference is the largest factor behind choosing one. Having some random person tell you if they like it or not doesn’t really actually mean all that much as they probably fence differently than you, therefore will value different things. So my goal here is to comment on safety, build quality, characteristics, my opinion as a club owner/coach, and my personal experience using it to give you a good idea as to whether this is something you think is a good fit for you.

Safety

Good overall. It flexes at 14kg, which is within what I'd call acceptable, though a bit higher than we've gotten used to. The crossguards have a nice bulb on them and the schilt is rounded, so potential penetration injuries there are low. The schilt is also a good shape to keep your thumb safe (big without being huge) and my thumb has been well covered by it so far. Weight is at 1.5kg and PoB at ~5-6cm. Due to the PoB being slightly lower than its contemporaries we've found it hits a bit lighter than other long feders of this weight class as it’s easier to control. Everything here is reasonable, no complaints. I wish the flex was a bit lighter, but I'm assuming it's where it is to keep the blade from feeling floppy (as Sigis can tend to) and possibly to help avoid catching sets. It’s still perfectly reasonable, I just found some thrusts landed a bit harder than I wanted compared to a 12kg flex feder.

Build Quality

Solid. No rattle, everything has held up well under relatively heavy use. No edge damage, no bent quillons, no sets. I like the shape of the handle; the cord is abrasive enough to help keep a good grip without being too rough on the hands/gloves and is holding up to hits so far. The peen of the tang is well sanded and blends into the pommel really nicely, which is both comfortable and looks good. Overall this looks and feels like a premium product.

Characteristics

It's worth noting that Haft specifically markets this as a tournament feder, and that's worth keeping in mind. This sword is long: 135cm total with a 102cm blade, so it reaches far. Because the PoB is a little on the lower side, the tip doesn't feel sluggish compared to similarly sized swords, and I'd say it's a bit more agile than a standard Sigi. It's not too hard to stop and redirect momentum while still having enough weight to take advantage of it.

The only situation where the length and weight felt directly unwieldy was during standing grapples. Trying to control it one-handed while grabbing an opponent was a bit awkward.

For general drawbacks I don’t feel like there really are any, it would again be chalked up to personal preference. Maximal length isn’t always a good thing and some people may prefer something shorter. Being slightly over 1.5kg means it is slightly on the hefty side, the lower PoB makes it feel better but there’s no escaping that it’s harder to move a heavier piece of steel compared to a lighter one. 

Overall, this is a great all-around feder. We've had our whole club try it and toured it to other clubs as well, and everyone liked it - some more than others obviously, but no one disliked it. I think that's a testament to how well rounded it is: it just does everything quite well.

As a Club Owner and Coach

Because it does every job well, on top of just being a generally good option this is also a great introductory feder. What new fencers will get from it over time is a clearer sense of what they do and don't like and whether they'd eventually prefer something more specialized in another aspect. I feel comfortable recommending it to just about anyone. Haft's practice of only selling swords they have in stock is a real plus, and that's pushed this pretty much to the top of my recommendation list. I didn’t realize how nice it is to just be able to buy a high quality feder and have it shipped to you right away with no wait time. One thing I wish they would offer would be a more economic shipping, currently they ship with UPS and it arrived within 3 days. While impressive, it was also expensive and UPS charges hefty import fees. That means here in Canada it’s pretty much required to do a group order to mitigate those  costs.

The main exceptions as to why maybe I wouldn’t recommend this feder: someone who would benefit more immediately from a lighter and/or slightly shorter feder, or who already knows that's their preference. It is a large sword and slightly on the heavier side, so a smaller person or someone still building strength may find it a bit much.

Personal Opinion

I've been doing this for 15 years and I'm extremely tuned into what I like and don't like in a feder (AKA, I’m very picky now). While I do like this sword as a whole, it's not quite a match for how I like to fence currently.

I really value feders I can "snap" the pommel to throw a quick Zwerch or similar without having to build momentum first. This one isn't bad at that, but I've gotten used to swords that are far more specialized for it and by comparison this felt a bit sluggish. I've grown accustomed to using lighter swords with a lower PoB for fast handwork so going back to something heavier just didn't quite give me that “pop” behind movements that I’ve integrated into my gameplan. When I changed my strategy to something that utilized the weight a bit better like Zorn counters, sweeps & deflections, etc, I found those easier to do with the Haft than my current feder. So that’s all to say that again, the sword isn’t bad, it’s just not as tailored to my current, exact preferences that I base my fencing on.

That said, I do like it more than my Sigi Gothic or other "standard" feders. If I showed up to an event where this was the default sword, I wouldn't complain. I'd put it at around 75% for me personally, the problem is my current feder is closer to 95-100%. But I will be keeping this one as a backup because those are always good to have.

Hopefully you found this helpful!