We have spoken to a number of historians and reenactors and the consensus is that many of these foreign-made reproductions are almost "too perfect"! It is likely that most of the originals were actually not even as "perfect" in shape and the degree to which they are polished as many of these others being made today in India and Pakistan. The originals in museums appear as though that they were forged to shape and then probably ground or filed to their refined finished state by hand. This is how we make ours too. Often these reproductions being made in other parts of the world are shaped cold with metal fabrication tools, even though the originals that they are supposedly based on were forged hot - the tool marks give it away. Sometimes they have extremely minor variations; sometimes an errant file mark remains in the blade. It is a hand made, museum quality reproduction! Any of these "imperfections" are extremely minor (not typically invisible but for very close inspection.) These minor "imperfections" actually make it more authentic! They are all structurally sound reproductions and are about as close to the real thing as you can get on the market today.
We have always said "if you want a prop, you can get those a lot of places, if you want a museum-quality replica, come to us!" Quite simply put, these are the "real thing".
Click HERE to see photos of some real Roman artifacts. Note that, by our modern (machine manufactured) standards, they almost seem "crude" by comparison.
HERE you will find photos from the artifacts page at "The Roman Hideout" Website.
HERE is a link to a great site for the reenactment group LEGIO VII VICTRIX out of California. Their "Real Gear" page has wonderful photos of real artifacts.
HERE is a retailer of ancient and medieval artifacts. They have lots of good photos too.
