Black Fencer 1816 Musket & Bayonet - Full Review and Updates!

Finding good bayonet trainers is tough. Here we take a look at existing and older solutions and why the Black Fencer model rules supreme if you want to practice bayonet fencing in the 18th and 19th century.
Link to product -
blackfencer.com/en/exotic-wea...

[@spykoexotic6701]

I love that black fencer has such a wide variety of trainers. Without them the options for cheaper trainers for basket hilt and all their exotic options would be much smaller. I hope at some point they might do indian katar trainers, those always looked like such unique weapons to use that have no training versions i can find.

[@GermanSwordMaster]

Comission two. Thats how their portfolio broadens :)

[@heirihunziker]

Was happily awaiting this exact review, thanks a lot. Good to hear there aren't any real drawbacks. Now my only problem is finding a training partner for bayonet fencing. Never easy to convince people to divert time and resources away from the main weapons we practice.

[@fyrerider521]

God, I wish they sold these in the US. The local Black Fencer distributors only offer a handful of swords.

[@BernasLL]

Hm have you tried e-mailing and getting the bayonet sim through them regardless? I'm sure the wait would be huge, but they could probably add it into one of their regular ordered shipments without much cost (depending how generous of a fee they'd pay themselves). Still, strange to see US civil war reenactors haven't picked up on this, seems like a useful piece of kit for that industry.

[@fyrerider521]

@@BernasLL Ooh, I hadn't considered that. Might try that, thanks!

[@saladellaspada]

Thank you, very high quality review, very helpful!

[@A_Medieval_Shadow]

I didn't know much about this topic but thanks to this video I got interested

[@Davlavi]

Very cool.

[@robertprovan9374]

I got one just before Christmas only to have the barrel snap at the base of the socket the first time I used it, nice to know it's not the usual experience. I've informed Black Fencer and they have promised to get back to me as soon as they figure out the best solution. (I suspect they're trying to figure out if getting it returned for investigation is actually worth the cost of shipping from NZ).

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

That's a shame and a real pain. There can be faults in the material occasionally, and you know about it very early on in use. We've had probably 2-3 of their synthetics fail like that our of several hundred, I am sure they will get it replaced.

[@robertprovan9374]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing Yeah, failure on first use is a sure sign of a manufacturing defect, I fully expect them to replace it. I sent them a bunch of close up photos of the break.

[@bullyt2170]

😍😍😍

[@therecalcitrantseditionist3613]

Looks nice. Just unfortunate how hard BF is to get stateside. Just one place that's always out of stock and doesn't carry a lot of their best stuff

[@CDKohmy]

I assume the BF is not good against steel swords aside from maybe smallswords, rapiers, and spadroons. I am aware of a place making plunger bayonets, I think it's based in Australia. I also have seen a place making bayonet pieces to attach to the jukendo (sp?) and add a parrying dagger blade.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

They could be used against steel, they were just be prone to taking a little more chips/burrs, like using steel swords against Cold STeel synth bucklers. If you don't mind a bit of extra wear then its no problem.

[@jfig2684]

Where would I be able to buy a sparring bayonet?

[@PeleForever-jr4cn]

Where do you buy that?

[@WaybackFencingClub]

Are there historical documents of smallswords being used against bayonets or for actual self defense situations in general? Yes they are shown in treatises but we all know even fencing masters had to be advertisers to a certain extent as well.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Self Defence and in battle yes. I think I have seen some accounts of them against bayonets but it's been a while. Ultimately we know for a fact they were carried for self defence and as sidearms for officers until around 1780-90, and so there is no doubt they would have been used in battle, and self defence absolutely, there are many accounts. In the late 17th century and until around the mid 18thc they were by far the most common weapon carried for self defence and daily wear in civilian life.

[@thesoutherngentleman8836]

I wonder if this could translate to a trapdoor Springfield at all

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

should work just fine. The size is about right, bayonet of a similar size and shape.

[@kiirolozanogarcia3003]

is that a napoleonic gladius at the back ?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

An antique one yes, sometime after that era, as the two famous French patterns were 1816 and 1831.

[@ryenschimerman2127]

You said butt fencing.