How to Store and Transport Your Swords for HEMA Training

Anyone who practices Historical European martial arts (HEMA) is primarily practicing a weapon based martial art and as such needs an effective and safe means of storing and transporting their long swords, sabers, rapiers, dussacks and other sword weapons to and from classes. Many HEMA martial artists also travel by plane to participate in tournaments, sometimes even internationally. This article has been written to provide some useful advice on how to store and transport a sword, as well as other protective armour gear used in HEMA.

The Cheapest and Simplest Way to Transport Longsword Feders to HEMA Clubs

The cheapest and simplest way to transport your longsword feder to your local HEMA club classes is to purchase a rifle sock to protect the blade during transport. You should use rifle socks made from silicone treated material that resists rust. This is really the best thing for long term storage, and if you’re traveling with your feder sword in a bag or case that has your sweaty clothes you should use these socks, too. You can use the drawstring to tie the sock to your crossguard or other areas of the hilt. It will protect the blade.

By using a rifle sock you can ensure your blade does not get water, dirt or other liquids spilled on it accidentally, and it will also protect the blade from moisture. You can simply lay your feder longsword on the backseat of your car or carry it with you to class. You should also keep your feder longsword in one of these when not using it, since it protects it from rust.

Another thing you should consider doing is purchasing pieces of PVC pipe and cutting them to the size of your blades. By putting the blades of your training swords into a PVC pipe you can prevent them from bending accidentally, which will help reduce the change of blade warps from occurring.

Carrying Cases for Longsword Federschwert (feders) and Other Historical European Martial Arts Practice Weapons

If you are looking for a carrying case for federschwert (also called a feder) longsword simulator weapons then you might check out some of these additional options.

The first option is to purchase a martial arts weapon training bag designed for swords, such as this bag produced by Hanwei. It can hold several training weapons at once and can easily sling over your shoulder.

Some people also use rifle cases to transport their HEMA training weapons but these can give people the mistaken impression to others you are transporting a rifle around, which can draw the wrong attention from local law enforcement. The bag produced by Hanwei looks more like a guitar case; guitar cases can also be used to transport your HEMA weapons too, by the way. The Hanwei bag is the same price as a decent guitar bag however, so it’s more specific to just use the bag produced by Hanwei.

Some people will also use Kendo bogu bags to transport their gear, but these are fairly expensive and don’t provide as much space as the better option which is a good qualify golf soft or hard case, which is what we’ll talk about next.

The Best Way to Transport All Your HEMA Training Equipment and Swords

If you want to haul all of your HEMA training equipment and equipment back and forth to classes, and also be able to travel on airplanes to attend conventions, seminars and tournaments then you need something more heavy duty for transporting your Historical European martial arts training swords, weapons, fencing mask jacket and other items. The best solution we have found is this high quality and reasonably priced hard-sided travel case from Samsonite. It was meant for carrying a golf bag on an airplane but works perfectly for HEMA usage. Some airlines also let you get a discount on transporting golfing equipment and you don’t pay additional fees for sporting goods when you check a bag like this. Even though you aren’t using it for golfing equipment there isn’t any way for the people at the front desk to know this.

Based on our own experiences this case from Samsonite has enough room to hold:

• 1 padded fencing jacket
• 1 padded fencing pants
• 1 fencing mask
• pair of leather fencing gloves
• pair of heavy fencing gloves & elbow protectors
• pair of leg protectors
• 2-3 steel swords
• small first aid kit
• small sword cleaning kit

This is honestly the best deal you’re going to find if you intend to travel often with your equipment, so while it is pricy it is a good investment to make.

Performing Maintenance on Your Sword and Other Equipment

If you need some advice on how to properly care for your HEMA swords and other protective equipment then you should read our previously published articles on these topics.

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If you’d like to learn more information about historical fencing practices please check out our Learn HEMA page for a guide to learning about the historical weapon that interests you. You can also find more guides we’ve written about other topics at our Helpful Guides page. You can also join the conversation at our forums or our Facebook Group community.