So im looking at buying a zweihander. All I can find are ones

There's one in the graveyard by Firelink Shrine

>>34358842
Kult of athena
Albion swords

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The market for these things doesn't seem to line up terribly well with the effort of making them, so there aren't that many who do. Takes some pretty large equipment to heat treat them for example.

Around that 500GBP mark is probably the cheapest end for them, at least for functional ones. http://lutel-handicraft.com/?p=productsList&iCategory=30&sName=Two-handed-swords may be ok ones.

Regenyei doesn't seem to list prices, but it's probably somewhere in the same ballpark.
http://www.regenyei.com/en_twohanded_custom.php

After that the ready-made selections seems quite sparse. If you simply want twohander in general there is http://www.arms-n-armor.com/sword156.html for example, or Albion's twohanders (bottom) http://albion-swords.com/swords/albion/swords-albion-mark-nextgen.htm

Armourclass and Castle Keep both make Scottish greatswords.
http://www.armourclass.co.uk/Data/Pages/Scottish%20Collection2.htm
http://www.castlekeep.co.uk/scottish-swords/highland-claymore.html

Otherwise I think you may be looking at a full custom order.

Why the fuck do people keep meming that word about?
In English it's either a two-handed sword or a greatsword

Not sure if you want sharp or blunt for training but I recommend Péter Regenyei, his are good and around that price range.

>>34358997
because it is what the Germans called their particular variation on 2 handed swords...

£ - I assume UK.
not many UK makers will do one, so european options.

Custom, or off-the shelf is the obvious big question. dont expect a custom job for £500 though.

off the shelf:

Lutel Handicraft - Czech blokes. Reliable, but nothing special. make sure you buy from lutel handicraft, not "lutel".

http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/?p=productsList&iCategory=30&sName=Two-handed-swords

Pavel Marek - cheapish, but decent:
http://www.armorymarek.com/two-handed-sword

Custom, you could try Jan Chodkiewicz, (ensifer swords), or Peter Regenyei. (Regenyei Armoury)

in the UK, your main options would be Marco Daneli (note: 2+ year waiting list) , Tim Noyes (Heron Armoury). There's others but depends on how far your budget is, between 1000 and 5000.

>>34359039
They generally called them either doppelhanders or bidenhanders afaik, and it isn't a particular style at all, since that same style appears in Marozzo's Opera Nova.

>>34358842
Let me give you a better idea. Look around for your local HIMA club and ask them about it.

If they have a large membership they probably order things in bulk and can get you a sword cheaper

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>>34358997
>Why the fuck do people keep meming that word about?

To single out this style of two handed sword specifically, without having to go into a full description of it. So we take the local term for it, despite that being much mroe general, and use it as a loan word with a much more specific meaning.

Same with messer, dao, jian, kilij, etc.

>>34359092
But Zweihander is a relatively modern term and I'm not aware of it appearing in any contemporary sources.

>>34359096
and "claymore" doesnt appear in a single contemporary source for that as a twa-handit sword, either.

Names for things change.

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>>34359075
I'd consider that a somewhat different style of sword (smaller, straight cross, no side rings, far less developed parrying lugs leaning more towards a schilt). Still, having it pop up in the Opera Nova wouldn't mean it isn't a specific style of sword, it'd simply mean its use wasn't confined to Germany.

>>34359087
Few HEMA clubs work with two handed swords, and those who do tend to go for the lighter end of the spectrum (montante or so), while OP seems to want something from the heavier side.

>>34359107
And claymore pisses me off too.

>>34358842
http://www.lutel-handicraft.com/?p=productsList&iCategory=30&sName=Two-handed-swords

You're welcome

>>34358853
Top kek

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>>34359096
We're not speaking 16th century English here, so I don't think we need to stick to that when it comes to sword names either. And what a nightmare it'd be to discuss weaponry from before the Indoeuropean expansion.

Also, while the contemporary language usually didn't have much need to concern itself with weaponry from far off in both space and time (and when they did, well, we do have rapier as an example of a foreign term being turned into a lone word referring to a somewhat specific kid of sword, though sword, word and meaning morphed along the way), we may wish to talk about the swords and whatnot form anywhere and ever, and so our nomenclature needs to be adapted to handle this new task. Now we can certainly base this in period terms where suitable, I'd even say we should as to preserve continuity, but it's not a principle we need to stick to like gospel.

Should we strip out these new terms, we'll be left with a lot poorer language for these things, and often find ourselves needing to spell out word by word all the things the name along would otherwise have implied.

>>34359170
But two-handed sword is literally the modern English translation of the modern German term Zweihander.
The German term Zweihander doesn't imply any form of ricasso or the size of the sword, only that it's a dedicated two hander. Plenty of German two handers at the time didn't have any kind of ricasso.

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>>34359182
That's why I made sure to point out it's a loan word. Ie it's an English word now, not a German one, and it has its own meaning in English divorced from what it meant in German.

If we had been speaking German here, then zweihander would simply have been "twohander". But we're talking English, and using the English word zweihander, which has a much more specific meaning.

>>34359225
I suppose you think we should call swords broadswords just because dinguses say that too?

>>34359360
I should clarify swords that aren't basket-hilted broadswords, which were called broadswords at the time in some sources.

>>34358997
Vegyetek Magyar kardot regenyeitöl

>>34359182
Isn't the translation twohandeR
though?

>>34359402
True

I love the 3 surviving English sources' spelling of two handed swords

>too honde swerde |
>tohond swerd | (both same source)
>ij hand swerde (ij being 2)

Though it is unclear if the text-only manuals are for a regular longsword or a true two handed sword

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>>34359360
>>34359368
No, that'd take a what would otherwise be a somewhat useful term and drain it of meaning, leaving it a lifeless and useless husk. Essentially wiping out zweihander so that twohander is all we have left.