Great hand protection and looks great! I put in some elbow grease and sanded the shell to look nice and shiny, though the grooves in the shell are quite hard to get into with the sandpaper and to oil. Been using this guard for a year and it gives great protection for my forward presenting style. It is comparatively heavy compared to other rapiers I’ve fenced with, but still well within usability (you’ll just get stronger). Occasionally I’ll need to file off some burrs on the quillions or edges of the hilt after heavy sparring, but the metal is overall solid!
