FakeSteel foam blades vs Mercenary foam blades

We are changing the name of our outsourced foam option!

For greater clarity, we have decided to change the name of our outsourced foam from the Softer Foam to the Mercenary Foam.

It is because the main difference between our own FakeSteel foam and Mercenary foam is not that Mercenary foam is softer, but that an equivalent blade is about 50g lighter on average. This means that the momentum of Mercenary swords is lower and the balance point of blades of the same length is closer to the hilt. These factors mean that Mercenary foam makes it easier to pull your strikes, which leads to "softer", less impactful hits.

However, the softness of both types of foam is similar with a range of hardness levels occurring in either production. Depending on how the casting goes, a FakeSteel foam blade may turn out softer and Mercenary foam harder.

We offer two types of blades. FakeSteel foam blades are designed and produced by us in the Czech Republic, while the Mercenary Foam blades are designed by us, but produced by a different manuacturer. There are more differences than just the density of the blade. The hilts for the blades are always manufactered by us.

FakeSteel Foam is very durable, but it may have some imperfections, which form during production, such as small bubbles, not perfectly smooth surface, small dimples, etc. FakeSteel foam blades have Kevlar reinforced tips and feature a vairety of core options.

Foam weapons that are not swords or daggers (e.g. our Hafted and Polearm products) are always made from FakeSteel Foam and it is not possible to get them in Mercenary Foam.

We always inspect our finished products to ensure that all of our foam weapons meet high standards of safety, function and durability. These are the three main features we focus on. We don't discard weapons with small imperfections, that don't have an impact on safety and proper use.

The FakeSteel Foam weapons are suitable for any style of combat, including HEMA training with other foam blades and heavier fighting against unpadded wooden shields.

The Mercenary Foam is less durable than the one we make, but we put it through rigorous testing and it holds up adequately. Like with our standard blades, the tip is reinforced with kevlar. Due to lower density of the foam, the blades are also roughly 20% lighter than their FakeSteel Foam equivalents.
Mercenary Foam is only available as sword, dagger or saber blades. Our dagger blades are always Mercenary Foam.

If visual perfection is more important to you, the Mercenary foam blades are an alternative. This type of foam is much less likely to produce imperfections and the surface is more even.

We recommend not using our Mercenary Foam blades against armor with sharp hems and wooden or any other shields with unpadded edges. Leather or rope edge reinforcement are not sufficient padding for this foam. Shields like this are common in the Czech scene and they can lead to damaged blades a lot faster than shields padded with foam.