h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There is, of course a solution to the inherent problems of sword ownership in the early part of the 21st Century, that of police dislike for people wandering around maiming others with swords!

The answer is become a Re-Enactor, that way, not only do you get to hit other people with swords, abeit in a somewhat non-lethal (and non-painful!) manner (and the best bit is, they want you to hit them!).

And at the end of the day you have none of the mess involved with actually harming people, and none of the tiresome legal problems afterwards!

great! please, if you actually have got any details about re-enactments, reply here!

Try the Vikings (if you live in Britain), a respectable live-steel (real weapons) dark ages re-enactment society with many local groups. They have a website at http://www.vikings.ndirect.co.uk/

If you're after something a little later period, you might be better off with the Knotted Seal Civil War (Cavaliers and Roundheads, not Stephen and Mathilda) re-enactment society. They may well be more expensive, since you don't just need an outfit but probably a uniform as well (and I'm told that the really flash Cavalier thigh-boots with the turnover tops run to the several hundred pounds), but they probably have some system for loaning costume to newbies or they'd never have any fresh volunteers. They have a site at http://www.sealedknot.org/ or http://www.sealedknot.com/

The Prophet (ex-Viking)