"My Königs are going to come one day!" I want this inscribed on my gravestone. I ordered last February, and they're still not here yet. At least from this review, I won't be disappointed when I finally get them.

I've had the Koning for a while now... They are okay, but I'm still looking for that Holy Grail... I certainly like the mobility they offer, but I think they are ideally suited to be paired with ring guards for the longsword. I think we will still see broken fingers with Koning. Also, they have issues for people with large hands. Over time the leather on mine has gotten a few holes, but they have held up okay. I view them as really good for light sparring, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to take them to a tournament right now. All in all, they are a move in the right direction, but the grail is still not found. I'm glad to see they are continuing to work to improve the quality.

A couple of notes: Mark I had cognac and burgundy colours. The change is that the outer leather has been made a bit thinner (for mobility), and the palm a bit thicker (for durability). Neatsfoot oil is the best thing I've found for breaking them in and softening the leather. I've been using Mark I gloves for six months or so now, and a few coats of neatsfoot oil have done wonders for the movement, along obviously with proper time to work them. There's also a full (and good) inner Kevlar layer. I took a strong thrust to the inside of the finger last weekend, and it was stopped before punching through my hands. I've had some seriously painful hits, normally when I get caught while halfswording (so the blow hits just one finger). Nothing broken yet, but it can hurt like a bastard.

Thank you for making this video. It's so so so helpful to have an experienced fencer actually review gloves. Even though these might not get tons of views, please make more whenever you get the chance. That along with all types of gear. Actually it would be great if you went over all the pieces of gear you wear while sparring longswords, saber, ect.

"The reason for the stiffness is, just simply, the leather."

I got a pair of these (after several months of waiting): - the protection is great - the thumb mobility is meh (it's difficult to thumb the blade) - having just one size is obviously an issue - one of the plates digs into my wrist sometimes - they are quite heavy - here and there between the layers there are thick stitchings and untrimmed pieces of material that are uncomfortable and add to the internal bulkiness - the internal material is quite abrasive on the knuckles. - but most of all, there's way way WAY too much material on the palm. There's the light soft leather you can see on the outside AND a padded glove beneath that. It's good to have padding between the hand and the plates, but on the palm it's just a nuisance. So, though they probably are indeed the best heavy gloves we have at the moment, they do have several issues.

I really like the image of people just walking around with those gloves on, going to work, or going shopping, and wiggling them around.

Thanks, currently I'm using Red Dragons (also just starting). Königs will be my go to gloves if/when I get into heavier sparing/tournaments.

Yeah. I've had a pair of the gen 1's since Longpoint. They are my favorite glove right now. I'm not sure I'd recommend them to beginning fencers, especially if you have larger hands, but they are a great glove!

If they are anything like leather golf shoes i used to use the water protection shoe wax that really gets them soft with out having to do to much wearing them in around the house.

Let's hope the progauntlet will surprise us and is both adequate for longsword as well as supple enough for sabre.

I used to boffer for fitness (you can't really boffer for authentic technique). I got minor, tiny bruises and little scrapes all the time, and never cared much. But I was forced to quit when the tip of a padded-sword hit the tip of my pinky straight on. It bend my pinky in a weird way... and gave me a near lengthwise spiral of the proximal phalanx.

Yeah! Matt is doing longsword again! Hope we see some more videos concerning longsword combat. ;)

In the event that you needed them quickly, Baseball glove oil might be useful to break them in . Also, oiling the glove and rolling and tossing a ball (a relatively hard ball) from glove to glove. Its the first thing considered when you mentioned the break in period. Maybe it will help someone that's in a pinch to press them into service.

Hey Matt make sure to do a follow up video in a few months to a year. I've heard from quite a few people who have the version I Konig Gloves and they all had complaints about the durability, we would all love to see/hear how these improved versions hold up or if that is still an issue, cheers.

hmmm they are definitely one of the better gloves, but as I understand it the 5 finger sparing glove is cheaper, and I might be biased because I own a pair, but better. My worry for the koning is you can feel medium hits to the fingers, so heavy hits that are more common in tournament fighting may cause damage, recently in a tornament I was in, a fencer wearing konings retired due to getting hit on the hand, his pinky fingers nail was split in half and bleeding, it didn't look like the worst hand wound, but it was enough to make him decide to retire. And I don't blame him, split nails hurt. That said his opponent was hitting hard, But I would argue not so hard to be too hard, the problem is when all the force of a cut lands on one finger. Where as the sparing gloves have a very hard protective resin on the fingers, so you don't feel any pain from medium blows. my only worry from them is the wrist, it sacrifices protection for maneuverability, I've had no issue so far, but sometimes you can feels blows to the inside of the wrist in them. I also don't like the shear size of the koning, although I think it tends to look bigger in videos, as some people in my club own it. And they were smaller than I thought, still big. This may not mean much, as the pair I tried on were not made to my specifications, but they resist your hand movement, it was difficult to close a fist.

I had a pair of really nice Dainese motorcycle gloves that have all the same qualities as those but they had steel around the fingers instead of plastic.. plus they looked more form fitting to your hand.

I liked the konning gloves originally. Would use my Clubs loaners when sparring. Till it took a good hit to where the thumb meets the hand in them ( the area inbetween the thumb and pointer finger). Was moderate sparring, was not pleasant at the time, and that night it swelled up and was killing me for a week or two. Im at 3 or 4 weeks since that hit, and I still feel this odd pain when thumbing the sword for Zwers etc.

Nice review, was thinking about getting a pair myself. On the stiffness issue, if it is just the leather, a balsam like Renapur or leather oil/conditioner would help immensely.

I would personally still prefer the mittens because I feel you need every bit of protection you can get

hey im from Gothenburg!

Is the "Hulk-Smash"-Move actually allowed in Hema tournaments? or the "five point palm exploding heart technique" ? last time I used it I was accused of beeing a cheater as it's "not what liechtenauer would have done" :D

Matt, please keep an eye open for the thokks, they are planned to be a slimmer profile version of Koning's essential;ly, this may somewhat address the issue with the super wide wristpieces.

Hey Matt, Now that you're getting back into longsword.. would now be a good time to ask for an indepth video about Fiore and his treatise?

`Great video, Matt! I'm going back to longsword after a long absence & I'm really pleased to hear that the Koning Gloves are holding up to their promise :) Getting cracked on the fingers is awful - investing in good safe gloves is something I'm happy to do. As an aside: How did medieval longsword fencers deal with the risks of hand injuries? They must have had a way to minimise the risk, or perhaps their more full understanding of the longsword techniques & training regimes took it into account... There's no way to answer those questions, btw, I'm thinking out loud but would love to hear your own thoughts on the matter.

"if i was to do anything to imprve these gloves ... thats why i mention it at the beginning of the video" *looks at video load bar* almost half way... nice.

Hey Matt, Did you have any trouble with them rubbing your knuckles? Mine keep causing blisters.

I don't know if they can break, but knuckles can definitely shatter. Source: I shattered the knuckle of my left pinky when a punch I threw went foul.

You should do a separate video on your "fiore feder."

Matt, you call 210 € expensive? Is not cheap (especially in Slovakia), but SparringGloves 5-finger model goes for 190 €. Not that much difference. Love your video, going to spread word about great new product.

What about a hilt add-on that gives you a hand guard? It just has to fit many swords.

age of craft did this along time ago, with steel gauntlets

As far as I can tell, I don't really need finger mobility for longsword, so I'm considering getting clamshells from sparringglove or neyman. The way I see it, fingers are more trouble than they're worth, so you end up paying more money for less protection.

Excellent review, thanks!

10:23 "Not very pleasant and quite painful" *nervous giggle* Matt... Is there something you're not telling us?

Matt, have you tried the 5-finger Polish Sparring Gloves? I just received mine and I've only used them so far in a few light sparring sessions with mixed weapons, but they seem to me to be on-par with the Konings for protection. They are also quicker to obtain and are made to your size -- my current problem with the Konings is that I have small hands and the "one size" Konings are just too large for me. I can put my hands in them and move them around, but in sparring they would fly off my hands, which, obviously, is not good.

How easily can you raise your thumb while holding a sword in those gloves? Thinking of German techniques where you put your thumb on the base of the blade above the guard.

Thanks for this review. The Saint Mark website does not say anything about first or second generations. Do you know if any new orders will receive the second generation?

Matt seems at little bit prejudiced on this one. I wonder why one does not feel safe in the spes mittens but in these. Especially when a lot of people commenting state hard hits still hurt a lot. Never had this with mittens..

I'm curious if you've ever tried the Sparring Gloves (you're totally right on the name) newer 5-finger model. I got these a while back and I absolutely love them, but I don't see anyone else wearing them at tournaments or putting any reviews up online. They're custom fit, which is great for me because my fingers are way too long to use the original Konig (haven't tried 2nd gen). Even with my longer fingers, the Sparring Glove 5-fingers can fit into my Regenyei sabre without being locked into a hammer fist (still a bit tight). My only complaints are that it's a bit of a pain to get on and off (maybe fudge your wrist size a bit if you order them) and I'm worried about their longevity since the articulated plates and elastic are on the outside without being held together by such a nice leather layer as the Konigs. Can I get anyone's opinion who has tried these and maybe some answers to why they seem so rare in HEMA? Also, to Matt, have you ever considered these as opposed to the hoof or mitten Sparring Gloves?

Do you feel that the shorter fiori blades gives you a disadvantage against more 'endowed' swords?

Wondering how these would stand up for Quarterstaff Matt?

you look wonderful today

if you had a saber with a larger hilt/grip would those gloves work, speaking from a manuf point of view

What is the size of your Fiore feder? I have a ~86.5cm blade and ~25cm hilt on mine, although I don't study Fiore.

Any update on these? How do you find them after some time using the gloves?

O.O this video.... im going to my forge tomorrow this has given me an idea i think i can cross the glove and mitten to get both grip and protection. imm gonna make the fingers indepentant to the mitten. the mitten will act as a shell well the finger can repostion under it.

Good review, nice gloves

would you be able to have a free floating plate on the bottom of the wrist to allow for the cuff to move inwards when needed whilst still having the large cuffs for wrist mobility & protection? , i merely thought of it as what i would do if i was making them as soon as you mentioned the problem.

Sparring Gloves like this I do not know, but aren't historical Visby Gloves (and reproductions of them - for example for SCA) basically constructed in the same way, except for the used material (metal -> plastic) of course?

Hey Matt, would a glove that had a mitten design for the middle, ring, and pinky finger, but a free index finger work well?

My main problem with them is that they get ugly scratches and dents. :( Protection and mobility are fine.

Canadian speaking here... ever tried hockey gloves? :)

Quick question... what gloves do you use for sabre, rapier, sidesword, smallsword, etc?

What gloves or gauntlets did historical swordsmen use? Can we use those just as well?

Would the cuff be a better fit if you were wearing a fencing jacket/gambeson and/or plastic vambraces instead of having bare forearms?

Have you seen the reveal of the THOKK gloves by Personal Armor? I'm curious to see how they turn out to be

It feels to me like it is not enough protection. I have seen much more resistant gauntlets not withstand to the masters of cutting in the Czech Republic. For example, Borek Belfín, the master of Digladior fencing school, strikes really hard with a longsword even on a really short cut. I am not sure those gauntlets would protect from that... Mitten gloves are the way to go, I would say. Covering the fingers will mean not enough protection on them and that will mean broken fingers.

in regards to bullk what about the pro guantlets that are being developed? videos they've shown of them look very slim and just as protective as these

What gloves do you use for sabre? Great video, Matt!

So these are apparently okay for one handed sword too? Mentioned in the video but I want to hear it again.

Have you heard of the Thokk weapon master gloves being released soon?

how smelly do they get? boxing glove smelly?

Matt, there's also Neyman Inigo Montoya (heavy version) gauntlets, but we all know how you feel about Neyman, don't we.

Are hilt strikes and unarmed strikes allowed in Hema? It seems like a punch would hurt less than a 4ft long metal rod.

When will you post the tods stuff messer?

I actually find the seperate finger gloves like konigs make finger manipulation much harder. With my mitten sparringgloves, my fingers and hand move and hold the grip of my sword pretty much just like if i had no glove on. With individual fingers, they're all separated much much wider than they would be with no gloves (or mitten sparringgloves). I personally see no real advantage to having separate fingers. The only one thing is its easier to let go of your sword with one hand. But i dont do that, i like keeping both hands on my sword 😁😂

sorry but have you tried ice hockey gloves? Those gloves look a lot like 70's-80's hockey gloves. A lot of protection and flexability. I would think there are many similarities to how you hold a hockey stick and a sword.

i need these

Just throwing this out but there should be plenty of theoretical and modern materials that could make a small and dexterous glove for any type of fencing. Granted I dont think they are reasonably available to make said gloves yet but to say its not possible is a really big statement.

SPES heavies?

Ive only recently started watching videos on hema and the attire required, so please correct me if im wrong but wouldnt medieval finger gauntlets offer more than enough protection while offering period accurate articulation in the fingers wrist and so forth?

have you tried the neyman inigo montoya?

Has anyone heard the sales price for these?

what is the sword that is above the smallsword ? the one with the golden scabbard

shame they have only one size fits all, i have small hands and those are huge.

This maybe a silly question, but still: why would there be a need to invent new technologist for modern equipment for using historical weapons. why not use historical equipment? if the purpose of HEMA is recreation of historical martial arts, wouldn't it make sense to use the equipment used when long swords were used? did they fence with gloves in the 16th century? if so why not just copy those the same way the swords used in Hema are based on historical swords.

How's the feel when holding a sword?

Obviously the gloves are not out in any respect yet, but do you have any thoughts about the ProGauntlet? Other than the fact that they're taking a ridiculous amount of time? :P

Hi Matt, I'm looking to order a set, tried a friend's pair last week and they are awesome, how long did they take to ship? Because if was three months I might buy two sets.

Jeeze, at that price I'd probably just buy a pair of hourglass gauntlets.

Looks like the padding is on the palm side.

You just talked about gloves, could you talk about masks? (If you haven't already, that is.)

am i the only one having problems with the plates? some of them are really pushing against my knuckles making my hands' movements really uncomfortable i have the newest version btw

Just use metal gauntlets? :)

how to break in those faster: do pugilism

Has anyone told you that you look like Solas? goo.gl/LEjMnV