Review: Cheap Plastic Sword

Costing around ~£2 from most toy shops, the cheap plastic sword (CPS) is an item no home should be without!

Actually, no home should be without a couple of these. One CPS just isn't enough for a battle (unless you're fighting the imaginary monster invaders who live at the bottom of the garden) so ensure you get a few for the children to fight against each other, or more usually, the children vs Dad.

Sonic (in blue, aged 4) and Cryotek (in red, aged 2) love these CPSs. They (the swords, not the children) can be bashed together and mistreated, but always manage to survive to battle another day. Even when the blade is bent in half, the sword more or less reverts back to normal.

I asked the boys what they liked about the CPSs. Cryotek replied 'power of grey-school!' and Sonic 'RAR!'

An attempt to clarify these responses had to be abandoned due to being chased away by small people with large swords.

I later got my revenge...

The hilt on one of our CPSs is loose and can be removed. Sonic has come up with a new use for this: a camera! Yes, now the boys argue who gets to play with the broken sword so they can have the camera accessory!

Worried about the kids hurting each other? Generally the children prefer to unite together against the Grown Up threat, and therefore it's only adults who end up hurt from stray blows. However, in the photos below Cryotek demonstrates some optional safety gear.

Needless to say, unless you have a very large room these are for outdoor use only. However, CPSs do come in useful for fishing out toys which have rolled under the sofa, or other hard to reach places.

Despite what this video would lead you to believe, Cryotek's only ever seen He-Man once.

Cryotek instructs how to carry a CPS: on your back - like He-Man. Cryotek requires assistance with this as his arms aren't long enough to reach.

These swords are cheap to buy, durable and children will play with them for years. If you suddenly find yourself with an extra child and thus are short a sword, it's perfectly possible to use one of the sheaths as a substitute.

Demonstration as to how to put a sword away.