<p>Aries, manage to connect on your next trip to the coast and I’ll give you a lesson in Johnny Depp sword play. I have extra blades, masks, and jackets. Though it’s my <em>appearance</em> that most closely resembles Johnny Depp; my bladework is more like that of Inigo Montoya in THE PRINCESS BRIDE. Plus I can deliver the line “I do not think that word means what you think it does” with uncanny accuracy.</p>
<p>No, the Turkish saber is the best for intimidating. Stout hearts and true and all that. The acid etching is beautiful. But it’s not a weapon for use on foot; the weight is oddly balanced towards the tip of the blade, pulling it down, which is fine if your making a downward cut from upon horseback but awkward if facing an adversary on foot on level ground. Of course, the putative b/f wouldn’t know that unless he’d handled the blade and <em>that</em> is extremely unlikely to have happened until he was well on the way to joining the family.</p>
<p>As for another set of eyes, knowing that I likely won’t be present, I’ve told your sister to watch how a guy treats people he doesn’t have to be nice to: waitresses, sales or postal clerks, children, etc. A good first test of character.</p>