Classic-Castle.com

On Bricklink which are the correct original swords:

Is it the dark gray:
Minifigure, Weapon Sword, Shortsword - Polished Rigid ABS

Or the dark gray:
Minifigure, Weapon Sword, Shortsword

That "Polished Rigid ABS" on Bricklink appears on the oldest sets: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn ... 3847a&in=S so probably that one is the original. Never figured out there's difference, got to check if I have two different kind (should have at least that original)

Edit:

I guess the one on left side could be this more recent dark grey sword. The rest should be from Black Monarch's Castle
and possibly from King's Mountain Fortress too, so older.




I remember noticing "quality" difference between old castle swords and light gray sword from old Harry Potter sets though. Anyway someone correct me if I got this wrong


Edit 2:

Just found out there's also similar picture comparing these swords on Bricklink which should confirm what I was thinking:

I can also confirm that the harder ones are the original ones, the ones listed as "Polished Rigid ABS". I never had any sets with these, I only had the softer ones, from sets from the Fright Knight, Knights Kingdom era.

EKnight

My brother and I had both as a kid. Based on the sets we owned, the shift happened somewhere around 1993. My 6081 King's Mountain Fortress (first released in 1990, but I got my copy in 1993 with either a '92 or '93 catalogue) and our various Black Knight/Crusader polybags (1491, 6009, 1463), which were all released in 1992 or earlier (though we got them in 93/94) all had the glossy older version.

From Royal Knight on, starting in 1995--and we had sets from the get-go--it was the newer, softer version. My brother also had a 6020 Magic Shop, which was a 1994 release but he got it in late 1995, which had the softer sword. So, at least in our experience, anything pre-Dragon Masters had the old swords and anything post-Dragon Masters had the new. And between the two of us, we broke at least two of the old swords, so it's probably a good thing LEGO made the switch, from a durability standpoint, though the old ones a just a bit cooler.