I'm not real big on the term sword like object, especially for blades made of forged or rolled steel or iron. These are certainly swords, although they aren't very good ones. Both hilts are traditional; the basket is derived of Brittish military hilts and is similar to some military regulation hilts, though it is a flimsy imitation. These blades come in two types; old and new. The older ones, up to about 1980 I think, are fairly thick with a groove, flat cross-section with a wide sabre bevel to a heavy clanking edge, and often chrome plated (this is the only kind I personally have seen in the stacked plastic handles). They newer ones are thinny-thin with flat blades with no bevel or the very slightest nod toward one. Neither type is tapered in thickness, and both are often covered with etched foliate decoration. Neither is hardened steel, or AFAIK forged (they seem to be rolled steel).
Indeed, as on many modern swords the tang is the weak part, and it doesn't help this that it is the same thickness as the tip.
Why bother? A clanking sword is a fun thing
