Does anyone know where I might find a decent, western style sword with a straight (non-curved) blade of 20-22"? One with good steel and not just a wall hanger?
Have you tried short blacksmiths? 
Need answer fast? Are the orc hordes closing in?
A quick ebay search got me this.
Kill half a dozen kobolds. But whatever you do don’t attack a revenant unless you have a mage with cone of cold, minimum.
Eh, those are 440 steel collectables. 440 isn’t necessarily bad, but if it is 440A, it won’t hold up to actual use.
Find someone with a long sword who lost the fight.
Pooley Sword took over the sword-making of Wilkinson Sword. They mainly deal with the British military.
Medieval Fight Club sells all sorts of quality re-enactment weaponry, and ships internationally. And is actually willing to tell you up front how much their stuff costs.
I own a couple of pieces form Albion:
https://www.albion-swords.com/
They are excellent replica quality swords. For training, I’ve picked up blunt steel swords from http://www.darkwoodarmory.com/ and http://therionarms.com/
For wooden practice sword I like the purple heart armory: Purpleheart Armoury
Man, you made me want to get into this again.
You mean Wilkinson made real blades and not just the cheap razors I know of?
The Brescia Spadona is still my “when I’m wealthy and retired to my castle” sword:
https://www.albion-swords.com/swords/johnsson/sword-museum-brescia.htm
It’s a gorgeous work of art. Had the pleasure of holding and using it once, a long time ago. Still remember how it felt in my hands.
I wish to point out my maturity in not answering your query “Where can I find a short sword?” with a snarky quip involving an allusion to your trousers. You all noticed that, right?
Ok, forgive me, but I was kind of specific in the OP and I’m not seeing what I am looking for here. I don’t want practice or re-enactment weapons or regular longswords. I’m looking for a short (20-22" blade) straight sword in a western style.
I think what you’re looking for is a “practical” or “functional” weapon. They’ll be billed as re-enactment weapons because those are the people who are spending hundreds of dollars on functional swords that can stand up to being repeatedly whacked against other swords.
Or are you looking for an actual medieval sword?
I’m not sure there’s going to be much available at that length. Historically one-handed European swords are almost all 30" or more. Makers interested in historical accuracy aren’t going to be producing 22" medieval arming swords (which isn’t to say there were never any medieval arming swords that were that short, just that they’d be vanishingly rare and replicas would tend towards the more typical lengths.) If you’d settle for a gladius, there are numerous in that length range available from sellers already posted.
Yes. I got a tour when I visited many years ago.
Hah, a friend of mine is a short blacksmith! So this is what I would do if I needed a real short sword.
Ahh, when you said functional and western sword I thought you were looking for a replica or sparring sword based on historically accurate weapons. I figured maybe a gladius or a parrying dagger (main-gauche) https://myarmoury.com/review_mrl_candt.html would fit the bill. Though even a gladius was probably often a bit larger than what you are lookign for.
If it’s fantasy style weapons you want maybe something like starfireswords? They are usually found at your local renaissance fair.
I have a couple from Kris Cutlery, they make combat-quality swords, sharpened if you wish.