I learned to play chess in a German Knight set. My grandfather treasured that set almost as much as He treasured his Bible. It was a great great deal that He let me play with it. Unfortunally this particular set is lost, but at least I own one that looks like it.
About the Lardy. I don't think any of the stores you have mention got it rigth. There is not real need for a repro when the original can be found on e-bay with relative ease. I piked up mine from the French e-bay page.
One of the things I like about the Lardy is that the 4 horses look different. They all share the same profile, as if they started with the same blanks, but the details are diferent on each one. I really like this. All the repros you have mention have the 4 horses identical, it is a shame they kill individuality with uniformity.
Now we are getting somewhere.
The German Knight is obviously a very popular design, especially in Europe. I have found one of the better manufactured sets of this design is sold by The House of Staunton as their Championship Series set. This set and the one sold by The Chess Store have the best specifications of all those available when I bought one in December to replace another set I just had sold. The reason I bought the House of Staunton set was that is was less expensive than The Chess Store version.
I find the scalloped sides of the Knights are good for grasping. An American version of this Knight is the Liberty Series set from about 1941. For many years The House of Staunton sold this set but discontinued it. Now the Chess Bazaar seems to be the only seller handling this design.
I wanted a Lardy set in the early Spring because of all that was being posted about it on this forum. Once again I searched all the web sites for the set with the best specifications. I wanted the set to have a 3.75" King size because I want to use it on a 2.25" board. I found The Chess Store had, and still apparently has, the best version of this set in Rosewood, a wood I wanted. I have played with this set a number of times and like it quite a bit.
The design is well balanced. I particularly like the Knights and the way they are more on a pedestal than other designs.
I was talking with the manager of The House of Staunton a couple of weeks ago and mentioned to him that I thought they should try to come out with a Lardy set. He chuckled and told me they already have one being manufactured and will be coming out with it. So if you want a Lardy design set look for The House of Staunton to come out with their version. Of course I would still keep The Chess Store version as a purchase candidate.
Both of the designed sets mentioned in this post are made in India, and both are at the low end of the price range compared to other, more expensive sets. So the manufacture of these sets will be similar due to their low cost.