Hi Evreyone,
I was recently looking into buying one of Windlass Stellcrafts' "13th century sword of war". But I haven't heard much about how it handles and what quality it is. The pice is decent but if its a poorly made sword I may hold off. Anyone have any opinions/ info on this sword? Any imput would be fantastic. Thanks!

http://www.museumreplicas.com/webstore/showpr...osition=13

They have a decent return policy.

If you don't like it you should be able to return it.

Only out the shipping then.

I happen to have that sword. I only got to see it for 2 weeks while I was home on R&R, but my impressions were as follows:

1. I think the blade could be a bit more stiff, but since it is a cutting sword and not a thruster, it is decent.
2. The grip is a bit wider in profile than I really care for
3. I will probably be replacing the red suede grip
4. If I remember correctly, the POB is about 4-5 inches from the guard (which I consider good)
5. There is just the slighest looseness in the guard. I think that is probably a result of the handle wood drying. If you live in a place more humid than Colorado, there may be no problem at all.
6. The scabbard is on par with other MRL scabbards. In other words, it is loose.
7. It handles well with two hands, but has quite a bit of momentum. You will have to be noticably stronger than I am (not hard, I'm 5'7" and 140 lbs.) to use it one handed or change the direction of the blade quickly.

So, I do not regret the purchase at all, and am in fact quite happy with it, but there are also better swords of this type available. For the money, this is a good sword. All of the MRL/Windlass swords that I have purchased have been of about this quality, not outstanding, but certainly acceptable, especially in light of the price, so I believe that you will recieve a product very similar to the one I own, but there has been some concern epressed in the past about the consistancy of the quality control at MRL/Windlass. Just be aware of that, but I doubt it will be a serious concern.

-Grey

There's a thread about this sword over at SFI that may also be of interest:
http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45605