Hi,
I've just seen this new MRL at their website.
This is the description:
GERMAN BASTARD SWORD

This sword is a replica of number A477 from the famed Wallace Collection. Like many German swords it is primarily a cutting sword, with a wide blade that has a flattened oval cross section that gives very little resistance in a cutting blow. It is also a perfect example of a true hand-and-half or bastard sword. The proportions of the sword are that of a one handed sword, but with a slightly longer grip and a pommel shape that will allow two hands
to be used by gripping both. The grip is wood covered in cord and leather. The long quillon has a decorative finial on the end and the side rings provide good hand protection. Antiqued steel parts to match the original. Well tempered high carbon steel blade by Windlass Steelcrafts®. Scabbard with antiqued parts included. #500792

Overall-38 3/4" * Blade-30" x 2 1/8" x 3/16" * Wt.-3 lb. 10 oz.

Can anybody tell me more abot the original in the Wallace collection? I've never seen it before.
Thomas

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First Hanwei, now MRL! They're testing the market for "antiqued" steel! The quotes suggest my skepticism about these finishes, which, at least in Hanwei's case, seem to be painted-on.

I actually like the looks of this weapon overall, but hate the finish of the hilt. I'm currently headed back the other direction, toward pristine, polished finishes. Ironically, this is the result of trying, and failing, to antique a stainless MRL hilt. I polished it up to a fine satin finish and liked the results so well that I'm seriously considering restoring/polishing all the pieces in my collection.

It's great to see MRL still creating pieces at least loosely based on specific, documented weapons.

Sean -
do you know more abot the original sword?

Thomas

Thomas,
Someone supplied info in these two posts on SFI:

http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47532

http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47660

Here's the gist of the response from Charles G.:

Quote:

"A477 SWORD (Bastard or Hand-and-Half) The HILT of blued steel; pear shaped POMMEL, straight QUILLONS, round in section, ending in pear shaped knobs, with a spiral or roped collar: SIDE-RING on either side. The grip is shouldered, bound with cord and covered with leather. The broad, two-edged BLADE has a shallow hollow running three quarters of its length. The maker's mark is a bell within a shield, inlaid in copper on both faces 5.5" from hilt. L. 37 5/8"; W. 2 1/8"; Wt. 4 lbs 8 oz. German (about 1510) De Beaumont Catalogue, No. 68. Provenance: Comte de Niewerkerke A sword with a like mark is in the Hermitage, Leningrad (Lenz, 1908, B 398)"

yeah, thanks Chad.
I've already ssen it myself :cool:
Thomas

I have no background info but was wondering if anyone has a review on this sword they would like to share because I have been thinking about getting this sword from MRL. Hopefully my question is not too off-topic - I could not find any other forum on this sword. Travis

I just got one of these from Kult of Athena for around $179. I'm impressed. The hilt is a bit loose, but I'll fix that as part of a general upgrade. The finish is much more attractive than I expected--it's not an opaque, painted-on finish but an actual bluing of the steel that resembles the finish of Wallace Collection #A477.

The size and weight are surprising. It's a massive weapon, but is 11oz lighter than #A477. POB is similar to that of A&A's German Bastard Sword (3" vs. 3.5"), although this piece, like A477, is a good 8" or 9" inches shorter than the A&A GBS. Note that there's only a 1oz difference between the weight of A477 and the A&A GBS, in spite of the latter's much greater OA length. Interesting.

In single-hand use this sword is more agile than the stats suggest, but with two hands it's just scary. That thick, broad and very stiff blade of lenticular section feels like it would deliver an extremely powerful blow. Look closely at this and A477 and you'll notice some differences in the hilt and blade, but the piece seems to be faithful to the type and era in terms of proportions and finish. I'll offer much greater detail in a formal review, but that's a distant speck on the horizon. Here's the thread in which I discuss A477. Tobias Capwell attached a photo of A477 in a post on page two: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...light=a477

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Good grief - that's huge! :eek: :surprised:

Somehow from the MRL images and those at Reliks.com I didn't expect it to be quite THAT big!

Maybe the wider blade gives rise to an optical illusion that makes the whole thing seem somehow shorter and smaller...? Again, this would seem to be a Windlass sword that is pretty impressive, given its price point. I await the full review with interest!

I live so close to the Wallace Collection - I really must make more time to actually go and look at this stuff; I haven't been in years! :\ Chad's review of the Collection on this site is very informative - and I fully agree with both his comments and those in Sean's account of his own visit there too! :D

For anyone requiring a quick link to their website, it's here:
http://www.wallacecollection.org

That is a beauty! The photo is excellent and just begs for a caption, e.g.,

"He had promised that he would never give anyone the axe, but all were struck speechless when Mr. Flynt announced that he was going to 'make a few cuts'."

I've seen this sword on a couple of websites (with the standard press photo), and have thought off and on about adding it to my list of swords I'd like to buy sometime in the future, but usually disregarded it because its look as shown in the press photo never really moved it beyond the cusp (for me). It's funny how often press photos don't do swords justice, and this one is a good example of that. It has now definitely moved higher on my list. The attempt at the antique finish, for one thing, isn't nearly as ugly as I'd figured it would be. My own attempts at antiquing it would probably be no better.

Brian

I did a bit of a search in the other links but didn't find what I was looking for. Does anyone know, of the top of the head, what the A477 is originally dated at? Fifteenth or sixteenth century?

Thanks!

Brian