Background

A few months ago, my girlfriend and I got engaged. A few weeks after the question was asked my fiancée asked me if I wanted anything as a present to mark the occasion as she said it didn't seem fair that only she got the ring and she wanted to get me something that would symbolise our engagement :eek: I tentatively asked if getting a sword would be out of the question to which she said she would love to get me one, especially as she is supportive of my hobby, even though she thinks I am a little eccentric!

After a few weeks of thinking, I settled on the idea that I would have to get a sword I would use fairly often, and training with the Kdf/EHCG at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, a blunt trainer seemed the most sensible option.

So, I looked everywhere, from Hanwei, Arms and Armour, Albion Europe and UK based smiths. In the end I settled on an Albion Liechtenauer which my fiancée order through Albion Europe and their representative Søren Niedziella.

Ordering

The order was placed and Søren gave us advice on how to make the payment (having never made an international transaction before). Throughout the ordering and the waiting time Søren was both professional and courteous, at one point offering Laura the possibility of having the Meyer as the Liechtenauer would take a few months more to deliver. Laura told me this and asked if I wanted to change, I said I would be happy with either! So at this point I did not know which sword I would be getting.

Delivery

In the end it took 7 months for the order to come through. This, from what I understand from people who are in waiting lists for some more popular UK smiths, is still a shorter delivery time than they are looking at. The sword was delivered in a large cardboard box, inside of which was the plastic rifle case. Inside the rifle was the sword was well packaged with bubble wrap. The two scotch-brite pads and the bottle of ballistol were also there as well.

The delivery could not have been timed better, as the sword arrived the Wednesday before my engagement party to my fiancée. She then presented the sword to me in front of my friends and family at the party.

Initial Impressions

I didn't get a good chance to look at it at the party properly, as once I had been presented with it, I locked it away in the back room of the function room we were in. The next day I had a good chance to look at it and play with it a little. The construction was excellent to say the least, everything was tight, the cord grip was spot on and it gave a crisp clear ring when tapped. The pommel was excellent and the tang button was very smooth.

In the hand, the sword felt like a laser compared to many that I have held. It's POB made it feel a little blade heavier compared to the Mark Vickers hand and a half that I own, but as it is half an ounce lighter, (it was dead on 3lbs 7 1/2 oz. on my kitchen scales) it moved very swiftly and was incredibly nimble when doing some simple zornhau, zwerchhau and krumphau exercises. At this point I could not wait to get to training. The edge is a thinner and not quite as rounded as my MV sword though, and this did make me ponder how it would stand up to other swords in training.

Training

My fears were never realised. The sword performed brilliantly and I have a lot more confidence in doing some more complicated techniques (or those that I consider complicated at the moment!) than I had before. It also gives confidence when training at speed as the sword is easy to control. My training partner for that evening commented upon it's lightness, but also the way it gave feedback in the bind. It became much easier to read peoples intentions with this blade than many others. My training partners sword was a slightly square edged and stiff 'Federschwert' from a British company, Carpathean, which was heavier and more rigid, but the Albion was very much equal to it and the blade only showed a few slight surface scratches after a good hour and a half of binding, thrusting and winding. It is certainly of equal quality to the Mark Vickers that I own and only time will tell if it holds up as well, although on this showing I think it will last just as long. These slight scratches were made invisible with a light going over with the scotch-brite at the end of the session.

Overall

I really could not be happier with this sword or the people involved in it's making. From the customer service to the sword itself the process has been easy and enjoyable (bar the wait ;) ) one which, funds permitting, will happen again (hopefully for an I.33). It may cost more than some other training blunts, but it is very much worth the extra cost and I would easily recommend it to anyone. As a final note, after letting Søren know the sword had arrived, I received a quick response asking for feedback when I had use the sword so that they can continue to improve their models. This impressed me a lot as not many companies in any field will ask for this so willingly.

Hey there! Congratulations on the engagement and the sword! ;-) And thank you for the review and the recommendations. I was literally just going to ask if anyone had recommendations for good training swords for German longsword.

So...you train at the Royal Armouries in Leeds? I just starting going there myself! I wonder if I've seen you? I only go on Mondays. The first week I came with a bunch of other students from the University of York. I have only been a few times, but I am loving it so far! I am an early medievalist at heart (Celtic, Norse, Anglo-Saxon), but I find myself really enjoying German longsword! :D

Sorry if that was off-topic, I just thought I'd say hi and perhaps I'll see you at practice. :)

Congrats once again!

Cheers,

~ Shamsi

Heyas, Thanks for the congratulations! Yup I train at Leeds, but I doubt that you will have seen me as unfortunately I am only able to attend Thursday classes (usually school meetings etc make it a bit impossible for me to attend) so if you are ever around then I'll make sure to say hi :-) That said, in the next few weeks I should be in on a couple of the monday sessions so I might see you then.

Dan had a go with the sword so ask him about how it handled as he is a bit of a sword testing machine (being chapter master he kinda gets to have a quick play with all the new swords!!). He liked the albion a lot so :-)

In any case, hope to see you soon,

Colin

Shamsi Modarai wrote:

Hey there! Congratulations on the engagement and the sword! ;-) And thank you for the review and the recommendations. I was literally just going to ask if anyone had recommendations for good training swords for German longsword. So...you train at the Royal Armouries in Leeds? I just starting going there myself! I wonder if I've seen you? I only go on Mondays. The first week I came with a bunch of other students from the University of York. I have only been a few times, but I am loving it so far! I am an early medievalist at heart (Celtic, Norse, Anglo-Saxon), but I find myself really enjoying German longsword! :D Sorry if that was off-topic, I just thought I'd say hi and perhaps I'll see you at practice. :) Congrats once again! Cheers, ~ Shamsi

Hi Colin,

Congratulations for acquiring such a nice sword !

I agree on your impressions about the Liechtenauer. I own one and I have being using it extensively for a couple of months now. It held up very well and is definitely my favorite training sword. :)

The Liechtenauer is really a nice sword. Using mine since August in class, we are training Fiore style longsword. I like it because it is good in its movability but still you are fealing a sword.

I just got my Liechtenhauer today and I love it! Its far more lively in the hand than I had anticipated, extremely well balanced and it moves smoothly through the drills. I can't believe it weighs 3 1/2 pounds, it just doesn't feel heavy. It'll be a super trainer!