...Hello fellow forumites.

Now that Albion came to Europe - thank you Soren - I am able to get my hands on the fantastic swords of Albion.

First I started with the NG Crecy which is a very pleasant sword in every way, it looks quite plain and is in a way a sword of understatement. I love it.

Now a single handed sword is to come which should be used with a buckler, as I started in a group which is researching on I.33.

With me liking the type IV for years when reading about them I was very excited when seeing the Albion line of T IVs. On the other hand I do not know if another sword would be better suited for my use.

Other option could be the Poitiers or the Squire (saying the smaller brother of the Crecy, perhaps a little boring to have one style?).

As there is only money to buy one sword the decision is very difficult. I would like to here some advice from you experienced sword people.

Thank you.

I would highly recommend the Sherriff. I own all four of the swords that you mentioned, and they are all good choices.

Not surprisingly, the Squire handles the closest to the Crecy, but they are still decidedly different swords. It has a good combination of cut and thrust abilities, but does not always feel quite right to me when thrusting (probably an error on my part). It feels especially wonderful when used from the Priest's Special Longpoint.

You can get my full impression of the Poitiers by reading the hands on review of it. It is a good sword for learning the thrust from the left, and would probably give you some interesting insight into attacks to the hand when your opponent leaves a gap between buckler and sword hand. It is not the most natural sword to cut with.

The Sherriff is a fast, compact, hard hitting little sword. The few I.33 techniques that involve holding the blade could be a bit tricky, due to the width, though. The rotation points or whatever it is that causes the sword to move the way it does (I don't fully understand it, but it is more than just weight and PoB) allow one to move the sword into the I.33 guards and wards with an ease that astounds me. For me, it is the only sword that feels truly natural executing a thrust from the left originating on the right side of the body.

My only complaint with the Sherriff is that I find the aesthetics to be sadly plain. I am considering rewrapping the grip with three central risers (like the Sovereign). That would be enough to liven it up a bit, but might also come close to sacrilege. That's another discussion all together, though. If you share my opinion of the aesthetics, but don't want to vandalize your sword, the Yeoman might be a good alternative. It has the same blade, but is a little fancier. Of course, it will handle a wee bit different, but I doubt it will be overwhelming.

Hope that helps a bit.

-Grey

Edit: I just reread this; can you tell I have trouble with the thrust from the left?

I concur with what Greyson said. The Sherriff is a nasty little beast of an inside fighter. I suspect all of the variations are more alike than not (Soveriegn, Sherriff, Yeoman). I've handled the Soveriegn and Sherriff and they are both fun; cut well after some user adjustment on my part.

I normally play at longsword, so what I tend to notice the most with all these swords is the difference in distance. You work closer with them, and it feels very in your face to me. When using one, even test cutting, I'm acutely aware that I'm almost always in the zone of danger presented by longer swords; so definely something to use a buckler with in a fight (I think). Different but I like them.

Greyson is also right that some folks may find the Sherriff a bit plain. That said I think it very much capture the essence of what Albion looked for with the sword. If you read the blurb about it at Albion's website, it is positioned to be a workman's tool. If that idea appeals to you, I think the Sherriff will too.

Something else to consider is what is in stock.

Thank you for your comments.

The Souvereign is out of my focused price range and probably it is a little too fency. The two fullers look a litle "difficult" to me, the version in the review seems to be a little of the center.

The Yeoman is not in stock at the moment, but Sherriff, Poitiers and Squire are. These are all three such incredible looking swords, that I have not an easy decision.

Having handled each at the last Blade Show, the squire felt best to my hand and seems like the best combination of cut, thrust, and reach.

I won't echo much of what has been said, but Albion's type XIVs are very well suited to I.33 work.

The Poitiers would give you a bit of reach and a slightly narrower blade to grasp if need be. The type XVIs, while very nice, in my opinion just don't move as well in close quarters. I think they are more of a solid compromise design between a sword handy on the ground as well as intended for use from a horse.

As far as the XIVs go, here's my take. (Note that my thoughts on the Yeoman are based on what I've read here and what I heard at Albion - I haven't had a chance to put one in hand yet.) The Sovereign is a cutter first foremost, is the "heaviest" of the lot, and where it is a tick slower than the others on the move it makes up for it with extra authority when delivering a cut. The Sherriff feels lighter in hand than the Sovereign, is quicker on the move, and feels like an even split between cutting and thrusting; where the Sovereign is a slightly brutal cutter, the Sherriff is a little more finesse. The Yeoman gains the benefit of losing some weight with the Sherriff's blade, but because the hilt furniture is a little daintier, it handles more like the Sovereign. . . just quicker; meaning that if one is not as stout of arm, you get something closer to the Sovereign's character with the Sherriff's mass. Also note that there is a subtle but noticable difference between a Sovereign with a steel pommel and one done in bronze. The bronze gives you yet a bit more mass and heft when holding the sword still in hand, but you get a little more agility out of it in motion - it really is a good sword to demonstrate the "static weight/moving weight" phenomenon to somone who doesn't know much about swords.

. . . and if anybody is listening, I would love to get my hands on an all bronze Sovereign to do a proper and complete comparison ;) . . .

So, in short, any way you go in the type XIVs, the size is right for doing I.33, and the choice as to which one in particular you go with is really a matter of your preference in combat style and technique. Sometimes subtle, but the difference in hand of these swords is enough for me to have them all on my list of swords to get. In the immediate term, it sounds like the Sherriff would be your best way to go; among the Sovereign (out of price range), Yeoman (not in stock) and your other choices, for what you are looking for it seems to be the best fit. The biggest other reason I could see going with the Poitiers would be just that - if you are a bigger person with a longer wingspan, the extra reach would be a good thing and you wouldn't necessarily get bound up if you brought the sword in close. Note that in the Chivalry Sports book they were using (if memory serves) Del Tin type XIIs and doing just fine for themselves :)

Thank you all, your help is very much appreciated. It is enlightening in some ways.

Ok, probably it is due to the light and shadow and the finishing, but I looked at the Sovereign from the hands-on review, maybe it´s the same there.

Hmmm.

I just don´t which sword to get. The iV is quite appealing to me, so is the Poitiers. Or I go with a Mercenary or Agincourt.

:mad:

I just ordered the Sherriff. Thank you for all your kind help.

Congratulations! Out of curiousity, what color grip did you choose?

-Grey

I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Hello, the stock Sherriff is with black grip colour.

The picture on the Albion Europe site shows the full sword. It looks really impressive there. Although it is very plain in its appearance, it looks very impressive.

Now I just need a nice little buckler to go with it.

Hey Felix,If your getting your sword from them ,pick up one of the Bucklers from the Mercenary Tailor that is sold through Albion.Mine cost $90.00 delivered & I'll state here & now when the Zombies rise this buckler will be glued to my left hand.Even though a little heavy at 3 lbs.12 oz.(i think thats right)it has a lite handling manner & like the sword you are getting it seems to move by itself in & out of the guards & strikes of the I:33 system.Have fun.

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Hello Alan I am living in Germany, so I order through Albion Europe, they don´t sell the Merc Tailor stuff. But I already got a buckler from GDFB and I am also trying to make a wooden buckler with a shield boss of metal of course.
Finally it turned out that way that I have the Yeoman now, which is a really nice sword.

Regarding the Zombie thing. We in Europe don´t have problems with this at all if you have a look at the Zombie films made and take them for reference, Zombies only rise in USA or England, never in continental Europe. So I wish you a lot of luck whenever this Zombie day happens.

Hey folks,
Not to be a wet blanket, but we don't need to continue zombie talk, do we?

:)

Hello Greyson,

I ordered the Sherriff first, because it was in stock and I liked the simpler appearance. Then I had some problems with it, because the fullers were out of line on both sides. So I decided to send it back for replacement. Soren from Albion Europe ordered a Yeoman instead, so I ended up with this very nice sword. It´s "only" the Yeoman, I don´t think that Yeoman AND Sherriff would be necessary.