Has anyone dry-handled or cut with a Windlass / MRL Five-Lobe Viking Sword? Comments on any of the following would be greatly appreciated:
- handling
- durability
- suitability for light-to-medium cutting exercises (water bottles, tatami, etc.)
- historical accuracy

Thanks very much,
Craig

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I think there is a very positive review somewhere here on myArmoury, not the review section but here on the forum. Try with the search function.

Historical accuracy is kinda out the window....
The pommel is one piece, not two. The blade is mono-steel, (some viking blades were made of one steel but most were pattern-welded). The length of the grip is to long, the grip seems to be a bit over 4 inches which was not common in the viking era, most would be between 3.5-4.0 inches over 4 was extremely extremely rare. The lobes look very poorly formed, most hilts were richly decorated but even the ones that are plain iron are well executed. The peen is on the very end of the pommel but really should not be visible it should be peened over the upper guard with the pommel covering it. The scabbard could be made suitable with work. The blade is to dull to cut well and if you get it sharpened it will have an inaccurate "double-bevel"
Durability....
It is an MRL so the fittings will loosen up and need to be re-peened. This can be helped with a little epoxy but that will make it even less accurate. With sharpening it should be suitable for the light to medium targets you listed.
handling....
It is within historical weight, some originals were poorly balanced so this should not be a problem when compared to originals. The balance on MRLs is generally not very good but this one seems to be acceptable. The grip is a bit longer than most originals which drastically changes the overall feel of the sword.
Best
Hadrian :)