Anyone own one of these beauties?
I am shopping for a sword... and am thinking about this sword... I like the looks of it... and it would be my first hollowground sword... but for the money... well I'm thinking Tinker or Lundemo maybe...
Help me out anyone and everyone.... what are your thoughts on this blade?
Feel free to PM if youd rather comment discretely...
Thanks...
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There's this from our Reviews page:
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Albion Armorers Earl Sword
A hands-on review by Joseph Fults
[ Linked Image ]
Albion Armorers Earl Sword
A hands-on review by Joseph Fults
Wait for a sale if the price is too rich or wait for one in the classifieds. But just get the Earl if its the type of blade and furniture that you want. It is a brilliantly executed sword and it won't disappoint.
Thanks for the advice guys... I have been hankering for an Earl for a while... hankering for a Lundemo as well.
I guess I'll try to wait for a 25% off sale...
I guess I'll try to wait for a 25% off sale...
I love the Earl. It is a powerful, robust war sword that can cut fairly well and is stiff as hell. It strikes with authority but isn't as fast as a Brescia or a Talhoffer. Not that it's heavy...it's just not balanced for agility like the Talhoffer, though they weigh about the same.
The Earl is one of the three favorite Albions. It's worth every penny they ask for it, and I wouldn't trade mine for anything.
The Earl is one of the three favorite Albions. It's worth every penny they ask for it, and I wouldn't trade mine for anything.
And the other two are (for the sake of off topic curiosity)?
| Joe Fults wrote: |
| Wait for a sale if the price is too rich or wait for one in the classifieds. But just get the Earl if its the type of blade and furniture that you want. It is a brilliantly executed sword and it won't disappoint. |
Have to second this since I just got one. One of the best longswords by Albion with great handling and very good balance, weight and presence in the cut. It is also one of the most beautiful swords I have ever owned. You will get a great buy for the money and never be disapointed.
Once you get it, get a good scabbard to go with it!
Well I can't really offer any comparison since this is my only Albion sword. The others are two Czech training blunts (one from Radek Lobko and one from Kovex Ars), German Falchion from MRL and Del Tin Sword of St Maurice - DT2130.
But Earl blows them all away, easily. It's like owning a piece of late gothic tracery. And it's very hard to capture that in images.
But Earl blows them all away, easily. It's like owning a piece of late gothic tracery. And it's very hard to capture that in images.
Thanks for all the input guys... I will definitely be getting one of these one day... in the mean time I have ordered a sword from John Lundemo....
When Albion has these on sell for 25% again..... then I will strike !! Or perhaps a good classifieds find....
Meanwhlle.... really looking forward to my Odinblade...
When Albion has these on sell for 25% again..... then I will strike !! Or perhaps a good classifieds find....
Meanwhlle.... really looking forward to my Odinblade...
Wow, I had no idea the Earl had so much detail in the hilt. Your pictures really picked it up very well!
My only criticism of Albion is that the pictures on their site really do not do their swords justice; the picture on their site only hints at the level of detail your photos reveal. Some of the newer pictures are better, but a lot of the older ones aren't very good.
Considering the price point Albion fills, and the fact that I would guess most of their purchases are online, I am surprised they don't invest in better photography.
My only criticism of Albion is that the pictures on their site really do not do their swords justice; the picture on their site only hints at the level of detail your photos reveal. Some of the newer pictures are better, but a lot of the older ones aren't very good.
Considering the price point Albion fills, and the fact that I would guess most of their purchases are online, I am surprised they don't invest in better photography.
| Addison C. de Lisle wrote: |
| Wow, I had no idea the Earl had so much detail in the hilt. Your pictures really picked it up very well!
My only criticism of Albion is that the pictures on their site really do not do their swords justice; the picture on their site only hints at the level of detail your photos reveal. Some of the newer pictures are better, but a lot of the older ones aren't very good. Considering the price point Albion fills, and the fact that I would guess most of their purchases are online, I am surprised they don't invest in better photography. |
Yeah, I noticed this also as review pics here on myArmoury usually give a better idea of the details and subtleties in the Albion swords.
I personally think that not spending money to get the best quality photography by a very skilled photographer is a false and counterproductive economy in the
" penny wise, pound foolish " way. ( I guess this expression is British in origin and " pound " meaning the currency and not a measure of weight ).
This issue has been discussed before in older Topics and not just directed at Albion that high quality photography actually sell product: I know that some swords that didn't particularly appeal to me, based on uninspiring photography on a site, became a purchase " AFTER " someone posted better pics in a Topic about their sword purchase or better pics appeared here in a review.
Now to not hurt the feelings of whoever took the pics at Albion, they are not that bad but for marketing purposes they should be as good as possible and professionally photographed with the best product lighting set-up: Good photography is not so much what one does with the camera as it is how one lights the object otherwise any well framed and in focus shot would be sufficient.
Got to agree that the pic of the Earl's hilt make me regret not buying one before and regret that I can't buy it right now unless the Stock Market goes way WAY up ....... This plus the fact that my budget for toys is already spoken for in the short term, but the Earl is certainly going to be one I will consider getting eventually.
One thing about the Earl that can't be portrayed by any website picture is the sheer joy in handling one. It easily is the best handling production sword of its type (type XVIII longswords) that I have ever had the pleasure of handling. The next best would the Arms and Armor Durer or the Hanwei/Tinker longsword. However the Earl in my opinion is the best. I am so happy that I purchased one that words can not describe it fully. :-)
It helps a lot also that it looks so cool too though. ;-)
It helps a lot also that it looks so cool too though. ;-)
Bryce (and any others) how does the Earl compare to the Regent? Are they similar or does the differing furniture have a major effect on handling?
| Paul Watson wrote: |
| Bryce (and any others) how does the Earl compare to the Regent? Are they similar or does the differing furniture have a major effect on handling? |
I've cut with both, but not back to back and not for the purposes of comparison. Both are a joy to cut wih. I prefer the Regent's looks, but that's personal preference.
| Paul Watson wrote: |
| Bryce (and any others) how does the Earl compare to the Regent? Are they similar or does the differing furniture have a major effect on handling? |
There is a difference in dandling, but then I have the old blade on the Regent and the new one on the Earl, so that may account for some of it.
However the biggest difference is the handle. The Regent's handle is much thinner (doens't look like much of a difference, but you'd be surprised), which makes the sword awkward to handle, at least for me. I like to do solo drills with all of my longswords, and the Regent almost flew out of my hands once. As I practice in a concrete driveway, that would have been a disaster of epic proportions.
If I wear gloves, the Regent's handle goes from bad to great, even if the gloves are thin. Conversely, the facets of the Regent's handle make it easier to control edge alignment, both with and without gloves.
I am tempted to have someone redo the grip and glue some wood slats under the leather to make it beefier.
Which handle you will prefer is up to you, of course, but if you're the kind of person that likes a beefier grip, go for the Earl. If you prefer a thinner grip, go for the Regent. These swords have too much meat to control well if the handle doesn't work for you.
(I just noticed Joe's question above...my three favorite Albions are the Brescia, the Earl and the Talhoffer)
| Michael Edelson wrote: |
|
However the biggest difference is the handle. The Regent's handle is much thinner (doens't look like much of a difference, but you'd be surprised), which makes the sword awkward to handle, at least for me. I like to do solo drills with all of my longswords, and the Regent almost flew out of my hands once. As I practice in a concrete driveway, that would have been a disaster of epic proportions. |
Michael,
Just to note, I've seen/held at least 3 different versions of grips on different Regents, depending on what era they were made in. Mine is the middle of the three I've seen. The most recent grip I saw was wider and thicker than mine. The earliest I saw was thinner than mine. Of the three, I prefer mine (fortunately). :)
Albion Europe's new site has quite amazing photos:
http://www.albion-europe.com/swords/swords-by...?model=104
Patinated Earl at the end of the gallery. :P
http://www.albion-europe.com/swords/swords-by...?model=104
Patinated Earl at the end of the gallery. :P
| Chad Arnow wrote: |
|
Michael, Just to note, I've seen/held at least 3 different versions of grips on different Regents, depending on what era they were made in. Mine is the middle of the three I've seen. The most recent grip I saw was wider and thicker than mine. The earliest I saw was thinner than mine. Of the three, I prefer mine (fortunately). :) |
Curious. I've handled only two of them, not including mine, but they seemed similar.
Have you ever picked up Patrick Kelly's old Regent? If so, which variety of grip was that?
Thanks for the replies Michael and Chad. The Regent I used to own was one of the 3pound 4 ounce versions. A lot lighter than stated on their site. The waisted grip definitely widened for both the top and bottom sections towards the middle riser. I once asked a question here about the faceted grip and the only comments I can recall getting were to do with style. I always thought there must have been some martial reason for the faceted grip, so thanks for pointing that out Michael.
I find it amazing to hear people say these robust XVIIb's aren't as quick as the XVb's, because in two hands the Regent seemed very quick to me, so the likes of the Talhoffer must be scary quick.
I find it amazing to hear people say these robust XVIIb's aren't as quick as the XVb's, because in two hands the Regent seemed very quick to me, so the likes of the Talhoffer must be scary quick.
I re-gripped my Regent and used a cord wrap to add some thickness before adding the leather over-wrap. I removed a bit of wood from the edges of the core to try to maintain the same overall width as the original. The added girth wasn't much but made a world of difference in feel and overall confidence in handling. Almost like a different sword entirely.
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