Well been drooling over this one for a while and I just couldn't take waiting any longer so good idea or bad as far as my bank account is concerned I " bit the bullet " and amputated some cash from my account and bought the OlliN Falchion which is a version of the Thorpe Falchion.

I did consider other possible Falchions that are also very appealing like the Albion Vassal but the deciding factor was blade length which longer with the OlliN version and closer to the average two edged one handed sword of 30" to 33" sword length.

The shorter length falchions and later messer are close to 26" / 28" in length and although maybe handier I sort of like the idea of a full length blade better.

My first falchion and also a deciding factor because it does fill an unfilled niche in my collection.

I may have to make my own scabbard though but this may be easier with a single edged sword: Making the wood part should be easy but I'm uncertain if I will commit to covering it with leather as my first reason for it is just storage and I don't know if I want to put in the effort ? In any case once the wood core is done I might have a local friend cover the wood with leather as he has made a few scabbards for me in the past, and this will avoid having to ship the falchion or have him hold on to it during the month or two it might take for him to finish the scabbard ( Metal scabbard furniture is another problem to solve for a falchion )

Anyway, I usually hesitate to buy swords that don't come with at least a minimal scabbard but I can at least cobble up a storage one quickly ...... I'm good with carving and hand tools I'm just too lazy to usually wanting to commit the time to make a scabbard. ;) :lol: I have made a few crude one's in the past but the excellent DIY scabbard project by some of you out there, not to mention the talented professional makers have unfortunately raised my expectation about how crude is too crude and I might have to put some real effort into a project .....

In any case this falchion is worth the effort and I can live scabbard-less for a while as the OlliN swords usually come in a nice wooden box that can be used for storage and " safe ' display.

Oh, here is a link to the KoA page showing the falchion:
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...Falchion+C

NOTE: Took a nice stiff drink and said to myself " why not " and spent the money ..... too late now. ;) :p Oh, and folks " Don't drink and Paypall. ;) :p :lol: Oh, well sometimes life is just too short to not indulge ourselves. :wtf: ;)

This Topic ( Linked below ) also was a deciding factor in purchasing the OlliN falchion, as I remembered the Topic and did a search to refresh my memory that the OlliN falchion was based on the Thorpe falchion although their production version seem more a generic copy of the type or a very similar one than the full custom collaboration with Christian fletcher and OlliN.

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13370&start=0

Congrats on your purchase! :)

Jean,
Congrats! I've been very interested in that piece since I first saw it. Maybe someday you could impulse buy a digital camera instead of a sword so we could all see pics of your ever-growing collection. :)

A very good choice Jean. I have handled a copy of this sword and got to meet Mark and Matt at the same time. I could only dry handle it as it was in a crowded area but the blade has a great presence as well as being nicely balanced. Plus Mark and Matt are great guys as you are well aware of after the Ravenwolf project they made for you. In fact it was one of the things I spoke with them about when I met them.

Congrats on a beauty Jean! I really like the guard on this one. Something about the rounded ends with the cut outs is just plain cool! Enjoy it!

Excellent Jean! You will not be disappointed. It is an amazing piece!

Congratulations Jean,

That's a really fearsome looking weapon and at 3lbs.2oz. I am sure it will come with a bit of "punch".

The folks at Ollin seem to really capture the complex blade design here.

It's nice to see that the KOA lists this fine sword as "battle ready". :) ;)

Just got the usual e-mail notice from Kult of Athena telling me that the sword has been shipped and with the tracking number. :) :cool:

No camera? They are like $20 at Wal-Mart, man. Do the community a favor and get yourself one. If moneys an issue, I will Amazon you one as a gift. :lol:

Jean, Im going to echo all the other statements of desire to see photos of your collection. Really i think it would be awesome to see your collection featured in the collection gallery! :D

Just arrived and it's really impressive and big and scarry in a good way.

Will get back to it in a few days with a review and " maybe pics " but no promises about the pics. ;) :p :lol:

The quick version is that this is a very good buy and different from the shorter messers or falchions as it should handle more like a very long one hander.

Just as a teaser I would say that in handling it's presence feels halfway between my Huge RavenWolf sword and my Albion Tritonia or Gaddhjalt: It's far from ponderous but one must work with the mass rather than fight it to change guards but I'm not as experienced with onehanders than with longswords as far as guards or fencing techniques are concerned but it does feel easy to pivot around. :D