CS is 'back in black' on KOA with their 'Man-at- Arms' collection in the new arrivals section. Great blades at great prices! The zweihander is on my must-have list. :D Check 'em out!.......McM

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A Cold Steel Zweihänder on your must-have list? You mean this one?

I like cold steel knives, and two handed swords are my current area of interest, but this one has no appeal to me. The dimensions all seem off. It lacks... Charm? I'm not sure what, but for some reason it's not for me. For a beater two hander I'll keep my Lowlander.

http://kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=PC2065

years ago I was attracted to this two hander - but after researching originals I've trended away from it. its proportions are odd, if it had 10 more inches of blade it would fit into more historical specs, I also think it needs some profile taper.

cold steel's products are no joke from a material perspective I think they make something enjoyable for people who want to have a functional piece.

At the reduced prices, I think these are a pretty good deal. I've yet to own a CS sword, but I've owned several knives and tomahawks. CS's products really are serious gear. I personally like the 'all black' look on these items.....gives them a kinda fantasy look, which I don't mind at all. If their great sword can handle all of the abuse Daniel Tosh (Tosh.0) gave one before the pommel broke.....well ....that says volumes. It's a wonder the fool didn't kill himself or someone else. :wtf: .......McM

The cold steel swords are built like tanks, with all the positive and negative that entails.

By that, I imagine that you mean their blade geometry is undeveloped, and they weigh more than they should.

Well I have a second gen cs its on its way to me in a few weeks. Apparently its quite a good sword though I am thinking of using a stone to grind down the central ridge as the diamond geometry is a bit too much.

I kinda feel like they need to offer their bastard sword, with that nice fluted scent stopper pommel, with a more complex, ringed hilt design. Something historically plausible for the early 16th century to compete with the hanwei rhinelander and other swords like it.

I'd definitely pick one up as a project blade (hint hint, CS)

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1000 hours in photoshop; the bastard with a cutback guard from their zweihander

That looks totally kick-ass, Tom. I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Great chop-job. :lol: :D :D :D ........McM

Some of them weigh more than they should, and some of them are OK. Some of their overweight swords are OK by typical replica standards. People keep saying that their swords are overweight, are tanks, clunkers, etc. But this doesn't look to be true from the numbers.

Their 1796LC sword, at about 1kg, is overweight by about 100g/3-4oz, but is the lightest readily available replica. A bigger problem is that both that extra weight, and the non-extra weight, is in the wrong place.

The dadao, at 1.3kg is a perfectly reasonable weight.

The grosse messer at 1.6kg is way overweight.

The hand-and-a-half, at 1.4kg looks OK for the size.

The tulwar is overweight, at 1.35kg.

The Italian longsword is light.

Of their 3 jian, 2 are OK, and 1 is overweight.

Their Norman sword is OK.

Shamshir is good, maybe a little light compared to antiques.

Spadroon looks OK for weight (but I don't know how antiques compare).

The Viking sword is a good weight for a Viking sword (alas, it isn't very Viking).

The Warrior katana is in the range of modern replicas (i.e., overweight compared to antiques).

Most of these listed by Timo have been reviewed over at SBG.

The spadroon doesn't look bad weight wise but the distal is horrid if comparing to historic blade cross sections. As with a lot of reproductions, they don't believe in dealing with the particulars. Then add a plastic grip and what do you have? A decorative hilt on a stick some will go ga ga for..

The run of US swords such as the Marine and army swords as well don't look bad on paper but I'd rather stick with the period swords widely available. The only pro I see is a sharp but heck, I have antiques I cut with to sooth my passions

This fancy sword attached starts at 9mm and thins to 1mm in an extreme concave distal. Some of the dozen or so spadroons I own are doggy compared to others I favor for handling but none of them start with stock as thin as the CS spadroon (which is more of a French de anglais blade). The simple ebony sword attached is a favorite "user" that cost $300 (more than 200 years old)

Cheers

GC.

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A blade not too unlike the CS

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raazzzzor sharp kinda and a lot of fun for the money