Background
I got this sword and scabbard a few months back. Played with it. Let it sit. Played with it some more. Let it sit a bit more. Played with it again. It’s a cycle I go through with all my new toys now because I tend to find that in the initial excitement regarding a piece I don't catch all the details of the piece. Good and bad. As excitement wears off my eye gets more critical and I'm better able to develop and informed opinion about what I have.
In'Carius Crafts operated out of Poland and is reachable primarily through Facebook. The smith has been prolific, and his timeline shows a nice diversity of work. I believe that it also shows that he is improving his game. Especially when comparing the sword, I have against some I've seen much earlier in this firm’s development. The products are, from my understanding, all hand forged in Poland. Blades are not milled from a billet. Its forge and hammer work. That makes sense because human hands leave clues behind that machines do not and there are clues that this sword was made by a human. Not a machine. I am at a point where I appreciate it.
Fast thoughts about handling
Weight and balance seem to be good. I have not cut with it but I'm confident it will perform fine. Grip is good. The ergonomics are good. Handle could be about 3-5 CM longer for my hand size, but that is a me thing and would probably require adding some length to the blade to offset. I find the sword easy to move and believe from dry handle that it will be durable.
Aesthetics
The scabbard might be the best part of the kit, although it does fit very tight, but I really like it. I'm still trying to get it broken in. It appears to be lined with wool. The sword overall is nice but there are imperfections. Lines are not all perfectly straight. However, the main issue to me is that the pommel is not properly centered on the handle and its symmetry is off. This is a shame since it bugs the hell out of me and detracts from the excellent inlay work done on it. On a handmade piece I'm sure it within the range of historical and it does not harm the weapon.
It just bugs me.
Since the pommel is peened with a block this is entirely correctable. I can think of several people in the US who could make this right without too much drama at a reasonable cost.
Why am I selling it?
The whole pommel thing just bugs me enough that I'm not going to be happy with this kit even if I do get it fixed. I've not been happy with my last three purchases from the EU so I think I just need to take my medicine and find another option. I would like to get enough for project down-payment that I've been eying in the states.
I spent $563 to get this sword and scabbard to me and waited 8 months.
I'd like to get $383 for the sword and scabbard.
For that I will cover shipping in the US and I will ship in a hard plastic gun case. Please consider this posting OBO and feel free to make offers. PayPal for payment and I'm not charging extra for it. Photos will come shortly.
More to come shortly!
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Here it is in the scabbard to give sense of overall package
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In the scabbard shot showing stitching on handle and scabbard
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The hilt and blade near the hilt
Will get to the pommel in next series
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Happy with how this photo came out...I think it gives a nice view of the sword
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Back in the scabbard again but you can see the nice inlay on the pommel
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Another glamor shot that I think cam out nice
That would be the pommel.
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This gives a good sense of how its not centered on the handle right. Its entirely fixable but I just don't want to much with it.
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This one really shows the asymmetry that is also a feature of the pommel
Also had a request for some stats on the sword. They will come shortly in a subsequent post. This post will add some more images of just the sword, in full length.
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Indoor near a window...lighting seems okay [ Download ]
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Some of the sizing is being tricky on these [ Download ]
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Last one for now [ Download ]
Blade length: 32 inches (82 cm)
Blade width (widest): 2 inches (5 cm)
Guard: 9.25 inches (24 cm)
Handle: 7.25 inches (18.5 cm)
Total length: 41.5 inches (105 cm)
Weight: 3.3 pounds (1490 grams)
Regarding the pommel.
The way I've described the issue that I see might be confusing some people. It is not that the pommel is misaligned with the handle, rather the pommel itself is not symmetrical. Becasue the pommel is not symmetrical the handle does not enter it in the center when viewed from the side. Simply put, the pommel faces are shaped differently enough that it cannot achieve an equal symmetry on both sides of the handle when viewed from the side.
In that sense it probably a wonderfully accurate, historical, hand made reproduction of a period pommel. It does not seem that our ancestors attached the same importance to symmetry that we do. They might not have cared about this pommel because the tool works. They also might not have had the ability to achieve it at a mass scale. At least not as we can today. Because of modern mass production symmetry has become associated as a mark of quality, and modern consumers have been trained to look for it.
Unfortunately, I am a modern consumer and value symmetry. The lack of it drives me nuts. I can understand why this is the case and why it should not matter in the instance, but my conditioning is strong. It does nothing to the handling or function of the sword. It is simply an aesthetic issue from my perspective as a modern consumer.
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