after drooling at the rather expensive albion roman swords i found this little beauty

http://armsofvalour.com/miva/merchant.mv?Scre...ory_Code=R

anyone got any opinions good or bad about this Roman Gladius "Mainz" Pattern (Steel to Steel) sword?

thanks in advance

Compared to the Albion piece, there are few similarities. Do you intend to use it in reenactment?

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The Albion Mainz

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The other one

I have a couple little problems with the "steel to steel" sword right off the bat:

Problem #1: That ain't a Mainz (correct spelling!). It's a Pompeii. The blade shape seems to be a pretty decent Pompeii pattern, which is fine; It just isn't a Mainz.
Problem #2: Those little steel ferrules (or whatever they are) bordering the grip, and that funky "gaurd" thing. Not really historically accurate.

It may be a perfectly fine working sword, it just doesn't measure up in terms of historical correctness.

Albion gladii are the best production gladii (in terms of historical accuracy and working performance) available. Save up if you must; you won't regret it.

Here's the Albion Pompeii for comparison:

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I will throw in a plug about the Kris Cutlery gladius. I own one and have never been dissatisfied. It is a sharp and excellent cutter, light, and comes with a very nice wooden scabbard. It is 195.00 and here is a link, http://www.kriscutlery.com/Kris/medieval/roman.html
I had a review posted on the swordforums a while back (www.swordforum.com) if you are familiar.
Take Care,
Brian

While running through Ebay i came across a couple of bits you might want to check out,
1,Gladius in the uk,£49.00,EN45 steel can be left blunt or sharpened,REF 2205713030,
2, it is named as a Bob Engnath blade (one of the sword gods)Blade only,REF2205752775, but if your keen on this ask around as to the authenticity as the great Bob Engnath sadly passed away,
Hope these help,
Best,
Lee.

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:)

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Pics courtesy of Polishguys on Ebay,
:cool:

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thanks guys you have made me totally change my mind .. and im back looking at the albion ones again :)

check out the review, Albion Triumvirate of Gladii, if you haven't already.

Hey Mr. Watts.Have you checked out the MRL Mainz Gladius?
That one looks pretty good to me. Not as high quality as the Albion of coarse but if i remember correctly same price range as the steel-to-steel, and more historically accurate.