Could anyone who is willing and owns one of albions squire line 13th C Knightly sword post any pics you have or will take of the sword. I'm trying to decide on buying this sword or dropping the extra money on a next gen. The problem here is that I can't find many pics of this sword besides the limited angle shots on Albion's site and a couple of other places I've hunted up.

I'm particularly interested in blade views at different angles, a couple good tip pics, and a side view of the hilt section. I'm just trying to get an overall feel for what this sword looks like before I drop any cash. Thanks a lot for anyone willing to help!

Jonathan.

From Anton's thread, comparing the Squire Line Bastard Sword to the Next Gen Mercenary:

The swords: http://www.ptah.demon.nl/Swords/1.jpg
Tips: http://www.ptah.demon.nl/Swords/2.jpg
Edges: http://www.ptah.demon.nl/Swords/3.jpg
Pommels: http://www.ptah.demon.nl/Swords/4.jpg
Grips: http://www.ptah.demon.nl/Swords/5.jpg
Guards: http://www.ptah.demon.nl/Swords/6.jpg

so the Squire Line swords don't have their grips covered with cord. i assume thats for keeping the prices low. i guess that Maestro Line will come with leather over wood too. i wonder if i will miss the cord when handling them. can anyone confirm that the grip is less firm with these?

I wasn't aware of that. Thanks.

i have to admit that i read the review when it first appeared some time ago. i forgot about that part. so thank you for reminding.
hopefully the handling of the maestro line swords will be fine. however the grip is made i expect it to fit its purpose.

I too thought that i read something like "stabilized birch wrapped with cord and covered with leather.." on the NG pages. i might be wrong or did Albion changed that? at least i cant find it anymore, except on the museum line pages.
are both methods historical accurate?

This is kind of derailing the topic (or going along with the existing derailment :p ), but if you are concerned about the grip on the squire or maestro line (or even the next generation line, for that matter) swords, you can always rewrap the grip yourself. That is exactly what I intend to do when I order my SL Knightly (I'll gladly post pictures of it when I get it, but that will probably be several months away). For those of you who haven't seen the information that Sean Flynt posted about grip wrapping, check out these topics:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=1846

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=1814

I also posted a little bit of information that might help you out:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=3808

Between those topics, and the articles on Albion's site, you should be able to wrap a pretty mean grip in no time. You might even get addicted and consider customizing Mag-Lites or Playstation controlers.

As for pictures of the sword in question, the best pictures that I have seen of the grip are in this post:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=3635

I haven't seen much of the tip, but I think you can get a fairly decent idea of that from the picture on Albion's SL Knightly page. I'm sure that is not exactly what you are after, but I hope it helps a bit.

-Grey

Can someone who owns one tell me or show a pic of the tip area of the knightly? I am curious as to if the point is sharp like the Albion website says it is or if it if like the bastard's tip and pretty blunt.
Thanks.

My impression is that the tip will be blunt like that of the bastard. I would not, however, use them as a direct comparison. The bastard, as a type XVa, is designed to have a sharper point; that means that any amount of rounding or blunting in that area will be very noticable. The knightly, however, is a type XII, which means that the tip is naturally going to be more rounded (do not confuse "a good point" with "a very sharp point"). Type XII swords are capable of thrusting, but they were primarily designed for cutting, and thus were not as pointy. The opposite is true of type XV's and XVa's.

My guess, based on the picture of the SL Knightly on Albion's site, is that the point of a sharpened version of this sword could penetrate an unarmoured target fairly easily, but would not be as effective against armour.

If you get this sword, would you get it sharpened, or leave it blunt? That is something you might want to consider. Also, you stated in your original post that you were debating between this sword and the Next Gen Knight. If you are anywhere at all close to having the money, I would recomend springing for the Knight. If you can't afford that, then obviously go with the SL Knightly (and I would pay the extra $25 to have it sharpened, but that's just me).

-Grey

I know your interested in the Knightly SL, but I have the 13th Great SL and I'm more than pleased with it. A very good buy for the Price, solid and rugged. I should think that the Knightly SL would be no different.