Today's update:
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Albion Mercenary and Constable Swords
A hands-on review by Chad Arnow
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Albion Late 15th C. Bastard Sword
A hands-on review by Bill Grandy
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Albion Armorers Talhoffer Sword
A hands-on review by Bill Grandy
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Albion Armorers Mercenary Sword
Added to Chad's Collection
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Wallpaper: Albion Constable and Mercenary
Created by Nathan Robinson
As always, you can see our Complete History of Updates listed right from our home page.
| Considering all of this week's latest additions, please rate the quality of our efforts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Total Votes : 48 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bill, excellent review of the Talhoffer! As a Talhoffer-owner myself, I couldn't have written it better. The black grip looks cool, but I prefer mine in oxblood. :p
And Chad, I enjoyed your review as well. For some reason, I've never been drawn to the Merc, but the Constable may be my next. ;)
Ted
And Chad, I enjoyed your review as well. For some reason, I've never been drawn to the Merc, but the Constable may be my next. ;)
Ted
| Edward Hitchens wrote: |
| The black grip looks cool, but I prefer mine in oxblood. :p |
Funny you say that, I really regret getting black. It's too boring. :) I bought the sword knowing many of my students would use it for cutting, so I went with black, but man, everytime I see someone elses Talhoffer in a different color I'm jealous. :P I'm making up for this by getting a red scabbard, though!
Bill;
I wonder how the A & A Black Prince compares with the Talhoffer ? For one thing the Black Prince tapers to about 3/8" wide about 1/2" from the point and then curves rapidly to a point as opposed to the needle like strait tapering of the Talhoffer from 2" at the guard to the point.
On the one hand a very aggressive point versus a sturdier one less likely to bend or break off ! ( Maybe )
A small ogival point might be better for tip cuts also ? ( Needle versus spatulate type points where the spatulate is less likely to snag / drag in a cut. )
Oh, the point of balance on the A & A is about 2 1/2" from the guard with the Black Prince. ( Heavier Pommel I think ? )
Good reviews by the way and maybe we will get a full review of the Black prince sometime in the future so my questions should maybe wait then to be answered in full. ( Don't want to steal the thunder away from a future review. )
I wonder how the A & A Black Prince compares with the Talhoffer ? For one thing the Black Prince tapers to about 3/8" wide about 1/2" from the point and then curves rapidly to a point as opposed to the needle like strait tapering of the Talhoffer from 2" at the guard to the point.
On the one hand a very aggressive point versus a sturdier one less likely to bend or break off ! ( Maybe )
A small ogival point might be better for tip cuts also ? ( Needle versus spatulate type points where the spatulate is less likely to snag / drag in a cut. )
Oh, the point of balance on the A & A is about 2 1/2" from the guard with the Black Prince. ( Heavier Pommel I think ? )
Good reviews by the way and maybe we will get a full review of the Black prince sometime in the future so my questions should maybe wait then to be answered in full. ( Don't want to steal the thunder away from a future review. )
Good update! Chad is really making me like that Magenta grip color, too. It's nice to be able to read about both the wide and narrow Albion Type XVa's in the same update.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Talhoffer review has two Fit and Finish headers. Is there a reason for that? It seems to me that the first one should be taken out, as the info that follows it is related to handling.
-Grey
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Talhoffer review has two Fit and Finish headers. Is there a reason for that? It seems to me that the first one should be taken out, as the info that follows it is related to handling.
-Grey
| Jean Thibodeau wrote: |
| Bill;
I wonder how the A & A Black Prince compares with the Talhoffer ? |
Oh, they're completely different animals. I handled a Black Prince once a few years ago, and the Talhoffer feels more suited to cutting than the Black Prince does. I imagine that the Black Prince may have a sturdier tip, though I don't know for sure. But they handle very differently, from what I remember.
Nice update, I was really hoping for a review of the Talhoffer; you guys don't disappoint. Chad, congrats on the Mercenary, that Magenta grip looks ideal (mine is a little brighter than that).
Kenton
Kenton
Thanks for the kind words, guys. The Mercenary is a nice one. Of course, that didn't stop me from selling it for something I wanted more. ) I liked the Mercenary's Magenta so much that I ordered it on my Sempach.
I'm not a big fan of the Constable aesthetically, but that's just personal preference.
I'm not a big fan of the Constable aesthetically, but that's just personal preference.
Good reviews, I especially enjoyed reading Pamela's commentary :)
| Bill Grandy wrote: | ||
Oh, they're completely different animals. I handled a Black Prince once a few years ago, and the Talhoffer feels more suited to cutting than the Black Prince does. I imagine that the Black Prince may have a sturdier tip, though I don't know for sure. But they handle very differently, from what I remember. |
Something that could have been mentioned in these reviews of this typology is the rigidity, or lack thereof. The A&A sword is quite rigid and has a good stout point. It is a bit of a chore/trick to cut mats cleanly with but quite doable. It's mostly getting used to thinking a bit further back on the blade, Chad mentions this in his review.
This is among my favorite sword types, so I appreciate the reviews very much. The addition of a couple of thickness measurements in the review template might be beneficial, or comment regarding distal taper and rigidity.
I worry about these fine points that Albion is puting on a lot of their offerings but view some of these as less suited for armoured combat anyway.
Cheers
GC
Hi Glen,
The thing about the type XVa is that the broad typology is generally well suited to armoured combat, but quite often some pieces moreso than others. I haven't handled any antiques, but from discussing with other people who've had first hand knowledge, the XVs are definately stiffer than most broad bladed swords, but not necessarily all that stiff. The Talhoffer is a stiff sword, but not as stiff as some other XVs. It's hard to describe in text, but I fully believe that it would stand up to armoured combat fine, though perhaps a little more suited to unarmoured opponents than armoured. The Black Prince sword I'd say swings the other direction. Both are swords meant to be comprimises between the two types of combat. But remember that there is a huge amount of variation within any single typology (typology is just an artificial label, after all), and just because they started appearing around the time of more complete plate armour doesn't mean that they're all going to have the same geometry. Many period originals also have these very fine tips.
The thing about the type XVa is that the broad typology is generally well suited to armoured combat, but quite often some pieces moreso than others. I haven't handled any antiques, but from discussing with other people who've had first hand knowledge, the XVs are definately stiffer than most broad bladed swords, but not necessarily all that stiff. The Talhoffer is a stiff sword, but not as stiff as some other XVs. It's hard to describe in text, but I fully believe that it would stand up to armoured combat fine, though perhaps a little more suited to unarmoured opponents than armoured. The Black Prince sword I'd say swings the other direction. Both are swords meant to be comprimises between the two types of combat. But remember that there is a huge amount of variation within any single typology (typology is just an artificial label, after all), and just because they started appearing around the time of more complete plate armour doesn't mean that they're all going to have the same geometry. Many period originals also have these very fine tips.
| Glen A Cleeton wrote: |
|
Something that could have been mentioned in these reviews of this typology is the rigidity, or lack thereof. The A&A sword is quite rigid and has a good stout point. It is a bit of a chore/trick to cut mats cleanly with but quite doable. It's mostly getting used to thinking a bit further back on the blade, Chad mentions this in his review. This is among my favorite sword types, so I appreciate the reviews very much. The addition of a couple of thickness measurements in the review template might be beneficial, or comment regarding distal taper and rigidity. |
Glen,
We've thought about thickness measurements, but it's never become standard info in our reviews. For one thing, we don't want to provide easy shortcuts for makers by giving them critical info on competitor's designs. Also, many folks tend to get caught up in stats. A properly designed sword should handle well; listing all the minute details don't matter as much as overall handling the final analysis (at least in my opinion). We tend to only mention distal taper measurements as they affect performance as in Jeff Hsieh's Lutel longsword review.
As Bill mentioned, not all Type XVs will have the same amount of rigidity, so blanket statements to that effect put us on untenable ground. The only absolute is that there are no absolutes. :)
With the Mercenary & Constable, I think it's the blade width and COP that makes cuts more effective when moved back toward the guard. Those slender tips lack some blade mass that would aid the cut. It's interesting to see how cross-sections and blade tapers affect cutting. The Sempach's stout hex cross-section is no impediment to noodle cutting, but it hindered things a lot against harder targets (pumpkins).
I guess this is on topic, so I'll post it. Eric Wargo has this short vid that shows some test cutting with the Talhoffer on pumpkins that we did a little while back. The first person in the video is me, second is Eric, and third is Bob "The Butcher" Busch. :)
http://www.ericwargo.com/sword/about/testcutting.mov
http://www.ericwargo.com/sword/about/testcutting.mov
Bill,
You also did a review of the Sempach and Landgraf Type XVII swords. Numerically, they don't seem that much different from the Talhoffer (but numbers can be deceiving). How do you feel these two types compare?
You also did a review of the Sempach and Landgraf Type XVII swords. Numerically, they don't seem that much different from the Talhoffer (but numbers can be deceiving). How do you feel these two types compare?
| Felix Wang wrote: |
| Bill,
You also did a review of the Sempach and Landgraf Type XVII swords. Numerically, they don't seem that much different from the Talhoffer (but numbers can be deceiving). How do you feel these two types compare? |
Those guys are also very different in feel. Much stiffer, with a much less acute edge. I felt very comfortable halfswording with those XVIIs without gloves on than I do with the Talhoffer. The XVIIs, while still able to cut well enough, didn't feel as natural in the cut as the Talhoffer does. If I *knew* I was going to be in an armoured duel, I think I'd prefer the Sempach or Landgraf, but I'd still fair just fine with the Talhoffer.
Bill,
I agree wholeheartedly on the broad characteristics of any given typology. If the blade geometry can support a fine point when levered, it may well fit the purpose. I do know that fine points on working cutlery don't survive without maintenance. A point that digs at hard stuff usually ends up somewhat less pointy. Thus my take that some of these offerings might be less suited for heavy can opening.
Chad,
I can appreciate the reasoning for not including the hard data but feel all these reviews could have addressed the stiffness issue more rather than a little. I'm not saying a sword needs to be just so, I'm just left curious for the information.
What's interesting about some XV, XVa blades is that the cutting efficiency is less the foible side of the cop. With some it is a good bit hiltward of it (as in the case of the A&A BP) but the forward rotation point is still well out there.
Cheers guys
GC
I have been eyeing Albion's expansion on the typology and do appreciate the reviews
I agree wholeheartedly on the broad characteristics of any given typology. If the blade geometry can support a fine point when levered, it may well fit the purpose. I do know that fine points on working cutlery don't survive without maintenance. A point that digs at hard stuff usually ends up somewhat less pointy. Thus my take that some of these offerings might be less suited for heavy can opening.
Chad,
I can appreciate the reasoning for not including the hard data but feel all these reviews could have addressed the stiffness issue more rather than a little. I'm not saying a sword needs to be just so, I'm just left curious for the information.
What's interesting about some XV, XVa blades is that the cutting efficiency is less the foible side of the cop. With some it is a good bit hiltward of it (as in the case of the A&A BP) but the forward rotation point is still well out there.
Cheers guys
GC
I have been eyeing Albion's expansion on the typology and do appreciate the reviews
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