Karl Eide and I finally got our sabers yesterday. Been waiting quite a while since we ordered them, because they've been out of stock at 888knivesrus.com.

Gordon Hart of Schola Gladiatoria is certainly correct when describing it as a "gentlemans cleaver". This thing just seems to beg you to cut when you hold it. I havent cut with it yet, but I have a feeling it'll be a brutal cutter. definately tip heavy, but not as much as I expected it to be. I expected it to feel heavier and clumsier to be honest.

That said, my Albion Squire does feel light as a feather after swinging the saber around for a while.

The finish on the blade is nice, IMO. Not overly shiny, which I hate. You can see with the naked eye that the grinding of the fuller is a bit uneven in places, you can feel its slightly "bumpy" with your fingers when you clean it with a cloth. But I suspect the originals are like that as well. Perhaps someone who has originals could confirm or deny this? There are no visible grind marks though. Certainly better than I expected for a sword that cost $216, including the scabbard. Amazing value for money IMO.

One minor gripe is that the chape of the scabbard is loose, and has messed up a little of the leather, but its easily fixable, and should be unnoticable when I clear it up. Other than that, the scabbard is good, with a nice, snug fit.

Overall, I'm very, very happy. A good, historically accurate sword with a nice leather scabbard for $216 seems pretty unbeatable to me at the moment. Highly recommend it.

I hope it does not break on you like my Cold Steel "Grosse Messer" did at the hilt, from cutting wood boards, although there was not so much as a nick in the blade. Three emails to Cold Steel on the topic were sent, not one reply!

Until the fact that they never replied, I had a very high opinion of Cold Steel, as indeed I found my Grosse Messer to be a very good bang for the buck at $169.00 which is the price at www.kultofathena.com, however the list price is $299.00 at Cold Steel. I was very impressed by the fact that "Ryan" the owner of Kult of Athena offered to do something for me if Cold Steel failed to do something for me. However, I advised Ryan that in no way shape or form was it Ryan's responsibility to compensate me and I kindly refused his offer based on principle.

You will probably be very happy so long as you do not try to cut any dried pine boards like I did with the Grosse Messer, but once again in all fairness, there was not the least amount of damage to the blade. It broke at the rivet proximal to the crossguard where there was a hole drilled through the tang. So I am going to have some fun and cut into the blade to make my own new tang for a new hilt and make some kind of a falchion sword out of it. Seven plus years as a custom cabinet maker should be of help, but if I get stuck I have no doubt that one of the fine members of this very fine website will have good advice for me.

Good luck and have a lot of fun with your new saber!

Sincerely,

Bob