Interesting there are no pictures of this sword up on the Albion webiste yet, but I have one in hand now.

Somewhat to my surpise this is a much different sword than the Regent. Beyond appearance and pommel, its 5 oz. lighter than its older brother. The blade profile has visibly changed, the hollow grinding may be more aggressive and the tip is not as accutely pointed as my Regent. This is actually annoying as it will not fit in my Regent's scabbard from CF as I had hoped it would.

There is more here than a sword with new fittings.

Edit to Add - The scabbard thing is not the end of the world. I think the changes are for good reasons, its just mildly annoying as it means something else to buy. The sword is very nice.

I've owned two Regents. The second would not fit the scabbard I made for the first. I couldn't get the sword even halfway into it. This was a bummer, for sure, but normally I would not be surprised by this. Having said that, however, Albion has set an expectation for more consistency. I would typically expect a lot of variance in swords, but Albion has really reset that for their own items. Given this, I understand the frustration.

Sorry, Joe. I know you waited a long time for this one.

Joe,

First, sorry to hear you can't use your scabbard on the earl.

Can you please post some pictures? Do like the feel of it better than the regent? This is one of Albion's swords I have been looking forward to seeing.

Well I hope I don't sound all dissapointed in these posts.

This Earl is actually a brilliant piece of work, and I honestly think this probably should have been the rev 1 version of the Regent blade. I do not think what I have is a consistency issue. Rather I think its a case of me getting the 1.51 version of the blade this time, instead of the 1.0 or 1.01version which is what I got the last time.

If this is a case of a product evolving, as I think it is, Albion really should take a page from Atrim and talk to people about changes they are intentially making to improve products and why they are making them as thing happen. Gus does a bang up job of this. It removes uncertainy and it emotionally invests many of his customers in the process to the point that they become advocates. i'm sure it also has downside, but from what I've seen the upside is significant. Anyway, a wall of silence regarding things like this, for any reason, is a missed marketing opportunity.

Back the the Earl in hand, not fitting the Regent scabbard is a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. Given the interval (admittedly a huge annoyance), this is not a big surprise when I take the time to think about it. I think they probably changed the blade profile to strengthen the sword, at least that's what it looks like (to me). Given that there was at least one report of an early Regent tip getting broken off in shipping for whatever reason after it breached its shipping container, it is probably a good idea to change a bit at the tip.

The new (?) Earl blade profile is actually pretty nice without the needle tip. Its blade seems more robust, even though its lighter. I need to ge some decent weather to play with the Earl and Regent at the same time. As of this moment, I suspect the Earl is a better user, while the Regent might be a better looker.

that's a shame- soory to hear about that. :cry:

When did you recive the sword? I too would like to see pics.

Hope things work out for you,

Aaron

Hi Joe

Congrats on the Earl! This is one piece I've been eyeing for a while. Speaking of waits, I had been waiting for the Vassal since I bought my Regent...it was worth the wait, as it's an awesome little sword and quite an eye opener. I do have to agree with you about their feedback and blade revisions. Tapping into a customers thoughts can really help a business out. Albion so far has been great to work with...Mike's a great guy and responds quickly to e-mails... though little things such as their blade revisions and updates could definitely help a customer feel more involved and that much more sure about their purchase. I think my Regent is the one you may have referred to in the shipping mishap, as I had a topic on here when it happened. Having worked in the shipping industry, I pretty much knew how it happened, and the sword came back packaged better (and with a less beat up box thru the system). I've seen packagesbeat up like that before...it's hard to imagine what a box goes thru unless you witnessed it. Anyways...back on topic...How much difference is there in the blades between the Regent and Earl? I had figured that I already had one, so I shouldn't get the other, but if they are different animals I may have an excuse to start saving up...definitely please post some pics when you get a chance!

Jeremy,

The difference is not subtle, and its not glaring either.

Clear as mud now? :D

I think its something I'll have to show with photos to really get across, but the Regent (my Regent) has a very acute extended tip that I'm tempted to describe as delicate. The Earl comes to a point in a more even fashion and results in a tip that looks like it has more material behind it. I suspect its stronger based on my initial observations (only). If the blade change is intentional, I commend it. If its accidental, I think it should become intentional.

As I noted, the really interesting thing about the Earl is the change in weight. The Earl is roughly a 1/3 of a pound lighter than the Regent I have. Its worht noting that I do have an early Regent (in fact I think the first) so maybe the Earl is closer to what current Regent blades are. I need to do some cutting and playing to be sure, but I think the Earl might be the better sword of the two.

It would be nice if somebody from Albion stops by and sheds some light. I'm telling everyone there is a significant blade change, everyone is assuming there is a reason for it, but we don't know what the reason is. Unfortunately information voids tend to become problematic when filled by speculation.

Joe;

Sounds like a great sword and a sound design if it's more than a one - off with a different and unique to it profile.

I sort of like a well reinforced point a bit overbuilt on general principal as long as it's consistent with the intended use.

The deeper hollow grinding must be visually dramatic. :cool:

Oh, with scabbards I had Russ Ellis make my Tritonia scabbard based on his own Tritonia: I think we were both crossing our fingers that it would fit properly. This may have been unwise and maybe a false assumption but I took this calculated risk because with a Museum Line sword I very much assumed that the dimensional accuracy of blade profile and distal taper would be kept to very close tolerances: At least more consistent than the Next Generation swords that don't try to duplicate the exact dimensions of an historical swords.

Not a criticism of Albion quality control by the way as individual swords of the same model can vary in subtle ways and all be made to a high standard with these small differences having little measurable impact on aesthetics or handling.

Oh, by the way my Tritonia scabbard fit perfectly. ;) :lol:

Wow, this is a great way to start a new day!

Phew!
"Wall of Silence" indeed!!!
I would have thought I was posting too often, rather than too seldom...Silly me.
I can certainly learn much from Gus when it comes to communication and internet activity. I shall take that to heart.
Since the start of this forum I have posted some 670+ posts. Gus has posted some 570+ posts on this forum alone, not counting the forums where he is also acting as moderator (how on earth can the man find the time!?!?!).

Another cause for my failiure in communication must be the fact that I tend to post on general questions on historical weapons as often as I post on Albion related topics. This obviously limits the time I shed light on the latest news from Albion.

Back to topic:
Joe, your thoughts and observations on this are mostly correct. The Regent blade has seen a deliberate reworking of the point section. This was done perhaps one year ago. Sorry to have missed this vital info. Beleive it or not: it is an easy thing to do, when much is brewing and many models are being worked on simultaneously. The fact that it would be a problem that a new blade would not fit an old scabbard did not even enter my mind.
I was focused on making sure the sword was as good as it ever could be. Sorry about any frustration this has caused you!

I'm surprised that Albion didn't show us the Earl's hilt waxes when they first came in. They have done so with every other model so far, and it has always been fun to look at them.

Now we need pictures of the finished product!

@Joe

On the other hand this means Albion has it´s good reputation, though it is still lacking in Germany but due to Soren we can hope, just due to confident customers experiencing their products by themselves and not due to the marketing.

In some point of view I personally would have a problem with a company with a kind of "overmarketing" thing.

Which of course does not mean that a blade version change could not be commented. This situation makes me worry, that if I would like to buy a scabbard for my Crecy or the Sherriff which is to come would be a fitting problem.

Joe:

We sent you the sword in advance of posting it because you had waited so long for it. We thought that was a good thing. Apparently it wasn't and I apologise. As my old boss used to say: "No good deed goes unpunished."

Sorry I could not get photos up in time - I have found with the hollow-ground blades especially, that I get the best photos outdoors. Like you, we have had a lot of rain lately.

And I am sorry that we fall so short of your expectations on apparently every level of our business.

Best,

Howy