There's been a lot of negative commentary about some of Albion's business practices recently. Admittedly, I've been part of some of that. However, it is important to remember that however aggravating some things are, Albion still does a lot of things really well. I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but now is as good a time as any, so here goes.

Back in August, my Sovereign picked up a nick on its blade. I was at a gathering where there were a lot more swords than space to safely put them all. A group of swords, my Sovereign included, was leaning up against a table. One sword fell and knocked the rest into each other. End result: my sword fell to the ground and another bounced its edge off the Sovereign's. This put a decent sized nick (.003" x .025") in the edge, about two inches from the blade's base.

When it comes to caring for my arms & armour I feel they must be properly cared for and were probably very well-maintained in-period. I like to keep my swords as undamaged as possible. For me, a nick or active corrosion is not "character," it's damage. The nick bugged the heck out of me.

I contacted Mike at Albion to see what the fix might cost. I wanted the nick removed, and the blade polished and re-sharpened. It had rusted some when it was shipped one time, and had some small pits in the fuller that I couldn't get out when I cleaned it. The process of cleaning the rust had also left it pretty dull, as I had to scrub all the way to the edges to remove rust.

Mike quoted me a price and timeframe, and I sent the sword back. In the end, it shipped back to me a few days later than it was supposed to, but that was no big deal to me. I handle delays of a few days much better than a few months. :) Mike told me that the amount of time it took to fix the sword should have pushed the price up farther than he quoted, but he stuck to his original estimate range, which I appreciated.

So how did it turn out? I'm very pleased with it. Jason Dingledine was very careful with how he fixed it. I was also lucky where the nick occurred, in the curve at the blade's base. The end result is that the formerly nicked side is a little less curvy than the other side. Mike showed the blade to Howy and Howy had to be told what had been done to it. I notice what was done, but I know what I'm looking for. Others I've showed it to agree that it was fixed very skillfully and only noticeable if you're really looking for it. The polish is even and the minute pits are gone, too. The blade is also scarily sharp, even sharper than when I first got it.

The fix does give the sword character. It gives it more of a hand-forged look, or the look of a sword that saw use,was damaged, and was fixed properly.

I'm very happy with how this all turned out. The timing, cost, and communication were good and the end result was better than I'd hoped for. :)

Adam,
You're really missing the point of this thread. It's about how the service was performed and how it turned out.

However... No one is debating that a nick isn't better than getting wounded. However, after the battle, any substantial damage likely would have been fixed as well as was possible if the time, money, and tools were available to do so. Not all damage requires extensive re-grinding either. This nick might have been fixable by me with a file, but I trusted Albion would do a much better job than I would. :)

We do see plenty of period originals with nicks that weren't fixed. What we don't know is if the damage happened several conflicts before the sword was retired or dropped in a lake, etc. or if the damage happened the last time it was used. If it was damage that would affect function or fit in a scabbard, I would guess that warriors would have it fixed if they could. Perhaps they didn't care. We don't know for sure, do we?

My point was simply that some people think your kit has be be beat up and/or corroded to be period-correct (ie. things that are in good shape and largely unblemished don't look real). I disagree and had my sword fixed. Simple as that.

Back to the thread....

In examining originals is easy to see that blades were sharpened many times, so they are barely simmetrical since sides in many specimens show various degree of resharpening that altered the original shape, sometimes substantially.

I haven't posted too often and hope to change that, and like Chad I noted the recent
thread here with regards to Albion Armourers. I can't speak for the performance of
their swords as I'm not -- as I say -- a cutter. But of the many swords I've ordered
from Albion, I've not been disappointed a single time by the sword I received; by the
time it took to get to me; or services I've requested. Like Chad, I have an Albion story
too ...

A few years back I'd purchased a first generation Pompeii gladius, unsharpened.
Some time passed and I decided to sell the blade but figured to get it sharpened
first. That done, the blade sold, but then the gent I passed it on to wrote me that
the sharpening had caused some cracks I hadn't picked up on.

To make a the story shortest, the gent trusted me enough to send the sword back
to me, and I contacted Albion. Not only did they take the sword in for a look, they
ended up replacing it with the next generation model, no extra cost. If that's not
taking care of your customers AND your swords, I don't know what is ...

Chad, thanks for the input/feedback.
I've been pondering an Albion blade for a little while, and was puzzling over the packages offered to go with it, and wondered whether it was worthwhile. I appreciate the insight.

As to other comments regarding this, I think the role of a squire as a knight-in-training and caring for the weapons probably was a great load off the warrior's shoulders. I know the prospect of fixing a nick in a blade doesn't appeal to me, simply because I don't have the time anymore to sit and work on the steel.

I would like to echo Thomas' question.

I own a number of Albions but have not subscirbed to any of their maintenance packages since I have no intention of putting any of my blades in a position that might result in damage to them. However, accidents do happen i guess.

I would also be interested in hearing from those who have sent blades to Albion for repairs as to what they paid Albion for the work. More specifically, I would be interested in knowing what kind of pricing spread there is between work completed under the pre-paid plan as opposed to outside of it.

Andy