Today's update:

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Windlass Steelcrafts Crusader Sword
A hands-on review by Mark Mattimore

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Last Legend Generation 2 Lucerne Sword
A hands-on review by Bill Grandy

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Last Legend Generation 2 12th Century Sword
A hands-on review by Bill Grandy

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Windlass Steelcrafts High Middle Ages Dagger
A hands-on review by Mark Mattimore


As always, you can see our Complete History of Updates listed right from our home page.

Very good and informative articles that don't pull any punches but don't trash the product either.

Some of the aesthetic flaws I could live with and fix with a little dulling of surfaces or a little antiquing ( Can vary from giving a light patina to a more deeply etched surface ).

The handling of the swords seem to vary from good to mediocre but not really bad and at least deserve being considered functional. Heat treat seems to also be good so we are out of the decorator niche.

As some of the makers are listening to suggestions, some of the subtleties that are mostly sculptural can in time be refined as the distributors / designers try to communicate these to the factories making the swords ( or other weapons ).

The local designers are probably working mostly from pictures and that would explain why an outline drawing of the swords would look very good but the 3D interpretations need more knowledge of historical swords and more graceful lines.

In any case reviews of lower end but still worth the money ( or almost ) swords is very useful and interesting.

Well, many thanks to Mark and Bill for their well written articles.

Nice reviews Bill and Mark. It is always good to see "no punches pulled" reviews done of products that are "okay" but could use some refining. Also good to see lower priced products reviewed with the same respect afforded something costing 4-5 times as much. Great update guys. Congrats!

-Greg

It's nice to see some of the more inexpensive swords reviewed. While I recognize that the reviews here provide more information than just the perceived value, the price point is often what I focus on in review of a lower priced sword. This is useful because I already know that the more expensive brands are good quality, but I don’t always know what to think of windlass and other comparable brands. Some models are better than others; these kinds of reviews give me an idea of the ones that might meet my expectations.

Well done reviews, Mark and Bill.

As noted by others, it is good to see some time and effort devoted to the lower end of the price/value continuum. It is helpful for folks who don't want to spend a lot of money to get an unbiased idea of what this level of pricing can buy. It is also helpful as a point of comparison for those who might be willing to cough up more dough for a higher end piece, but aren't sure if the extra money is really warranted for their own needs and budget.

Thanks goes out to Clyde from Last Legend for providing the swords as loaners for the hands-on reviews.

Cheers!

Great review, I've been interested in MRL daggers for a long time. Do you think it's worth sharpening them or are they better just as decorative pieces? Are they very strong?

I can't find this particular dagger available on the MRL site. I was also interested in their silver handled dagger is there any information available on that?

J