Zack,

That Boat-shell Hilted Sword is Beautiful! Would you be so kind as to tell me how much it was in an email? Such a roomy looking hilt for a late period sword. Very nice! How is the balance?

Albion Crecy and DBK Scabbard.
I’ve had the Crecy for a few weeks now but have been holding off posting until my Scabbard arrived.

Sorry pics from my iPhone

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Funny, I never posted on this thread before. I guess because I buy lots of swords and only some are worth going into in detail, which I usually do as a review or as part of some themed thread. But here's one that I'm proud of, but of which not much new can be said. I just picked up this Tritonia from the classifieds. I've always wanted an XIIIb and this is a perfect example. Besides, its modeled on a Swedish sword and my mother is Swedish, so that fills a hole in my collection. I quite like the handling - solid but not too hard to control. Despite its considerable weight it passes my 'reverse windmill test' - i.e., do the thing Aragorn did with the kid's rusty sword in 'Two Towers' and if your wrist doesn't crackle or hurt, its a keeper. It's a whole 'nother concept of blade design. Here it is between two type XII swords to emphasize the breadth of blade near the tip. Thanks for reading/looking, -JD

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That's a beautiful trio. I'm glad that you shared it.

J.D. Crawford wrote:

Despite its considerable weight it passes my 'reverse windmill test' - i.e., do the thing Aragorn did with the kid's rusty sword in 'Two Towers' and if your wrist doesn't crackle or hurt, its a keeper.

I love that you shared that. You know I'm going to go try this with all of my swords as soon as I post this... :)

Yes, that's a sword fit for a ranger (or a Dúnadan).

Eric Gregersen wrote:

J.D. Crawford wrote: Despite its considerable weight it passes my 'reverse windmill test' - i.e., do the thing Aragorn did with the kid's rusty sword in 'Two Towers' and if your wrist doesn't crackle or hurt, its a keeper. I love that you shared that. You know I'm going to go try this with all of my swords as soon as I post this... :)

Now that you mention it, I never thought to share that before but it works very well. If you can do this move comfortably, you've got a sword that can be handled with one hand in just about any maneuvre. There's a few other tricks I'm sure we all pick up to get that first impression. That gives me an idea for another topic...'what can you do to test if you you're holding a good sword'.

So I received my Vigil today and WOW it's a nice one!

The finish is excellent and what Albion is known for- a high precision of form of hilt, guard, and an even blade finish. The only "flaws" I could find were that one of the fullers on one side of the blade was a tiny bit longer than it's companion- and that this terminal section wasn't perfectly symmetrical. It's completely consistent with period examples as are the softer corners on the pommel which I specifically like. I point these out not as criticisms but just as observations.

The blade slot into the guard is especially tight and finely executed. The red grip is aesthetically pleasing and quite comfortable in a different way than the typical Albion treatment. This grip is the most textured in my collection so that will take some getting used to.

The handling, to me, reflects pretty closely to what others have said i.e. amazing. I suppose it would be best for me to point out the characteristics that stood out to me rather than simply repeat how great this sword handles. I personally don't find the size and proportions to be very imposing which is in contrast to perspectives noted by others. The sword looks almost compact to me but that could be due to the wide blade and spatulate point. I didn't purchase the Vigil seeking a comparitively large sword so I was ambivalent to my perceptions of it's size. I haven't caught the "huge sword fever" that seems to be going around myArmoury lately, but who knows if I will come down with a case later. ;)

The blade is quite thin, maybe as thin as my Reeve but it seems thinner to me, perhaps because the Vigil is a bit longer. The tip does "droop" 9couldn't think of a better term) a tiny bit when held horizontally but is certainly in no way "whippy" This characteristic is more noticable than on my other swords- which I like as a contrast and study in the engineering of the blade's shape.

So adding this to my Norman, Templar, Reeve, Barta type XI, Solingen, and Duke gives me a pretty nice picture of some representation of the period 1050-1300, atleast I think so. :)

Now I need a highly accurate Dane Axe and Spear (working on this one) and I can, well. . . uh. . . keep collecting stuff. . . . :\ :)

So I hope this wasn't too long and fits with this thread.

In short, I like my new sword.

Yeah Jeremy, good short review, but where's the sword porn? :)

My first sword, Albion Yeoman :D Sorry about the pic quality.

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I was recently given a Pattern 1821 light cavalry style sword. The sword has been buffed quite severely. I assume that the scabbard and hilt had taken the common brownish grey color so often encountered, and the previous owner or dealer decided it would be better if it was shiny. If the blade was ever etched, all traces are gone. So in most respects it is a very plain sword with nothing to set it apart. However one interesting feature is actually its lack of a feature. It does not have, nor has it ever had, a proof disc. As can be seen in the photos, the ricasso has no recess for a disc, nor are there any traces of government or unit stamps (in case one might wonder if it was an NCO's sword).

I have not measured the blade, but it is the same length as the blade on my other P1821 LC officer's sword, so about 34.5" The pommel is stepped like many Royal Artillery officers' swords, but I know that there are many exceptions and that cavalry swords are found with stepped pommels and RA swords with chequered and domed pommels.

Based on the grip shape and length, my guess is that it dates to the 1870s-80s.

In the end, it is a plain P1821 style sword with little to nothing to indicate its origins. It is a good example of the damage caused by over cleaning/uninformed restoration.

Still, it is a great gift! :)

Just finished this one:

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I picked my new 12013 sword from Lutel-Handicraft this Wednesday and I’m so impressed by this sword that I really have to share my newest toy with you. My choice of this particular sword maker was based on favourable reviews published on myArmoury and other internationals forums. It’s really interesting that Lutel’s swords are not very popular on forums based here in the Czech Republic as they are considered to be heavy a and not really historically accurate. To be honest I had a lot of doubts after reading some of the Czech reviews, but back to my sword.
I ordered it sharp and it’s really sharp, without any secondary edges. The sword and the belt were also slightly customised - no false riccaso, different cross-guard, new buckle ad no rivets on belt. The weight of my sword is only 1,29 kg (2,84 pounds), catalogue weight is 1,45kg so sword is lighter than it supposed to be, what a nice surprise. I know that there are some aspect which people from Living history wouldn’t agree (fuller is grinded, pommel is screwed and scabbard hasn’t got a wooden core), but I do think that it looks like “real” medieval sword. At the end I would like to admit that I not an experienced collector as I this is my second sword so I could be wrong about my sword. No more words let the pictures speak for themselves.

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John Lundemo (Odin) Longsword: