Stats:

Weight: 1 lbs 15 ounces
Overall Length: 24 inches
Grip: 5 inches
Blade Length: 19 inches from guard
Point of Balance: approx. 3 and ¼ inches from guard
Center or Percussion: approx. 11 inches from guard
Distal Taper
At Crossguard -.5 cm
At COP - .4cm
At tip - .3cm

Initial Impressions:
short elegant leaf blade, terrific proportions and intriguing hilt.

Appearance:
When I first saw this sword in the Del Tin Catalogue I was impressed. It looked like a unique Republican Gladius example. It comes in short to be a true Gladius Hispaniensus, but that does not make it a bad looking piece. The grip is the true gem. I have always thought Del Tin made excellent cast grips. This one is of a brass I would imagine, and it is obviously cast, with some remainder traces from the mold process. It looks old and has a subdued beauty about it. The leaf blade is just as nice, and is unlike anything I have seen in a blade this size. It has clear hammer marks on it from the forging process. The edges come blunted, but can be sharpened with a secondary bevel easily. The tip is very rounded, so it would need some work to get a decent point. Overall, this is an interesting piece that will not speak to everyone, but speaks to me.

Handling:
This sword does not feel like 2 lbs when it is held. It has a terrific feel in the hand, and is fast, if not short. Its short even for a gladius. It almost has a sidearm feel to it. But its fun. It feels powerful. I can’t wait to sharpen it and take on some milk jugs and tatami later. There is nothing exotic about its handling, it will undoubtedly cut well once sharpened and be good in the thrust once a proper point is there. It’s a simply design for rank and file use.

What you should expect:
This sword costs $340 shipped. Basically you are paying about $30 for every 2 inches of blade. It can feel funny spending this amount for a short piece, when another $70-$100 can get you a larger Del Tin piece. I liked this design enough to give it a chance, and I think it will stand out in my collection. Its got the usual Del Tin shortcoming of being blunt, but it appears to have a beefy tang, which is peened into the cast hilt. If you like the looks of this piece, I think you will enjoy owning it.

It's actually the Spanish "Fronton" style, which we *used* to think was the ancestor of the Roman gladius hispaniensis (which we *used* to think was the Mainz pattern!), thanks in part to old information in Peter Connolly's books. But the Fronton style actually disappeared almost a hundred years before the Romans arrived, and has no direct relation to any Roman sword. The originals have fullered blades, generally, and are smaller and a lot less like the later Mainz than is apparent by just looking at a couple tiny illustrations. It's origins are probably pre-Celtic rather than Celtic.

The actual Spanish sword from which the hispaniensis derived was much longer, up to 27 inches in the blade, and straight-edged, and was a local adaptation of swords imported from Gaul. The Roman version sometimes had parallel edges, but some were slightly waisted, like my own repro by Mark Morrow:

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/Smihel1.jpg

It's been a while since I looked at any Fronton swords, so I couldn't tell you how accurate this one might be. Several are show in Volume 8 of Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies, and you might see a couple in the Osprey volume, "Rome's Enemies (4): Spanish Armies 218 BC-19 BC".

Valete,

Matthew

Wow, thanks for the information Matt. Very cool to know.