Saw this today on Kult of Athena as being in stock and the price is right and I'm at the point where I need a steel blunt for my longsword classes: So I guess I'll be able to compare how it holds up against an Albion Liechtenauer that someone has as far as nicks and dents are concerned and compare handling.

Doesn't hurt that I like the look of it. :D :cool:

http://www.kultofathena.com/product~item~AT30...+Sword.htm

Strangely, the blade doesn't seem very "blunt" if you look at this picture...

http://www.kultofathena.com/images/AT302B_5_l.jpg

I wonder if the pictures aren't from the "sharp" model...

Anyway, make sure to post your impressions if you get one... :)

When I asked Ryan on Thursday if he had any sharps, he said no, so I would bank on this being one of the blunts.

Update: Ordered it early Sunday morning like 3:00 a.m. and today at 12:11 P.M. received the tracking number and it has been shipped by Kult of Athena. :D :cool:

Good customer service like this deserves a " PLUG " and this is it. ;) :D And this is the third or fourth time I have ordered from KoA and the service has been consistently good like this every time.

Look forward to hearing more about it once arrived.

And yes...KOA have great cust. service. I ordered my last sword from them and was quite chuffed about the
service & the sword.

The blunt just arrived today this afternoon and here are some initial impressions but a true evaluation should wait after I have shown it to my longsword instructor and used it a few times to see how it holds up to contact with other blunts of varying quality.

The edges or the blunted edges seem to be about 1mm thick over most of the length of the blade and close to 2 mm near the point. The edge is also square in section as received.

The hardness of the blade seems to be in the 52 R.C. range as I think is advertised: A new file hardly bites the steel.

Using a diamond hone I sort of broke and rounded the corners very lightly: I assume that in use and maintenance this rounding should become more " round " as small nicks or dings are removed after use. I also assume that at the hardness of the steel this should be minimal.

The finish of the blunt is very nice, almost of " Albion " quality and from 5 feet away it almost doesn't look like a blunt: Very handsome looking and the only clue is that the point is very rounded.

The scabbard is also very nice and functional although I'm not sure if the covering is real leather or PVC ??? Just doesn't smell or feel 100% like leather but I could be wrong ? At the price, a very small issue.

I couldn't dismantle it completely to see what the tang looks like as the grip seems to fit very tightly and I just didn't want to force it loose. Fit of guard seem good but the pommel rotates about 10 degrees even when screwed down tightly because the rectangular keyholing that fits over the rectangular end of the tang is a bit to wide and long.

Now since this is a training piece and not a high end collectable this is acceptable because I found a quick and easy fix to the problem: I just cut a narrow piece of duct tape and wrapped the end of the tang and now the pommel barely moves. So an easy fix, but for the sake of an honest review I had to mention it.

Note: From other posts by Angus I think that these are an early production run and this problem may be fixed in later or even current production. Oh, I think that Angus has fixed a bunch of these and reground the edges to be thicker, I think mine is of the first batch that didn't get some of Gus's personal attention. Just keep in mind that this blunt cost a lot less than an Albion. ;) :D Oh, our training group puts a lot of emphasis on " control " for safety and the thinner edge shouldn't be a problem as we use Albion squire line swords safely.

Just waving it in the air I can say that handling seems good but I will ask my instructor for his opinion on this as well as having an Albion blunt that I can compare it to in class: Handling & durability.

Oh, it is lighter than my AT 1435 but then that is probably the heaviest AT model ever made. ;)

Assuming no problems show up in use I would say that I'm happy with it.

Jean-

Thanks for the info. How far does it bend? Could you take a pic?

Thanks,
Steven

Well, I took it to class and what I was afraid of but was sort of hoping wouldn't be the case is that the edges are too narrow to be safe considering the minimal amount of protective gear that we usually use.

I have a few options:

1) Sending it back because it won't work for me as is for classes or sparring. ( Don't want to send it back because I like it and can put it to other uses like costume use when wearing a sharp might be a legal or social problem ).

2) I could remove a lot of material ( Width ) and make the edges much thicker. ( Except that I like the look of it as it is ).

3) Patrick, my instructor, said that I could sharpen it and use it as an inexpensive test cutting sword I wouldn't have to worry about marring the finish like I would one of my " Expensive " swords. ( An option I might consider later but I already have many sharps and with soft targets like pumpkins or melons even a dull but narrow blade like this will cut well. as I saw last year when I went to a cutting party ....... all the blunts could cut well if one used good edge alignment ).

In conclusion and for those who might want to buy this one I would say that it compares to the Albion Squire line in usage rather than as a safe training blunt like the Maestro line. The quality and look is very good. I wouldn't hesitate buying the " SHARP " Valiant armoury ATs assuming the same quality of materials.

Finally a lot depends on what future productions runs will be like if corrected to have safer thicker edges: I hope that Angus will comment on this and confirm what will be different with the later production runs as I really don't want to " rain on his parade " here, and wish him well with this project. I also have to give an accurate picture to prospective buyers of at least this production run in my opinion.

Thanks for the review Jean... :)

I really hope that the reworked version of the blunt will feature thicker edges, a lot of people I know can't afford an Albion, but at the current price I was hoping to be able to recommand the new Valiant line to my fellow students...

Got to ask Gus about this... :)