Has anyone here ever tried out one of these swords? How did it handle?

I handled one briefly this weekend at the Roman festival/filming in Nashville. Nina and Lars came down from Albion with a load of First Generation Roman swords. Beautiful stuff. Absolutely perfect, finish-wise. The spatha was my favorite--so light and so quick. VERY sharp. Simple and elegant. In fact, every gladius they brought was wonderful. I actually preferred the First Gen. Roman weapons over the Next Gen. Viking sword they also brought. I have no idea how the folks at Albion think they can improve upon the weapons they brought to Nashville, but I'm eager to see what they come up with.

By the way, I'm referring above to the Late Period Spatha, which I've long admired.

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Having never handled a Roman sword I must say that the pommel looks like it would really dig into your wrist- is this so- I imagine it is not. . .

I've handled these, plus the Deepeeka Mainz and a Windlass/MRL gladius, and I found no wrist/pommel interference with any of them. This could theoretically be more of an issue with a spatha since it adds emphasis to the cut, but I noticed no problem with the Late Period Spatha. Now, I wasn't standing there swinging the thing, so I don't want to give the impression that I gave it even a superficial workout. Still, it seemed fine to me. I'm sure Patrick can tell you much more about this than I can. My interest in the ancient stuff comes mainly through my wife, a Roman archaeologist. Have you seen Patrick's review of Albion's gladii ( http://www.myArmoury.com/review_alb_gladii.html )? I'm sure that much of what he has to say about those weapons applies to Albion's spathae (spathi?) as well.

I'm really torn between that and a AT1548 Cut & Thrust Long Sword at Allsaintsblades.com

Lucky you, to have such a choice! There's just something about the lines of that Late Period Spatha that I just love...In fact, since I can't afford the real thing, I'm planning to strip the aluminum hilt off of a Chinese sword hidden in my attic and rehilt it with something similar to that of Albion's weapon. A spatha is about all the Chinese blade would be halfway appropriate for, and I can manage the wood and brass/bronze construction of the spatha hilt. Be sure to post here with your impressions of whatever you decide to buy!

Patrick Kelly wrote:

Quote:

I also discussed some proposed Celtic/LaTene designs with Peter. I'm anxious to see what they come up with for these earlier periods.

Designs? :)

David

:D :D :D

I also recently heard quite a bit from Peter about the next gen Roman weapons, looked over the designs as he described them, and saw what I believe he called a "study sword" of a LaTene blade. This blade (bare mind you) can be described as beyond featherweight - as Peter elegantly explained, an excellent choice for quick, slashing attacks made against a bare-chested (and, ahem, other such exposed vitals) opponent.

I also took away from the discussion some insight on some pretty wild (perhaps unbelievable) styling in originals that one could barely recognize as Roman.

The trip down to the shop on Sunday to pick up my new piece was a lot of fun and very informative! Thanks again to everybody at Albion over the weekend :)

(. . . not to hijack the thread, but yes, I did say I picked up my new sword. . . pictures and such to follow as soon as I can dig up the digital camera. For now, I'll just say that Eric outdid himself. Thanks again, my friend, and it is absolutely beautiful :cool: )

This past Saturday, Jon and I were able to take a Trip to Albion (main purpose was to pick up Jon's new Riding Sword) and we were fortunate enough to sit and Chat with Jason and Peter in great depth about Both the Roman and Celtic blades.

The difference between the First Gen and Next Gen Romans is, in my opinion, profound. Having the "plans" for the making of the blades in front of you and Peter there to explain everything to you was amazing to say the least. And I would have to agree with Patrick that you will be pleasantly surprised on what they have planned.

BTW Peter, I personally think it would be great to see the "Harley Davidson" Gladius!

It was the prototype for the La Tene BLade that REALLY caught my eye and attention. WoW! all i can really say. That and having Peter sketch three or four different hilt and pommel designs as we watched really made me a eager for this blade to get into production.... although the longer it takes the bigger the chance i break down and order some of the other great things we got to see/handle.

And Nathan, You were not joking about two stuffed back packs of info for Peter! That stack of papers was HUGE!

Up until Saturday I wasn't overly interested in either of these types of weapons, Funny what just sitting back and Listening to what Some one with as much Knowledge and Passion for everything sword as Peter and the folks at Albion, can do to a person that is relatively new and uneducated to this "world" as I am.

That Celtic/LaTene blade that Peter made was nice wasn't it? That will make a very light slashing razor of a sword. We both seemed to be of the same mind that it would make a nice sword from Celtic-Britain. British swords of the period are generally smaller than their continental counterparts. I'd like to see how that one turns out.

And congratulations on the new sword Jonathon!

Hi guys!
I'm very new to this list, having just joined a couple of days ago. I joined because I too have long admired Albion's late period spatha, I liked it so much that I converted an old sword that I had laying around to one very similar to Albion's. I wrote the folks at Albion hoping that I could find some information on the provenance and historical background of this sword, and they pointed me here and suggested that I try to contact Mr. James King, who did the research on this weapon. My main questions are, what historical model is this sword based on? It looks very similar to ones found in the Danish bogs, but I would like to know if there was a specific weapon that it was modeled after. Who made these swords? I know it is Roman, but it has many Germanic influences, so I wonder if they could have been locally made swords bought by some Roman soldier, or if the Romans themselves began making weapons of this style as issued items? Can any of you help me with background information for this style sword? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Also, don't forget that many later Roman military units were comprised almost entirely of recruits from various Germanic peoples. Their arms and amor would have reflected this heritage.

Let me echo David. In late Roman times much of the Roman population
of the Italian penninsula preferred to avoid service in the Legions, with those who
did serve being less dependable than conscripts from subject lands.
Certainly Aetius counted on his Germans more than his "true" Roman
legionaries.

Best,
Doug G.