[Thom R.]

I am nearing completion on my customized Del Tin 5152. I really like this particular blade and of all of the Del Tins I have owned, this one is very nicely balanced. Its a large blade - 40 inches long, total length is 50 inches, 2 inches wide at the hilt, POB 8 inches COP at 26 inches but weighs "only" 1846 g. The blade is 16th c., and does not really fit within the Oakeshott classes, it is a wide thin blade with a hexagonal section (a bit like Type XIX), but with a very wide flat down the center. The DTs come unsharpened but in this case I had Art sharpen it and this works well on this particular DT sword because of the blade cross section; the edge blends nicely with the blade's bevel. In fact I have to be careful honing this edge because if I am not careful I will scrape up the bevel with the stone. The blade finish is really top notch and a great deal for such a large sword, The blade has good temper and I would guess the edge to be in the mid 50s for hardness. Sure takes a nice edge...........

I stripped the Venetian styled hilt with the type Z pommel and sent the blade to Scott Wilson at Darkwood who built a rennaissance styled hilt for me which is loosely based on a sketch by Sir John Lundin of a gaelic slaughtersword, or large claymore/zweihander, and which is also similar to the hilt on the sword housed at the Wallace monument near Stirling. Scott, as usual, did a great job!

This sword goes through tatami mats like a hot knife through butter thanks to its relatively flat profile. Once in motion it seems to pull itself right through a cut. Blade does sag a little in the last 8 inches or so when held horizontal as it is flexible, wide, and thin. Given the length and the profile tapers (it is still 1.75 inches wide at the COP) it is definitely a two handed sword but in two hands it is easy to keep aligned for big sweeping motion cuts. The hilt also provides lots of ways to grip the sword for halfswording type thrusts and for making parries.

As always all comments welcome. tr

[M. Eversberg II]

I don't normally care for those kinds of hilts, but that looks quite nice. Nice armor, too.

M.

[Brian K.]

Very impressive indeed. I'm curious to know what leather the grip is made out of. The picture(s) reveal some sort of 'textured' or "grain" pattern to it. Would you say the grip works well in keeping your hands in position during cuts?

[Nathan Robinson]

Can you show us the historic inspiration you mentioned? I think I once had those historical sketches you mention, but have since lost access to them... maybe I'm thinking of something different.

[Nicholas A. Gaese]

Good evening.

I'm not too sure but off the top of my head id say that resembles the supposed sword of William Wallace, whose hilt apparently was replaced during the mid 16th century ( a crab hilt I think they refer this style too correct?). Alas I thought I had a pic of the original but I do not. I remember someone posted something about it here a while ago and linked to a site that provided pics and more details about the original, so id probably check the search function.

take care

Nick

[Luka Borscak]

It is similar to Wallace, except Wallace is more simple.

[Thom R.]

Lundin Book


"Wallace Sword"

[Joe Fults]

Sword's nice.

Armor looks pretty decent to.

Merc Tailor on that?

[Thom R.]

Joe, on the armour yes MT.... Allan is great to work with. As for the DT5152, I am not sure I agree with the review here on MA. I think for its size, it is quite a nice sword. Its not a hand and a half sword nor a longsword for fencing, its a big, wide, and flat blade that is meant to be used in large sweeping cuts like a claymore or landsknecht sword and at the COP I find it tracks nicely and I have no trouble putting it on target. It does defnitely cut better near the COP than further out towards the tip and I think sometimes with big swords like this it takes a little adjustment to get used to striking the target so far back from the tip. For a 2kg sword and a 40 inch blade, a POB at 7-8 inches seems appropriate to me given what this sword is suited for. In the last year I have been experimenting with BIG swords and for the money there is a lot of value in the DT5152 for the price. However, I wanted a different hilt as I do agree with the reviewers that the original DT handle was rather unsatisfactory, the leather was strange, the risers poorly defined, and the shape of the grip awkward. Also, because of the bevel angles and the rather flat section of this particular blade, it seems more amenable to being sharpened than most other DT's. In fact - this sword came to me sharpened, but...... even unsharpened, I don't know how safe it would be for re-eneactment or sparring. tr