[Marc Ridgeway]

German Bastard Sword



I bought this sword on an impulse from an Austrailian Vendor called Medieval Shoppe . I thought i might share my thoughts on it, please be patient, as my knowledge of Euros is very limited , and I am not qualified to review one... so this will just be impressions.





When I bought this sword , I did so with the distinct impression it was a Windlass... now I'm not so sure...there seem to be some differences...perhaps it is an earlier model, or a different maker , I'm not sure.

The sword came mummified .. I should have taken a photo of it , but I didn't. There was paper , and bubble wrap , plastic wrap , foam , tape , cardboard,twine.... it took 15 minutes to get into the thing.

Specifications

Weight : About 3.5 lbs
Length:Blade 30 inches
Hilt 9 inches
Width : at Cross 2 inches
at tip 1.25 inches
Cross : 11 inches
POB : 4 inches
COP : 17 inches

Scabbard

The scabbard is rather nice for a Windlass (if this is a Windlass). Pretty standard overall though . Leather over a wood core, with metal chapes, painted black. I bought this sword at a slight discount because of slight denting on the end chape.







Construction : Fit and Finish

Hilt and Cross

The hilt is two stage stepped construction with risers covered with black leather. The crossguard has double rings , and 4 inch quillons festooned with finials. It is finished black. The pommel is a scentstopper also finished black.
The hilting is done utilyzing a threaded tang . an 8 mm nut secures the handle on , and the pommel screws onto the threads this is different than the current Windlass model , but it is very tight and sturdy. Nothing is loose or rattles... the over all impression of this sword is one of sturdiness.

[Marc Ridgeway]

Blade

The Blade is 30 inches long. It is unsharpened. It begins with a flattened oval , lenticular crossection , then transforms to a flattened diamond 14 inches from the cross. The polish is satin , and then coated with poly. It is 2 inches wide at the cross and tapers to 1.25 inches about 1.5 inches from the tip.

The blade is quite stiff , with no whippiness. The center of percussion is 17 inches from the cross.

It feels quite sturdy , and gives the impression it would be a great cutter ... it seems biased to cutting , like many German styled swords.









Conclusion

I'm still not sure if this is a Windlass , or a similar replica made by a different supplier for Medieval Shoppe . What I do know is that Medieval Shoppe sold me a well made sword at a great price and with quick well packed shipping.

The sword itself is tight , and well built , balanced nicely if a tad heavy... and should be a great cutter sharpened.

It is well worth buying this model , be it Windlass or not , if you are interested in this segment of the market.

Thanks for reading

[Luka Borscak]

Nice sword, I always liked the blade of it but only recently I became interested in such late style hilts so I didn't buy it yet. I'm still thinking. Btw, what made you think that it isn't Windlass?

[Sean Flynt]

I'd bet it is Windlass, but a later version. They do that sometimes--making significant changes to the piece but still using the original catalog photo. The blade of yours is different (diamond section in lower half) the pommel arrangement is very different and the new finish appears to be some kind of paint rather than bluing. Compare to original finish of mine. In my post-upgrade shots you can see the difference in the blades and pommel attachment (note--I reduced the base of my pommel, peened the tang over the nut, made a new grip and removed the central ridge on the quillon block).

[Marc Ridgeway]

[Tim May]

I don't see the Windlass Steelcrafts Hologram nor "Made in India" stamp in your photos, though I remove them from my swords as well (if that is the case with yours). Also, the cross terminates in a much less defined manner than either Sean's or (and more recently) Jon Sarge's. This, to me, seems fairly likely, though not conclusive, that this is a reproduction of the Windlass piece.

[JE Sarge]

The last couple Windlass' I owned did not have the Made In India on them, but did have the hologram sticky. The GBS I got a few weeks back (after seeing Sean's) was covered in a thick black lacquer fake patina until I stripped it off and reworked it with steel wool/cold blue to antique it how I liked it. There are some minor differences, but not so many where I would say that they are completely different swords. Windlass is not known for being consistant in many of their products.

The German Bastard Sword is not a really big Windlass seller, so it seems odd that someone would copy it - especially when the same someone could make copies of the Gothic Bastard Sword, Transitional Viking, other really popular MRL swords and rack in some serious sales on these discontinued Windlass models that collectors want.

But stranger things have happened. I'd call and ask them. Might be something odd like they are getting blades from Windlass, they are a Windlass subsidiary (like Strongblade), or some other such arrangement.

Pictures below for comparison (after regrip, stripping, and re-patina)