[Elling Polden]

Though primarily a medieval reenactor, I also dabble with viking age (In order to go to more and larger events...) For this purpose, I have been using a cheap polish viking sword, with a totally different handling than my regular medevial blade (A 76cm, 770g/cog 10cm in front of cross ArmourClass based custom affectionally named Dinky the Toothpick of Death)
For this reason I approached my friend Nils Andersen for to have it modified. As it turned out, he had me order a new custom sword instead, resulting in my new and ...uhm, at least initially shiny

Nils Andersen/Armourclass Pettersen Type Yb, based on a original in the Trondheim Historical museum





Weight; 870g (30 oz)
Blade length: 73 cm (29 inches)
Balance; 14 cm (5,6 inches) ahead of cross

Overall appearance
While being fairly long and very light for a blunted reenactment sword, the Yb has a broad blade, distal tapper, and a fuller that resembles the originals in width. There is little left of the original AC look. The "horns" on the pommel are little less pronounced than the original, but the sword is still aesthetically pleasing.

Handling;
At 870 g (30 oz) this is definitively a light sword. yet, the aggressive balance and weight distribution makes it move with a lot more authority than the weight would suggest. I have found that is performs really well both for reenactment fighting and full body target Huskarl style.

Fit and finish:
The sword was delivered with a nice polish, and the fuller is very smoothly ground, which is often not the case on the original ACs. All edges have been nicely rounded, and the hilt appears well made, with leather covered cord wraping. Nils actully delayed delivery in order to achieve a perfect dyeing of the hilt, which will leave me with a slight bad coincidence as it gets slapped around while hanging in my belt. The only slight point of concern was that the edges of the blade where a bit square, but nothing some quick filework will not fix.

Over all conclusion;
I am very happy with my new toy. It handles extremely well, and looks better than a reenactment sword should be allowed to. The price was also very reasonable, costing only slightly more than a of the shelf AC, and significantly less than a comparable Albion. (Nils is still developing his skills, so order one TODAY, while his self esteem is still low. )

[Paul Hansen]

Really nice looking sword, especially for a reenactment sword! Congratulations!

So, the entire sword (blade + hilt) was made from scratch by Nils Andersen?

[Elling Polden]

The blade is a custom from ArmourClass, but heavily modified and reground. Sorry I forgot to specify

[JG Elmslie]

ooh. now that's pretty.

reworked on an Armourclass blade, that is a fantastic fuller. if that was done without screwing up the heat-treatment on the blade, then that's really impressive.

Having quite a few Armourclass blades lying around here, the difference is astounding - and really sets the bar for what can be done.

can I ask if you can stick up a photograph of Dinky the Toothpick of Death? its a great name... I want to see what it looks like

[Elling Polden]

This is Dinky. He is a custom based on a 76cm/ 3,8-1,9 cm Armour class blade.

[Tim Lison]

Really Nice! I happen to love this pommel type! Do you have any pictures of the original that you used as inspiration?

[Elling Polden]

Tim; Sure, here it is. As you can see, the original has a more pronounced upwards curve. However, some Yb's are almost flat.

[Scott Hrouda]

Very nice weapon Elling! It sounds as if you really enjoy the feel and handling of this beauty.

[Tim Lison]

Thanks for posting the photo. I always like to see what inspired people to have a sword made. There's something about the whole process that I really enjoy seeing, even if its not my sword! I really like this one and the original.

[J.D. Crawford]

I really like it! I'm also a big fan of the original.

Does anyone have a full-length picture and/or the dimensions of the original for comparison?

[Elling Polden]

The original was bent before burrial (a common practice), but here's a picture:

[Nils Anderssen]

Nice to see that you like the sword Elling... men in my Army only deserves the best

JG Elmslie: The heat-treatment is still intact (lot water while grinding). I`m one of the people Elling is going to use it on... and i don't like broken metal pieces flying towards me in high speed

Before I started grinding the blade it looked like this (only with a shorter fuller): http://www.armourclass.co.uk/Data/Pages/Medieval_2.htm
So there is "nothing" left of the AC blade...
So... needless to say it took some time :P

The proportions of the original and Ellings sword is a bit different for a couple of reasons.
One of them is the proportions of the blade I used. It is not as wide or long as the original would have been so this affected the proportions of the hilt. Compared to the original Ellings sword is some smaller.
Also, it was meant to be a god tool for the kind of fighting we do, but not necessary have a realistic handling. This often means a sword with a certain punch in the blade but with a light tip. It is not as cut oriented as I guess the original would have been. Ellings sword is pretty agile and light.... maybe too light :P

There is a sword in Jan Petersens book "De Norske Vikingesverd" which has the same proportions on the hilt as Ellings ended up having.


Nice to see that other people appreciated the sword... thanks

[Ted Bouck]

Hello Elling,

In your original post, you stated:
"Handling;
At 870 g (30 oz) this is definitively a light sword. yet, the aggressive balance and weight distribution makes it move with a lot more authority than the weight would suggest. I have found that is performs really well both for reenactment fighting and full body target Huskarl style. "

I noted the "Huskarl" comment, and am happy to hear that Huskarl style is still being used. I was shown Huskarl by Alban a number of years ago, did some in Ribe in 2004 and have had few opportunities since. Mostly because I live in the states and reenactment fighting here is almost non-existant.

How many people are still actively fighting Huskarl across the pond??

Nice sword BTW!!
Ted

[Reece Nelson]

Man that looks awesome! Congrats on the new toy

[Elling Polden]

Ted; We where about 15 at the last gathering (out of about 80 fighters). There are quite a few in Germany, where they have dedicated Huskarl battles. Over all, it seems that Huskarl group combat is growing in popularity, as an alternative to the more heavy handed Eastern Style.
A lot of people have also bought fencing masks, which allows thrusts to the face and blows to the side of the head. This is really interesting, because it reveals the speed and efficiency of the spears.
We are planning to "initiate" more huskarl fighters this winter. Hopefully we will be more than twenty at the next large gathering (which usually has 130+ participants, and is hosted by *ta-DA* Nils)

[Ted Bouck]