[Tormod Engvig]

Greetings,

I recently became the proud owner of an MRL Pappenheimer sword rapier. Does anyone know how this rapier compares to other replica Pappenheimers? I know MRL can be real hit or miss (at least thats what i've been told), but I guess for the modest price tag, that's the chance you have to take.
If anyone has any personal experience with MRLs Pappenheimer and would care to share some of their expert opinion regarding the weapon, I would be eternally grateful.

Sincerely,
Tormod Engvig

[Michael P Smith]

I've handled two of the newer MRL Paps last weekend. My impressions:

One was quite good. Hilt was tight, reasonably well finished (considering the price point) and a decent blade with fewer "Windlass ripples" than on some older MRL pieces I have. The peirced plates wer cleanly done, but were The second wasn't quite as good. The hilt was a little lopsided and the wire rap a tad uneven. Still not bad for the price, and certainly not "broken" but not as good as the first. The blades were a little less rigid than than I'd prefer for the type, but acceptable to me. Handling characterisitcs were good, but not stunning. Scabbards I don't remeber all that well.... probably were MRL standard "functional" but not great.

I definitely liked it better than the Hanwei model, which felt kinda dead in the hand to me.

Does that help?

Mike

[Tormod Engvig]

Mike,

Thanks for the run down. My impressions of the rapier is that it is overall quite good, especially considering price, and aside from some slight imperfections in the hilt metal here and there (on the inside of the clamshell guards), I am very pleased with it. The hilt is definitely not lopsided as the second example you handled, and the rap is nice and even.
I was not aware there could be such great differences between the handling and aesthetic characteristics of two "identical" swords.
A new question: What are "Windlass ripples"? If they are what I think they are, I'm not seeing any on my blade.
Thanks again.

Tormod

[Michael P Smith]

The Windlass ripples - Windlass Steelcrafts (the main manufacturer and owner of MRL) forges their blades. When complete, it sometimes possible to see a rippling or wavy effect on the blade if you look along it's legnth from eith the hilt or point. In small quantities these ripples can be nice... giving the piece an organic feeling and avoiding the "sterile" feeling some people complain about on CNC produced blades. Too many or too noticable ripples, however, can make the peice look sloppy and poorly finished. On some older windlass pieces, teh rippling couple be quite pronounced. I haven't noticed it nearly as much on newer pieces.

Mike