Info Favorites Register Log in
myArmoury.com Discussion Forums

Forum index Memberlist Usergroups Spotlight Topics Search
Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > I've got the bug, future planning advice needed please Reply to topic
This is a standard topic  
Author Message
Paul B.G




Location: Victoria, Australia
Joined: 01 May 2011
Likes: 2 pages

Posts: 140

PostPosted: Sat 06 Aug, 2011 2:33 pm    Post subject: I've got the bug, future planning advice needed please         Reply with quote

Well I've had my crecy for about a week now and am loving it, in my inexperienced hands it feels very natural but have to say it's more of a 2 than a 1 hander. With this in mind I've already started planning my next purchase and was hoping the experience here could help me narrow my choice down so I'm ready to move when the price is right Wink

Ok these are what I'm looking at;
Albion knight
Albion poitiers
Albion squire

I would love to here the pros and cons of each and in particular I'd love to get the opinions of those that have handled them and can compare their handling differences. I have read the reviews on all three and all would seem to be perfect for me. I am curious, I have seen many posts from owners of the knight but have only found 1 post of a squire owner on another forum and most of the squire threads I found were sale posts? I get the feeling that the knight is more popular than both the Poitiers and the Squire?

Thanks in advance

Paul

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person

O====[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::>

Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

—Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses
View user's profile Send private message
Paul Watson




Location: Upper Hutt, New Zealand
Joined: 08 Feb 2006

Posts: 395

PostPosted: Sat 06 Aug, 2011 11:04 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Paul I have owned an Albion Regent, Knight, Machiavelli, Sovereign & Knecht, purchased in that order. The Knight is still my favourite by quite a stretch. This may change as I get to handle the Knecht more but that is how my opnion stands at the moment. Unfortunately I have not handled the other two you are considering but just to throw more into the mix and complicate your situation I would say get your hands on an Oakeshott if you can before you make the decision to purchase, it is the most nimble sword I have ever held. The Knight is the least elaborate looking of those I have had, but in some ways to me it has the most subtle visual details and therefore I came to appreciate it more than the others. It is what it is.

As far as cutting is concerned, on one occasion against that traditional high middle ages foe the 1 litre plastic milk jug I cut an empty bottle in half once, no water to weigh it down just one hell of a wide swing and wham it was in two. Not historically or martially relevant but still fun to do.

I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, but that which it protects. (Faramir, The Two Towers)
View user's profile Send private message
Jeremy V. Krause




Location: Buffalo, NY.
Joined: 20 Oct 2003
Likes: 1 page
Reading list: 1 book

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 1,717

PostPosted: Sun 07 Aug, 2011 8:53 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi Paul,

I have only handled the knight you mention as a possibility. I absolutely love this sword. If I didn't have a Solingen (which handles differently but is from the same era) I would purchase a one. THe knight seems to me to be quite a bit more responsive than the Solingen. Still, I do prefer the Solingen but primarily because this is a repiica of a specific historical sword.

I found the Knight to have just a great balance of manuverability and "kick" if you will. It felt so natural in the hand it was ridiculous. I should say that I like a sword with at least a bit of blade pressence and the knight does have this characteristic.

You really can't go wrong.
View user's profile Send private message
Thom R.




Location: Tucson
Joined: 26 Jul 2007
Reading list: 30 books

Posts: 630

PostPosted: Sun 07 Aug, 2011 11:48 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Watch out -- Albion swords are addicting Big Grin

The answer depends of course on where your interests lie, i.e. time period of interest, what you intend to do with the sword (handling vs cutting) etc

Now I hate to criticise any Albion sword, but you asked for personal experience and I would say that after having the Poitiers for awhile I found that I preferred the slightly larger Constable/Mercenary, that is the XVa over the XV. I really love my Constable. And for a short (sub 30 inch) cut and thrust arming sword of early 15th c., I prefer the A&A Henry V. But thats just my preference - your mileage as they say will vary..............

The Knight and Prince are wonderful swords but from two different periods with one being more cut oriented and the other being stiffer and of a cross section suitable for thrusting. There's lots of threads to read on both of them here that you can find with a little searching. You might also want to consider the Albion type XVIII - the Kingmaker and the Burgundian which is another of my favorite 15th c Albion single hand swords.
View user's profile Send private message
Einar Drønnesund





Joined: 14 Sep 2003
Likes: 1 page

Posts: 201

PostPosted: Sun 07 Aug, 2011 11:58 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I have the Squire and I love it. I prefer it to the knight and the poitiers which I have handled as well. Its very light and quick, beautifully balanced.
View user's profile Send private message
Paul Watson




Location: Upper Hutt, New Zealand
Joined: 08 Feb 2006

Posts: 395

PostPosted: Sun 07 Aug, 2011 8:57 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

With regards to cutting ability and historical relevance it is probably worth searching out Michael Edelsons test cutting against jacks. The later type swords in many or some respects performed better at cutting than the earlier cut oriented swords.
I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, but that which it protects. (Faramir, The Two Towers)
View user's profile Send private message
T. Arndt




Location: La Crosse, WI
Joined: 07 Jul 2011
Likes: 14 pages
Reading list: 5 books

Posts: 226

PostPosted: Sun 07 Aug, 2011 9:39 pm    Post subject: Re: I've got the bug, future planning advice needed please         Reply with quote

Paul B.G wrote:
Well I've had my crecy for about a week now and am loving it, in my inexperienced hands it feels very natural but have to say it's more of a 2 than a 1 hander. With this in mind I've already started planning my next purchase and was hoping the experience here could help me narrow my choice down so I'm ready to move when the price is right Wink

Ok these are what I'm looking at......
Paul


Paul, have you checked out Arms & Armor? As (in my perception) Albion's primary competition (that is as a high-end high volume reproduction shop), they are worth checking out too. Here are the current A&A swords.

It is very ironic these to manufacturers are 250 miles apart, but respected and sought after world wide.

Wisconsin Historical Fencing Association (WHFA) - La Crosse
A HEMA Alliance Affiliate

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” -Juvenal
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Craig Peters




PostPosted: Sun 07 Aug, 2011 10:58 pm    Post subject: Re: I've got the bug, future planning advice needed please         Reply with quote

Paul,

The Knight is like the Crecy made for one hand. What I love about my Knight is its superb balance between handling characteristics and cutting capacity. It is an excellent cutter due to its lenticular cross section, and yet it's surprisingly light and handy when you wield it. It is one of the more agile single-handed cutting swords that you can own.

You might also want to consider: do you like swords merely because of the hilt configuration and appearance, or does time period matter at all to you? The Knight is a classic 13th century weapon, perhaps appropriate for the earliest decades of the 14th as well. The Squire is most appropriate for roughly the first half of the 14th century. The Poitiers is probably appropriate for the 14th century, and perhaps part way into the 15th century as well.
View user's profile Send private message
Craig Peters




PostPosted: Sun 07 Aug, 2011 11:03 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Although I have not handled it, I have handled numerous of the XVas, and they are among the most agile and nimble swords you can own. My guess is that it is going to be light, quick and responsive. It will puncture more easily than the Knight will, but you'll find that if you're cutting against targets that offer much resistance, the Knight will cleave much more deeply and easily. If you like the feeling of the Crecy in hand when you split open a cutting target, you should go with the Knight, as it can still thrust quite effectively, and cleaves in a way that the Poitiers cannot. If you want to try a very fast, light and agile sword, go with the Poitiers.

I imagine the Squire is going to be something of a blend of these two types. Since you already have a sword in the XVI family, I would recommend trying another type, like the Knight or Poitiers, to see how you like them. If for whatever reason you really do not like it, you can always put the sword for sale up here and hopefully recoup most of your cost.
View user's profile Send private message
Paul B.G




Location: Victoria, Australia
Joined: 01 May 2011
Likes: 2 pages

Posts: 140

PostPosted: Mon 08 Aug, 2011 2:55 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks guys, to be honest the era of the sword isn’t something that I have given all that much consideration to at this point and I have focused more on a look that I like and then the handling capabilities of the sword.

I had also considered the kingmaker and the oakeshott but something, I don’t know exactly what hasnt grabbed me with these swords, which is strange as everything that I have read about them would indicate they are both near perfect performers. I did think it was a bit odd that the Oakeshott was the longest of all the single hander’s I was considering but it was also the lightest, kind of goes against the natural order lol, but I really don’t have much experience in these matters to draw any real conclusions.

Another issue is that of price, which may put the squire out of consideration as the knight and the poitiers are quite reasonably priced. However my real intention is to have in mind the sword I’m after and be ready to move quickly without having to question myself when the price is right.

I have had a bit of a look at A&A but none of there swords really stand out to me, im not sure why, could be a simple issue of there website design but ill give them another look.

Im also a bit limited by my location, being Victoria Australia, as we have very high restrictions on sword ownership which pretty much make it impossible to direct import a sword yourself. I also haven’t come across any local seller/retailer that sells A&A, but im sure the seller I got my crecy from could get hold of any a&a sword. The other problem with living where I do is that I need to rely of the experience of others as there is nowhere I can go for an inspection Sad

Anyway from what Im reading the knight would seem to be the perfect complement to my crecy and gives a nice contrast between the two. The squire initially appealed to me for many of the same reasons as the crecy first did but it could be a case of 2 swords a bit to alike. I more put the poitiers in for comparison of the type in handling compared to the others, but I admit that its blade styling like the kingmaker isn’t something that visually appeals to my tastes, at this stage, but this could easily change Wink

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person

O====[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::>

Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

—Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses
View user's profile Send private message
Eric G.




Location: Arizona
Joined: 08 Feb 2011
Likes: 3 pages
Reading list: 5 books

Posts: 249

PostPosted: Mon 08 Aug, 2011 2:54 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Paul B.G wrote:

I had also considered the kingmaker and the oakeshott but something, I don’t know exactly what hasnt grabbed me with these swords, which is strange as everything that I have read about them would indicate they are both near perfect performers...

...I have had a bit of a look at A&A but none of there swords really stand out to me, im not sure why, could be a simple issue of there website design but ill give them another look.


I think that you would do quite well for yourself with either the Oakeshott or the Kingmaker. If you like the Kingmaker, I would also like to humbly submit the Henry V sword by A&A. These swords are very similar. I think that the main difference is that the A&A has a shorter blade. Do you have "Records of the Medieval Sword" by Oakeshott? He examines both of these swords (the originals) in this book. The A&A is the first XVIII he looks at, while the Kingmaker is the 3rd XVIII he looks at. While I find both of these swords to be appealing, I think that knowing that the Henry V sword belonged to the King (or was at least present at his funeral) makes it more appealing to me than the Kingmaker. I only see myself buying the hollow ground version of this sword, since the original was hollow ground.

Eric Gregersen
www.EricGregersen.com
Knowledge applied is power.
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team


myArmoury Team

PostPosted: Tue 09 Aug, 2011 6:59 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Eric Gregersen wrote:

If you like the Kingmaker, I would also like to humbly submit the Henry V sword by A&A. These swords are very similar.


They are visually similar from a distance, but are different animals. The Kingmaker's blade is longer, narrower, and hollowground. A&A offers a hollowground and non-hollowground version of the Henry V. The Henry V's pommel is much thicker than the Kingmaker's. They are based off of different swords altogether.

So even though they have Type XVIII blades, wheel pommels and curved guards. They're quite different swords. I've owned the Henry V and handled/cut with the Kingmaker. Both are nice, but they're not meant to be twins of each other.

Happy

ChadA

http://chadarnow.com/
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Paul Watson




Location: Upper Hutt, New Zealand
Joined: 08 Feb 2006

Posts: 395

PostPosted: Wed 10 Aug, 2011 2:32 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Paul, I may be biased but I think it will almost be impossible for you not to be blown away by the Knight. I cannot recall seeing too many of these being sold in the second hand market so that should tell you something.
I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, but that which it protects. (Faramir, The Two Towers)
View user's profile Send private message


Display posts from previous:   
Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > I've got the bug, future planning advice needed please
Page 1 of 1 Reply to topic
All times are GMT - 8 Hours

View previous topic :: View next topic
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum






All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum