[Myles Mulkey]

Just got a MRL catalog in the mail, and noticed a new sword on the back cover. I thought, "Hmm, a Migration Period sword... Let's see..." I could not have been more disappointed haha. The scabbard looks horrible and is suede, as is the grip. The hilt parts look remarkably similar to the Del Tin Migration Sword. And then there's the futhark inlay. As a rune nerd, I hate when people use runes in that modern tarot / wicca / Celtic-princess sort of way. And, lo and behold, this is exactly what this sword offers, and I quote:

"Runic copper fill along the fuller was a skilled way to show the beliefs and power taken into battle to full effect and translate to: Cattle - reward for defeating the foe, Tyr - god of battle, Yew - supreme natural toughness. The other side translates to: Game - wily nature, Elk - wild vitality, Man - the one thing that could embody all attributes."



All in all, I hate everything about this sword . It's covered in suede, the scabbard looks awful, I hate the Del Tin knockoff fittings, and the blade is inlaid with nonsense.

The blade shape looks really good though. Big wide fuller, nice straight profile. So, as with most Windlass swords, this one had the potential to be something really awesome, but falls significantly short in my opinion.

[Myles Mulkey]

One more grouchy comment.
How can a company in this industry say, "Based on a 7th Century design..." when talking about this sword? It may be loosely based on historical swords, but this goes far into the ahistorical direction.
Ok, I'm done

[Matthew Bunker]

The pommel cap is a German one, from Kornwestheim, and this one actually looks to be a better copy than the DT 2070.
Other than that though, it's bloody awful.

<edit>
I've just seen the scabbard.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah etc.

[Ben Sweet]

I dont get it, this company has the opportunity to make historically correct swords in appearance yet they continue to fail at yet another example as this one shows us... I guess there is a market out there for these types of swords, if there wasn't then they wouldn't be making them.

[David Clark]

And are those brown plastic spacers sandwiched between bronze on the guard and pommel?

[Charles Richmond]

More than likely, they are plastic VS a more period correct organic material.

Windlass has done this in the past, and there is little reason to believe that they have done differently this time since the piece in question seems to be fantasy based.

[Roger Hooper]

FWIW, I've heard from more than one person that DT2070 is a sweet sword to wield, one of the better Del Tins. I couldn't say how genuine a re-creation it might be.
http://kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT2070

So is the Windlass a copy of the Del Tin, or are they both reproductions of the same Migration original?

As for why Windlass doesn't make more of an effort to better reflect originals - if their target consumers don't care, why should they? Ten years ago it might have been different, but when I look a one of their catalogues now, I see mostly products that are film tie-ins, and a lot of Halloween costumes. To some of their consumers something they see in a movie is more real and important than an actual antique. (bitter old man talking)

[David Wilson]

The DT 2070 is one of my favorites. Definitely blade-heavy, but some migration-era swords apparently were.

Anyway, this sword wouldn't be the first DT design Windlass has copied....

And Windlass does seem obsessed with suede.... what's up with that?

[Myles Mulkey]

[Robin Smith]

[Brandon Gray]

[Y. Perez]

Gimli is not happy.

[J.D. Crawford]

Windlass seemed to peak about 5-10 years ago and has gone downhill since then. They are trotting out some of their good older designs rather than creating new ones. The rest is mainly licensed movie stuff.

This shift was apparently planned for years. Windlass is part of a much bigger steel company. According to an industry insider I once spoke with, the historical sword end was a passion project for the founder, and when his kids took over they did not care in the same way. Now its just a small part of a big business.

[Ryan S.]

checking historical accuracy costs money.

[David Lewis Smith]

[Austin D.G. Hill]

[/quote]One more grouchy comment.
How can a company in this industry say, "Based on a 7th Century design..." when talking about this sword? It may be loosely based on historical swords, but this goes far into the ahistorical direction.
Ok, I'm done Laughing Out Loud
-Myles Mulkey

one thing that we must remember is that they really do not care about being historically accurate. they just want a sword that looks cool. we must remember that we who care about historical accuracy are the minority. most people just want a sword that looks cool because they saw a sword movie or two. the average person who likes swords just wants one that looks awesome. i know a lot of people that like swords, other than the few i met on this forum, none care about historical accuracy. some are martial artists that want a sword for practice, but in all honesty they are usually into Asian martial arts.

[David Wilson]

[Bill Grandy]

[Myles Mulkey]

[Phil Rakic]

Does anyone have a preference between Windlass or Del Tin swords. I don't know, But I do know that Museum Replicas is using Windlass.