I was never a fan of that pommel type, but that one is really nice (as is the whole sword.)
Congratulations Doug! Credit as well to Maciej for the magnificent work on this sword. I second Nathan regarding the graceful look of the guard. I am looking forward to seeing the scabbard and hearing your review of the whole package.
Scott
Scott
Oh MAN!!! That's just great. I'm green with envy JD! That pommel is just so cool. Looking forward to seeing the scabbard....
Thanks guys. It's almost a somewhat angular Oakeshott type C pommel, isn't it, except for the vestigial upper guard. I'll post pictures of the scabbard when I get them.
Thank for sharing and your kind opinion.
Now, let`s make a scabbard :)
Now, let`s make a scabbard :)
And here it is! (More shots can be found on Maciej's web-site.)
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Attachment: 168.72 KB Attachment: 129.86 KB Attachment: 159.47 KBWow! :eek: That’s gorgeous! The chape is superb. Another one of your swords that I can be jealous of...
What a beautiful package. Everything about it is great. The scabbard is especially nice- not to detract from the sword of course!
I must agree! I like things simple and clean. The brown on basic black turned out really nice, accenting the more ornate chape. Maciej told me he had had something special in mind for the chape and did not disappoint.
Here's some additional historical info from Maciej:
"One more thing about that chape. This is type IIIb (Kazakevičius, 1998) and this is based on original find from North-eastern Europe. It is dated to first half of 11th century.
So, this one match our sword perfectly. Belting style appears in manuscripts a bit later (around 1060-1080), however it must have its beginnings and variations decades earlier."
"One more thing about that chape. This is type IIIb (Kazakevičius, 1998) and this is based on original find from North-eastern Europe. It is dated to first half of 11th century.
So, this one match our sword perfectly. Belting style appears in manuscripts a bit later (around 1060-1080), however it must have its beginnings and variations decades earlier."
Hi folks,
This sword actually arrived a few months ago, but I haven’t had time to comment on it until now. On the plus side, this has provided some time to ‘get to know each other’ well. I think there is plenty of background above in this thread, so I will bypass the formal review format and go straight to my impressions. Note that this sword is based on an original (see above), but slightly modified. I asked Maciej to lengthen the blade (basically increase the tip by 2”) and slightly upsize the hilt to compensate. This came about through some reverse engineering: I started with a request for a Viking-style sword of certain dimensions, and then we found a style we both liked and made it to fit those dimensions.
Sabbard
First, I really like Maciej’s standard scabbards (see first pic below). They are solid, sturdy, smooth, fit the sword well, and attractive a functional and understated sort of way. He will do more advanced tooling and designs on request, but I like it simple. The slightly fancy chape adds a bit of style to this one.
By the way, why is that we don’t do stand-alone scabbard reviews?
Sword
Other than the modifications I requested, the sword is faithful to the design of the historical piece. It is typical of Maciej’s work: it has a fine historical look, symmetric lines, and a slightly rough finish compared to high end production pieces. It is certainly a very attractive piece, as one can see below.
Measurements from ‘Art of Swordmaking’ Site:
total length 940mm
blade length 810mm
blade width 57mm
blade thickness at the base 4,5mm
grip 94mm
crossguard 138mm
pommel 72x30x20mm
balance 180mm
weight 960g
edges sharp
Handling
This sword has interesting handling properties. By hope and design, the grip fits snugly in my hand, but comfortably (in both hammer and handshake grip) owing to the outward curving upper and lower guards (see pictures below). Transitioning between those grip styles is not quite as comfortable as some designs, because the pommel edges are quite angular. As expected, the upper guard/pommel provides good leverage for the hand, which is important because of the following.
Looking at the sword and measurements, one thing is striking: the blade is quite sizable (about average for a medieval sword) but the weight is quite low. Where did that weight go? One clue is the balance point, which is quite far out. The answer seems to be that the hilt furniture is quite diminutive compared to most Viking swords (see comparison picture below against several other Viking sowrds), even after scaling it up [edit: for some reason this picture does not show with the others, but you can download it at the end].This comes across in the handling. As a result of the far-out PoB, the static balance (i.e. holding it in an elevated guard position) is not as user-friendly as late medieval swords when only the handle is held, but as mentioned above the guard structure offsets that by providing ample leverage against the weight of the blade.
More important is the dynamic balance. Usually Viking sword either feel like light slashers ranging up to more solid ‘chunky’ feeling shield breakers. This has a different feel. Instead of feeling the weight in your hand, it feels further out. In fact, it has the proportions and feel of a later cavalry sword, only scaled down (see second comparison picture below). So it feels like it packs a punch, but is not as nimble as the similarly-weighted Albion thegn shown below. That’s not to say it doesn’t handle well, it does (largely owing to considerable distal tapering in both the thickness and blade profile compared to earlier era swords). Rather, it means that it is more suited to flowing motion and sweeping arcs than quick slashes.
Lastly, although this is far from a dedicated thruster, the extended point makes this more like a typical knightly weapon, almost in the Oakeshott XII range. The tip would be useful for finding soft spots…like the eye-holes in my Gjermundbu-style helmet. 😊
Future Directions
Apparently Maciej is working on another version of this sword that is more accurate to the original. It will be interesting to see how the small difference in the blade will change its stats and handling. I predict that the original proportions come out more in the ‘light slasher’ category of Viking age swords.
Enjoy the pictures!
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This sword actually arrived a few months ago, but I haven’t had time to comment on it until now. On the plus side, this has provided some time to ‘get to know each other’ well. I think there is plenty of background above in this thread, so I will bypass the formal review format and go straight to my impressions. Note that this sword is based on an original (see above), but slightly modified. I asked Maciej to lengthen the blade (basically increase the tip by 2”) and slightly upsize the hilt to compensate. This came about through some reverse engineering: I started with a request for a Viking-style sword of certain dimensions, and then we found a style we both liked and made it to fit those dimensions.
Sabbard
First, I really like Maciej’s standard scabbards (see first pic below). They are solid, sturdy, smooth, fit the sword well, and attractive a functional and understated sort of way. He will do more advanced tooling and designs on request, but I like it simple. The slightly fancy chape adds a bit of style to this one.
By the way, why is that we don’t do stand-alone scabbard reviews?
Sword
Other than the modifications I requested, the sword is faithful to the design of the historical piece. It is typical of Maciej’s work: it has a fine historical look, symmetric lines, and a slightly rough finish compared to high end production pieces. It is certainly a very attractive piece, as one can see below.
Measurements from ‘Art of Swordmaking’ Site:
total length 940mm
blade length 810mm
blade width 57mm
blade thickness at the base 4,5mm
grip 94mm
crossguard 138mm
pommel 72x30x20mm
balance 180mm
weight 960g
edges sharp
Handling
This sword has interesting handling properties. By hope and design, the grip fits snugly in my hand, but comfortably (in both hammer and handshake grip) owing to the outward curving upper and lower guards (see pictures below). Transitioning between those grip styles is not quite as comfortable as some designs, because the pommel edges are quite angular. As expected, the upper guard/pommel provides good leverage for the hand, which is important because of the following.
Looking at the sword and measurements, one thing is striking: the blade is quite sizable (about average for a medieval sword) but the weight is quite low. Where did that weight go? One clue is the balance point, which is quite far out. The answer seems to be that the hilt furniture is quite diminutive compared to most Viking swords (see comparison picture below against several other Viking sowrds), even after scaling it up [edit: for some reason this picture does not show with the others, but you can download it at the end].This comes across in the handling. As a result of the far-out PoB, the static balance (i.e. holding it in an elevated guard position) is not as user-friendly as late medieval swords when only the handle is held, but as mentioned above the guard structure offsets that by providing ample leverage against the weight of the blade.
More important is the dynamic balance. Usually Viking sword either feel like light slashers ranging up to more solid ‘chunky’ feeling shield breakers. This has a different feel. Instead of feeling the weight in your hand, it feels further out. In fact, it has the proportions and feel of a later cavalry sword, only scaled down (see second comparison picture below). So it feels like it packs a punch, but is not as nimble as the similarly-weighted Albion thegn shown below. That’s not to say it doesn’t handle well, it does (largely owing to considerable distal tapering in both the thickness and blade profile compared to earlier era swords). Rather, it means that it is more suited to flowing motion and sweeping arcs than quick slashes.
Lastly, although this is far from a dedicated thruster, the extended point makes this more like a typical knightly weapon, almost in the Oakeshott XII range. The tip would be useful for finding soft spots…like the eye-holes in my Gjermundbu-style helmet. 😊
Future Directions
Apparently Maciej is working on another version of this sword that is more accurate to the original. It will be interesting to see how the small difference in the blade will change its stats and handling. I predict that the original proportions come out more in the ‘light slasher’ category of Viking age swords.
Enjoy the pictures!
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Great review Doug,
You do a nice job of describing the handling characteristics. It's a very handsome sword.
You do a nice job of describing the handling characteristics. It's a very handsome sword.
Such lovely sword lineups. Congrats on a great looking and handling Type Y. We need more of those!
In all seriousness though, with such a collection of great swords, it’s a wonder that the Type Z doesn’t get forgotten. Why not send that baby my way, just to make sure it gets enough attention?
In all seriousness though, with such a collection of great swords, it’s a wonder that the Type Z doesn’t get forgotten. Why not send that baby my way, just to make sure it gets enough attention?
Jeremy: Thanks. It fascinates me how subtle changes in a sword can make handling better, worse, or just different.
Kai: I'm sorry, but it took me years to pry that Z out of Tim's hands. It's going to the grave with me.
Kai: I'm sorry, but it took me years to pry that Z out of Tim's hands. It's going to the grave with me.
J.D. Crawford: Can't say I'm happy about that, but can't say I blame you either.
Congrats on the nice new Y. Do you plan to cut or drill with it at all?
Congrats on the nice new Y. Do you plan to cut or drill with it at all?
| Kai Lawson wrote: |
| Do you plan to cut or drill with it at all? |
I haven't cut anything for years Kai. I did do drills with it for a couple of months till I felt I 'understood it', but that was a couple of swords ago. After that I picked up the Thegn and played with it for a while. Most recently I purchased a second-hand Maciej sword with a very similar blade to this one, but classic medieval hilt furniture. It has a completely different feel to it. -JD
Doug,
What is that sword to the far left. I like that but can't remember it.
What is that sword to the far left. I like that but can't remember it.
Wow. That’s an absolute beauty! The blade looks like it would feel just great! Love that chape too!
| Jeremy V. Krause wrote: |
| Doug,
What is that sword to the far left. I like that but can't remember it. |
I think you mean the Brazil nut with the curved cross; that was another commission from Maciej based on an original. He called it 'Norman Rider' and made some more. I reviewed it here a while back, Maybe his first review. My only regret with that one is that I did not get a scabbard.
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