[Jean Thibodeau]

My order became official on the 28th of April and I just got it today the 25th of May less than a month

It was shipped yesterday and got here TODAY: Now that is fast and no annoying delays caused by slow Canada Customs processing ( As usual with Craig, all my E-Mails and questions were answered the same day or the next. )
It feels feather light and it makes it hard to believe that it is actually heavier than my Sovereign and Gaddhjalt.

It may be a Hand & a Half sword but one handed use doesn't seem like it would be reserved for emergency use or only as a poor second choice to two handed use.

If I close my eyes I could imagine that I was holding my 15" dagger as far as potential speed and agility is concerned.

The pommel has a pleasing subtlely elliptical shape and is very massive: Could make a mace look puny.

The guard combines very pleasant lines making it graceful and strong construction matching the pommel in mass.

The blade is paper cutting sharp out of the box and slicing note paper was easy.

To compare apples to oranges as far as balance and function my Gaddhjalt is a power cutter that might be described as 75% cutter with 25% thrusting capability , the Black Prince using the same imaginary scale would be 70% thruster with an adequate 30% cutting ability against unarmoured opponents. ( Just untested opinion here.

The fit and finish is satiny with crisp lines, the only minor flaw is that the centrer ridge is slightly of centrer near the point on one side. ( Very minor and historically accurate, I think ! Perfect symmetry, mirror finishes and geometrically perfect ridge line are more a modern " Knife collectors' " obsession and expectation )

Handling very different types of swords and an unfamiliar one for the first time always give me that " Oh this is more that just a question of style " : Form really does go with function.

Bottom line: I'm very pleased with this one

[Nathan Robinson]

I've been a big fan of A&A's Black Prince sword since first seeing it at their shop some 4 years ago. I'll be eager to read your continued commentary as you get more of a chance to play with it.

[Patrick Kelly]

Yes Jean, please gives us more feedback when you can.

About five or six years ago I did a review of this sword. It was the first one that started to change my perception of swords of this type. I like it.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Oh, I will give you further comments if and when something, I hope useful, comes to mind: But I don't do any serious test cutting with my swords and I am not qualified to get " technical " about sword performance and statistics.

So any comments by me are based on FEEL and what I hope are logical " GUESSWORK ".

But it really does feel real good just unexpertly moving it around.

( Would be nice to be able to handle a large sampling of Albion, A & A and other quality reproductions + a few originals in one long drool fest )

[Russ Ellis]

Congratulations Jean! I'm trying very hard not to call the guys and A&A all the time to pester them about my latest order. So far I've succeeded... mostly...

[Gordon Frye]

Jean;

Very cool! Glad to hear that you are so pleased with your new "Black Prince"! I have to say that I myself have been inordinately pleased with my own A&A products, and it's always good to hear that they continue that throughout their product line!

Thanks for the review, and enjoy the new acquisition!

Cheers,

Gordon

[Steve Grisetti]

Congratulations, Jean! I have been eyeing the Black Prince for a while. I have a Gustav Vasa on order from A&A, and that should be completed soon.

[Aaron Schnatterly]

[Anton de Vries]

[Gordon Frye]

[Jean Thibodeau]

Anton;

I don't have a precision scale so I can't give you the weight of mine but the " COMPARE " tool above gives the weight at 3.5 Lbs. ( 1.59 kilos )

In comparison my Gaddhjalt is stated to be 2.9 Lbs on the Albion site and feels like a real heavy cutter: Lots of blade presence.

The Albion Regent is also 3.5 pounds if that gives you a point of reference.

My A & A 15th century twohander comes in at a bit over 6 pounds: This one is at the border where I can hold it in the middle of the grip one handed fairly easily when my arm is almost fully extended, controlling it in motion and recovery would be a different story for more than an occasional swing. ( Not to mention when fatigue would become a factor very soon in any kind of combat. )

Now, my Del Tin Venetian twohander is just barely holdable with one hand at a weight of about 8 to 9 Lbs.

I've been slacking off on my gym attendance in the last couple of years but I did a good 15 years of weight training from 1985 to 2000. A bit of " honest " bragging here ( Is there any other kind ? ) I could do one arm dumbell rowing with 140 lbs for at least 8 reps strictly and maybe 12 reps cheating the weight up. Last time I went to the gym after a LONG layoff from training I could still handle 100 Lbs.
Appart from not being able to resist the urge to bore everybody with this, it might give an Idea why I compared the Black Prince to a 15" dagger in feel. The profile taper combined with the distal taper does give a point of balance only a couple of inches from the guard so it feels almost like holding a small 3.5 Lbs weight in a closed fist.

Anyway, let the teasing " begin " ( Continue ? )

[Anton de Vries]

[Gordon Frye]

[Anton de Vries]

[Steve Grisetti]

[Gordon Frye]

[Kenneth Enroth]

Surely the man must have a weakness.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Kenneth;

Actually, I do feel a little weak when exposed to Kryptonite.

Oh, and I don't play hockey, can barely skate and only in a strait line and " How do you stop with these things ".
but my skates would be scary sharp

Hmmmmmm, maybe A & A could make me a combination Poleaxe / Hockey Stick. ( Also sharp! )

Also, it takes a lot to get me mad, and the " Cause " must be just

I could also count eating too much as a weakness ........ LOL.


But getting back to topic, the Black Prince: I wonder what kind of leather A & A used ? After a little " renaissance wax " the grain of the leather is really attractive when you look closely: Sort of a crosshatched skin texture with what I think are large pores dotting the surface. ( Where hair used to be ? )

The more I hold this one the more I like it. Oh, although I sort of like the look of a needle sharp point, the way this one is done keeps it from being easily snapped of or mushed ! The point seen in profile takes the shape of a rifle bullet in the last 1 / 2 " of blade and at a width of about 3 / 8 " depending on where one chooses to measure.

Now, this point is small enough to find chinks in the armour or maybe burst a link of maille ? ( We can start a whole new argument about how resistant to this is maille ...... LOL. )

Oh, after a little use of the renaissance wax the nice satiny finish really looks better than at my first glance at it after an all nighter of playing " Age of empire II " on my Mac: Unpacked the sword, everything looked O.K. , got some sleep !

[Steve Grisetti]

[Jean Thibodeau]

Steve;

About 20% body fat ! I look more like a 19th century strongman like Louis Cyr but he was MUCH stronger ! I'm 5" 9" and 230 Lbs. ( Does this Gambison make me look FAT ??? ......... LOL )

So maybe at 200 Lbs I might look more Arnold like

The good news is that the Renwax seems to make the grip MORE grippy not less, at least when applied initially and the grip is never more slippery after a lot of handling as the excess wax rubs off or the wax dries. ( No finger prints on the blade visible as opposed to oiling, so wipping down after touching the blade is very much minimized ... Love this stuff.... get some. )

Actually I might want to wax the grip just before I was going to use it, if I did any test cutting.

Oh, and I should buy a digital camera if I can stop buying swords

Now you've done it ! I'm thinking about buying one, and with Photoshop I can remove any distracting / DISTURBING backgrounds like my messy room.