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Taylor Ellis
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 Posted: Fri 18 Nov, 2005 9:11 pm Post subject: A question for the Albion Baron owners |
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Obviously the Baron, like the majority of XIIa swords, is primarily a cutter. The cross section of the last 1/3 of the sword seems to me to be almost totally unsuited to thrusting. Can any owners of the Baron comment on how stiff the sword actually is? I realise it's not going to be much of a thruster against an armoured target, but is it stiff enough to be practical against an unarmed target?
I am wondering if the profile taper is designed around increased agility rather than increased thrusting performance...
Cheers guys. 
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Gary Grzybek
Location: Stillwater N.J. Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 559
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| Posted: Sat 19 Nov, 2005 7:17 am Post subject: Re: A question for the Albion Baron owners |
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| Taylor Ellis wrote: | Obviously the Baron, like the majority of XIIa swords, is primarily a cutter. The cross section of the last 1/3 of the sword seems to me to be almost totally unsuited to thrusting. Can any owners of the Baron comment on how stiff the sword actually is? I realise it's not going to be much of a thruster against an armoured target, but is it stiff enough to be practical against an unarmed target?
I am wondering if the profile taper is designed around increased agility rather than increased thrusting performance...
Cheers guys. |
Hi Taylor,
I'm holding my Baron right now 
Yes, the Baron is a primary cutter but well suited for a thrust. I would not try this against an armored opponent but otherwise I'm sure it will do quite well. The cross section in the last third of the blade is quite thin and flat but not as much as you would find in a type XIII. As far as the sword being stiff, well yes, there's no wobble at all but it will flex somewhat in a thrust or during a parry. Personally I think the Baron is a nice toss up between the Duke and the Crecy. A few weekends ago we were test cutting on rolled soaked newspaper. Personally I think they could have been a bit thinner since the resistance made them tough to get through but the Baron did a fine job. In many cases it cut so clean that you could see all the layers like that of a cut log. Scarey stuff 
Gary Grzybek
ARMA Northern N.J.
www.armastudy.org
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Alexi Goranov
myArmoury Alumni
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| Posted: Sat 19 Nov, 2005 7:53 am Post subject: Re: A question for the Albion Baron owners |
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| Taylor Ellis wrote: | I realise it's not going to be much of a thruster against an armoured target, but is it stiff enough to be practical against an unarmed target?
Cheers guys. |
It will do very well against an unarmored opponents. The sword is stiffer than one may expect for such broad bladed cutting oriented sword. The point is well formed and sharp enough to go through flesh and textile without much problem. The point is fairly easy to guide as well. I have done thrusting against tatami mats (this is not informative as even wooden spoon will penetrate these) and thick cardboard boxes and the Baron goes through those targets with ease. Of the six hand-and-a-half Albion swords I have the Duke is the least well suited for the thrust followed by the Baron which is, as I said, a decent thrusting sword but not in the same category as say the Regent, or the Agincourt, or the Sempach.
The Baron is a great example of its type. If you want a great 13-early 14c H&H sword this will do great. If you want something with well pronounced (balanced) cutting and thrusting ability maybe you could consider the the Cresy, the Agincourt (or other swords with the same blade), the Regent, maybe the Viceroy (I need that sword myself).
The strong suite of the Baron is that it is one hell of a cutter. I did not fully appreciate this until I cut double mats with my Crecy. The crecy cuts well but it required much more technique (and force ) to cut the targets that the baron demolished with ease. On the other hand the cresy is much faster (it is a joy cutting single mats with that sword) and will likely be better thruster as well.
The distal taper of the Baron is very dynamic. The blade is actually rather thick towards the guard and then it tapers quickly to a much thinner (but still strong) outer 1/3 of the blade. This results is a balance of cutting power, usable point and agility for the nearly 4lb sword.
All I can wholeheartedly say is : buy the Baron:) It was my first Albion and it is one hell of a nice weapon.
Alexi
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Taylor Ellis
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| Posted: Sat 19 Nov, 2005 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks guys, you've fully answered my question.
I think I'll go for the Baron, as I have a very special custom XVIa coming in the not too distant future. 
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