[Bob Burns]

Thanks to myArmoury I came accross a post that listed a website that supplies swords, daggers, etc. So I checked the website out that was listed in the post and lo and behold I learned that this website/distributer is 25 miles from my house. Of course I went over there "Kult of Athena" http://www.kultofathena.com/ and spent an hour there, I bought the Windlass Coustile dagger I had been wanting and my wife picked out the Windlass Medieval Sword Hilted Dagger, which matches the Coustile. This was hilarious that out of some 50 or so daggers she picks out the one dagger that matches mine. Been together 15 years, sometimes we say the same thing at the same time, I tell ya it is getting scary! LOL

Anyway, they also had 8 different Albion Swords in stock and for the first time I got to hold and check out Albions very fine swords. I think they are first class in their own right but I consider them equal in quality to Arms & Armor, which is to say they are the finest production swords money can buy. In my opinion it is just a matter of some people prefer a Mercedes to a BMW.

Anyway, back to the topic, Kult of Athena has In Stock that which they list on their website! These items are physically there in the store, I checked this out for myself and I was very impressed! True they do supply a lot of the cheap stuff as well as the cheap fantasy items, but along with that they have a strong inventory of high quality midrange items, such as Windlass Steelcraft, Cold Steel, Paul Chen, I also found their prices to be lower than I have seen anywhere else.

Kult of Athena also had quite a selection of Paul Chen Katanas, including a folded steel katana for $875.00 that had my tongue almost on the floor! Again, these items are there in the store.

I would very much recommend checking out Kult of Athena at http://www.kultofathena.com/

They are located in Elgin, IL. As a matter of a fact I am going over there again this week. They have some really great prices!

Happy Collecting,

Bob

[Jean Thibodeau]

I would rapidly go broke with a store like this near where I live.

I alternate between A & A and Albion and usually chose according to the specific model I am currently attracted to.

The Coustile is very close in type to the Anelace I bought from MR a few months back: Very pleased with it so far the heat treating of the blade seems very good and I am less concerned about the narrow tang since the topic on tangs I started gave some insight about period pieces that also have very narrow tangs.

I haven't taken mine apart so I'm not sure exactly how heavy or light the tang is, but I assume that the Coustille tang would be very similar. if by some chance you take yours apart I would be curious about what you find. Oh, don't risk doing any damage if the tang is very firmly screwed on, just if it is easy to remove or you decide to modify the handle or something.

A lot of people will customize the less expensive swords or knives for home projects: i antiqued the blade on my Anelace with good results. I haven't tried taking it apart because the assembly seems very solid and I don't want to damage it.

Nice that you can share your passion with your wife rather than having arguments with her: A bonus that she actually seems to like these enough to want one herself.

Take advantage of the opportunities to handle a few of those Albions if they will let you get a feel for them, it should make choosing one they have or one directly from Albion much easier. (Well make sure you get to handle them all, it can be surprising how different they will all feel. )

[Bob Burns]

I did in fact handle the Albions, they are magnificent, beautiful balance and what a wonderful feel they have to them! It was great to finally be able to lay hands on some Albion Swords.

I was also surprised at the quality for the money in regard to Paul Chen Swords, Cold Steel Swords and Windlass Steel Swords, bang for the buck these are very nice swords, though of course I would not compare them to Arms & Armor or Albion, I do not include the Paul Chen Katanas in this statement. Paul Chen Katanas are absolutely 1st class second to none production swords.

Happy Collecting,

Bob

LOL Yep I am going to have to really practice some self discipline with that store so close! YIKES!

[Gavin Kisebach]

I had occasion to pick up Paul Chens Practical Viking and Cold Steels viking as well. I had heard that cold steel initial had problems with "dead" blades. I know their focus is on durabulity and cutting power, but the sword I handled was fearonably lively and a nice looking blade. The Chen PViking was also nice, for a hundred dollars.

[Nathan Robinson]

[Bob Burns]

Well they had the Berserker, Prince, several Viking swords at about $650.00 + I can't remember the names of the others but they were gorgeous. I am going back over there, I will write down which models they have in stock, I may go over there today as a matter of fact.

Bob

[Nathan Robinson]

[Bob Burns]

Albion is not listed under manufacturers, just type Albion in the search window and you will get the list of Albions that are IN STOCK, they are physically there in the store, because I handled each and every one of them!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Bob

These are the new Albions by the way, such as the Prince and the Berserker and several Viking Swords.

Sorry, I should of stipulated this before.

[C.L. Miller]

That's fantastic that you have such a resource in your area, and even better that they've made an effort to keep current with the next-gen Albions. You've a rare opportunity to handle these in person prior to ordering, make use of it!
Do they have the other items featured on their website, such as the Osprey books, available in-store as well?

[Nathan Robinson]

[Craig Peters]

So Bob, planning on buying a Next Gen Albion?

[Anton de Vries]

[Jonathon Janusz]

The Coustille isn't a bad little sword for the price. Feels quick in hand (fairly heavy pommel) such that I would call it a carry-about-town stabbing tool. In case anyone is wondering, the pommel is threaded onto the end of the tang with no pommel nut/keying system at all - the only thing that worried me about taking it apart was the possibility of either having the pommel on crooked once it was reassembled tightly or the thing spinning loose while handling - I would suggest some loctite on reassembly. The handle and cross part of the tang, I think, is reasonably beefy, but the section the pommel attaches to is fairly dainty considering it is little more than a threaded rod - made as a single piece with the rest of the blade, mind you, but still a threaded rod.

[Jeff Hsieh]

Hello Bob,

Can you talk a bit more about your new daggers, maybe post some pictures? I was considering those two strongly before I went with the Windlass High Middle Ages dagger instead, the one with the wire wrap. I'd like to know how your pieces stack up.

Jeff Hsieh

[Edward Hitchens]

Thanks for sharing this with us Bob! You're right, they do have a lot of stuff (a lot of Albions - I like how you can even pick out a grip color). I caught myself eyeing their Edward III sword by Paul Chen. Is that one of Paul's new ones? (Hanwei and A&A are the only makers I know off-hand that make a reproduction of the Ed III sword). Their prices are pretty good too. -Ted

PS ~ Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[Nathan Robinson]

[Bob Burns]

I don't have any pictures of my daggers as of now, but I can tell you this, for the price I was shocked at how good the quality is on both the Coustile and the Sword Hilted Medieval Dagger both by Windlass Steelcraft. I can pretty much guarantee to anyone that buys either of these, you will be very happy. Though you will have to sharpen it as Windlass does not sell sharpened swords or daggers. Paul Chen and Cold Steel are both sharp and I was very impressed with all the swords I handled by them as well.
I kept saying to myself, how can they afford to sell something this nice for this cheap! I had been eyeballing the Coustile on the internet for several months and was ambivalent about buying it as I wondered how good the quality could be, especially given the fact that it comes with a scabbard.

The movie swords by Windlass from "The Kingdom of Heaven" were very nice, though I did not care for the one that had a hemp wrap on the handle, other than that this particular sword was excellent. I would not buy anything by Ritter Steel though, to me their swords are way too heavy but some people like them a lot.

Paul Chen, Cold Steel and Windlass Steel Craft, my advice, don't let the low price scare you, bang for the buck anything by these companies is excellent but remember, don't try to compare them to Albion or Arms & Armor. At the same time for a midrange price, you will get one hell of a nice sword for the money you spent!

I handled every Paul Chen, Cold Steel and Windlass sword they had in the store and I was impressed by every single one of them (keeping in mind the price range).

What I really liked about Kult of Athena, is the fact that what they said they had in stock is in fact in stock and the owner "Ryan" is one of us, he is a sword nut. Said he got into this business because he has a passion, not to get rich and his prices are in fact very low. He strives very hard to keep things in stock and as he becomes more known to have the new Albions, will be stocking more models of Albion Swords, he is one of a handful that Albion allows to sell their new swords.

Having spent nearly two house in the store, I assure you, this is an excellent place to do business with. Having found this website and subsequently the store in the last 2 weeks, I feel like I just hit the jackpot! Only 25 miles from my house! http://www.kultofathena.com/

Happy Collecting

Bob

[Jean Thibodeau]

Bob;

Just want to say nice job on your last post: Nice mini review.

Oh, and I have been sharpening my MRL Anelace using a diamond hone and I am almost there: The edges for about 10 inches mid blade are now sharp the last 8 inches are getting there but will take more work. It always seems that getting an edge near the point of a knife or sword always seems to take more effort and time.

Could have used a belt sander but slow and steady gets it done ! I will finish the job with a Spyderco sharpmaker to give it the final hair popping edge.

In any case, to get to the point, any point. is that the steel and heat treat of this blade is very good because a file barely bites into the steel: So that is the why of using a diamond hone.

Your enthusiasm is always a pleasure to see / read

[Bob Burns]

Thank you Jean, you have said some very nice things to me in the forums and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. I really love this website, it is ground zero in importance to me. So many people to learn from, including experts like Christian Henry Tobler and Peter Johnsson.
I am indeed very passionate about this, wife says it's all I talk about anymore, drives her nuts sometimes but she is also very happy for me to have found a hobby and interest that is soul deep, she says that is a gift, so she is very supportive of me.
I can't add any personal knowledge to the website as I am a beginner, but I try to benefit myArmoury in other ways.

Happy Collecting,

Bob

[Steve Grisetti]

Bob, I have been viewing this thread for some time, and thinking about it. At first, I simply felt envy at the thought of having such a great resource so close by. But, then, I realized that, it I was in your position, I would probably spend every free moment of my time there . So, finally, I offer you both congratulations and condolences