Sword replicas Windlass baselard / coustille / katzbalger
I was thinking of picking up one of these three, sharpened, for light test-cutting for my WMA group. We need a short sword to test cut with now that we have started to get the hang of our excellent little Albion Constable.

Of the three, I have handled the MRL katzbalger which at least superficially seems pretty nice. I wonder if anyone has any idea of the handling / balance of the baselard and that little 'coustille' they make. I particularly like the idea of the baselard (being a fan of the Swiss confederacy) but wonder about the balance etc. as it doesn't have much of a pommel?

I know MRL is hit and miss with quality from one piece to the next, so with regard to these weapons, does anyone know of anecdotes of problems such as the fittings being loose, (especially) weak tangs, breaking blades etc.?

Also, is anyone familiar with the Celtic swords MRL makes, such as these two theoretically still available through ancient edge (though who knows, they don't seem to have updated their website in several years...):

http://www.ancientedge.com/product_94_detailed.html
http://www.ancientedge.com/product_143_detailed.html

( speaking of websites, how come it seems like the MRL website...
http://www.museumreplicas.com/webstore/Home.aspx
...ldoesn't list their 'Towton' sword, they haven't discontinued that have they?

Finally, is anyone making kriegmesser or gross messr (or langen messer) replicas other than Albion and Cold Steel?

Jean


Last edited by Jean Henri Chandler on Tue 05 Dec, 2006 1:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
Re: Sword replica query Windlass baselard / dagesse / katzba
Jean Henri Chandler wrote:
I was thinking of picking up one of these three, sharpened, for light test-cutting for my WMA group. We need a short sword to test cut with now that we have started to get the hang of our excellent little Albion Constable.

Of the three, I have handled the MRL katzbalger which at least superficially seems pretty nice. I wonder if anyone has any idea of the handling / balance of the baselard and that little dagesse they make. I particularly like the idea of the baselard (being a fan of the Swiss confederacy) but wonder about the balance etc. as it doesn't have much of a pommel?

I know MRL is hit and miss with quality from one piece to the next, so with regard to these weapons, does anyone know of anecdotes of problems such as the fittings being loose, (especially) weak tangs, breaking blades etc.?

Also, is anyone familiar with the Celtic swords MRL makes, such as these two theoretically still available through ancient edge (though who knows, they don't seem to have updated their website in several years...):

http://www.ancientedge.com/product_94_detailed.html
http://www.ancientedge.com/product_143_detailed.html

( speaking of websites, how come it seems like the MRL website...
http://www.museumreplicas.com/webstore/Home.aspx
...ldoesn't list their 'Towton' sword, they haven't discontinued that have they?

Finally, is anyone making kriegmesser or gross messr (or langen messer) replicas other than Albion and Cold Steel?

Jean


Well I'm sorry I can't be more helpful that to answer only 1 question, but here it goes:


MRL HAS discontinued the towton sword, one of their certainly better models. However, you can still get this at Reliks.com, I'm fairly sure. There is a review here about the towton:

http://www.myArmoury.com/review_mrl_towt.html


Also, Check out paul southern's review here:

http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/hand-and-a-half-sword.html

I suggest Paul Southern's review because he gives you a 10% discount from reliks.com just for looking at his site (it would be more moral of me to tell you of his site rather than give you the 10% discount code. It is very easy to find though!)

Good luck!
Re: Sword replica query Windlass baselard / dagesse / katzba
Quote:

Well I'm sorry I can't be more helpful that to answer only 1 question, but here it goes:
MRL HAS discontinued the towton sword, one of their certainly better models.


They did!? That doesn't seem to make much business sense! Thats the first MRL sword I heard any positive buzz about in the WMA / collector community in a couple of years, and they canceled it? Call me crazy but that doesn't make much sense...

It's also frankly frustrating that no one MRL reseller, including MRL s own store, seems to have the same items for sale online and when you call them they often seem to have a completely different set of items actually for sale. I don't understand this.

J
Ancient Edge may very well be selling off their existing stock, but as an on-going business, it's a good bet that they are essentially defunct. As you mention, their site has not been updated. I'd expect that many, if not most, of the items are not in stock and the only way to tell would be to give them a call. They are operated by the guys at Bugei and so they are a responsible business that will serve you well by answering your questions directly.
Nathan Robinson wrote:
Ancient Edge may very well be selling off their existing stock, but as an on-going business, it's a good bet that they are essentially defunct. As you mention, their site has not been updated. I'd expect that many, if not most, of the items are not in stock and the only way to tell would be to give them a call. They are operated by the guys at Bugei and so they are a responsible business that will serve you well by answering your questions directly.


Thanks Nathan thats good to know. I like the look of a lot of the items they have on their page that I don't see anywhere else, such as particularly some of their Viking swords.

Maybe since they are liquidating they should initiate a big Christmas sale!

J

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