Military smallsword, 28 inch long blade, 2.3 centimeters at the forte. High cross-section. 1st half of the 18th century. Its an excellent misericorde of a sword. I keep thinking that its something a coachman might wear under his coat. This would give a stiff thrust!

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That is an interesting smallsword with a very sturdy blade. I wonder if you can cut with it, though it is obviously a thruster. I notice that the absence of a knucklebow allows you to get a very firm grip on the hilt. The guard looks a lot like one you would find on a cuttoe.

Very nice. Very deadly.

I'm pretty sure that its a hollow ground blade (its still on its way to me) so no cutting. It is wide enough however to parry a heavier blade and then give a horrendous thrust that would probably even penetrate a heavy uniform coat. To me the hilt looks like a classical first half of the 18th century smallsword hilt sans knuckleguard. But it sort of does have a cuttoe effect. It makes me think of another 18th cen hollowground sword I saw that had no knuckleguard. And the width of the blade was HUGE. It was sort of like a hunting or traveling sword.

Yeah, I looked closely and there are some notches from parrying near the forte. Obviously it did part of its job! Looks like it parried a heavier cutting weapon.

Thank you for posting this Christopher. It really looks like it would be a handy sword and it all blends together really nice! In fact, if you had not said that is was a composite of parts it would be hard to tell that it wasn't made this way from the get go. congratulations on a unique sword that no one else will probably ever have!

Scott

I just took delivery of an Albion Crecy and thought that I would post a quick message here as it was bought through the Marketplace and whilst I have sold quite a few swords through this 'site, this is the first time that I have been the buyer. I've wanted one of these for a long time and with the Pound's recent plunge against the Euro thought that the chance had gone, so a big thank-you to Julien M for making this possible.

Cheers,
Darrin.

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This is a fantasy sword I've wanted for a long time. I couldn't afford the Discerner,
but this sword is I believe the next best thing. I was quite surprised by the craftsmanship
and I just love it.

Generation 2 Excalibur, 2nd run.

I just received the Windlass Kindjal for my birthday, and I have been wanting this blade for about two or three years now, so I was pretty happy! This is a pretty well built item for the price, and the scabbard isn't bad either. It's well balanced and strong, and is pretty unique.

I don't have my own photos yet, so here is a link from KOA.

http://www.kultofathena.com/product~item~4003...indjal.htm

I have a new custom ring hilt sword from Arms and Armor. This pairs their Irish sword cross and ring pommel with a Type XIIIa blade similar to the Bohemian broadsword. I was cutting with this for the first time yesterday and Pat Kelly's review of the Bohemian broadsword is spot on. This blade cuts soft targets effortlessly and is a joy to handle. It is rather lighter in weight than most XIIIa's, but has a POB at 6 inches. I have come to appreciate this combination of weight and POB the last few years - it makes for a very controllable sword capable of combination cuts that sometimes I quite frankly can struggle with on a sword with a POB close to the cross. It is a little large (36 inch blade, 45.25 total) for hanging on a belt so I am using an old Albion Baldric (thanks Dan!) with this one to sling over the shoulder. I would like to thank Craig for taking on this commission for me. This sword is top shelf in every way. tr

Wow, it's perfect combination Thom!

Looking at pictures, I don't really like the look of Irish sword, nor Bohemian broadsword at all, yet the parts of them combined into this one look great.

Interesting dimensions too.

That is a very nice looking sword Thom. Do you happen to know how much it weighs? I like Irish ring pommels and this one looks really nice teamed with that blade.

Scott

Thanks for the feedback! The sword weighs 1190 g. (2 pounds 10 oz) I really like the profile taper on this blade. The blade is thin in the last third of the blade. It sags just a little under its own weight when held horizontal. Despite being a wide and rather thin Type XIIIa, there are no noticeable grind marks on the blade at all and the fuller is perfect. Its quite beautiful. tr

Scott Kowalski wrote:

That is a very nice looking sword Thom. Do you happen to know how much it weighs? I like Irish ring pommels and this one looks really nice teamed with that blade. Scott

My newest arrival (yesterday, making it a 9-day turn-around) is an Albion Crecy:

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While at it, I decided to take some better photos of my Albion Chevalier as well:

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Those are good looking swords, Ed, especially the Crecy, which I think of as the best all-around sword. I like the blue color of the grip leather, but I bet it looks a lot lighter in the photos than in person.

The only object that I have that wouldn't be considered a wall hanger is a Torino Main Gauche made by CAS Iberia/Hanwei. I purchased it after reading a review found in this page of the Solingen main gauche and rapier.

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Hopefully I made a good investment.

So after a ho hum week of dealing with an erratically-behaving computer and failing air conditioning unit at home (and I live in a really warm, humid area of the US), I arrive from work to a pleasant surprise. Behold, my first ever Western/European as well as Albion sword!

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Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures (taken with a 3.2 mega-pixel cell phone camera).

I've been a longtime katanaphile for a while now, but after receiving my new Next Generation Kingmaker (with light brown "campaign worn" grip and antiqued fittings - after seeing Mr. Brian K.'s own Kingmaker, it was a no brainer as to which sword to get), I'm seriously torn between East and West now! This might turn into a dangerous addiction (and a threat to the ol' bank account) if I'm not careful, heh.

This was my first time dealing with Albion and I have to say that Mike and the good folks there were very professional and prompt with their responses to my questions. A great buying experience all around! The sword feels great in the hand, very lively with nice balance, and the fit and finish are top notch! Almost too perfect, it's how scary it is! I was a bit iffy about the final results of the antiquing but it came out lovely and really sets the blade and grip apart.

And the blade, wow. I had no knowledge of hollow ground blades only a few months ago but Albion's got me sold on the precision with which they can make theirs. Again, scary perfect. The gun case that shipped with the sword is pretty neat too, but this blade is just begging for a scabbard and belt suspension in the near future. (A tough decision... do I get that, a decent camera, or my first gun purchase? All while saving enough for a trip to Greece next year... decisions, decisions!)

Oh, before I forget, the recess in the pommel is also just begging for some sort of ornamentation, such as a coin. Any recommendations for one befitting the style and time period of this particular sword?

Many thanks to the good folks at Albion for making my first Euro-style production blade purchase go so smoothly and to the folks here for arming me with knowledge about Western swords!