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Paul Watson




Location: Upper Hutt, New Zealand
Joined: 08 Feb 2006

Posts: 395

PostPosted: Thu 26 Mar, 2009 11:21 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

The only real European swords I have ever owned or handled have been Albions, I have owned up to four and have had the good fortune to handle a few others, so my experience with real swords is limited but without fail every time someone picked up either my Regent or Knight their eyes would widen with amazement and once they start swinging the response is usually along the lines of "wow this is so light/easy to swing" etc. So their handling abilities certainly left good impressions on people new to swords.
I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, but that which it protects. (Faramir, The Two Towers)
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Curt Dunham




Location: Fort Myers, FL
Joined: 03 Feb 2005

Posts: 12

PostPosted: Thu 26 Mar, 2009 4:48 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

The Albion Meyer! You know as soon as you pick it up; and since it's a blunt, you can feel it really coming into its own during sparring.

Curt Dunham
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Max W.




Location: South Germany
Joined: 01 Mar 2009

Posts: 24

PostPosted: Fri 15 May, 2009 2:38 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Michael Edelson wrote:
I think the Albion Talhoffer...older blade...is a superb handling sword. The new ones with the super beefy points not so much (I'm assuming the new Talhoffers get this point...I've only seen it on a Ringeck so far).



Hello,

i'm really curious if there's been an official statement, if the Albion XVa blades were actually redesigned (and to what goals of course),
or if your friend's Ringeck is just not ground exactly the same while removing the CNC remainings.

Could you probably get your hands on pictures displaying the difference between those booth points?

Greetings,
Max
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Darryl Aoki





Joined: 12 Oct 2006

Posts: 93

PostPosted: Fri 15 May, 2009 7:23 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'll throw in my vote for the Crecy too. I got it precisely because it looked like what I thought a longsword ought to look like; when I took it out of its packing, I was surprised. I won't go so far as to say that I had trouble putting it down, but it came close. I haven't had any real training in longsword techniques, but I was impressed by its tip control thrusting one-handed.
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G K Pfingsten




Location: Washington
Joined: 07 May 2009

Posts: 14

PostPosted: Fri 15 May, 2009 8:23 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I would actually recommend one of the Albion Squireline swords. I haven't had the chance to try one of the other Squireline swords, but I do own the Bastard Sword. The Svante is a great sword, albeit a little costly. However, as Patrick has said earlier, it's not as forgiving in its handling. After handling the sword for an extended period of time, the weight does become more noticable, but you still do want to keep using it until your arms fall off. The Bastard Sword, on the other hand, is much lighter and is much more forgiving. In fact, it's easily handled with in one hand, and this is coming from a 130 lb guy who hasn't gone to the gym in years. The only drawback is the finish leaves something a little to be desired, but that's not the purpose of the Squireline swords. It's been the gateway sword I've used to convince my friends to buy one, because it has been a sword that has not only shattered any misguided preconceptions of what a medieval sword should be like despite its size, but is also pretty affordable. It's meant to be a user, and without the person being scared of using it.
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Tormod Engvig




PostPosted: Fri 15 May, 2009 11:56 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

G K Pfingsten wrote:
I would actually recommend one of the Albion Squireline swords. I haven't had the chance to try one of the other Squireline swords, but I do own the Bastard Sword. The Svante is a great sword, albeit a little costly. However, as Patrick has said earlier, it's not as forgiving in its handling. After handling the sword for an extended period of time, the weight does become more noticable, but you still do want to keep using it until your arms fall off. The Bastard Sword, on the other hand, is much lighter and is much more forgiving. In fact, it's easily handled with in one hand, and this is coming from a 130 lb guy who hasn't gone to the gym in years. The only drawback is the finish leaves something a little to be desired, but that's not the purpose of the Squireline swords. It's been the gateway sword I've used to convince my friends to buy one, because it has been a sword that has not only shattered any misguided preconceptions of what a medieval sword should be like despite its size, but is also pretty affordable. It's meant to be a user, and without the person being scared of using it.


Indeed! If the Squire Line Bastard handles half as well as the NextGen Mercenary (they're pretty much the same sword; the Mercenary is just the gussied up version) its got my vote. Though I guess the Bastard/Mercenary are not archetypical bastard swords as they are perhaps a smidge on the short side. But, I could be wrong. In their defence however I do believe the Type XV blade was (historically speaking) quite popular on the hand-and-a-halfs.

"Skal til kamp på bølgen top, Dannebrog i stavnen op, gid der bag dets røde fold, står en helt som Tordenskjold."
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Neil Langley




Location: Stockport, UK
Joined: 23 Jan 2006

Posts: 112

PostPosted: Fri 15 May, 2009 8:45 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Michael Edelson wrote:

The Munich is also, IMO, a poor example. If the Svante is a 4lb sword that is supposed to feel like a 3lb sword, then the Munich is a 3lb sword that is supposed to feel like a 4lb sword. This is a good thing for an experienced longsword fencer, but not something you can wow someone with.


4lb feel may be a bit harsh? However I agree this sword does need you to make full use of the longer grip to overcome its inertia. The Munich half-swords a dream though!

The Crecy is great and it certainly lives up to expectations, but for me does not exceed them, and so for Albion swords my vote goes to my Regent, closely followed by the Agincourt. That said, my Regent clocks in at just under 5lb 6oz (light for the published stats) and, with the resulting POB of about 4.75 inches, it practically floats. When committed to the cut though the sword oozes authority - everybody who picks this one up goes 'wow'. It makes me wonder what the Earl is like?

The fastest longsword I own is a custom Armour Class (XVIII, thicker stock, longer handle than normal). AC make some very good handling swords - people enjoy mine.

Other nominations to put a grin on your face: The fastest handling sword (ever?) if a bit light for some maybe - the Angus Trim Maker's Mark XIV double fuller. Single handed cutter - the Albion Reeve (cuts, slices and dices).
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P. Norton




Location: USA
Joined: 21 Nov 2007
Likes: 17 pages
Reading list: 12 books

Posts: 153

PostPosted: Fri 15 May, 2009 9:20 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Max W. wrote:
Michael Edelson wrote:
I think the Albion Talhoffer...older blade...is a superb handling sword. The new ones with the super beefy points not so much (I'm assuming the new Talhoffers get this point...I've only seen it on a Ringeck so far).



Hello,

i'm really curious if there's been an official statement, if the Albion XVa blades were actually redesigned (and to what goals of course),
or if your friend's Ringeck is just not ground exactly the same while removing the CNC remainings.

Could you probably get your hands on pictures displaying the difference between those booth points?

Greetings,
Max


This interests me as well. I bought a Poitiers a couple of months back from KoA that I felt was too thin and flexible in the blade, so I returned it.

Since I had always loved the look of this Albion model, I decided to give it another try, and bought a second Poitiers about a month ago direct from Albion. This time, I was very pleasantly surprised, as the new sword had a much thicker and stiffer blade, with a reinforced point. It's perfect, actually.

I don't know if this was the result of a slight redesign, or just differences in the grinding of each individual blade, but I would be interested to find out.

Perhaps the XV as well as the XVa were redesigned?
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P. Norton




Location: USA
Joined: 21 Nov 2007
Likes: 17 pages
Reading list: 12 books

Posts: 153

PostPosted: Fri 15 May, 2009 9:33 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

To address the topic, the fastest sword that I've handled so far is the Angus Trim 1557:

http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t...light=1557

http://www.christianfletcher.com/Christian_Fl...XVIII.html

This weapon pretty much just floats in your hand.
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