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Patrick Kelly
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 Posted: Wed 21 Jul, 2004 7:02 pm Post subject: Albion Jarl: What a piece of crap... |
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Quite the opposite in fact, but I bet you're paying attention now. 
The Jarl arrived this evening. Just when I thought today was a no-show it came. I was out in the front yard prepping my house for painting (joy! joy!) when the BBT pulled up.
What can I say except that Albion continues to impress. Earlier this year I purchased a Vinland, which had to go to pay the tax man due to an unexpected FUBAR with my taxes (the states fault, not mine). While there was certainly nothing wrong with that sword the Jarl is several large steps above it. I can definitely say that Steve and Jason have the blade work down since the machining and finish on this blade is a bit better than that earlier Vinland. Everything's precisely machined and finished. Practice makes perfect.
All of Erics frustration (of which I'm told there was quite a bit *g*) while assembling the pommel was well worth it. Quite frankly, it makes the sword visually. The silver wire accents really set the pommel off, and really draw your eye into the swords design details. It's great to finally see a Viking style production sword with an historically accurate pommel. The swords handling qualities are outstanding. It's quick, but I bet it'll bite with quite a bit of authority. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of this big butcher knife. I can't wait to try this one out on a few wara mats.
Last year I was shown the first Next Generation prototype and I made some pretty strong statements immediately thereafter, of which I received more than a few e-mail responses telling me that I was full of a certain odorous bodily excrement. In the last month, or so, I've received three very different Next Gen. swords. So far I've seen nothing to make me retract those earlier statements. The Viking age has always been one of my main periods of interest. Because of this I've owned quite a few production, and custom made, Viking swords. This Jarl is the best one yet.
I hate to use terms like "best" to describe anything since much of this stuff is subjective. On the other hand, I honestly feel that Albion is making far and away the best production swords on the US market right now, in fact, they're the only production swords that I'll consider buying for my own collection. Otherwise it's custom work from the likes of Vince Evans and Peter Johnsson. I'm not trying to take anything away from any other maker with that statement. We currently have quite a few quality makers in the production field, who are working at various price points, and turning out very worthwhile products. However, at the end of the day a definitive statement has to be made in terms of who is on top.
Albion swords are more expensive than much of their competition, but quality isn't free. The Albion teams hard work and research is definitely paying off. In my opinion they are currently offering the whole package of mechanics, construction, and aesthetics, and their doing it better than anyone else in the production field. I've just received one more piece of evidence to support this opinion. Huzzah to Howy and company.
Review to follow.
Funny thing though, I never did get that side of the house scraped. *g*
"In valor there is hope.".................. Tacitus
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W. Patrick McGuigan
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| Posted: Wed 21 Jul, 2004 9:11 pm Post subject: |
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Congratulations, Patrick! .That pommel really stands out at me. Awesome!
Looking forward to the review.
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Brian M
Location: Austin, TX Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Posts: 500
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| Posted: Wed 21 Jul, 2004 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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That looks like a beautiful sword. Honestly, though my interests are more to the early medieval, the Berserker, Jarl, and Hersir are very high on my want-list. I will certainly be purchasing at least one of these three this year.
Regards,
Brian M
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Lee Watts
Location: Wales, UK ,europe Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Thu 22 Jul, 2004 2:34 am Post subject: |
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gorgeous. being a medieval man myself i could allmost be converted to a viking with a sword like that.
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Gary Grzybek
Location: Stillwater N.J. Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 559
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| Posted: Thu 22 Jul, 2004 4:07 am Post subject: |
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Congradulations Patrick!
That's no doubt, my favorite Viking 
Gary Grzybek
ARMA Northern N.J.
www.armastudy.org
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Blaz Berlec
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Thu 22 Jul, 2004 11:58 am Post subject: |
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| Blaz Berlec wrote: | Right, piece of crap.
My I have it then?  |
As the old American saying goes, "The check is in the mail"
"In valor there is hope.".................. Tacitus
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Gary Venable
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| Posted: Thu 22 Jul, 2004 12:20 pm Post subject: |
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Patrick,
When you describe the Jarl as better by "several large steps" is that in the fit and finish of the blade and furniture or in the handling, balance and dynamics of the sword? I envy your ability to be able to answer this question having owned both.
Gary
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Thu 22 Jul, 2004 4:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Gary Venable wrote: | Patrick,
When you describe the Jarl as better by "several large steps" is that in the fit and finish of the blade and furniture or in the handling, balance and dynamics of the sword? I envy your ability to be able to answer this question having owned both. |
I would say yes to every aspect accept the handling. The Jarl is a bit more agile than the Vinland, but that's primarily due to the more pronounced profile taper. They're two different blades types so the dynamics are different. Other than that the Vinland is a very nice handling sword. The Jarl is a really great handling sword that I'm having a lot of fun playing with.
The blade finish on the Jarl is a bit better, the tip on my Vinland was a bit uneven. However, I think that this is mostly due to the fact that my Vinland was one of the earliest ones. Jason has had quite a bit more practice finishing these blades since then. So I don't think this is a case of a difference in quality, but rather one of gaining experience.
The furniture is superior on the Jarl, that's why it's quite a bit more expensive. The Jarl features a correct two-piece assembly of upper guard and pommel, and the silver wire is a very striking visual feature. The Vinlands fittings (as well as the other two intial Albion Vikings) are cast, and they look it. They're very nice castings, but castings none the less.
(I should point out that the fittings on the Jarl are also cast. The difference is that the pommel assembly is not cast in one piece.)
So when I say that the Jarl is "several large steps" better it's not a criticism of the Vinland. What I mean is that these newer Viking swords are featuring historic construction (something that's apparently a bit of a b*@ch to do) that has been lacking in the Viking production field. These are features that the Vinland doesn't have by nature of its construction. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that it was "better" after all. Maybe it would have been more accurate to say that the Jarl is one more step forward in Albions plan to bring historically accurate recreations to the production market.
"In valor there is hope.".................. Tacitus
Last edited by Patrick Kelly on Fri 23 Jul, 2004 10:51 am; edited 1 time in total
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Timothy Gulics
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| Posted: Fri 23 Jul, 2004 10:33 am Post subject: |
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Mmm. Jarl.
Very cool. If I get up to the 'Buy 6 Swords, Get the 7th Free' point, the Jarl may be #7. I love that silver wire stuff. 
The sword is my companion.
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