[Chad Arnow]

[Tim Lison]

It keeps getting better! The grip looks really nice. I'm looking forward to full length shots now. It's all that's left!

[Jean Thibodeau]

Very impressive in so many ways.

[Maurizio D'Angelo]

[J.D. Crawford]

Craig is probably too humble to respond to all those nice remarks, but I certainly appreciate them!

Here are Craig's Stats and some Pics of the Final sword.

OL: 39.45"
BL: 34"
GW: 8.55"
Grip: 3.38"
PW: 4.36"
BP: 6.5"
Weight: 2.96 lbs / 1347g

I'll add some subjective impressions when I get my hands on 'er.

Thanks a lot Craig, not only for the sword, but also for taking so much time to document your process for us.

-JD

[Tim Lison]

Ahhh... I'm dripping with envy right now! That is gorgeous. Craig and the A&A guys have again turned out a masterpiece. Great choice in a sword J.D.! Brazil nuts are my peronal favorite and this one is a bit unusual with the ridge. It makes me want to start a new project today! Thanks for sharing, it's great to see really nice swords like this get made. Enjoy it!

[J.D. Crawford]

[Jeremy V. Krause]

The sword looks great! Congratulations!

I wonder if that is an Eric Schmidt hauberk with it. I think Craig may own one.

[Craig Johnson]

Thank you for all the kind words. This sword was a very fun project. I had not done a Brazil nut quite this large before, I would expect the owner of the original was an imposing fellow when this was in his hands.

Jeremy the mail I fear is not Erik's could not afford one of those Hs is much more refined than the mail here. This is an India made shirt.

I look forward to hearing what Doug thinks when he has it in hand and I hope it meets his expectations.

Best
Craig

[J.D. Crawford]

Craig, I just got your final photos. These are great. I think I like the simple one against the wood best -really shows off the sword. You have to use these on the web site. Take care, Doug

[Eyal Azerad]

Hi Doug,

Amazing....I'm a huge fan of A&A. They really do make some really nice pieces. This sword is absolutely stunning, not to mention your photography skills...Very nice !

Eyal,

[J.D. Crawford]

Thanks Eyal, but I can't take credit for any of the photos. Craig Johnson sent all of them to me, and I just posted them. By the way, Craig also designed the grip. I'm usually pretty conservative in that area, but I really like what he did with it. -JD

[J.D. Crawford]

Guess what came in the mail today...(see picture below, just taken in my back yard).

Here are my initial thoughts:

Historical Accuracy - excellent. You have to really scrutinize it to find minor differences from the original - or to put it another way, if the original swordsmith had made two of these in a row, it is likely there would have been more variations between them than between this replica and its predecessor of 900 years ago. Note that at the last minute Craig slightly modified the blade profile near the tip to bring it closer to the original, at my request, and I think this worked nicely.

Fit, Finish, Construction - Of course everything fits well. I love the finish that A&A puts on its swords and this is no exception. The fuller and surface are quite regular, with only enough hint of imperfection to announce that this is a hand made item. The handle components, as obvious from the pictures above, are gorgeous. The only place I can find some mentionable imperfections is at the junction of the blade and cross, where the inner surface of the cross slot is a bit irregular on one side and there are some superficial scratches on the blade beneath the cross - only noticeable upon searching, and tiny compared to many historical imperfections. The blade is sharp, sharper toward the end, although not quite razor sharp (problaby right for real use). There seems to be a tiny bit of a secondary bevel, put almost invisible. The blade has a perfect balance of stiffness/flexibility for a cutting sword of this type - flexible enought to likely withstand hits, but not at all 'whippy'.

Handling - this was a really pleasant surprise compared to my expectation- this sword handles really, really well, not just for a sword of this size and type but for any one hand sword! I'm used to swords like this so I like the blade presence, but I'm surpised that I have no problems making quick transitions between guard positions and stopping on a dime, which is often difficult with swords of this type. My numbers are similar to Craig's (PoB 6.5" and weight 2 lb 15 Oz) so I put this down to mass distribution. It has a distal blade taper (starting from about 4mm at the cross to about 2.5mm close to the tip) along a similar non-linear progression to the profile taper visible in the photo below. The grip is smooth but 'grippy' if you know what I mean, which is perfect for my taste. I insisted that the handle retain its historical dimensions so it's a tight squeeze for the hammer grip, but doable (due the the smooth comfortable pommel) except at full extension where the pommel corner digs a bit into the side of the palm. It is perfect for the handshake grip. I don't plan to cut with this sword, but based on its parameters (harmonics, blade geometry, size, speed), I would guess it would cut very well against a variety of media if put to the test.

[Edit: on further testing I found the harmonics to be better than my initial impression - with the one node centered right on the cross. It also makes some pleasing sound effects - a nice woosh through the air and ringing sound on light contact.]

Very few people in the world have the skill to put together a custom replica like this, so I make these comments in all humility and respect, but since I'm a professor in real life, I feel the need to give Craig's work a mark:

'A' for Awesome, man!

[Tim Lison]

Again- Congratulations on a terrific sword! I'm sure you'll love it for years to come. Now you have to get a top notch scabbard for it!

[Craig Peters]

JD,

Thanks for including such a thorough review. Would you mind taking another photo of the sword and posting it in the thread? The one you've got is good, save for the fact that the middle and weak of the blade seem to be a bit bleached out by sunlight.

[J.D. Crawford]

Sorry, I'm not the best photographer. This one's not much better, but you can see more of the fuller toward the end:

[Luka Borscak]

It really turned out well! The blade looks very long compared to the grip, just how I like it.

[Nathan Robinson]

[Brian K.]

Absolutely gorgeous. I'm picking my jaw up off the floor now. I absolutely love wide fullers and this one fits the bill. A nicely done package for sure. Thanks for sharing.

[J.D. Crawford]

Thanks Brian. You may be handling this sword in person one day if I can part with my baby long enough to get a proper scabbard made.

And thanks again Nathan, I know we're both big A&A fans.

Regards, JD