[Eric W. Norenberg]

Has anyone had occasion to handle this particular item in person? It is quite long, 44-inches of blade, which is well into the danger zone for blade whip with this manufacturer, but I wonder if the blade geometry might offset this to any degree. It appears to be of a diamond-shaped section, flattened in the strong and becoming more square, perhaps rapier-like, as it tapers toward the tip.

Granted, flexible in the strong and stiff in the weak is probably not ideal for handling, but the size and profile of the thing have me intrigued- our good Mr. Flynt's impressive "kitbashing" works have inspired me to consider a re-hilting project of my own, and this model looks like a possible candidate...

Thanks,
Eric

[Daniel Michaelsson]

Personally I'd avoid Windlass. They have a reputation for *ahem* variable quality.

[Chad Arnow]

[Josh MacNeil]

If you're looking for a re-hilting project I'd suggest the Windlass Medieval Falchion (also called German Falchion). I was thinking of getting that and re-hilting it myself. All of the reviews I've seen suggest that it's a pretty mean cutter, but the hilt assembly is the weekest part of the whole peice. It's not peened or pinned so it should be easy to disassemble. Might be a bit cheaper than the two-hander also.

[Sean Flynt]

I can't say anything about the design of that particular weapon, but Windlass swords are greatly improved by some simple work.

If you're lucky the grip will be slightly bulky, which allows you to simply sand, rasp or plane it to a more complex and historically correct section and profile. If you want cord under the leather, be sure to make the grip core quite a bit smaller all around than feels perfectly comfortable. You'll be adding the thickness of the cord and leather on all sides, so it isn't just a matter of adding the thickness of one strand of cord and the thickness of the leather. When the core feels right, wrap a section in cord and leather and see how it feels. Reduce core accordingly.

The hole in the Windlass cross is usually a bit oversized, so you'll want to use steel or brass shims. I prefer brass because it's softer and thus conforms better when you pound down the cross. You can either cut a long strip, fit it inside the cross and tap the cross down into place or fit the cross and then tap some small, flat pieces down into the space between cross and tang. Either way works.

The grip will feel best if it's very secure, so you might want to consider filling it with epoxy. Ditto for the pommel.

If you want the security of a peened tang but have a screw-on pommel, it's not difficult to drill through the pommel and either shorten the grip by that extra .75" or cut that much out of the base of the blade.

You'll be surprised how much better the sword looks and feels if you do these simple projects. I consider this, plus taking some of the shine off the blade, to be the basic Windlass upgrade.

[Nathan Robinson]

I split off your question regarding "opposing fullers" as it has nothing to do with this topic. You can find it HERE.

[Edward Hitchens]

Looks a lot like the "Ravenna sword" they made but have since discontinuted (modeled after the one in the Wallace Collection ). I've held the Ravenna - it was a large and impressive piece and very lightweight for its size. I would think the "English two-handed sword" would share the same characteristics, especially now that (as Chad pointed out) Windlass' quality has improved significantly over the past few years.

I've handled several A&A's, Del Tins, Albions, ATrims, and one Vince Evans piece, so that should say a lot!

One thing I do remember about Windlass' large pieces like this one is that the blades are almost TOO flexible. For instance, I've stuck the point of a Ravenna into the ground and watched the hilt swing back and forth like a big metronome! Though given Windlass' recent quality improvement, I wouldn't be surprised if this were corrected.

[Chad Arnow]

Here's the sword being discussed:



I've held one of MRL's Ravenna swords and had a different experience. It was overbuilt and heavy.

But, these are very different swords.

[Bill Grandy]

I've never held the piece in question, so I can't really comment on it.

However, I should point out that for large blades, it isn't uncommon for antiques to be "whippy". Some large two handers can actually sag under their own weight when held outright: Its the product of making a very long blade with a significant distal taper. It isn't necessarily a sign of poor quality.

[Glen A Cleeton]

It is listed as 3/16" thick stock. Windlass is not known for being much in the distal taper department and I'd be suprised if this one exhibts much, if any. It is going to likely be a fairly flexible flyer That may be a dissapointment to some, I'm sure. I like that that didn't go with their black finish on this one, as that tended to chip. i touch up mine with a black marker but have always considered stripping it entirely. Timw will tell if we see cracked grips and bent tangs, I'll not be suprised if we do.

Despite their faults, Windlass contiues to offer a wide variety for the budget minded. They have maintained and in some cases dropped their overall price point while coontinuing to show some improvement in quality. While only owing two of their swords, I have been fairly pro Windlass for several years. They aren't going to suit everybody and the continuing hilt issues really haven't been a mystery for a long time. Some are more prone to the issues than others. One of my swords has a 5/16" (or 8mm) threaded pommel, whereas the blade itself is the standard 3/16" As Sean has noted, the opening in the crosses is often larger than the blade shoulders are thick. I use a bent dime to shim that cross, a couple of paperclips to shim the grip and a flat washer to space the pommel to alignment. All instantly reversible and it made a sound sword that I have been pretty rough on for almost a decade now.

Their Swiss War Sword , after the Ravenna, wasn't quite this big and wasn't produced for long. As with some of the other larger swords, I'd expect to see this one on the specials lists after a couple of years. With the market trends, thre are a lot more choices than ten years ago but we still see some hits that linger. I look forward to in hand impressions of this one and will keep an eye out for it if I bump into Silvermane at a faire up this end of the country.

Cheers

GC

[Chad Arnow]

The sword MRL's English Two-handed sword is based on is housed in the Royal Armouries at Leeds. It's one of the swords from the Castillon hoard (English swords dredged out of the Dordogne River that are thought to be spolis of that French victory).

Like the Wallace Collection sword MRL used to produce as the Ravenna sword, they are large (RA sword = 58 1/2 inches overall; Wallace Coll. sword = 59 1/4 inches overall), English two handers of the mid-15th century. But they have their differences. See the pics below.

If someone wanted to make their MRL English Two-Handed sword more accurate, they upgrade the grip. The original sword has evidence of "fine brass wire" wrapping over the wood core. Whether it was completely wrapped or not is unknown.

IV-1787

[Steve Halston]

[Robert Subiaga Jr.]

I'd echo much of what's been already said. Windlass is extremely variable in overall quality, but their blades are invariably good in heat-treatment and the like, and, at their price, make great "project swords." Keep in mind that just about any hilting experiment you try that doesn't work can be removed and another attempt made. There's nothing like your own hands-on experimentation, and whatever you may settle on--a historical re-creation, something historically plausible, or just a "modernization" that is fully functional--you can take pride in having made something fully "yours."

[Patrick Mahoney]

Thread revival.
I purchased the Windlass two hander from KOA, and was actually pleasantly surprised at how well the blade was forged. I expected certain abnormalities in the taper due to its low cost, but it does taper to appx 3mm by the radius of the point.
Yes, it sags a bit, an by that I mean just a bit. Although I didn't measure that, it didn't concern me in the least being quite a long blade.
The handling is quite nice, and if gripped at the hilt can be swung one handed, although you better have room for followthrouhg and recovery!
I personally sharpened this one myself, and I should note these would historically only be sharp near the COP and beyond so the base of the blade woould often be gripped for better control of the thrust which was often used to get between plates of armour.
Mine is sharp entirely.
The cutting is not as whippy as one would expect, and Windlass has done. Quite a nice job of it despite the furniture being somewhat blocky and unrefined. I suppose a drawback of the cost, and yes a very good project for re-gripping.

[Jean Thibodeau]

The A & A version is much better quality but it's blade also sags but this is normal for very long blades:
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...und+Shield

The Windlass does seem very good for the price although I assume that the A & A is better in quality and I'm very happy with mine.

How much does the Windlass weigh ? The A & A weighs 6.06 pounds according to the A & A site and although I agree that one can just manage it with one hand recovery would be slow with a fully committed blow although it's possible to swing a large sword like this with one hand and then re-grab the handle with the other hand to recover: Doable but not easy.

On the other hand using both hands even this large a sword can be fast and nimble but it's a the very limit and maybe a bit over being useable with one hand.

The smaller longswords weighing closer to 3 pounds are functionally bastard swords in that they can do both one handed and two handed well.

[Patrick Mahoney]

[Chad Arnow]

I think Jean means A&A English two-hander, which is based on the sword on the right side of this picture:



MRL used to also copy that sword, but called it the Ravenna. The MRL sword being discussed replicates the sword on the left side of the picture.

It helps to make sure we're all talking about the same thing, eh?

[Jean Thibodeau]

Yup, exactly what Chad wrote I was talking about the A & A English two hander made by A & A and the MRL version two hander: Yes it does help when people are actually talking about the same thing.