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OlliN at Kult of Athena.
Kultof Athena is now stocking OlliN swords for immediate delivery. :) :cool:

I noticed a few months ago that OlliN was on their list of makers one can consult when one wants to browse by makers but there where none available, but today I found 3 OlliN swords in stock and I lost control and bought the Morehead Sword after 30 second of grumbling to myself that I really really shouldn't ...... but you can guess what happened next when I couldn't stop my finger from pressing the ADD TO CART BUTTON. ;) :p :lol:

Well here it is:
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...head+Sword

The other two OlliNs in stock for immediate delivery:

Semi-fantasy King Jack Sword,
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...ck+I+Sword

The Rae Koone Viking Sword,
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...king+Sword

Ryan told me in an e-mail that they will be stocking soon more OlliN swords, basically all their production models:
http://ollinsworddesign.com/osd-production.html

Anyway, doing my best to keep the industry going but I really REALLY have to slow down until at least 2011. :blush: :lol:

Off-Topic: Hope I don't have to have my roof re-done this year and it can wait for the spring ...... no leaks this Summer even with the record rain fall but I did have some water infiltration when the drain on the roof was blocked and there was a foot of water on the roof in July. A couple of soft spots but the membrane seem intact .... having the roof checked by a roofer just in case. Good thing I bought the sword before I find out. ;) :p :lol:
Excellent choice Jean. I also love multi-fullered warswords. I have been eyeing their 'Hart' sword for some time as a less expensive alternative to the Albion version of the same sword. Do you know if these swords are made by CNC? They have that perfect look to them. -JD
I think that Mark does it all hand held on a belt grinder: Scary talented. :!: :eek: :lol:

At least that is the way he made my RavenWolf and all his other swords
Thanks for the heads up!! Besides easier availability, another major benefit is that Kult of Athena's photographs tend to be better than those available from the various sword makers whose products they sale! These are some of the best views I've seen of Ollin swords and I must say, I'm impressed!


Last edited by Chris Lampe on Tue 02 Nov, 2010 5:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
Chris Lampe wrote:
Thanks for the heads up!! Besides easier availability, another major benefit is that Kult of Athena's photographs tend to be better than those available from the various sword makers whose products they sale! These are some of the best views of seen of Ollin swords and I must say, I'm impressed!


Yeah, the photography probably made the difference from tempting to irresistible. ;) :lol:

Discussed in past Topic threads but cheap photography is very counterproductive to sales in my opinion as being penny wise and pound (dollar ) foolish: Maybe 50% of the time I have purchased a sword, or other things after seeing better pics of them here on " myArmoury " or at KoA that I had put off for later ( maybe later ) when just seeing them on the maker's sites.

Sometimes the pics on the makers sites are really not that bad but high quality pics sure help making up one's mind that one really wants something. ;)

Anyway, I always like the look of this sword but the combination of immediate availability + great pics, the sword just sold itself.
I have to add a quick plug for Ollin Sword Design.

I just today received The Persuader. Theirs nothing historical about it, it's rather impractical, considering the weight (~4lbs), but it's not meant to be either historical or practical. As a piece of steel art, though - my god it's beautiful! Aesthetic tastes are many and varied, so that aside, I'll say simply that the attention to detail, the fit and finish, the little things you don't notice until you've spent a few hours staring at it, the whole package is outstanding. I don't know how he makes his blades, but if the Persuader is representative of his other work - Mark is a Master!

If I ever have money again I'll be giving him another call.
Yes, Kult of Athena certainly does have great pictures!
his work sure looks beautiful especially the detail work. how do they handle and cut? will there be a review once you get yours?

in general what's his reputation? I've never even heard of him before.
Tom Kinder wrote:
his work sure looks beautiful especially the detail work. how do they handle and cut? will there be a review once you get yours?

in general what's his reputation? I've never even heard of him before.


Ollin's work is well thought of by the people that have posted about them. The Search function should find you some threads. :)
Tom Kinder wrote:
his work sure looks beautiful especially the detail work. how do they handle and cut? will there be a review once you get yours?

in general what's his reputation? I've never even heard of him before.


As Chad said there are a few customer reviews and opinions about Mark's work and here is a Topic I started to document with OlliN the progress and design of a custom project I had with OlliN from my early design ideas to all the ups and downs of a very challenging project with an extreme design.

Mark and OlliN design persevered through up to 4 tries to make this sword with the final one being a complete success: Keep in mind that the 3 swords attempts that failed where absorbed by them as unrecoverable costs and a learning curve.

Blade number 3 failed because OlliN tests it's blade before shipping to be sure that the heat treat was correct and that one snapped in half: Now they do this so that the swords don't fail in the hands of the customer i.e. quality control.

Blade number two failed due to warping in heat treat.

Blade number one failed because their steel vendor sold them and misidentified the type of steel that turned out to be impossible to harden ( Too low carbon content ).

In any case read the First few pages of posts at the beginning and the last couple of pages with the final results if you don't have the time and patience to read the entire Topic thread but I think it's very interesting to follow the entire " saga " of the making of this sword as the idea from the beginning was to include everyone into following along all the stages of the concept and making of a custom project.

Link to Topic: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=8131
Jean Thibodeau wrote:
I think that Mark does it all hand held on a belt grinder: Scary talented. :!: :eek: :lol:

At least that is the way he made my RavenWolf and all his other swords


That certainly is impressive, especially for hand-guided work. I haven't handled one in real life, but based on the pictures and stats the finish and especially the blade geometry (and likely mass distribution) look outstanding for the price. If I didn't already have as many pots on the fire as I can handle right now, I would give them a try. But perhaps another day.
J.D. Crawford wrote:
Jean Thibodeau wrote:
I think that Mark does it all hand held on a belt grinder: Scary talented. :!: :eek: :lol:

At least that is the way he made my RavenWolf and all his other swords


That certainly is impressive, especially for hand-guided work. I haven't handled one in real life, but based on the pictures and stats the finish and especially the blade geometry (and likely mass distribution) look outstanding for the price. If I didn't already have as many pots on the fire as I can handle right now, I would give them a try. But perhaps another day.


Well that is the nice thing about Kult of Athena having OlliN swords in stock and if they sell well and quickly KoA will certainly try to keep them in stock and the opportunity to buy one without waiting will be there.
The Morehead is certainly a beautiful sword. Do folks know if the bronze insert design is historical either specifically or in inspiration? The rest of the piece in parts and as a whole certainly seems to be.
Jeremy V. Krause wrote:
The Morehead is certainly a beautiful sword. Do folks know if the bronze insert design is historical either specifically or in inspiration? The rest of the piece in parts and as a whole certainly seems to be.


I'd say there's some artistic licence there. The idea of an insert is certainly valid, but that particular motif is probably not grounded in anything specific as far as I know. Personally, I find it attractive and in particular the contrasting bronze against the steel.
Nathan Robinson wrote:

I'd say there's some artistic licence there. The idea of an insert is certainly valid, but that particular motif is probably not grounded in anything specific as far as I know. Personally, I find it attractive and in particular the contrasting bronze against the steel.


I like the design as well and feel it does fit the sword well.
That is some nice looking stuff and appropriately priced. I like the first sword alot!
Oh, bonus points: I really REALLY prefer when swords come with at least some sort of storage scabbard and I asked Ryan at KoA if he had some sort of scabbard that might work with this sword, even if just a loose fit.

In the past there where some scabbards for " Movie Swords " ( Kingdom of Heaven ) available by themselves ( Without having to buy the sword ;) ) so I asked Ryan if he could find something that would fit.

The cheap vinyl type scabbards don't work very well with a sharp by the way as one survived about 10 seconds when I put a sharp into one I bought a while back ..... no go !

Anyway, the above for background information: What Ryan found and tried out with the Morehead that he said fit very well was the Robin Hood Movie sword scabbard: http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=882503

Now I'm sure one can find a lot of detail period inaccuracies with it ( Oh, what are they by the way ? I imagine a lot of the decoration is more Hollywood's idea of a period scabbard than reality ? ) but if it fits, it's at least a good storage scabbard and at a quick not too critical glance it does look good to me as long as one doesn't even try to apply Living History standards.

I also want to bring attention again to Ryan and KoA customer service here as he took the time to rummage through his stock and try out the fit of this scabbard to fill a customer request. :) :cool:
Quote:
Oh, what are they by the way ? I imagine a lot of the decoration is more Hollywood's idea of a period scabbard than reality ?


The decoration is Hollywood supposition, but not extremely so. Period scabbard could be quite elaborate, but the lacing down the scabbard itself is a bit off-putting. In quite a few of the old victorian paintings the belt is illustrated as being wrapped around the scabbard. This is also seen in some actual period iconography as well. When we see this kind of thing in modern replicas I'd say it's more a matter of modern misinterpretation than anything else.

The main issue with this belt and scabbard is a common one: everything is overbuilt, giving the rig the typical gunbelt look. The belt is too heavy and wide and the scabbard core is too thick and bulky, although the core doesn't look too terribly bad on this one. I like the accessory pouch. :D
Patrick Kelly wrote:
Quote:
Oh, what are they by the way ? I imagine a lot of the decoration is more Hollywood's idea of a period scabbard than reality ?


The decoration is Hollywood supposition, but not extremely so. Period scabbard could be quite elaborate, but the lacing down the scabbard itself is a bit off-putting. In quite a few of the old victorian paintings the belt is illustrated as being wrapped around the scabbard. This is also seen in some actual period iconography as well. When we see this kind of thing in modern replicas I'd say it's more a matter of modern misinterpretation than anything else.

The main issue with this belt and scabbard is a common one: everything is overbuilt, giving the rig the typical gunbelt look. The belt is too heavy and wide and the scabbard core is too thick and bulky, although the core doesn't look too terribly bad on this one. I like the accessory pouch. :D


Thanks Patrick and I think I can live with the inaccuracies in this case, although I might go for an upgrade at some time in the future but it would have to be a " swordless " scabbard making thing because I wouldn't be happy shipping the sword to a custom maker, and even less so if he hung on to it for a year or two until he was ready to work on a scabbard. ( A sword in hand is better than two away for scabbard making. ;) :p :lol: ).

Oh, yes, the criss-cross strapping does seem to be stuff one also sees in graphic novels and old movies based on some bad Victorian Era Operatic costuming.

Since it's not completely horrible and it's worst faults is being overbuilt I can certainly live with it when my first priority was just to have a scabbard for safety reasons, it certainly is O.K. for Ren Fair costume and non expert eyes won't notice the difference.

The low price is also a plus.

Good to see you posting again more often. :) :cool:
Hi Jean,

I actually think this one is a step above the ones MRL did for the Kingdom of Heaven Swords. The one thing that bugged me about the kit in KoH and Robinhood both was the overbuilt scabbards. (We won't mention the medieval landing craft ;) )

I think you could turn this into an upgrade project, as that belt doesn't look like it would be hard to remove, so some trimming and shaping could be done. I think it could be turned into something more than acceptable, as well as a more fitting home for your Morehead (Which I would like to have myself.)
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