[Johnny Dwayne Davis]

Hello every one,
I was curious, if anyone here has experience with the windlass classic medieval sword. I am thinking about it as a project blade. i know their quality is spotty at best. i have also been eyeing a tinker norman for similar interest. the rework would be to the end of adding it to my kit. as i belong to a group of people who have the same goal of portraying the peoples described in the world of JRR Tolkien in a more realistic context ( ie: pseudo living history/ using medieval weapons and skills) since there are very knowledgable people here who tend to give responsible and sensible advice. i bring my question to you.

[J.D. Crawford]

Funny, I was just talking about that one the other day. I used to own one and it was quite good. It handled quite well for the type (a big Xa), had a good blade and solid fittings (although that may not matter for your project). A number of people have pointed out that it packs a punch. There is a review at SBG and also a mini-reivew on that Tire Pell site, if its still up.

Having said that, as you say Windlass products are hand-made in a semi-production line, so they are variable. I have handled another one that was a bit thinner and wobbly in the blade, and others have had loose fittings. So its an advantage if you can order one 'off the rack' after inspecting it yourself, or at least order from someone with a good return policy if there is a problem.

I've also owned the tinker norman and posted my impressions here somehwere. It's quite a different animal, smaller, light and quick with better mass distribution, but less size and authority than the windlass. The two things I didn't like about this were the blade finish and the chrome hilt furniture.

[Mike Capanelli]

I had picked one up (Windlass Medieval) as a project blade myself. It was surprisingly solid and was quite the cutter, however when I pulled off the fake leather wrap to preform a re grip I found that the lower riser was keeping the guard in place, which just so happened to be a little too big for the blade shoulders. I just shimmed it up and wrapped the grip and it rang tight as ever. All in all I'd say a very good value for the price. I got mine at Kult of Athena by the way because of the liberal return policy.