Deepeeka Hersir -- myArmoury.com

Jussi Ekholm · Posted: Fri 10 Jan, 2014 2:27 am Post subject: Deepeeka Hersir

As there isn't that much info on Deepeeka offerings, I thought I'd post this review that I posted at SBG in here too. I quite rarely review European style swords, only in occasions when there isn't much info of that sword around. My main collecting intrests are in Japanese swords. The review follows SBG basic format.

Introduction

I like viking swords. I would like to have a custom viking sword but as I'm currently saving up for next nihonto purchase, I can't think of other large purchases right now. I like Type H viking hilts, and as I had heard fairly good stuff about Deepeekas new viking offerings I decided to jump on this as this was so affordable. Having seen some Deepeeka products in past my expectations were not very high.

Historical Overview

Petersen type H hilt, blade is Geibig type 3.

Full Disclosure and Dealer Interaction

I bought this from Celticwebmerchant.

I have been slightly biased against Deepeeka products for several years now. So that will most likely affect my review a bit. I did not expect much about these Deepeeka products, as I have owned 1 Deepeeka sword and seen couple others in the past and I was not satisfied with them.

Initial Impressions

As this is very affordable viking sword my expectations were quite low. I was positively impressed with this sword. Sure there are many minor things about this which I don't like, but in overall I'm quite impressed what can be had for such low price.

Statistics

Overall length: 96 cm
Blade length: 78 cm
Blade width at guard: 5,75 cm
Blade width 10cm from tip: 3,85 cm
Blade thickness at guard: 4,5 mm
Blade thickness 10cm from tip: 4,5 mm
Crossguard width: 10,9 cm
Grip length: 10,8 cm
Weight: 1575 grams
Point of balance: 12,5 cm from guard

Components

The blade is bit roughly finished. The sword is quite heavy as it has 2 mm thick blunt edge all along the length. The sword is described as battle-ready by the vendor, but personally I wouldn't do much contact with the sword. Blade is bit wavy and not 100% straight. As I do not practice any sword arts, I cannot give a legitimate opinion on it's handling but for myself it feels an ok weapon. This just feels bit too heavy for comfortable use, but if I were to sharpen & reprofile it a bit, I think it would be better handling. As it weighs almost 1,6 kilos now, I think it would be possible for me to make it around 1,3 - 1,4 kilos which would make a huge difference in it's handling.

Sword has type H hilt and here you can see the crossguard and pommel in detail. Both are ok quality, bit blemishes on each. Deepeeka says that their pommel is two piece. Scabbard is something you could expect for this price, and there are some soft material fillers that are designed to grip the sword. I do think it's nice to have it and you can't really complain about it when you think about the price of this item.

My biggest issue with this sword might be the grip length. My preferred viking sword grip length is currently around 9 - 9,5 cm's. Now as this sword has a grip length of 10,8 cm, it feels much too large for me. While the 10,8 cm's is not out of viking sword grip lengths I think it's much above the average. Out of c. 60 grip lengths in Peirces book, 4 are 10,5 cm or above.

Of course that's only minor detail, but for me that is the biggest downside of this sword. I would like this much more if the grip would be c. 1,5 cm shorter.

Conclusion

I like it. Sure it's not perfect but for c. 100€ sword it's pretty nice. Even though I gave some critique about minor stuff, it has to be in mind what price range we are talking about. You can't expect much better quality for this price in my mind.

This is definately the best Deepeeka product I have seen. This is huge improvement to those Deepeeka products I remember from many years ago. Hopefully their all of their new lineup will be up to par with this one in quality.

If you have any questions about this shoot them freely and I'll try to answer to them.

It's been quite a while since a sword in this price range impressed me as much as this one.

Harri Kyllönen · Posted: Fri 10 Jan, 2014 6:32 pm Post subject: Fine review

Damn that's a heavy 1h-sword. No wonder you feel uncomfortable with the grip since it propably barely balances the blade.

Jeroen T · Posted: Sun 12 Jan, 2014 12:38 pm Post subject:

Nice blade and nice review.

Good to see that Deepeeka is upgrading.

Celtic webmerchant labels swords as battle ready if the sword is a blunt that is suitable for training or reeanactment fights.
They do mention that this sword is suitable for ligth sparing.

I ordered the Deepeeka medieval sword from the same shop that should be here in the next couple of days.

Jussi Ekholm · Posted: Mon 13 Jan, 2014 7:16 am Post subject:

I guess I should always wait a bit before writing a review on a sword. Of course I'm always thrilled about new purchases, and usually my initial impressions hold over time. If I initially like it then I'll like it after a long time.

Yes I still like this...kinda. Happy

The more I handle this the less I like this. Yes I try to tell myself it's only c. 120€ sword, you can't expect a lot. But when I have it in my hand my brain just blocks that and tells me it's bad hunk of steel. When handling it in comparison to my customized VA Hedemark 1150 grams and H/T EMSHS 1110 grams, both are joy to handle and very effortless. Then you pick this up and it feels like it'll break your arm.

I have not handled many re-enactment blunts in my life, so I do not know how much they usually weigh, but the weight of this sword is massive.

It's still the best Deepeeka product I've seen, but after having it in my hands for a while, I wouldn't buy it again. Over the years I've had swords which I know I'd definately want to have again. H/T EMSHS is one European sword of which I feel like that.

Peter Messent · Posted: Mon 13 Jan, 2014 9:25 am Post subject:

I can't think why they made this sword so heavy compared to others in the same line Confused

This is about a full pound heavier than the Triple Lobed Godfred! And the handle proportions look all wrong to me - like the whole hilt has been scaled up.

Rather disappointing, considering I was impressed (for the price) with the newer Deepeeka I bought.

Lasse E · Posted: Mon 13 Jan, 2014 9:29 am Post subject:

That is -very- heavy for a sword, my blunt fighting sword weighs 1,2kilos and it has a 3mm blunt edge.

Jeroen T · Posted: Mon 13 Jan, 2014 11:24 am Post subject:

You can always make it ligther.

Ian Hutchison · Posted: Tue 14 Jan, 2014 12:51 pm Post subject:

That's disappointing to hear. I was really hoping Deepeeka was positioning itself to become a good value for money outfit. While some of their other swords in the new range were promising, they really dropped the ball with this sword.