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Jean Thibodeau




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PostPosted: Wed 02 Aug, 2017 3:28 pm    Post subject: Mixhael Pikula sword at Kult of Athena         Reply with quote

I just noticed that Kult of Athena has a Michael Pikula pattern welded sword Viking sword for sale on their site.

To me this is good news if it means that Michael will get more exposure to potential buyers and help him sell his work.

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...king+Sword

Not everyone can afford the price, but for the quality of work that Michael can do, and with a custom pattern welded sword from a high end maker the price is well worth it.

Michael's work is well known on this site, but he isn't as widely known as some of the established makers that command many times the price for their work, and have long long long wait times.

Also, available now from a reliable vendor like Kult of Athena makes buying a low risk high satisfaction customer service experience.

I have commissioned custom work from Michael Pikula in the past, and also bought some of his mono steel hand forged swords and can attest to the great quality. I also bought them early a few years ago when he was barely known and his prices where about the same as for an Albion, but for a completely hand forged sword: In other words at least half of what they should have cost for the quality of the work.

I can praise Michael's work as at very top level of skill and workmanship as well as in the authentic handling of his swords.

Also, dealing with Michael directly for custom work was a completely satisfactory design experience with delivery times as promised.

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Jon Makar




Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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PostPosted: Wed 02 Aug, 2017 8:37 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ooh, I'm a sucker for a nice, sleek Type H pommel....and that pattern weld....*drool*
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Greg Ballantyne




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PostPosted: Sun 06 Aug, 2017 5:28 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'm glad to see this - also glad to see that KOA put a little more into the description. There are differing forging methodologies of "pattern welded" blades out there.
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William Swiger




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PostPosted: Sun 06 Aug, 2017 7:59 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Agree 100% with Jean. I have three Viking items I bought a few years back. A custom L6 Viking sword, L6 Langseax and a regular seax. This was when Michael's items were priced comparable to Albion. Great guy to work with and his swords are outstanding.

Very glad he is still in the game.

Non Timebo Mala
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Jean Thibodeau




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PostPosted: Mon 07 Aug, 2017 4:52 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

William Swiger wrote:
Agree 100% with Jean. I have three Viking items I bought a few years back. A custom L6 Viking sword, L6 Langseax and a regular seax. This was when Michael's items were priced comparable to Albion. Great guy to work with and his swords are outstanding.

Very glad he is still in the game.


Thanks William: It's always nice when someone agrees with me .... Big Grin Cool

Michael's swords priced at the same level as Albion where very " underpriced " considering that they where hand forged and of superb quality: They should have cost at least twice the asking price, but Michael seemed more interested in making enough to live and get his swords out there into the hands of collectors.

The folded steel swords he is currently making are at the highest end of reproducing the look and methods used in making the best of the period Viking swords and are priced much lower than comparable quality swords made by the best makers out there.

So, obviously not everyone has the financial resources to be able to afford one of these swords, but commissioning a similar sword from one of the few top established makers, who can do this kind of work, would cost many times more and probably with a very long wait in a maker's production cue.

I don't remember who made one of these for a museum some decades ago as a display piece to show what the original sword would have looked like, and displayed next to the ancient and corroded original, but decades ago very few makers had the skills to make such a pattern welded sword ..... and that museum sword must have cost a small fortune to commission.

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Eric Sherwin




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PostPosted: Wed 09 Aug, 2017 6:26 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of his six bar Viking sword. I would post my impressions of it when I have it in hand, but I can already say that I'll be very pleased. I have one of his earlier Viking swords that I won at an auction he threw to raise money for UNICEF. It still has a special place in my collection.

Michael's skill with pattern welding is a rare talent, especially for a young guy. You're right, Jean, he could be charging a lot more for his work, and justifiably so.
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Jean Thibodeau




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PostPosted: Wed 09 Aug, 2017 9:10 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Eric Sherwin wrote:
I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of his six bar Viking sword. I would post my impressions of it when I have it in hand, but I can already say that I'll be very pleased. I have one of his earlier Viking swords that I won at an auction he threw to raise money for UNICEF. It still has a special place in my collection.

Michael's skill with pattern welding is a rare talent, especially for a young guy. You're right, Jean, he could be charging a lot more for his work, and justifiably so.


Looking forward to your impressions.

Did you buy the one on the Kult of Athena site or did you buy a different one directly from Michael ? From another Topic thread posted by Michael on this site I know that he made more than one in this pattern, but obviously each one will be unique in at least the smaller details like pommels and in the details of the actual look of the individual pattern welding, although in the same general style.

Michael's Topic on the sword with more information.

http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=35490

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Eric Sherwin




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PostPosted: Thu 10 Aug, 2017 2:42 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I bought a different one directly from Michael's site. If you go to his site and look at his past works, mine is the six bar sword that's pictured in montage format.

I'll be sure to post my impressions and maybe try to snap a few pics.
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Sam Barris




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PostPosted: Mon 05 Mar, 2018 10:30 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I just purchased this sword. You know, I wasn't going to do it and then I wasn't going to do it and then I still wasn't going to do it... and then I did it. Thank the gods for an understanding spouse. Happy

I'll post pictures and impressions when it arrives. As far as I know, this is the last of that batch of seven to find a home. And it will be the second of Michael's swords to join my collection. I can't wait to meet it.

Pax,
Sam Barris

"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
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J. Nicolaysen




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PostPosted: Mon 05 Mar, 2018 6:30 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sam and Eric I'm glad you bought a sword from Michael. This run was truly amazing and I too feel lucky to have some of Michael's work. I'm very sorry that he has stopped making weapons since I would have liked to work with him on a spear or something, but I feel fortunate with what I have. The skill of pattern welding is really incredible. I am hoping to someday get another weapon made from bloom steel from him since that seems to be the direction he is going now.

Jean, I had to add, I'm glad you consistently supported Michael's work since I saw your good words about a spear of his several years ago on this forum, and your positive review did help me also decide to own some of his great work.
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Tim Lison




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PostPosted: Mon 05 Mar, 2018 7:49 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Michael is a great guy and I'm happy to see this piece sold. You're a lucky man Sam.
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Joseph Perrigo




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PostPosted: Tue 06 Mar, 2018 6:51 am    Post subject: Congrats!         Reply with quote

Sam Barris wrote:
I just purchased this sword. You know, I wasn't going to do it and then I wasn't going to do it and then I still wasn't going to do it... and then I did it. Thank the gods for an understanding spouse. Happy

I'll post pictures and impressions when it arrives. As far as I know, this is the last of that batch of seven to find a home. And it will be the second of Michael's swords to join my collection. I can't wait to meet it.


I was seriously considering that sword. I’m pretty much a noob when it comes to collecting Euro swords, so that sword would have been a big move for me ;-) I’m glad you got it, that sword is amazing! I ended up buying the A&A Anglo-Saxon that KOA had available, that’s a little more in “my league” for now.

Yeah Buddy!
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Jean Thibodeau




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PostPosted: Fri 09 Mar, 2018 8:05 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sam Barris wrote:
I just purchased this sword. You know, I wasn't going to do it and then I wasn't going to do it and then I still wasn't going to do it... and then I did it. Thank the gods for an understanding spouse. Happy

I'll post pictures and impressions when it arrives. As far as I know, this is the last of that batch of seven to find a home. And it will be the second of Michael's swords to join my collection. I can't wait to meet it.



I have a couple of Michael's swords, a custom cinquedea, plus some spears heads both what he had in stock and a custom winged spear, and I'm glad that he is back doing some work after a period of doing other things.

Sam: His work is of very high quality as I'm sure you know that already, and I bought his work when I should almost feel guilty about the prices he charged that where way too low compared to the quality of his work which matches the very high end of custom work. His talent at the forge is impressive.

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Sam Barris




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PostPosted: Mon 12 Mar, 2018 12:25 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Kult of Athena still lists the sword as in stock, but it has arrived. I'll snap some pictures as soon as time allows, but honestly, the pictures on the listing itself are quite good, and they also made a YouTube video about it which you can get to from the listing, so hopefully that's enough documentation for now.

So, some first impressions. This sword is breathtaking. Being familiar with Michael's work, I went into this purchase expecting exceptional craftsmanship and that's exactly what I got. The pattern welding is completely flawless, and the grainier wrought iron texture of the guard and pommel is extremely cool. I can just stare at the blade, tracing the intricate lines in the steel. It's almost meditative. The scabbard is simple in appearance with no metal fittings except the loop (which is concealed under leather), but it's very well made and fits the sword like a glove. In general, I find that a scabbard looks somewhat unfinished without a chape, but this one has changed my mind on that whole issue.

As for handling, the sword is perhaps a bit heavier than I'd like. I don't know whether it's outside the realm of historical feasibility, but for reference it's almost half a pound heavier than Albion's heaviest Viking offering and on par with the Tritonia, so at the very least it's on the heavy side for a weapon meant for a single hand. In fairness, it's also quite a bit wider than most reproduction swords one sees, so that will naturally bring more metal to the party. It has a noticeable distal taper that distributes the weight about as effectively as one can reasonably expect as well as respectably beefy hilt components that also help shift the point of balance handward. Still, all of my training in the last five years or so has been with two-handed implements like bokken and suburito, so it was still a shock when I drew it for the first time. Happily, it feels much better after only a few days, so I'm sure most of the issue is on my end and I just need to get some underutilized muscles back in the game. The grip is extremely comfortable, with room enough for either hammer or handshake without my hand feeling cramped between metal bits, but no more than that.

Overall, I am a very happy camper right now. Happy

P.S. I haven't seen any reviews of the other six swords from this batch. If anyone is out there who owns one, I'd be interested to hear any thoughts about my sword's siblings.

Pax,
Sam Barris

"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
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Houston P.




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PostPosted: Mon 12 Mar, 2018 2:08 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'd love to see how it cuts, if you ever get around to it! I'd understand if it was too pretty for you to hit things with though. Speaking of this as the first batch, does anyone know if he's doing another? His website seems to have been removed. I suppose he could always just sell them through K.O.A., but I wanted to know if anyone else had heard anything.
...and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. (‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭36‬)
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Carl W.




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PostPosted: Mon 12 Mar, 2018 7:58 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sam Barris wrote:

As for handling, the sword is perhaps a bit heavier than I'd like. I don't know whether it's outside the realm of historical feasibility, but for reference it's almost half a pound heavier than Albion's heaviest Viking offering. In fairness, it's also quite a bit wider than most reproduction swords one sees, so that will naturally bring more metal to the party.

Overall, I am a very happy camper right now. :)

P.S. I haven't seen any reviews of the other six swords from this batch. If anyone is out there who owns one, I'd be interested to hear any thoughts about my sword's siblings.


I have one & am VERY happy with it. It is simply stunning. I agree with Hadrian Coffin's comment about Michael's skills (& thanks to Hadrian that he attached pics)...

http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=354...ght=pikula

Re weight, after email info from Michael I did a fair amount of digging (here, & Ian Peirce's book though it lists few weights) & then went ahead & got it - I am quite happy that my early viking age sword is a bit on the wide & sturdy side. From the info I found they are within historical range, as one would expect given Michael's expertise.

Glad you ending up getting one Sam!
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