[Michael R. Black]

Hello. I am just a bit curious as to whether forum members have first-hand impressions of swords made by Vladimir Cervinka.

Some of you may have read Russ Ellis' thread regarding the Cervinka 2 hander he recently made a scabbard for (Nice work, Russ!). I am the current owner of the sword, but have not actually had it in my hands yet. Based on Russ's impressions and review of the Tritonworks site, it sounds like this particular sword is on the heavier, unwieldy side, even for a 2 hander. Now I am not launching this thread as a complaint-I am sure i'll be happy with this sword despite it's weight. Also, I purchased it on the classifieds here at a more than reasonable price. Furthermore, there are currently only a few models representing this type of sword on the production market.

The heaviness of this particular sword does, however, have me a bit curious about other models by this maker. I have several rapiers and a small sword currently on order from Mr. Cervinka, and I'd like to know whether any owners of complex hilted cervinka swords would be willing to chime in, either by posting in this thread or PM. Are these models likely to have more distal taper? How lively do they feel in the hand?

If these sorts of questions have already been answered, then I apologize. I did read both the reviews on viking swords contained on this site, which were very helpful to me.

Thanks in advance for any help, Michael

[Chad Arnow]

Michael,
I've moved your thread to the Historic Arms Talk forum, a more appropriate place for questions about reproductions of historic arms and armour.

Also, if you do searches on the forum for "Cervenka," the proper spelling of the smith's name, you'll get some threads with opinions on his wares.

[Michael R. Black]

Thanks for the spelling tip. Feel a bit foolish for missing that. I'll do some more extensive looking at past threads.

Any new opinions are of course still welcome.

Best, Michael

[Russ Ellis]

Hey Michael,

I hope you (and other interested parties as well) don't feel like I was dumping on the Cervenka sword, for the price that you got it at I think it was a nice deal. I noticed over at SFI that Benjamin Abbot just picked up that saber/dagger pair that belonged to David Stokes, perhaps he could give his impressions...

[Michael R. Black]

No, I did not feel you were dumping on the sword or maker. I like reviews that give an honest impression, providing both strengths and weaknesses the reviewer sees in the work. Something overly flowery or flattering would be less useful to me. Furthermore, i hope it's clear this thread isin't some sort of invitation to bash Cervenka Swords. If it comes across in this manner, than I'd really prefer it be deleted or locked.

For the price i paid, I feel i got a great deal on that two-hander. I'd have almost certainly have bought it, even with the knowledge it ran this heavy, and been extremely happy. Can hardly wait to get this sucker in my hands, heavy or not. Perhaps it will serve as motivation for me to step up my current strength routine.

My motivation for starting this thread is really just an attempt to discover whether other swords made by him tend to run heavy. If this is the case, i will probably still be pleased with the swords i have on commision at this time. After all, the price is really reasonable, and pictures I've seen of finished work greatly appeal to me.

Sincerely, Michael

[Tom Carr]

I have experiance with two different Cervenka's, both viking swords. I found them to be light , well balanced and very very sharp! I think the ones you have on order will be just fine.

[Alexander Ren]

From what I have read and seen, this is a less commonly replicated type of sword and it probably would not be a good overall sample of every sword the Cervenka makes. The more common swords such as vikings and hand-and-a-half swords are probably a much better representation of the overall handling of his swords.

I have not actually handled any of Cervenka's swords, this is just what seems to make sense to my mind so take it with a grain of salt.

Alex

[Jeff Larsen]

Hi,

I have one of Vladimir's bell-shaped rapiers. It is very well made, handles great, NOT heavy and extremely sharp.

I, for one, love my rapier would would never trade it , sell it, get rid of it , etc. I would buy another piece from him if funds became available.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Russ Ellis]

[Jean Thibodeau]

Russ;

At close to ten pounds the Cervenka is at the upper limit of weight for a usable Twohander IMHO but is not an excessive 15 pounds or up of some Processional swords.

My Del Tin Venician Twohander is about 8 to 8.5 pounds: Heavy but still managable.

[Russ Ellis]

I think a lot of it is how the weight is distributed. The Svante sword that Albion puts out is fairly heavy at 4lbs for a hand and a half sword, but it doesn't feel like it at all because of the weight distribution. This particular sword is fairly heavy and feels like it is fairly heavy. I'd asked about that in a thread over at SFI because I have no idea how these really big guys are supposed to handle. For all I know they are supposed to be like a steel polearm, but I was told that is not the case for historical examples.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Russ;

In contrast my A & A English Twohander almost feels like an oversized Hand and a Half than a sword were two hands are the only option: I can hold it easily with one hand and might be able to use it with one hand in a limited way, but then it is closer to 6 pounds that 10 and has some distal taper as well as profile taper.

Only casual handling though as furniture, lights and a low ceiling ( Low for a big sword. ) makes anything but slow motion handling impractical.

The postage stamp size of my back yard and not freaking out the neighbours make practicing outdoors a no-go.

Oh, and going to a local park with 5' of sharpened steel blade doesn't seem like a good idea.

[Russ Ellis]

[Bob Burns]

Dayum, what's a Cervinka sword?

Bob

[Nathan Robinson]

[Benjamin H. Abbott]

The straight saber I got from Cervenka isn't heavy at all. Despite a nearly 38 inch blade it weighs only about 2.7 pounds and balances four inches from cross. It tapers from about 1.45 inches at the base to less than an inch close to the point.

[Russ Ellis]

[Søren Niedziella]

Hi

Its seems I overlooked this thread the first time so forgive me for being late...

I owned a Cervenka schiavona for a short time and must admit that I didn't like it at all. It was light and sharp enough but the finish of the basket and the blade was very crude. As I have only handled this one piece it could just be bad luck on my part.

Søren

[Nathan Robinson]

I just posted a new review:


Vladimir Cervenka Schiavona
A hands-on review by Bill Grandy

It was hard biting my tongue on this one since this topic was first posted.

[James Holczer]