Regent, Viceroy or AT from Christian Fletcher ? -- myArmoury.com

Michal Plezia · Industry Professional

Now we only have to wait for the long review full of hi-res pictures Wink

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Thu 24 May, 2007 11:35 am Post subject:

Gordon Frye · Posted: Thu 24 May, 2007 10:06 pm Post subject:

Jean;

Well, when you get tired of that one, let me know... that's a NICE sword!

I'm supposed to start putting together my 15th Century kit soon, so that would make a nice start on it! ALL my good swords are either 16th or 19th Century, so I have to do something drastic to solve that problem... Big Grin

Cheers!

Gordon

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Fri 25 May, 2007 11:40 am Post subject:

Well. it's on it's way so the looking out the window checking for a DHL truck begings. Wink

Oh, and the compulsive checking the tracking " OFTEN " ......... sigh ..... but a happy sigh. Big Grin

Oh, Gordon if, IF, I ever sell this one I'll ask you first if you want it. Wink

Steve Grisetti · Posted: Tue 29 May, 2007 5:53 am Post subject:

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Tue 29 May, 2007 8:27 am Post subject:

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Thu 31 May, 2007 9:29 pm Post subject:

Oh, I should be picking up my Christian Fletcher sword tomorrow: That's the good news, less good is that the shipper he chose DHL won't act as my customs broker and I had to take a taxi to the nearest airport cargo terminal to get the package cleared through Canada Customs myself ( paperwork ).

That was yesterday and then I thought I could just wait for DHL to deliver the package ........ Well, NO ! I have to go back tomorrow to pay the customs Taxes since DHL won't pay it themselves and charge me later. In other words: They have no procedure for me to pay them by phone with my credit card or with CASH AT MY DOOR !

I hope this isn't too confusing for you because it was for me ! Anyway I have a friend who can give me a lift to and from the place(s) Canada Customs building and the DHL warehouse.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my first trip there and back to just fill in the customs clearance papers cost me $75 in taxi fares: YIKES ! ( Oh, and I couldn't pay the tax at that time because the package hadn't been inspected yet ).

( Note; Christian really feels bad about the " SNAFU " and I also thought DHL would be fine also, but they don't seem to do the custom's clearance the way UPS or FED EX or USPS would i.e. Do it themselves and charge me later. Confused

.

Oh, another point there was no information in the tracking or the FAQ page telling me I would have to take care of the Custom clearance, so if I hadn't called after 3 days of reading " CLEARANCE DELAY " nothing would have happened and I would still be wondering why it was taking so long.

Last note: I did get a lot of help from Laura at the DHL office who helped guide me through the customs clearance process. She just didn't have any way to adapt their normal way of doing things to my needs Sad

I should also mention that the Canada Customs guy even called me the next day to tell me the sword had cleared Customs Big Grin

The situation was annoying and frustrating but the people I dealt with were all very nice and helpful.

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Fri 01 Jun, 2007 10:27 am Post subject:

Went with a friend who gave me a ride to the airport cargo terminal and everything went well.

Now that I know how to do it and where to go it was much easier today: So, with DHL the problem
is just that I had do do the customs clearance and the fact that the location of the airport is 15 miles
away. Obviously I much prefer having packages home delivered and not having to spend a lot
on taxis or having a friend drive me there.

Will put together those pics soon and post an informal review sometime this weekend.

Oh, DHL would be fine for someone who lives close to the airport terminal and has the time to do the customs clearance themselves: Just a bad match of services offered and the services I needed or expected but the DHL people were very helpful. Don't want the two previous messages to unfairly blame them.

Well, sorry for the detour into my shipment problems but the information might be useful to somebody else if they run into similar issues. ( Hope it was somewhat informative & entertaining. Laughing Out Loud

).

Steve Grisetti · Posted: Sat 02 Jun, 2007 6:43 am Post subject:

No car, huh? Smart move if you can get away with it, since a car is just a hole in the pavement, into which one must throw money. I wish I could get rid of mine! That would make a lot of room in the budget for swords and armour Big Grin

. Unfortunately, then I would have to walk 10 miles to work Sad

.

I look forward to your review of the sword!

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Sun 03 Jun, 2007 11:39 pm Post subject:

So here are my impressions and opinions and sort of a review;

First, I am very pleased with the sword and the level of communication from Christian was very good: My e-mails were usually answered within a day or two and my questions answered. The total time from order to delivery was close to a year and maybe about 3 months later than expected, but Christian is careful in not giving hard and fast deadlines so the delivery time was well within the approximate estimate.

The scabbard is nice and thin and very attractive with a moulded thickening at the top where it matches the curves of the guard. The antiqued finish on the guard, pommel and grip ring has a nice darkening and aging one would expect from a sword exposed to the elements on one's sword belt but that has received daily cleaning but no polishing or a blued type of finish that has seen some wear. Oh, the fullers are reflected in the treatment of the scabbard and is very elegant.

The blade has a brushed finished a bit coarser than one sees on an Albion or A & A but the finish is even and has no deep or prominent scratches. The fullers do have a bit of machine tool marks but one has to look closely to see them.

The blade grind looks very regular with no noticeable rippling if one looks with one's eyes close to the blade.

The only minor flaws are that the last section of blade past the fullers and the point have very subtle asymmetry in profile shape and in width of the secondary bevels: I only mention this for those who would be unhappy with any geometric imperfections. The edges were very paper cutting sharp as I got them but are even sharper with just a little careful use of a ceramic hone and the burnishing of the edges with a very hard but smooth steel.

The blade is very stiff as it hardly bends at all if held on it's side when compared to my A & A 15th century twohander.
( not that the A & A bends so much as to be considered whippy, its just that the AT1435 is stiffer in comparison ).

Total length: 49"
Blade length: 37 3/4"
Blade width at guard: 2 5/16"
Blade width at mid point: 1 7/8"
Blade thickness at guard: estimated at 1/4"
Blade thickness about 3" from the point: 1/8"
P.O.B. 6"

General handling impressions/ comparisons:One handed it feels to me like my Gaddhjalt in blade presence but heavier in actual weight. My Tritonia feels a bit faster and is a little lighter. The huge A & A 15th century twohander is heavier but with just a little less blade presence.

Now twohanded the Christian Fletcher/ AT 1435 feels very fast and responsive and not at all ponderous.

In conclusion, to me, its a great sword for twohanded use at the very limit of onehanded usability if rapid recovery is not critical. My A & A twohander is barely useable one handed except under very special circumstances where one would use one hand for an extended thrust or cut and transition back to twohanded use as soon as possible.

Take the handling opinion with a grain of salt though as this is from just holding and slow swings with my swords and not true test cutting or practice swordplay. ( rooms to small in my house for that ).

This sword is for me a using cutting blade dressed up in really nice sword furniture and scabbard and very much what would be true tool of the trade for a period warrior. ( very much a using grade sword ).

( edited once for better clarity as I noticed a few awkward sentences reading it later: Trying to say to much with too few words I guess. Blush

)

Allen Andrews · Posted: Mon 04 Jun, 2007 6:46 am Post subject:

Congratulations, I think it turned out very nicely. I like the look of the total package, the antiquing of the hardware, the contrast of the black sword belt to oxblood scabbard, etc.

Greg Griggs · Posted: Mon 04 Jun, 2007 11:35 am Post subject:

Definately one to be proud of in the looks department, Jean. Sounds like it handles has you had hoped. Congrats on a very fine purchase. I'm with Allen on the fact that the overall package just seems to fit together very well. Thanks for sharing the pics and overview.

Angus Trim · Posted: Mon 04 Jun, 2007 11:58 am Post subject:

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Mon 04 Jun, 2007 2:32 pm Post subject: