Another Baron Arrives -- myArmoury.com

Brian M · Posted: Mon 22 Mar, 2004 4:59 pm Post subject: Another Baron Arrives

I received my Baron today.

Physical stats as measured:
Blade Length: 37.375"
Blade Width at Base: 2.3125"
Width of Cross: 7.625"
Grip Length: 7.5"
Overall Length: 47.375"
CoB: 5.25-5.5" from face of cross
CoP: 23"-23.5"

Details and Impressions:
--The sword was well-packed as always and arrived undamaged.
--To wax subjective, this is a big, bad, bold sword.
--The blade starts broad at the base and has a straight, moderate taper to an acute spade-point. The point is perfectly symmetrical and evenly ground. The sword is obviously meant to be a cutter, but looks entirely capable of thrusting.
--The CoP lies right where the fuller transitions from "taper" to "fade-out."
--The satin finish is excellent and in line with what I have come to expect from Albion.
--The fuller is extremely well-executed, with perfectly crisp, straight lines and a very graceful "fade-out." I called attention to this on my Gaddhjalt also, but the Baron has improved on this further. The fade-out is truly near-perfect.
--The crossguard is beatifully designed and flows smoothly from a rectangular section at the center to octagonal. The end-faces of the guard are not flat, but subtly rounded -- a small detail but a nice touch. A few might think that the cross is narrow given the overall size of the sword, and in comparison to other production XIIa's which have quite broad crosses. Not the case at all. The crossguard is not unbalanced (visually) by the size of the blade. It is easily the best-looking style-2 guard I've seen.
--The blade-to-guard fit is near perfect. The fit on my Gaddhjalt was good, but this is even better.
--The leather-over-cord grip wrap and cord risers are very well executed and in line with what I expect from Albion.
--I have average-sized hands, and the grip length is sufficient to allow both hands to fully grasp the grip with room to spare. Even someone with large hands should have no trouble getting a comfortable two-handed grip.
--The pommel is a very nice J-type with the addition of a "Cross Potent" (aka "Latin Cross") cast-in on each central face. The Cross itself is nicely done and a nice touch, but not indispensable. I would like to call attention to three features: the use of a rivet block, the slight ovoid-ness, and the "distal taper" of the pommel. The rivet block is well-exectued and adds visual interest to the hilt. The pommel is slightly ovoid by a ratio of about 1.2-to-1 (width to height). The "distal taper" of the pommel closely follows that of the grip, when the sword is viewed side-on. I was really impressed with these features as I am used to seeing production swords with wheel pommels which are just that, a sectioned cylinder. All of these details you will not find on production swords.
--The distal taper of the Baron's pommel means that it is substantially less massive than a cylindrical-section pommel of the same face-on size. Yet, the Baron is properly balanced and the pommel is not overly large in the profile (face-on) dimension. By contrast, I have seen production swords of similar size to the Baron, which needed inch-plus thick cylindrical-section wheel pommels (probably weighing twice what the Baron's pommel weighs) to bring them into balance. This detail just proves to me that Albion/Peter J really know what they are doing when designing the blade and other components.

I have tried to make this review as informative, comprehensive, and objective as possible. Althought, if you couldn't tell, I like this sword a lot! I will try to get some pictures this week.

Cheers,
Brian M

Gary Grzybek · Posted: Mon 22 Mar, 2004 5:06 pm Post subject:

Nice Brian...I pretty much feel the same way about mine Big Grin

I'll give some more detailed impressions as well, just as soon as I have some time.

Timothy Gulics · Posted: Tue 23 Mar, 2004 8:53 am Post subject:

Man, I wish I could afford one of these. :/ They're right up my alley, too. But the price on these NextGens is just too much of a paycheck-killer :/

Ah well, I'll be able to get one eventually.

Jeremy V. Krause · Posted: Tue 23 Mar, 2004 12:09 pm Post subject:

Well, I suppose there are those that can lay down that kind of money- but for the rest of us there is the payment plan. Why not consider that for an option.

Gary Grzybek · Posted: Tue 23 Mar, 2004 12:18 pm Post subject:

Timothy Gulics · Posted: Tue 23 Mar, 2004 12:26 pm Post subject:

Same here... long time collecting, but only wallhangers. Only recently have I "moved up" to "real swords" and it is verrry addicting. Especially these Next Gens that not only look good but are made so well... mmm.

Saving my money will pay off, oh yes.

Joe Fults · Posted: Tue 23 Mar, 2004 7:03 pm Post subject:

I really can't wait until I can see some of this stuff first hand.

Brian M · Posted: Wed 24 Mar, 2004 12:56 am Post subject:

You'll be impressed, I think. Do you have a NG sword (or two) reserved? I can't wait for my Knight, which has very similar hilt furniture to the Baron.

Regards,
Brian M

Joe Fults · Posted: Wed 24 Mar, 2004 4:05 pm Post subject:

Just one, Regent.

All I can really afford right now and I'm trying to be reasonable and not just buy everything that catches my eye.

Lee Watts · Posted: Sun 28 Mar, 2004 12:08 pm Post subject:

any pictures yet guys?