Hello everyone..

The names Gord Watson as you can see and just recently I have ordered a Albion "Pedite" Gladius... I probably went about it the wrong way. I did little research and did not look at prices at all. I figured, that for ones first sword, it should be more about style than substance, as even a novice knows visually what he desires. That being said, I'm still curious as to what people think of Albion Swords. Are they a good make?, What is there reputation?.

I have always liked Roman Swords. They have a simplistic beauty which I find attractive. Generally they seem to be set up for stabbing which gives a blade shape with I also find appealing... Perhaps this is influenced by my intrest in Roman History. Currently I am trying to teach myself classical latin.. With surprisingly some success..

Anyways if you cant tell, I'm pretty new to swords and just wanted to say hello...

Hi and welcome to the site!

We have over thirty hands-on reviews of swords by Albion Armorers in our Reviews Section. This will give you a very good idea of how the authors writing for this site feel about them. Albion products are discussed in hundreds of topics on this very forum, too.

I agree wholeheartedly with Steve. You probably did go about it the wrong way. Without doing a fair little bit of research it is difficult for a beginner to distinguish between a good and a bad reproduction sword. That said, you lucked out. The Albion Roman swords are awesome. I've held all three, and they are just great. They look great, and feel even better. You will not be disappointed, I guarantee it.

Hello Gordon,

I am happy and honored that you decided that the Pedite by Albion would be your first sword. I do the hands on research and design of the historical swords Albion produce.The development of the roman swords has been especially interesting (the spathae are no going through hilt development). There is quite a bit of variation in style of these weapons, even among the recognized types. The Pedite was heavily influenced by a blade that is exhibited in the Deutsches Klingenmuseum, but I also relied on archaeological reports to make sure I did not just rely on this one odd sword.

The hilt is based upon a sword hilt in the British museum, turned and carved out of a single piece of ivory. This single hilt provided the principle of design for the three current gladii, so you can see I allowed mylself some degree of variation in the shaping of individual components. They key element I made use of is the way the turned grip interacts with the guard: a important ergonomical feature to allow secure grip and definite tactile directing of the edge.
On future gladii version for the NG line I might include the more common half spherical guards you often see, but guards with oval cross section do exist as well. Perhaps there will be opportunity to introduce another pompei type blade as well (there are no real plans on this, I have just become a fan of these humble looking swords so I keep thinking about other possibilities .)

To me it was a surprice to se how well a sword like the Pedite functions as a cutting tool. It will thrust just like you´d expect, but it will definitely cut with vigour as well. A dependable close quarters weapon.

I am also fascinated by the apparent simple design of roman swords. They do provide some intricate problems that have marked influence on the final outcome however. One should not be fooled by the first impression.

I hope you will find enjoyment and satisfaction with your Pedite!

Salve!

Peter-

What does Albion use for ivory?

This is from Albion's description of the Pedite gladius:

"The Pedite guard and pommel are hand-crafted of walnut, the grip turned from holly, and the inset guard plate and pommel nut are of bronze."


-James