DSA-the Sage pictorial review
Dec 26, 2009 11:37:53 GMT
Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2009 11:37:53 GMT
Well here goes, the review in pictures of my womans Christmas present to me.
I've been a LOTR fan since the mid 70's, and she was nice enough to accomodate my weakness for DSA swords at the same time.
My first impression was WOW, this blade looks like something that one of Noble birth would wear to a coronation or some such. The overall impression is of an elegant weapon.
Withdrawing the blade from the sheath reinforces this impression as the subtle leaf shaped blade and overall appearance give one the impression of a well crafted weapon
Ok, the obligatory fancy talk out of the way, I wil attempt to relay the nuts and bolts of the sword.
As you can see, the finish on the grip and scabbard is somewhat glossy. The grip is not as glossy as the scabbard but still somewhat shiny. DSAs pictures of the sword do not convey this, so something to consider for someone looking to acquire one. The grip finish became somewhat smudged from me pawing at it with my meathooks, and had a very very subtle tacky feel to it. I would think that wearing gloves would be mandatory if one was going to use this sword, because I believe that sweaty paws would make the grip rather slick. The finish on the scabbard is very even and well done, and the glossy finish gives it a ceremonial appearance.
The grip is cord wrapped and finished in white leather. The seam is neat , and the ends are finished nicely. no unsightly blobs,gaps,or other blemishes. The seam overlap is a bit strong, giving the grip somewhat of a subtle ridge on the underside of the grip and the glossy finish once again may become a bit hard to hang onto with sweaty mitts.
The guard and pommel on this blade are what appears to be aluminum, probably the same material that DSA used on their version of the Anduril. The fittings are cleanly executed, and the edges are all crisp and well defined. The peen on the end of the tang is nicely done, there is what appears to be a peen block on the end of the pommel, that is constructed of the same material as the guard and pommel, and lends a bit of complexity to the pommel that I like. The blade exhibits no rattles of any kind, at least during the limited time I spent swinging it about to get an impression of it's handling characteristics.
Next is a series of pics so that you can get a feeling for the dimensions of the blade and fittings.
The scabbard is way ahead of what DSA was offering, and while the blade still fits rather loosely, it is not the bulky offering from the past. A step in the right direction if you ask me, and it's overall visual appeal is really rather sporty.
The drag is aluminum, and has a bit more shape to it than previous DSA offerings lending a bit of complexity and visual appeal to the scabbard
The edge on the blade is substantially thinner than previous DSA swords that I have purchased, and would lend itself to sharpening more readily than the thicker edges that we have seen in the past from DSA. The picture doesn't really show this well, but trust me, it is thinner.
I found the blade to be well balanced and very responsive with a two handed grip. The POB was at 4.5" versus DSAs advertised 3.5" but it seems to have no ill effects. The COP is at 23 to 24 inches as near as I can tell using the old bang the pommel trick. The sword weighs 3 lbs. 12 ounces on my rinky dink scale, so it may weigh a few ounces more or less .
I found that with a 36 inch blade it was a little unwieldy for me in a single hand grip until I hooked a finger over the guard and then it becomes usable in a pinch. The blade lent itself well to this grip and was fairly comfortable, but would quickly become tiresome on the forearm muscles trying to do this often.
My overall impression of this sword is that I like it ALOT. DSA has done alot better shedding weight and making a more balanced sword. My inpression is that once sharpened this blade would be capable of a devastating cut, and should thrust quite readily also due to the point profile of the blade.
The shortcomings as I see them are, not everyone will like the shiny white finish of the scabbard and grip, they will lend themselves to getting dirty rather quickly. The grip finsh is slightly tacky, and has smudged slightly from my handling. There is of course the loose fit in the scabbard, the sword will not fit snugly without some modification. The aluminum fittings may give some pause also, they matter not to me as I wanted this sword as a display piece.
I've been a LOTR fan since the mid 70's, and she was nice enough to accomodate my weakness for DSA swords at the same time.
My first impression was WOW, this blade looks like something that one of Noble birth would wear to a coronation or some such. The overall impression is of an elegant weapon.
Withdrawing the blade from the sheath reinforces this impression as the subtle leaf shaped blade and overall appearance give one the impression of a well crafted weapon
Ok, the obligatory fancy talk out of the way, I wil attempt to relay the nuts and bolts of the sword.
As you can see, the finish on the grip and scabbard is somewhat glossy. The grip is not as glossy as the scabbard but still somewhat shiny. DSAs pictures of the sword do not convey this, so something to consider for someone looking to acquire one. The grip finish became somewhat smudged from me pawing at it with my meathooks, and had a very very subtle tacky feel to it. I would think that wearing gloves would be mandatory if one was going to use this sword, because I believe that sweaty paws would make the grip rather slick. The finish on the scabbard is very even and well done, and the glossy finish gives it a ceremonial appearance.
The grip is cord wrapped and finished in white leather. The seam is neat , and the ends are finished nicely. no unsightly blobs,gaps,or other blemishes. The seam overlap is a bit strong, giving the grip somewhat of a subtle ridge on the underside of the grip and the glossy finish once again may become a bit hard to hang onto with sweaty mitts.
The guard and pommel on this blade are what appears to be aluminum, probably the same material that DSA used on their version of the Anduril. The fittings are cleanly executed, and the edges are all crisp and well defined. The peen on the end of the tang is nicely done, there is what appears to be a peen block on the end of the pommel, that is constructed of the same material as the guard and pommel, and lends a bit of complexity to the pommel that I like. The blade exhibits no rattles of any kind, at least during the limited time I spent swinging it about to get an impression of it's handling characteristics.
Next is a series of pics so that you can get a feeling for the dimensions of the blade and fittings.
The scabbard is way ahead of what DSA was offering, and while the blade still fits rather loosely, it is not the bulky offering from the past. A step in the right direction if you ask me, and it's overall visual appeal is really rather sporty.
The drag is aluminum, and has a bit more shape to it than previous DSA offerings lending a bit of complexity and visual appeal to the scabbard
The edge on the blade is substantially thinner than previous DSA swords that I have purchased, and would lend itself to sharpening more readily than the thicker edges that we have seen in the past from DSA. The picture doesn't really show this well, but trust me, it is thinner.
I found the blade to be well balanced and very responsive with a two handed grip. The POB was at 4.5" versus DSAs advertised 3.5" but it seems to have no ill effects. The COP is at 23 to 24 inches as near as I can tell using the old bang the pommel trick. The sword weighs 3 lbs. 12 ounces on my rinky dink scale, so it may weigh a few ounces more or less .
I found that with a 36 inch blade it was a little unwieldy for me in a single hand grip until I hooked a finger over the guard and then it becomes usable in a pinch. The blade lent itself well to this grip and was fairly comfortable, but would quickly become tiresome on the forearm muscles trying to do this often.
My overall impression of this sword is that I like it ALOT. DSA has done alot better shedding weight and making a more balanced sword. My inpression is that once sharpened this blade would be capable of a devastating cut, and should thrust quite readily also due to the point profile of the blade.
The shortcomings as I see them are, not everyone will like the shiny white finish of the scabbard and grip, they will lend themselves to getting dirty rather quickly. The grip finsh is slightly tacky, and has smudged slightly from my handling. There is of course the loose fit in the scabbard, the sword will not fit snugly without some modification. The aluminum fittings may give some pause also, they matter not to me as I wanted this sword as a display piece.