Angus Trim Maker's Mark Type Xa.1
Jun 29, 2010 23:40:31 GMT
Post by ShooterMike on Jun 29, 2010 23:40:31 GMT
Angus Trim / Christian Fletcher
Maker's Mark Type Xa.1
Maker's Mark Type Xa.1
Review by Mike Harris -- June 2010[/center]
Swords that are categorized as Oakeshott Type Xa are single-hand swords with a pronounced, relatively narrow fuller that runs to within several inches of the tip. There are 17 Type Xa swords shown in Oakeshott's Records of the Medieval Sword. Most of these are dated from 1000 to 1150 AD.
The subject of this review is a recently introduced sword from Angus Trim that reminds me quite a bit of the sword shown in Records as Xa.4, on page 39. This Maker's mark sword is quite different, having a blade that's several inches shorter. But in profile, the two are quite similar. Both possess noticeable but subtle flaring at the blade shoulders. Both have a noticeable profile taper, but are unquestionably cutting swords.
I am a huge fan of Type X and Xa swords. I own Albion's Type Xa Norman and Gaddjhalt, as well as their Type X Reeve. So it was with those in mind that I started my evaluation of the Maker's Mark Type Xa.1.
The sword I received was the first production run this new sword for the Maker's Mark line. The blade and hilt components are made by Angus Trim. The example shown here was a preproduction sample, and as such was sent to me with a bare wood grip core, as I had requested. So, the cord wrap and leather grip cover were done by me. I am happy with the grip you see in the following photos. But it's worth noting that it was not done by Christian Fletcher, and is thus not quite up to his standards of fit finish and beauty. Swords in the Maker's Mark Line may be ordered from the Christian Fletcher website at www.christianfletcher.com or by emailing cf@christianfletcher.com.
Specifications
OAL------------------------- 39"
Blade length---------------- 32.5"
Grip------------------------ 4.25"
Width at base--------------- 2.13"
Width 1.5 in from tip ------ 0.925"
COP------------------------- 18-25"
COG------------------------- 5"
Weight---------------------- 2 lbs, 6 ozs
Aesthetics, Fit & Finish
Angus Trim has been well known for making swords that handle and perform great, but look rather workmanlike. He has recently embarked on a program to improve the overall aesthetics of his sword designs. Blades have been redesigned in an attempt to better capture the subtle curves and artistry of period original swords. Polishing and sharpening processes have been altered and expanded to create a more smooth and consistent satin finish with a convex "appleseed" edge, and fullers receive extra attention. Christian Fletcher has designed several new sets of hilt furniture. The manner in which grips are wrapped has changed as well.
The end result are swords that look much more refined to me. This sword is the second I've seen that has benefited from all these improvements. I like the changes. The blade looks nicely polished, with a consistent satin finish over all surfaces. Previously, ATrim blades with fullers almost always had visible grind marks of remnants of machine marks down in the bottom of the fullers. These are completely absent everywhere on this sword, the same as the first of this series I reviewed. All surfaces exhibit a smooth satin finish from polishing at what looks like about 400 grit on this sample. I rate this a nice finish, attractive for display but at the same time easy to maintain.
The new guard on this Type Xa features inletting on the face of the guard to allow the blade shoulders to sit down into the guard a bit. This new guard exhibits graceful design and seems to be a historical rendition of a curved Oakeshott Style 1 guard. The edges are beveled to give it a smooth, hand forged appearance. It is very similar in appearance to the guard used on the Albion Norman.
The pommel is one of Gus' standard shallow Type J wheels. The central section is fairly shallow and seems a little out of place on this sword, to my eye anyway. I think this sword might be better served aesthetically with a "melted" looking wheel pommel of Type G. But that's just a personal preference for simple looking swords from early medieval years.
The grip was finished by me. This was my first attempt at doing a leather wrap on a sword that was already assembled. I learned a lot, and the photos show several mistakes and corrections. The grip you would receive on a Maker's Mark offering would come with a grip that's done by Christian Fletcher. And it would be up to his usual standards of excellence.
One thing that catches my eye, that seems out of place on a Type Xa sword is what appears to be a tendency toward a flattened diamond shape in the cross section of the blade tip, from the end of the fuller to the tip. When looking at the sword flat-on in profile it isn't casually apparent. But in the above photo of the complete sword, the lighting makes it glaringly obvious. I think this is a matter of the finish grinding on my blade (it was the very first one Gus made) being slightly incomplete. When I'm done with the testing and abuse, that will be corrected to make it more aesthetically appealing to my purist early medieval heart.
A surprising benefit to the design of this blade is that it happens to fit well in scabbards made for the Albion Knight. The blade profiles are different, but they happen to be close enough at both the shoulders and the tip that the fit is surprisingly good. My DBK scabbard made to fit all the Albion Type XII blades feels like it fits the Type Xa.1 perfectly.
Handling Characteristics
The blade is 32.5 inches long with a balance point of 5 inches. That sounds like a fairly "blade-positive" sword. The Type Xa.1 is just that. It's a sword with a very positive feeling of power and shearing potential. It's not unresponsive. Far from it. But I would not say there's much in the way of subtleness in the handling. Pick up a Xa.1 and from the first you realize what this was designed to do... cleave anything in front of it! It is designed to be the heavy cutter for throwing blows from behind a shield. And it's designed to bite deeply into an opposing shield.
The assembly is rock-solid and has shown no sign of loosening or any type of fitment problem, even though the sword has been put through all kinds of abuse and heavy cutting tests.
In comparisons with the Albion offerings I noticed immediately that this Maker's Mark sword feels significantly different. It feels very slightly heavier in hand, and is substantially stiffer. It does not flex to any noticeable degree when moving through drills simulating cutting, blocking and guarding. And it exhibited no vibration whatsoever during any of my testing, which was a strange feeling. I've come to expect a degree of cut-stopping vibration from cutting swords when they reach the "outside of the envelope" of their performance. But I couldn't seem to find the outside of the Xa.1's envelope...
Cutting & Thrusting
While thrusting is not a signature quality of most Type X derivatives, the point on Xa.1 is quite serviceable. The blade is rigid near the tip, and the blade presence also lends a good feel for the tip. It is surprisingly lively in the thrust and is rigid enough for heavy thrusting work against hard targets.
But cutting is where this sword really shines. And it particularly excels at cutting into hard targets such as quarter-inch thick plywood. Cutting into plywood has lost its following in current testing, but I feel this is our loss, and I intend to include it in testing of any cut-oriented medieval swords I use in the future. After all, sword&shield work usually results in the sword hitting the shield, right? Well why isn't that a staple of what we demand from a medieval single-hand sword? In short, I am moving in the direction of judging all swords of this type by two criteria: 1) How well do they cut targets? and 2) How well do they stand up to being defended against by an opponent?
With that in mind, I did a comparison among several swords. The comparison involved throwing overhand cuts into a piece of quarter-inch freestanding plywood. I think the overall results should be the subject of an article on sword performance and comparison, so I will not go into detail on other swords here. But I will say that Xa.1 would make a terrific shield smasher. It penetrated 10-12 inches on every cut and showed no blade damage whatsoever. It would still slice paper as cleanly after plywood cutting as well as it would before.
Bottle cutting with the Xa.1 was interesting. I found it possible to cleanly cut even large bottles by using a "grip-snap" technique I learned from Bill Tsafa. It involves cocking the sword over the shoulder with the blade pointing straight up, but with the arm oriented to be halfway through the cutting stroke, holding the sword grip loosely with only the index finger tight and the other fingers progressively looser until the little finger is almost straight open. To make the cut all you do is make a fist and the tightening fingers snap the sword forward. It requires no arm movement for the first half of the cutting stroke. The weight and balance of this sword aided in landing good cutting blows quite well in this fashion.
Another thing that was a surprise is how well the sword cuts by simply transitioning from a middle guard to a high blocking guard, as you might to block an opponent's downward diagonal cut. In fact, all the cuts I tried were easier than I anticipated they would be, based on the sword's weight and feel.
Here is a cutting video with the following description:
Some cutting and handling tests on the Angus Trim / Christian Fletcher Maker's Mark Type Xa.1 reproduction medieval sword. This is in support of a full review posted on the Sword Buyer's Guide Forum. Please pardon the use of overly melodramatic music. I had a few too many beers while putting this together late one night... ;-)
Pros & Cons
The slightly thick flattened-diamond looking cross section of the tip make this particular instance look a bit anachronistic and out of place. Many would not appreciate the overly stiff nature of the blade in handling, preferring a thinner and more flexible design for this time period. Also, the fact that you can't just pick up the phone or go to the internet and buy one.
On the plus side, Xa.1 is a very powerful and dynamic sword for almost any use you'd want to put an early medieval cutting sword to. The price is just about in line with or slightly below, other swords of this quality. The performance and assembly is just about as good as I can imagine getting at any price.
Conclusion
I was sent this sword with the opportunity to review it and return it to Gus Trim at no cost other than return shipping. I bought it because it offered a marked contrast to my Albion Type Xa swords. The handling is similar, but it seems to offer more power in the same package, and fills the bill of a "heavier Type Xa" for a hardier style of combat. And because I can hardly imagine a better heavy-duty sword suited to the crusading knight in the 1100s.