Type XIV ATrim prototype for valiant Armoury
Jul 4, 2010 9:07:17 GMT
Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jul 4, 2010 9:07:17 GMT
Angus Trim type XIV 13th Century Performance Line arming sword prototype for Valiant Armoury.
A review by Tom Kinder
This is the second of two swords I recently got from Gus to test and review. It is part of a line Gus has been calling his 13th century performance line though that is not the final name of the line and may or may not be the name it is sold under. Like the XIIa I recently posted a review on this sword will also be available not on Christian Fletcher’s site but from Valiant Armory; that is assuming the design is picked up by Sonny, but Gus and I think it will be. This sword (blade, grip, guard, pommel, etc) was made in its entirety by Gus Trim rather than the blade by him and the hilt work by Christian as is his more usual work and I think this is work Gus should be very proud of. He made it for Valiant Armoury and as Gus makes more swords for Valiant more and more excellent things will be happening and coming to us from Sonny and his amazing crew. Christian is still on board with both Gus and Valiant Armoury, this change in direction for ATrim swords is in no way a divorce from Christian Fletcher, it is just the dawning of a new arrangement where Sonny will be handling the marketing and sales of Gus’ swords. Christian is still Valiant’s head designer and while I haven’t talked to Christian about it I would imagine this new arrangement will allow him more time to do his thing and that will not be a bad thing, I’m sure.
It is no secret I’m a big fan of Gus’ swords and this sword is no exception. In this review I will endeavor to show you why.
First Impressions:
This sword immediately reminded me of the XII.2 Munition grade sword I got from Gus recently. Indeed the weight, width at the shoulders, POB, and length measurements were almost exactly the same. The shape of the XII.2 from the guard to the end of the fuller is almost exactly the same as the shape of this sword in the same area but the blades forward of the fullers are very differently shaped and the way these two swords handle are quite different from each other. Interestingly enough Shadowhowler Sean mentioned on that review that the XII.2 looked a lot like a type XIV. Well here’s the type XIV that’s a good match. Take a look at the review of the XII.2 if you want to compare: /index.cgi?board=swordreviews&action=display&thread=15726 the other thing I noticed right away about this sword was the great pommel. I really liked the design and it is not a style I have seen Gus use before so that was very cool.
Historical Overview:
Popular from 1275 to 1340, the type XIV sword is unusually easy to date in history due to the great many artistic representations from that time period. Unfortunately, very few actual specimens have survived to the present day. Type XIV swords continued to be cutting swords like the type XII, XI and X before them but gave even greater emphasis to the thrust than the XII which was a move more towards the point when compared to the earlier type X. so time marched forward making swords in Europe pointier as it went. This is often attributed to the change in armor on the fields of battle and that is probably correct and could be seen as a sort of medieval arms race. The type XIV is characterized by having short grips, wide blades at the shoulders tapering strongly to a very acute point, though usually not re-enforced as can been seen in later types such as the XVIII. I feel this sword is a good representative of the type and if you were to time-warp it back to a knight in Europe in 1300AD I doubt very much that anything on this sword would immediately make him look at it funny. In fact I think any professional soldier from history would be quite pleased to make this his sword and take it into battle.
Vital stats:
Weight: 2 pounds 4 ounces.
Over-all length: 39 inches
Blade Length: 32.25 inches
Blade Width @ Cross: 2 inches
Fuller length: 22.5 inches
Grip length: 4.25 inches
Cross Guard length: 8.25 inches
Point of Balance: 5"
The Blade:
The blade on this sword is very nicely polished on the primary bevels but the fuller shows signs of machine polishing as well as an unusual polishing flaw on one side. A bit of a swirly that I find kind of attractive and interesting but is certainly ahistorical and most would consider a cosmetic flaw. When I spoke to Gus about the polish in the fuller he informed me that he had merely forgotten to polish it out and the fuller on the XIIa bastard sword is what people should expect to see in his fullers. We had an interesting chat about just how bloody hard it is to get the insides of fullers polished well, so I’d like to take a moment and remind you all that if the inside of your fullers are well polished someone put some real work into it and you should appreciate it. The blade of this sword is pretty darn stiff and the very pointy point thrusts very well and tracks beautifully in a thrust. The blade does have a discernable secondary bevel and is not quite paper cutting sharp. This is typical of Gus’ blades and while I personally prefer to blend them out the swords always seem to cut very well just the way Gus makes them. But if you are like me and just being able to see that dang secondary bugs you then it will take only about 30 minutes with 600 grit paper to blend the edges together very nicely. I did not do this prior to cutting with this sword as I wanted to show it the way it comes.
Hilt/Parts and pieces
The furniture on this sword is really very attractive to me. The pommel is the real prize here. Type K pommels are pretty common on historical type XIV swords and they fit right into the time frame not to mention I’ve never seen Gus do one before so I’m loving the unusualness of it all.
The grip is very nicely shaped and well wrapped in rich brown leather. I love the way the grip actually gets wider from side to side as it approaches the pommel while turning more round in cross section and getting smaller over all at the same time. It is a very simple looking shape but it actually rather complex and subtle and best of all fits my hand just the way I want it to. Gus really knows how to make a grip.
The cross guard seems to be a variant of style 1 that has been bent forward slightly. It is strikingly similar to the cross guard on the 1557 and such lately.
Gus really got the fit of the blade in the blade recess tight on this one. check it out folks that’s a good fit right there, is it not?
The whole thing is held together with a very clean peening on the back of the pommel.
Handling and Cutting:
(Also known as “my favorite part”)
I am constantly amazed by just how exactly the same every measurable spec on this sword is just about exactly the same as the XII.2 I have and yet just how very different this sword feels than the XII.2.For starters this sword pops. What I mean is that it feels quite heavy in the hand but it accelerates and stops very abruptly and when you change from guard to guard and through moves with this sword is doesn’t float like the XII.2 does it snaps rapidly and precisely. Both swords are very fast but this one moves like a humming bird while the XII.2 is more like a diving falcon. The XII.2 feels like a wing flying through the air while this sword feels like a whip. I love the way this sword moves even better than the XII.2.
IN CONCLUSION:
Pro's: Superb handling, good historical fittings that match time period with the type, peened construction for those of us who prefer it, very attractive.
Cons: cost (ATrims aren’t cheap and we don’t know what this one will cost exactly yet anyway), availability (right now this is just a sneak preview of something down the road).
The Bottom line:
ATrims have always been the crème-de-la-crème when it comes to performance and this sword lives up to that reputation in spades but to top it off it is a very historically plausible sword. This sword and the XIIa I got with it are the most historically plausible swords I have seen from or even heard of coming out of Gus’ shop so if you are a guy who likes great performing, great looking, and historically plausible swords then you will probably like this sword. Once Sonny starts running the ATrim marketing and selling show ATrim customers will start to get that legendary VA customer service and CSS members are going to see discounts so this sword and the rest that are coming down the road from Gus and Sonny are going to be great buys for a wide variety of people, and of course I give them my highest recommendations.
A review by Tom Kinder
This is the second of two swords I recently got from Gus to test and review. It is part of a line Gus has been calling his 13th century performance line though that is not the final name of the line and may or may not be the name it is sold under. Like the XIIa I recently posted a review on this sword will also be available not on Christian Fletcher’s site but from Valiant Armory; that is assuming the design is picked up by Sonny, but Gus and I think it will be. This sword (blade, grip, guard, pommel, etc) was made in its entirety by Gus Trim rather than the blade by him and the hilt work by Christian as is his more usual work and I think this is work Gus should be very proud of. He made it for Valiant Armoury and as Gus makes more swords for Valiant more and more excellent things will be happening and coming to us from Sonny and his amazing crew. Christian is still on board with both Gus and Valiant Armoury, this change in direction for ATrim swords is in no way a divorce from Christian Fletcher, it is just the dawning of a new arrangement where Sonny will be handling the marketing and sales of Gus’ swords. Christian is still Valiant’s head designer and while I haven’t talked to Christian about it I would imagine this new arrangement will allow him more time to do his thing and that will not be a bad thing, I’m sure.
It is no secret I’m a big fan of Gus’ swords and this sword is no exception. In this review I will endeavor to show you why.
First Impressions:
This sword immediately reminded me of the XII.2 Munition grade sword I got from Gus recently. Indeed the weight, width at the shoulders, POB, and length measurements were almost exactly the same. The shape of the XII.2 from the guard to the end of the fuller is almost exactly the same as the shape of this sword in the same area but the blades forward of the fullers are very differently shaped and the way these two swords handle are quite different from each other. Interestingly enough Shadowhowler Sean mentioned on that review that the XII.2 looked a lot like a type XIV. Well here’s the type XIV that’s a good match. Take a look at the review of the XII.2 if you want to compare: /index.cgi?board=swordreviews&action=display&thread=15726 the other thing I noticed right away about this sword was the great pommel. I really liked the design and it is not a style I have seen Gus use before so that was very cool.
Historical Overview:
Popular from 1275 to 1340, the type XIV sword is unusually easy to date in history due to the great many artistic representations from that time period. Unfortunately, very few actual specimens have survived to the present day. Type XIV swords continued to be cutting swords like the type XII, XI and X before them but gave even greater emphasis to the thrust than the XII which was a move more towards the point when compared to the earlier type X. so time marched forward making swords in Europe pointier as it went. This is often attributed to the change in armor on the fields of battle and that is probably correct and could be seen as a sort of medieval arms race. The type XIV is characterized by having short grips, wide blades at the shoulders tapering strongly to a very acute point, though usually not re-enforced as can been seen in later types such as the XVIII. I feel this sword is a good representative of the type and if you were to time-warp it back to a knight in Europe in 1300AD I doubt very much that anything on this sword would immediately make him look at it funny. In fact I think any professional soldier from history would be quite pleased to make this his sword and take it into battle.
Vital stats:
Weight: 2 pounds 4 ounces.
Over-all length: 39 inches
Blade Length: 32.25 inches
Blade Width @ Cross: 2 inches
Fuller length: 22.5 inches
Grip length: 4.25 inches
Cross Guard length: 8.25 inches
Point of Balance: 5"
The Blade:
The blade on this sword is very nicely polished on the primary bevels but the fuller shows signs of machine polishing as well as an unusual polishing flaw on one side. A bit of a swirly that I find kind of attractive and interesting but is certainly ahistorical and most would consider a cosmetic flaw. When I spoke to Gus about the polish in the fuller he informed me that he had merely forgotten to polish it out and the fuller on the XIIa bastard sword is what people should expect to see in his fullers. We had an interesting chat about just how bloody hard it is to get the insides of fullers polished well, so I’d like to take a moment and remind you all that if the inside of your fullers are well polished someone put some real work into it and you should appreciate it. The blade of this sword is pretty darn stiff and the very pointy point thrusts very well and tracks beautifully in a thrust. The blade does have a discernable secondary bevel and is not quite paper cutting sharp. This is typical of Gus’ blades and while I personally prefer to blend them out the swords always seem to cut very well just the way Gus makes them. But if you are like me and just being able to see that dang secondary bugs you then it will take only about 30 minutes with 600 grit paper to blend the edges together very nicely. I did not do this prior to cutting with this sword as I wanted to show it the way it comes.
Hilt/Parts and pieces
The furniture on this sword is really very attractive to me. The pommel is the real prize here. Type K pommels are pretty common on historical type XIV swords and they fit right into the time frame not to mention I’ve never seen Gus do one before so I’m loving the unusualness of it all.
The grip is very nicely shaped and well wrapped in rich brown leather. I love the way the grip actually gets wider from side to side as it approaches the pommel while turning more round in cross section and getting smaller over all at the same time. It is a very simple looking shape but it actually rather complex and subtle and best of all fits my hand just the way I want it to. Gus really knows how to make a grip.
The cross guard seems to be a variant of style 1 that has been bent forward slightly. It is strikingly similar to the cross guard on the 1557 and such lately.
Gus really got the fit of the blade in the blade recess tight on this one. check it out folks that’s a good fit right there, is it not?
The whole thing is held together with a very clean peening on the back of the pommel.
Handling and Cutting:
(Also known as “my favorite part”)
I am constantly amazed by just how exactly the same every measurable spec on this sword is just about exactly the same as the XII.2 I have and yet just how very different this sword feels than the XII.2.For starters this sword pops. What I mean is that it feels quite heavy in the hand but it accelerates and stops very abruptly and when you change from guard to guard and through moves with this sword is doesn’t float like the XII.2 does it snaps rapidly and precisely. Both swords are very fast but this one moves like a humming bird while the XII.2 is more like a diving falcon. The XII.2 feels like a wing flying through the air while this sword feels like a whip. I love the way this sword moves even better than the XII.2.
IN CONCLUSION:
Pro's: Superb handling, good historical fittings that match time period with the type, peened construction for those of us who prefer it, very attractive.
Cons: cost (ATrims aren’t cheap and we don’t know what this one will cost exactly yet anyway), availability (right now this is just a sneak preview of something down the road).
The Bottom line:
ATrims have always been the crème-de-la-crème when it comes to performance and this sword lives up to that reputation in spades but to top it off it is a very historically plausible sword. This sword and the XIIa I got with it are the most historically plausible swords I have seen from or even heard of coming out of Gus’ shop so if you are a guy who likes great performing, great looking, and historically plausible swords then you will probably like this sword. Once Sonny starts running the ATrim marketing and selling show ATrim customers will start to get that legendary VA customer service and CSS members are going to see discounts so this sword and the rest that are coming down the road from Gus and Sonny are going to be great buys for a wide variety of people, and of course I give them my highest recommendations.