Windlass War Sword
Apr 29, 2007 9:03:00 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2007 9:03:00 GMT
I had been in the market for a hand-and-a-half or long sword for quite a while before I decided to purchase the Windlass War Sword. I couldn’t seem to find exactly what I wanted but the War Sword was pretty close and not too expensive so I finally decided to go for it.
I ordered it from Arms of Valor (with the sharpening option). The sword itself is $165 and after sharpening and shipping it came out to around $200.
Here are the basic stats for the War Sword:
Blade: 36”
Overall: 44 ½”
Blade Width: 2”
Weight: 3 lbs
PoB: 5 ½”
One of the interesting things about this sword is that it does not fall neatly into a single Oakeshott type. It seems, in my opinion, to have traits that could place it either in type XIIa or XIIIa. If I had to choose one I would say XIIIa, but as there seem to be plenty of historical swords that don’t fit perfectly in Oakeshott’s typology I am fine with leaving the categorization of this one somewhat flexible.
Here is a description of a historical sword similar to the War Sword and a discussion of it’s placement into the Oakeshott typology: www.vikingsword.com/vmuseum/vmxiii5.html
The War Sword’s blade is a bit on the flexible side (from what I hear this is common with larger Windlass swords) and could perhaps be described as “whippy”. However, since this sword is clearly dedicated to cutting, an overly flexible blade is not the end of the world. In my opinion it would be nice if Windlass could stiffen up the blade a bit, but as it is, the blade’s flexibility doesn’t ruin this sword for me.
When it first arrived the blade showed plenty of markings from production. In terms of finish I’d say its not on par with either of my other swords (Generation 2 Witham River and Cheness Nagasa). Then again it was significantly cheaper, so I was expecting this. (NOTE: I went over the blade with sandpaper (grits 150 to 1500) and metal polish before these pictures were taken).
The only real aesthetic problem I have with this blade is that the fuller gets a little wavy towards it’s end on both sides of the sword. Nothing too major, but a flaw worth noting nonetheless.
The sharpening job done by AoV seems pretty good to me. It is extremely sharp to the touch (I have already cut myself twice ) and there is a clear secondary bevel.
I think with practice, time, and effort a better job of sharpening could definitely be done on one’s own, and in the future I would like to learn to do so. But if you don’t want to go through the trouble (like I didn’t this time) then AoV’s sharpening service does a perfectly good job (as long as it cuts I’m happy ).
The grip on the War Sword is wood with a wire and rawhide section in the middle.
When seeing pictures of this on line I wasn’t too crazy about it, but in person it actually doesn’t look half bad and is pretty comfortable to hold. (I was thinking about doing a custom grip on this sword as I noted in another post, but I am not sure of how it would work with the sectioned off pieces of wood and the rawhide to deal with…)
The weird thing about the grip is it’s size. It is clearly meant to allow the use of both hands, but it isn’t quite long enough for both hands to grip the sword comfortably without grasping a bit of the pommel as well.
I can actually squish both hands on the grip (without gripping the pommel) but swinging the sword like this is extremely uncomfortable (plus you get very little leverage for control / power).
It has taken some practice, but i'm finally getting the hang of grasping part of the pommel with my left hand (for more info on this keep reading the posts after this review).
The great thing about this sword is that it's light weight and decent balance point make it pretty maneuverable despite it's long blade. Even in one hand it is surprisingly easy to wield.
I've done some light cutting so far and found that the War Sword handles milk jugs and plastic bottles without any trouble (whether using one hand or two). As of yet I haven’t noticed any rattling of parts or anything else that would indicate a lack of structural integrity.
I also briefly tried to remove the pommel (which I think is threaded on) but was unable to budge it. I think to get it off I’d probably have to get the sword in a vice (maybe there is glue holding the pommel on?).
In the end my feelings about this sword are mostly positive. I think it is a downright awesome looking sword (except for the slightly wavy fuller) and it handles wonderfully in one hand. For the price I am definitely happy with my purchase.
At the same time I think that another inch or two on the grip and a slightly stiffer blade would really improve this sword and make it one of the coolest sub $300 pieces out there (maybe it could have a slightly higher degree of profile taper, making it into a straight up XIIa, to compensate for any added weight from a stiffer blade).
Here are my rankings for the War Sword.
Historical Accuracy: 3 / 5
Fit and Finish: 3 / 5
Structural Integrity: 3 / 5 (It’s holding up fine… but I haven’t put it through too much)
Handling:
1 Hand: 5 / 5
2 Hands: 3.5 / 5 (getting the grip right takes some practice but it can be done! )
Value for Money: 4 / 5
Despite various minor issues with it I really do like this sword . I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a hand-and-a-half sword at a good price.
I ordered it from Arms of Valor (with the sharpening option). The sword itself is $165 and after sharpening and shipping it came out to around $200.
Here are the basic stats for the War Sword:
Blade: 36”
Overall: 44 ½”
Blade Width: 2”
Weight: 3 lbs
PoB: 5 ½”
One of the interesting things about this sword is that it does not fall neatly into a single Oakeshott type. It seems, in my opinion, to have traits that could place it either in type XIIa or XIIIa. If I had to choose one I would say XIIIa, but as there seem to be plenty of historical swords that don’t fit perfectly in Oakeshott’s typology I am fine with leaving the categorization of this one somewhat flexible.
Here is a description of a historical sword similar to the War Sword and a discussion of it’s placement into the Oakeshott typology: www.vikingsword.com/vmuseum/vmxiii5.html
The War Sword’s blade is a bit on the flexible side (from what I hear this is common with larger Windlass swords) and could perhaps be described as “whippy”. However, since this sword is clearly dedicated to cutting, an overly flexible blade is not the end of the world. In my opinion it would be nice if Windlass could stiffen up the blade a bit, but as it is, the blade’s flexibility doesn’t ruin this sword for me.
When it first arrived the blade showed plenty of markings from production. In terms of finish I’d say its not on par with either of my other swords (Generation 2 Witham River and Cheness Nagasa). Then again it was significantly cheaper, so I was expecting this. (NOTE: I went over the blade with sandpaper (grits 150 to 1500) and metal polish before these pictures were taken).
The only real aesthetic problem I have with this blade is that the fuller gets a little wavy towards it’s end on both sides of the sword. Nothing too major, but a flaw worth noting nonetheless.
The sharpening job done by AoV seems pretty good to me. It is extremely sharp to the touch (I have already cut myself twice ) and there is a clear secondary bevel.
I think with practice, time, and effort a better job of sharpening could definitely be done on one’s own, and in the future I would like to learn to do so. But if you don’t want to go through the trouble (like I didn’t this time) then AoV’s sharpening service does a perfectly good job (as long as it cuts I’m happy ).
The grip on the War Sword is wood with a wire and rawhide section in the middle.
When seeing pictures of this on line I wasn’t too crazy about it, but in person it actually doesn’t look half bad and is pretty comfortable to hold. (I was thinking about doing a custom grip on this sword as I noted in another post, but I am not sure of how it would work with the sectioned off pieces of wood and the rawhide to deal with…)
The weird thing about the grip is it’s size. It is clearly meant to allow the use of both hands, but it isn’t quite long enough for both hands to grip the sword comfortably without grasping a bit of the pommel as well.
I can actually squish both hands on the grip (without gripping the pommel) but swinging the sword like this is extremely uncomfortable (plus you get very little leverage for control / power).
It has taken some practice, but i'm finally getting the hang of grasping part of the pommel with my left hand (for more info on this keep reading the posts after this review).
The great thing about this sword is that it's light weight and decent balance point make it pretty maneuverable despite it's long blade. Even in one hand it is surprisingly easy to wield.
I've done some light cutting so far and found that the War Sword handles milk jugs and plastic bottles without any trouble (whether using one hand or two). As of yet I haven’t noticed any rattling of parts or anything else that would indicate a lack of structural integrity.
I also briefly tried to remove the pommel (which I think is threaded on) but was unable to budge it. I think to get it off I’d probably have to get the sword in a vice (maybe there is glue holding the pommel on?).
In the end my feelings about this sword are mostly positive. I think it is a downright awesome looking sword (except for the slightly wavy fuller) and it handles wonderfully in one hand. For the price I am definitely happy with my purchase.
At the same time I think that another inch or two on the grip and a slightly stiffer blade would really improve this sword and make it one of the coolest sub $300 pieces out there (maybe it could have a slightly higher degree of profile taper, making it into a straight up XIIa, to compensate for any added weight from a stiffer blade).
Here are my rankings for the War Sword.
Historical Accuracy: 3 / 5
Fit and Finish: 3 / 5
Structural Integrity: 3 / 5 (It’s holding up fine… but I haven’t put it through too much)
Handling:
1 Hand: 5 / 5
2 Hands: 3.5 / 5 (getting the grip right takes some practice but it can be done! )
Value for Money: 4 / 5
Despite various minor issues with it I really do like this sword . I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a hand-and-a-half sword at a good price.