SBG AT1315 Review
Apr 21, 2008 1:56:00 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2008 1:56:00 GMT
This is my review of the Angus Trim 1315 as made for the SBG sale.
This sword probably won't be offered in the $300 price range again, so this review is just to satisfy curiosity.
Shipping:
The sword arrived via fedex ground, well packed in a flat box, wrapped in black plastic.
There was a light coat of what looked like WD-40 on it.
The target date moved a few times and there were some delays in production from what I've gleaned.
Add a couple of false starts on the ship date and it seemed to take forever to get this sword.
All told, I think it was 9 months from conception to delivery. I can live with that.
The Stats:
Blade length 31.75 "
Hilt length 6.75 "
Overall 37.75 "
Distal taper .6cm at the guard, .3cm one inch from the tip. (approximate)
Profile taper 1.75" at guard (maybe a hair over that) just over 1" at tip.
COP Between 20 and 21 inches from the guard, right near the end of the fuller.
COG 5.25" from the guard.
Weight My bathroom scale says 2.5 lbs. Take that with a grain of salt.
Fit and Finish:
The parts fit together well and tightly on this sword. The guard is slotted in a rectangular shape with rounded ends.
It meets the ridges of the fuller tightly. The edges of the blade round up slightly where they meet the guard. The fit betwewen the blade and the guard is nice and snug.
The pommel is seated firmly on the handle,and the wrap is tight and even.
There is no movement or rattle in the swing. On sharp impacts the swords has a short, crisp ring.
The guard is a little rough, with some obvious grind marks near the tips.
The finish on the blade has a nice grain to it, pretty subdued, satiny I guess.
The fuller has obvious machine marks if I look closely. I'll either blue or etch it eventually, but it doesn't look bad now.
The fuller is 1cm wide down it's entire length, and perfectly straight.
At the end of the fuller the blade profile becomes hexagonal for about 4 inches.
The edges that were the sides of the fuller taper together into a central ridge. The transition is gradual and feint.
The edge is fantastic on this. No secondary bevel. The blade shape comes down to a nice thin edge, then transitions into a cutting edge
inside less than a mm. The handle is a good shape that feels comfortable in a handshake grip. The wrap is very well done, the seam
is almost perfectly straight with no gaps. The risers are a bit too square for my taste, but they finish the ends of the handle nicely.
The pommel is a bit smaller than I envisioned, but balances well with the guard visually.
Structural integrity:
Solid. This steel seems more resilient than the 1060/1095 my Windlasses are made of; it isn't taking scratches and scuffs the same way.
I hit my stand pretty good with it and didn't do any damage to the blade. Also, it has a decent flex to it.
Handling:
This is the strongest point of this sword.The blade is definitely stiffer than my others and I think the sweet spot is pretty large.
I landed a tip cut on the neck of a double layered bottle and the cut was pretty clean. If you look closely you can see where it even shaved a tiny bit off of the little plastic edge that juts out just under the cap.
It is very lively. It can still bat bottles across
the yard, but it's also very easy to land a good cut. This is partly due to the edge geometry I'm sure, but the handling also plays a big part.The weight is just tip-forward enough to give the stroke some authority, without making it sluggish or clumsy on the recovery.
The taper of the handle encourages a handshake grip, and the ridges in the leather prevent slippage. The riser at the gaurd gives my thumb a good resting place and the tip is easy to control. The guard just misses my wrist if I swing the blade around the back of my hand.
The only handing issue is that the pommel digs into my palm a little, and it's sharp edged enough to be uncomfortable. I will have to either replace it or round the edges some. I tried a few back-edge cuts which mostly missed the target. The blade was easy to reverse though.
My wrist hasn't felt jerked or stressed at all swinging and cutting with this blade.
At $325 shipped this was a good deal, and worth the wait.
This sword probably won't be offered in the $300 price range again, so this review is just to satisfy curiosity.
Shipping:
The sword arrived via fedex ground, well packed in a flat box, wrapped in black plastic.
There was a light coat of what looked like WD-40 on it.
The target date moved a few times and there were some delays in production from what I've gleaned.
Add a couple of false starts on the ship date and it seemed to take forever to get this sword.
All told, I think it was 9 months from conception to delivery. I can live with that.
The Stats:
Blade length 31.75 "
Hilt length 6.75 "
Overall 37.75 "
Distal taper .6cm at the guard, .3cm one inch from the tip. (approximate)
Profile taper 1.75" at guard (maybe a hair over that) just over 1" at tip.
COP Between 20 and 21 inches from the guard, right near the end of the fuller.
COG 5.25" from the guard.
Weight My bathroom scale says 2.5 lbs. Take that with a grain of salt.
Fit and Finish:
The parts fit together well and tightly on this sword. The guard is slotted in a rectangular shape with rounded ends.
It meets the ridges of the fuller tightly. The edges of the blade round up slightly where they meet the guard. The fit betwewen the blade and the guard is nice and snug.
The pommel is seated firmly on the handle,and the wrap is tight and even.
There is no movement or rattle in the swing. On sharp impacts the swords has a short, crisp ring.
The guard is a little rough, with some obvious grind marks near the tips.
The finish on the blade has a nice grain to it, pretty subdued, satiny I guess.
The fuller has obvious machine marks if I look closely. I'll either blue or etch it eventually, but it doesn't look bad now.
The fuller is 1cm wide down it's entire length, and perfectly straight.
At the end of the fuller the blade profile becomes hexagonal for about 4 inches.
The edges that were the sides of the fuller taper together into a central ridge. The transition is gradual and feint.
The edge is fantastic on this. No secondary bevel. The blade shape comes down to a nice thin edge, then transitions into a cutting edge
inside less than a mm. The handle is a good shape that feels comfortable in a handshake grip. The wrap is very well done, the seam
is almost perfectly straight with no gaps. The risers are a bit too square for my taste, but they finish the ends of the handle nicely.
The pommel is a bit smaller than I envisioned, but balances well with the guard visually.
Structural integrity:
Solid. This steel seems more resilient than the 1060/1095 my Windlasses are made of; it isn't taking scratches and scuffs the same way.
I hit my stand pretty good with it and didn't do any damage to the blade. Also, it has a decent flex to it.
Handling:
This is the strongest point of this sword.The blade is definitely stiffer than my others and I think the sweet spot is pretty large.
I landed a tip cut on the neck of a double layered bottle and the cut was pretty clean. If you look closely you can see where it even shaved a tiny bit off of the little plastic edge that juts out just under the cap.
It is very lively. It can still bat bottles across
the yard, but it's also very easy to land a good cut. This is partly due to the edge geometry I'm sure, but the handling also plays a big part.The weight is just tip-forward enough to give the stroke some authority, without making it sluggish or clumsy on the recovery.
The taper of the handle encourages a handshake grip, and the ridges in the leather prevent slippage. The riser at the gaurd gives my thumb a good resting place and the tip is easy to control. The guard just misses my wrist if I swing the blade around the back of my hand.
The only handing issue is that the pommel digs into my palm a little, and it's sharp edged enough to be uncomfortable. I will have to either replace it or round the edges some. I tried a few back-edge cuts which mostly missed the target. The blade was easy to reverse though.
My wrist hasn't felt jerked or stressed at all swinging and cutting with this blade.
At $325 shipped this was a good deal, and worth the wait.