Weaponedge Prussian "Blucher" Sabre Review
Nov 24, 2008 14:56:04 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2008 14:56:04 GMT
WeaponEdge Prussian “Blucher” Sabre (#WES-1026) Review - Larry
Brief History – Extracts from Military Heritage site on “Prussian Blucher Sabre”
“…Adopted by the Prussians around 1812 when thousands were shipped from Britain to finance the Prussia’s war effort against Napoleon. It was nicknamed the “Blucher” sabre for General Blucher who commanded the Prussian Army when it entered to save the day for the Allies at the Battle of Waterloo. Eventually their manufacture was taken up in Prussia and for the first part of the 19th century was chief light cavalry sabre. It also found favour with the United States. The US dragoon pattern for the War of 1812 was identical to this sword except the scabbard was blackened…”
The Sword
(Not much stats were mentioned @military Heritage and certainly none @weaponedge, so I'll attempt to state mine here)
Overall Length (w/o scabbard): 38”
Overall Length (w/scabbard): 38 ½”
Blade Length: 33”
Thickness of Blade near Hilt: ¼”
Thickness of Blade near Tip: 1/16”
Point of Balance: 8 ½” from Guard
Weight (w/scabbard): ~1.9Kg
Weight (w/o scabbard): ~1.1Kg
The Blade
An eastern influence permeates the blade form, and the blade profile is similar to some examples of the Indian Tulwar. Unlike other European sabres during that period, the “Blucher” blade was widened near the point. The blade measures 1 ¼” near the guard, narrows to about 1 5/32 mid-length and then widened to 1 ¾” where the fuller terminates. This affected balance, but made slashes far more brutal.
Another view of the blade showing the fuller
The blade thickness measures ¼” near ricasso and tapers to around 1/16” where the fuller almost ended. The blade then thins out sharply to form a sharpen false-edge near the tip.
The Hilt
The hilt is of a simple ‘stirrup’ design with a single knucklebow. The backpiece of the grip had ears which were riveted through the tang of the blade so that the hilt assembly is held to the blade very securely.
The grip measures only 4” long and is made of either hard plastic or leather-wrapped-over-wood core (sorry, can’t determine through my novice eyes).
The Scabbard
Due to the design of the blade form, the scabbard mouth must be wide enough to house the blade, which inevitably resulted in the sword rocking within the scabbard; hence, a ‘duck-clip’ kind of mechanism was cleverly constructed just within the mouth piece (see below photo) such that it ‘hugs’ onto the blade ricasso once blade is fully inserted. This enables the sword to stay inside the scabbard even when the scabbard is held upside-down! A simple yet effective innovation.
The downside is: frequent sheathing & drawing of the sword could scratch the blade (due to the ‘duck clip’ mechanism). But I guess this is last thing to worry during actual combat usage
The all-steel scabbard is rather queer looking with the absence of locket and chape, but sports 2 rather insignificant shoe/drag at the scabbard end.
Overall, the scabbard looks bare and shinny. It is so shinny that I had a hard time taking pictures of it while trying to avoid my reflections or reflection of furniture in the room.
Handling
(Sorry folks, this piece comes unsharpened and I’m satisfied to leave that as it is, so NO cutting test/video from me – Sorry to disappoint)
I do not have the opportunity to experience what the original “Blucher” might feel like, but if I were to trust those documented description, then I believe Weaponedge did a rather good job with their “Blucher”.
The Weaponedge “Blucher” has a strong blade presence and definitely not suited for wrist-flicking sort of actions; this, in part, is due to the pronounced blade curve which was originally designed to make the kind of slashing attacks used in cavalry days of old decisively easy. So, being ‘blade heavy’ is its purpose. Doing a recovery during a full-arm swing may be difficult, though, especially for an ‘untrained’ hand like mine.
The hilt of the “Blucher” is pretty small, considering most costumed users would have gloves/gauntlets on; the narrow grip fits my small hand comfortably, but I foresee it can be challenging for those with larger hands, especially with gloves on.
The finishing on the "Blucher" was superbly done by Weaponedge, and they did a good job to ensure the sword reach me in its best state by enclosing the entire sword in a clean plastic bag before firmly wrapped in a good layer of bubble wraps.
Conclusion
Historical Accuracy: 5/5
Handling: 5/5
Fit & Finish: 5/5
Structural Integrity: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5 (83USD at Weaponedge; 199USD at Military Heritage).
Overall: 5
I’m truly mesmerized by this steely beauty which conceal a deadly weapon. And before you are too quick to jump onboard the Weaponedge bandwagon, please take some time to read my concluding comment on my other two Weaponedge reviews – something which I do not wish to repeat here
Brief History – Extracts from Military Heritage site on “Prussian Blucher Sabre”
“…Adopted by the Prussians around 1812 when thousands were shipped from Britain to finance the Prussia’s war effort against Napoleon. It was nicknamed the “Blucher” sabre for General Blucher who commanded the Prussian Army when it entered to save the day for the Allies at the Battle of Waterloo. Eventually their manufacture was taken up in Prussia and for the first part of the 19th century was chief light cavalry sabre. It also found favour with the United States. The US dragoon pattern for the War of 1812 was identical to this sword except the scabbard was blackened…”
The Sword
(Not much stats were mentioned @military Heritage and certainly none @weaponedge, so I'll attempt to state mine here)
Overall Length (w/o scabbard): 38”
Overall Length (w/scabbard): 38 ½”
Blade Length: 33”
Thickness of Blade near Hilt: ¼”
Thickness of Blade near Tip: 1/16”
Point of Balance: 8 ½” from Guard
Weight (w/scabbard): ~1.9Kg
Weight (w/o scabbard): ~1.1Kg
The Blade
An eastern influence permeates the blade form, and the blade profile is similar to some examples of the Indian Tulwar. Unlike other European sabres during that period, the “Blucher” blade was widened near the point. The blade measures 1 ¼” near the guard, narrows to about 1 5/32 mid-length and then widened to 1 ¾” where the fuller terminates. This affected balance, but made slashes far more brutal.
Another view of the blade showing the fuller
The blade thickness measures ¼” near ricasso and tapers to around 1/16” where the fuller almost ended. The blade then thins out sharply to form a sharpen false-edge near the tip.
The Hilt
The hilt is of a simple ‘stirrup’ design with a single knucklebow. The backpiece of the grip had ears which were riveted through the tang of the blade so that the hilt assembly is held to the blade very securely.
The grip measures only 4” long and is made of either hard plastic or leather-wrapped-over-wood core (sorry, can’t determine through my novice eyes).
The Scabbard
Due to the design of the blade form, the scabbard mouth must be wide enough to house the blade, which inevitably resulted in the sword rocking within the scabbard; hence, a ‘duck-clip’ kind of mechanism was cleverly constructed just within the mouth piece (see below photo) such that it ‘hugs’ onto the blade ricasso once blade is fully inserted. This enables the sword to stay inside the scabbard even when the scabbard is held upside-down! A simple yet effective innovation.
The downside is: frequent sheathing & drawing of the sword could scratch the blade (due to the ‘duck clip’ mechanism). But I guess this is last thing to worry during actual combat usage
The all-steel scabbard is rather queer looking with the absence of locket and chape, but sports 2 rather insignificant shoe/drag at the scabbard end.
Overall, the scabbard looks bare and shinny. It is so shinny that I had a hard time taking pictures of it while trying to avoid my reflections or reflection of furniture in the room.
Handling
(Sorry folks, this piece comes unsharpened and I’m satisfied to leave that as it is, so NO cutting test/video from me – Sorry to disappoint)
I do not have the opportunity to experience what the original “Blucher” might feel like, but if I were to trust those documented description, then I believe Weaponedge did a rather good job with their “Blucher”.
The Weaponedge “Blucher” has a strong blade presence and definitely not suited for wrist-flicking sort of actions; this, in part, is due to the pronounced blade curve which was originally designed to make the kind of slashing attacks used in cavalry days of old decisively easy. So, being ‘blade heavy’ is its purpose. Doing a recovery during a full-arm swing may be difficult, though, especially for an ‘untrained’ hand like mine.
The hilt of the “Blucher” is pretty small, considering most costumed users would have gloves/gauntlets on; the narrow grip fits my small hand comfortably, but I foresee it can be challenging for those with larger hands, especially with gloves on.
The finishing on the "Blucher" was superbly done by Weaponedge, and they did a good job to ensure the sword reach me in its best state by enclosing the entire sword in a clean plastic bag before firmly wrapped in a good layer of bubble wraps.
Conclusion
Historical Accuracy: 5/5
Handling: 5/5
Fit & Finish: 5/5
Structural Integrity: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5 (83USD at Weaponedge; 199USD at Military Heritage).
Overall: 5
I’m truly mesmerized by this steely beauty which conceal a deadly weapon. And before you are too quick to jump onboard the Weaponedge bandwagon, please take some time to read my concluding comment on my other two Weaponedge reviews – something which I do not wish to repeat here