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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2009 2:36:51 GMT
Globalgear G-806 Gladius Review by Troy Stuart, South Australia Greetings gentle readers, Once again I come from the darkness of obscurity (I can all hear you going suuuure, like you aren't well known around here, or possibly obscurity, what does this word mean?) to present you with yet another review from your intrepid reporter...me. You were expecting Steve Irwin? Hmm, well if needs must. This bonza review is gonna be about the globalgear G-806 gladius, fair dinkum. Anyway, onto the review itself. blade length: 22 inches handle: about 5 inches overall length: about 29-30 inches with the knobbly bits that are supposed to be a pommel and guard. weight: so heavy my scales crapped themselves! No I jest, but just from dry handling she's a big boned girl indeed for such a short blade. Right, reckon it's time to introduce some piccies 'ey lads? We'll start with the beauty shot; So I like the blade shape, a very shallow wasting on this one that looks good. The blade itself is a diamond section and seems to possess relatively little distal taper, which is why she is so damn heavy. The blade is not sharp but the profile on the edge is about 2-3 mm so definitely not a re-enactment blade and the point on it would be lethal in re-enactment. This is the handle which globalgear suggests is bone, but I am not sure myself. The density just doesn't look right for bone, I would assume something like fibreglass or even a HDPE. I'm not even going to mention the pommel bits and the guard bit. The wood is painted, which indicates to me the wood is complete shite. introducing the UBER NUT OF DOOM! What you can see here is a rather blurry attempt to give you some idea of how big the nut is (half the length of the blade if you want my opinion, ok that was an over-exaggeration i admit). Here is another blurry photo of the end of the tang this is where we come to the part that gives me the wibblies. Globalgear says the following about their wonderful Po...I mean weapon; Spring Steel Blade Rats Tail Tang ConstructionHardened to approx. 50 HRC Bone Handle and G-800 Spring steel Range Spring Steel battle ready swords. The ultimate in strength designed specifically for re enactor requirements and genuine sword collectors.Uh...anyone notice the glaringly obvious (put in bold for those who missed it) discrepancy here? Anyway onto more pictures, I will come back to my wibblies if no one minds...no one?...good, moving right along then. Onto the (surprisingly) best bit of this sword, the sheath/scabbard/ whathaveyou. some detail of the chape and throat This is a beautifully constructed scabbard from what I can tell. Great detail on the chape and throat and some hanging rings as a bonus. So back to the wibblies. I picked this sword up, well it took the third attempt to get it out of the box it was that damn heavy (I jest but it is damn heavy) at a guess I would say it is about 4lbs, yep you read that right, 4 lbs. Overall it is a pretty looking blade with a good scabbard but the rest is semprinis. I will get in touch with GG and discuss my issues with them but chances are I won't be able to return it. If that turns out to be the case I am going to rip the handle off, which is currently epoxied and take a look at the tang, then decide what I do with the damn thing. So pros and cons of the sword; Pros: sexy scabbard, nice blade but damn heavy, love the subtle leaf shape and the length is fantastic. Strength training Cons: It weighs as much as a semi trailer (it weighs more than the rittersteel celtic if you can believe it!), the pommel and guard are shite and so is the handle, damned rat tail tang of which I don't know what kind of rat tail it is yet. So I wouldn't recommend this blade except for the scabbard or as a project piece. This has been another review and I am your host Bloodwraith. Tune in next time for more in the way of sharp shiny things.
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 28, 2009 2:46:21 GMT
That IS a very nice scabbard, at least... Certainly the grip is not bone, though. Looks pretty plasticky in that picture. Nut is bloody HUGE, too. No distal taper on a blade that wide? Yikes. 2-3mm edges, too? Yeah, I'd not be surprised to hear 3.5-4 pounds on this thing. But don't worry, the rat tail tang is totally battle ready.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2009 4:42:30 GMT
I forgot to mention that the blade is two and a half inches in width at the base. So yeah 3 mm edge, no distal taper, plastic handle and about 4 pounds. The wood of the pommel and guard have absolutely no weight to them which makes for a horribly unbalanced SLO. [sarcasm]But hey at least the blade is tempered to 50 HRC because I mean isn't that the only thing you need to have a sword that is battle ready and useable for re-enactment?[/sarcasm]
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Avery
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Post by Avery on Feb 28, 2009 14:21:07 GMT
You know, no offense Blood, it sounds like that swords kind of a ripoff. For the price you'd think it be at least as well balanced as a windlass or other comparable campany. Thanks for taking the plunge on it, this is one I believe I'll pass on.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2009 14:52:05 GMT
Actually it gets even more unbelievable (shocking I knowing) one side of the blade is actually sharpened very badly with a double bevel, the other side is blunt with a flat edged profile. Now I am really confused about this particular sword, is this what globalgear means by great for collectors and re-enactors? If you struck someone with the non beveled side would you turn around and go "well excuse me, I thought I was hitting you with the non sharpened side? Colour me baffled guys. Gotta keep a sense of humour though right? After all I wouldn't be an aussie if I could laugh at the absurdities of life and swords.
Abs: If I can send this one back for a full refund then no harm no foul, if not, well I will set that bridge on fire when I come to it. Suffice to say this is the strangest sword buying experience I've experienced yet.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2009 18:52:00 GMT
I own this sword as well. The handle is indeed plastic, one piece, and mine was badly painted. I busted it off, and made my own. the tang is indeed quite thin, at the largest part mine is approximately 1cm in diameter.I found that while the scabbard looks nice, both the throat and chape came off with not much effort, and mine is essentially something for storing the sword. ie if flops about in the scabbard like fish in a barrel. I sharpened mine up and it's really too massive to get any sort of clean cut. Of course that's water bottles and the like, I suspect that if you say, chopped someone in the arm with it, the owner of said arm would be very unhappy. It also stabs quite nicely, which is what it was designed for.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Gabriel
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2009 5:02:20 GMT
G. Make: thanks for the reply, I am going to try and get the full refund if I can. Did you like your sword so much that you kept it or would they not give you a refund? It is unfortunate that such a nice looking blade is so badly made and misrepresented. I just don't know how I feel about globalgear. I've owned their sakura which was a very pretty sword but extremely heavy for a katana and now the gladius. I'm not really knocking the company as I don't have enough experience with them but I have to say two strikes so far is not looking good for my continued patronage.
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Post by shadowhowler on Mar 1, 2009 9:26:50 GMT
Hey Bloodwraith... I got a Global Gear Templar sword a little while ago... I will be reviewing it soon, I just have to get it sharp. I ordered it sharp, but the edge it came with makes Hanwei Euro swords from 'out of the box' look like shaving razors.
There are good and bad points to my GG Templar... but we shall soon see if it can take an edge and cut anything. Stay tunned.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2009 20:22:39 GMT
I bought mine on ebay so I didn't have to pay so bloody much, so I don't believe that they would have given me a refund if I asked, which I didn't. Besides, it was my first sword, and rubbish or not, I wasn't inclined to give it up, besides I really like the shape of the blade. Hope you get your refund, Gabriel
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2009 2:24:16 GMT
Not a bad looking sword, but def seems the cons outweight the pros. Sorry to hear it isn't what you wanted. Good review tho
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2009 3:02:13 GMT
Alls well that ends well. I contacted globalgear this morning and they are going to give me a full refund, not only that they are organising a courier on their own account to collect the sword and send it back to them, so I don't have to pay any extra. They completely understood my reasons for returning it and even though I had one bad experience, with the level of customer service and the speed with which the item came I would do business with them again.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2009 10:58:14 GMT
they not a bad bunch, i bought a chikara from them. im always eyeing ther abay shop aswell, sometimes they sell off lots of ex display swords, and damaged, you get like 10 swords for around 300 bucks. always though, im too late. im thinking about getting a templer, or a solingen from them. if ther scimiter came with a sheath id have already bought it.
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Post by shadowhowler on Mar 5, 2009 19:11:39 GMT
they not a bad bunch, i bought a chikara from them. im always eyeing ther abay shop aswell, sometimes they sell off lots of ex display swords, and damaged, you get like 10 swords for around 300 bucks. always though, im too late. im thinking about getting a templer, or a solingen from them. if ther scimiter came with a sheath id have already bought it. Yeh... I've some of those huge packs of swords they sell at once sometimes... a lotta sword for not much money. If you hold of on the Templar a little bit... I got one... and the cutting edge on it is CRAP. So I'm going to sharpen it and review it here very soon... should give you a better idea of if you'd want the sword.
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Mar 5, 2009 22:31:33 GMT
"All's well that ends well." Bloodwraith, you have no idea how glad I am to read those words. From other reviews, I'd had a fairly positive impression of Global Gear, despite their distant (to me) location. This sword sounded, frankly, like a nightmare, and I was puzzled as to how to reconcile the cognitive dissonance. I'll be keeping an eye on the follow-ups.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2009 2:04:21 GMT
Well the courier just picked it up, Globalgear paid to have it returned to them by first class overnight airmail. I think very highly of the company for their great customer service and they do have some lovely swords, especially the sakura. I should be getting a full refund as that is what I specified. I will keep you guys appraised of the situation.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2009 4:24:08 GMT
WOW! Great review...crummy sword. Hopefully you can at least get some review points for the trouble. Good comedy in the review too I laughed a couple times ;D Keep at it mate.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2009 6:21:14 GMT
Thanks mate, I try to keep my sense of humour even when the sword is less useful than a doorstop.
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Post by septofclansinclair on Mar 13, 2009 20:44:45 GMT
Hey BW, well sorry it didn't work out... but maybe 20 Review Points will make you feel better? Maybe? Just a little?
I hate it when my swords are too heavy, btw... I hear you on that one.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2009 7:42:30 GMT
Hey guys, just wanted to update and let you know that global gear were true to their word and fully refunded my purchase including postage (which I didn't anticipate but was a nice surprise) so now I guess I'm forced to find something else to spend the money on and review here, it's a hard life
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