Review: Albion Svante Nilsson Sture Sword
Jan 10, 2010 3:06:02 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2010 3:06:02 GMT
Review: Albion Svante Nilsson Sture Sword
Reviewed by Jonathan 'Odingaard' Sarge
* Note: Photos in this review were taken on a cellphone, so they are not as clear as they could be. Also, the blade is slightly dirty with sawdust from the shipping crate. Additional photos will be taken at a later date and updated accordingly. Take this into consideration when viewing the sword.
Introduction
With all the hype about Albion’s Svante in the various sword communities, I decided that it wastime to put a good unbiased review of this legendary sword on SBG. Reviews on this sword are nowhere to be found, and though far above the SBG price point; our review section is used as a resource by all sword buyers.
Historical Overview
(Historical Overview used courtesy of Albion Swords)
Svante Nilsson was born somewhere around 1460 from parents Nils Bosson Sture and Birgitta Karlsdotter Bonde, both members of the most prominent nobility. He was related to Karl Knutsson Bonde, a man who was elected King of Sweden no less than three times. This was a time of shifting loyalties and fragile alliances.
During the years of the union between Denmark, Sweden and Norway, many battles were waged and towns and strongholds burned. The seat of power wavered between the Danish court and strong noble families in Sweden who preferred a Swedish regent on the throne in opposition to the union.
Svante Nilsson Sture became a major player in this struggle and fought on both sides of the conflict, sometimes supporting sometimes opposing the Danish claim of the Swedish throne. Being a member of the high council from 1482 he was finally elected Regent of Sweden at the death of his old adversary, the powerful and dynamic Sten Sture the Elder in the year 1504.
Svante Nilsson Sture is enigmatic and fascinating: shrewd politician, bold warrior and struggling diplomat. From him we have a legacy of one of the finest late medieval fighting swords in existance in Sweden today.
The original sword rests in the museum of Västerås Cathedral, where Svante Nilsson Sture was buried in January, 1512.
This sword was designed by Peter Johnsson and crafted by Albion Swords as part of their Albion Mark Museum Collection Hallmark Series.
The Svante would be considered an Oakeshott Type XVIIIb, with a diamond-cross section, hollow-ground blade, a large Type T pommel, a Style 12 crossguard. This type of sword was not considered rare, though the Svante itself is unique. Similar swords can be found portrayed in period artwork from the late 1400s though the early 1500s.
Initial Impressions
This particular Svante was ordered in March of 2009. After ordering, communication with Albion was good; but they seemed to frequently blame delays from the initial three month estimate in the production and shipping of the sword on various problems they had within their shop. At times, a call had to be given to Albion to ‘remind’ them about the sword; which quite honestly seemed to be forgotten about. With a price tag of over $3600, customer service should be a little more focused.
The Svante arrived Jan 8th, 2010 via UPS; well-packaged in the signature Albion white box. Inside of the white box, the Svante’s wooden crate was carefully padded and protected. Sliding open the wooden crate revealed that the Svante was held in place by its specially designed box, carefully spaced between wood risers and tied with hemp cord.
Dry handling the Svante gave a great initial impression and the sword appeared to be in acceptable condition.
Statistics
Overall length: 46.50"
Blade length: 33.50"
Blade width: 2.0”
Blade thickness: 0.50” at the widest point
Crossguard Length: 9.00”
Grip Length: 13.00”
CoG: 2.125"
CoP: 18.00”
Weight: 4.0 lbs
The Blade
The Oakeshott Type XVIIIb blade is hollow-ground with a distinctive diamond cross-section. It flares out from a short, unsharpened ricasso near the guard to a width of 2.0”, then narrows gradually toward the tip, with a more pronounced angle in the last couple inches of the blade. The blade is fairly thick near the guard, with the thickness at the central ridge being .50”. This distal taper results in the thickness 1” from the tip being somewhere in the area of .20”.
The Svante is sharpened to a proper edge with historically-accurate appleseed geometry. The edge is not overly-sharp (which could lead to chipped edges), and has a good, consistent form.
The blade is finished to a 600g satin finish, indicative of other Albion models.
The Handle
The handle is leather over a cord-wrapped, stabilized poplar grip core. The wide spacing between the underlying hemp wrap gives the ribbed appearance of dozens of individual risers. Spacing between the cord is even, and the handle is dyed a consistent color or dark brown.
The grip of the Svante is 13” long, meaning that even warriors with large hands secure a two-handed grip. The grip is comfortable and secure, yet allows a looser grip to be repositioned along its length. This allows for the spacing between the hands to be changed during combat.
The Guard
The Style 12 guard of the Svante has a complex hexagonal geometry, which angles 90 degrees near the ends, resulting in flared finials. The type of S-guard offered protection for the hands from downward sheering cuts.
The guard is capped with a formed semi-rigid leather rain guard, which protects the blade while it is in the scabbard.
The Pommel
The large fluted octagonal Type T pommel is a very distinctive feature of this sword. The heavy pommel has small windows cut into the three forward flutes; and is rumored have once to contained tiny statuettes of significant to the Christian faith. A complete modern replication of this can bee seen on the Jake Powning sword, Du Sith. The Svante does not have the statuettes, but their places are faithfully replicated.
The pommel is peened on, and the peen has been split to render a five-lobed flower-like block. It's a nice touch that is also on the historic sword. This type of peen is very secure, and difficult to execute properly.
The pommel gives an excellent counter-balance, and would serve well as an ad-hoc mace in a combat scenario. It would be very easy to see a pommel this large causing blunt skull trauma though the thickest of helmets.
The Scabbard
The Svante, as with all Albion swords, did not come with a scabbard.
Handling Characteristics
As rumored, the Svante is very nice to handle. It’s just a well-balanced, and well-proportioned sword. I’d not call it 100% perfect, but it is superior most other swords that I have personally handled. This sword originally belonged to a nobleman, so it is safe to say that it was crafted as well as it could have been crafted at the time.
The low 2” PoB of the Svante makes it handle well for me, though some swordsmen prefer a PoB further from the guard. The sword seems to coast though changes in position, and the acute tip tracks well. The blade has authority and a very solid presence, making it an excellent war sword. Suprisingly, the sword handles well in one hand. The 4lb weight is negated by the low PoB, making it seem somewhat lighter than it is.
The Svante seems to perform well in the cut and the thrust, with a small margin of bias toward the cut. Though the tip initially tracks well, it seems to drift slightly before meeting the target because of the weight of the pommel when the sword is extended. This could be compensated for by practicing with the sword; so I don’t look at it as a problem with the weapon itself.
Test Cutting
No test cutting was performed with the Svante.
Conclusions
I feel that the Svante is a beautifully-crafted representation of a historic piece that performs well; yet the extremely expensive cost sets off the overall appeal of the sword in my eyes. Sure, the Svante is nearly perfect in every way, but it’s not 100% perfect and it’s not unique to me personally. There are other Svante swords out there, and that fact seems to diminish the personal value in my eyes. Additionally, the cost makes the collector very apprehensive about damaging the sword in any way; which would make most people hesitant to cut with it.
Pros
- Accurate rendition of a specific historic noble’s fighting sword.
- Excellent handling and blade presence.
- Beautiful craftsmanship.
Cons
- Extremely expensive cost.
- Albion customer service after payment was rendered needs improvement.
- Long production time.
The Bottom Line
So, would I recommend the Svante for someone’s collection? In short, no. The Svante is a nice sword, but it’s not a phenomenal unique piece. It’s handles well, but it did not blow my socks off; like one would expect a $3600 sword to do. There are many custom sword makers such as Fable Blades, Odin Blades, Christian Fletcher / Angus Trim, Arms & Armor, and many others that could make a sword that was exact to your specifications for much, much less than the Svante. At the price in which the Svante is offered, I am a firm believer in the Highlander philosophy, there should be only one; as in that it should be a one-of-a-kind sword.
I could honestly only recommend the Svante if you were a collector of the Museum Line Albion swords that insisted in having this exact sword in your collection. Otherwise, I would say to find a lesser-priced Albion offering that met your needs or commission any one of a number of smiths that would craft you exactly what you wanted.