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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2010 4:54:57 GMT
I received my Malatesta eleven days ago and I have been chomping at the bit to get my account approved so I could get into the discussion. In that time unfortunately, almost every insightful comment I had has been stolen. Stolen I say! Now I'm adding my two cents just to flesh out the sample size.
I'll start off by saying that I love the sword. I'll then seemingly contradict that statement by saying that in some respects I am disappointed by the sword.
The Good
The sword is beautiful! Christian Fletcher's scabbard and furniture definitely sold this sword. You could pay the full price of this sword just to upgrade a higher end sword to this level of sophistication. Because of this I consider the sword to be a good value even at $420.
The sword is very lively in the hand and unsheathing it brings a silly grin to my face even after the hundredth draw. Cutting through the air feels like you're wielding a light saber.
The Not-So Good
I just don't get the blade. The execution was actually quite good. The finish was pretty good showing only a few spots where the grinding was visible and these bothered me not one bit. The length was a bit shorter than advertised, but not dramatically so. Yes, the blade needed a bit of centering, easily done. Even the EXTRA sharp edge that isn't very sharp I can touch up. What I am disappointed with is the impracticality of the blade design. Call me eccentric, but I like a sword I could fight with. There are reasons that even very costly and historically accurate swords don't feel this good in the hand.
I did a bit of light cutting and confirmed that my not very sharp blade would go through milk jugs, but not effortlessly. I need to add here that target cutting is not really my thing, but I can keep an edge aligned. Letting velocity drop a bit on (fairly thick) Dasani water bottles sent a few flying. I repeated the same type cuts with an unsharpened but heavier Del Tin and cut through two out of three attempts. Comparable performance.
On a blade this light the edge better be really sharp or you aren't going through much. It sounds like Odin's was. Mine was not. After unpacking and wiping down the blade, I ran a piece of bond paper down the edge while holding it on both sides. Nothing. Applying much more force I was able to get the paper to TEAR after several inches of travel.
I was quite frankly afraid to try any penetration tests. The blade is well tempered and returns to true after very substantial flexing. Less ideally, I can flex the upright sword to a frightening degree by simply pressing down on the pommel with one finger. Rapidly change directions while cutting in the air and there is a VERY slight tendency toward whippiness.
If you stiffened the blade including reinforcing the tip a bit (even at the cost of a few more ounces), this sword could be quite practical.
Conclusion
Though it is not the perfect blend of style and function that I had hoped, this sword will still get a very prominent place in my collection. It will not however be the sword I grab to defend my home if an emergency arises.
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Post by shadowhowler on Apr 9, 2010 6:58:54 GMT
For what it's worth, The malatesta I received in the mail had some considerable flaws. There was a pretty sad rattle going on and even tightening the extremely worn out hex nut didn't fix it. The little clover leaf holes in the quillions were shoddily cut. The edge was not sharp enough to cut paper. It cuts through milk jugs fine, but anything thicker and it won't go through. I am planning on sharpening this thing myself. I wouldn't say that these flaws were deal breakers for me, but I suppose I would have liked to see a bit more attention paid to my sword...I did get it for free though, so I can't complain... Hard to beat the price of 'free'... how did you manage that?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2010 7:07:39 GMT
Nice review Odin +1 from me. For what it's worth, The malatesta I received in the mail had some considerable flaws. There was a pretty sad rattle going on and even tightening the extremely worn out hex nut didn't fix it. The little clover leaf holes in the quillions were shoddily cut. The edge was not sharp enough to cut paper. It cuts through milk jugs fine, but anything thicker and it won't go through. I am planning on sharpening this thing myself. I wouldn't say that these flaws were deal breakers for me, but I suppose I would have liked to see a bit more attention paid to my sword...I did get it for free though, so I can't complain... Those sound like some pretty substantial QC issues mate. You might want to contact Sonny at Valiant armoury about it.
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Post by Sonny Suttles on Apr 9, 2010 15:11:12 GMT
Those sound like some pretty substantial QC issues mate. You might want to contact Sonny at Valiant Armoury about it. I participate in these forums to allow for feedback and information exchange with our customers directly. It gives Valiant an unfiltered viewpoint of what our customers are looking for in our products. If a person calls Valiant Armoury they would be hard pressed to get anyone other than myself to answer the phone. In other words it is ALWAYS me that answers. If a person, say someone not thrilled with the sword they received, sent an email to Valiant they would only receive a response from me. With that said I have not received any inquiry from forum member akotlya1. Whether the sword received was free or not a person should be satisfied with their acquisition. I know that through the years there have been members of this forum who have received a sword with some issues that was made by Valiant. Most have contacted me direct and we have been able to make it right for them. That is the type of customer service we have strived for. When someone doesn't contact us and then goes on the post that they are unhappy with their sword then we can only assume that they are more interested in making the negative post than getting their issue resolved. My 2 cents. Sonny
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Post by shadowhowler on Apr 9, 2010 16:30:18 GMT
Agreed. Sonny is a stand up guy, always has been... I have delt with him directly many times and he always goes above and beyond to make sure I'm happy. I recived a sword with issues before, he JUMPED on it and took care of it. Awesome.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2010 20:33:46 GMT
Agreed. Sonny is a stand up guy, always has been... I have delt with him directly many times and he always goes above and beyond to make sure I'm happy. I recived a sword with issues before, he JUMPED on it and took care of it. Awesome. I second this. Sonny is a great guy to work with and his customer service is awesome. If you have any "trouble" with a sword you get from him, give him a call or shot him an eMail and he will try his best to solve the issues. Speaking from my own experience, Meschler
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 9:15:53 GMT
I'd absolutely love to see the Malatesta furniture on a XVIIIa longsword. That would be sweet stuff. I wonder if VA would be able to do a retrofit on an atrim 1520 without it being cost prohibitive.
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Post by ShooterMike on Apr 11, 2010 13:20:45 GMT
I'd absolutely love to see the Malatesta furniture on a XVIIIa longsword. That would be sweet stuff. I wonder if VA would be able to do a retrofit on an atrim 1520 without it being cost prohibitive. This is exactly what I've been thinking....
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Post by shadowhowler on Apr 11, 2010 14:48:29 GMT
I'd absolutely love to see the Malatesta furniture on a XVIIIa longsword. That would be sweet stuff. I wonder if VA would be able to do a retrofit on an atrim 1520 without it being cost prohibitive. This is exactly what I've been thinking.... Thats just the swort of thing you could see in Christian Fletcher's new line...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2010 0:30:46 GMT
To be honest, the QC "problems" haven't really been problems. I am extremely interested in sword construction and I look at all of these problems as a chance to practice what I have learned. I have made a series of stop gap fixes to this sword, so that I can use it in the mean time. Ultimately, I plan to use this sword as a learning tool, and make this sword my own. I am just happy to have such a wonderful jumping off point.
As for how I managed to get one for free, I am currently working for Paul Southren as a bit of a news writer/blogger for SMG(this aspect of the site isnt really functional yet, but it will be soon, hopefully). Anyway, as part of our arrangement, he pays me in swords, and the Malatesta was my first "paycheck".
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2010 22:31:48 GMT
As for how I managed to get one for free, I am currently working for Paul Southren as a bit of a news writer/blogger for SMG(this aspect of the site isnt really functional yet, but it will be soon, hopefully). Anyway, as part of our arrangement, he pays me in swords, and the Malatesta was my first "paycheck". That's good work if you can get it. A malatesta is a pretty fair wage. You two must be cooking up a pretty special blog.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2010 9:03:47 GMT
Great review that made me want my malatesta even more! Now that I've received it here are my thoughts: When I opened the box it really needed some cleaning and after that the blade looked marvelous. Also the nut needed some tightening, but after that the sword itself was really nice and cuts great. The scabbard is slightly bend, which probably happened during shipping to the Netherlands. At the moment I'm still trying to get it straight slowly, so it won't break. I didn't contact Sonny on this because I live in the Netherlands as I mentioned and getting that fixed would probalby be more trouble. Here's a picture of me in my costume with the sword (not trying to be historically correct, just a cool look).
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2010 14:43:40 GMT
It is quite impressive all in black like that; nice sword, great review Jonathan.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2010 10:25:01 GMT
I am thinking of ordering one myself. Now that these swords have been in use for some time, do these opinions given here still stand?
The only thing that makes me hesitate (besides money) is the threaded tang. I have read that for example with the Hanwei Tinkers there have been several cases of blunt swords breaking at the thread. Of course those swords have seen heavy use, but I see no point in getting a worse sword for cutting. So, have there been any quality issues?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2010 12:34:46 GMT
Only very early batches of both VA's and H/T's had problems, they are all fine now.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2010 16:18:12 GMT
Great review that made me want my malatesta even more! Now that I've received it here are my thoughts: When I opened the box it really needed some cleaning and after that the blade looked marvelous. Also the nut needed some tightening, but after that the sword itself was really nice and cuts great. The scabbard is slightly bend, which probably happened during shipping to the Netherlands. At the moment I'm still trying to get it straight slowly, so it won't break. I didn't contact Sonny on this because I live in the Netherlands as I mentioned and getting that fixed would probalby be more trouble. Here's a picture of me in my costume with the sword (not trying to be historically correct, just a cool look). I like it! And though you are not trying to be historical, it looks very historical for the late 12th century.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2010 22:21:55 GMT
Great review that made me want my malatesta even more! Now that I've received it here are my thoughts: When I opened the box it really needed some cleaning and after that the blade looked marvelous. Also the nut needed some tightening, but after that the sword itself was really nice and cuts great. The scabbard is slightly bend, which probably happened during shipping to the Netherlands. At the moment I'm still trying to get it straight slowly, so it won't break. I didn't contact Sonny on this because I live in the Netherlands as I mentioned and getting that fixed would probalby be more trouble. Here's a picture of me in my costume with the sword (not trying to be historically correct, just a cool look). I like it! And though you are not trying to be historical, it looks very historical for the late 12th century. Except the sword of course.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2010 0:15:21 GMT
yee-haa, my malatesta came in the mail... and let me say i can not believe the difference between this and say a gen2 Henry V type sword... even though the malatesta is a good bit longer, it is soooooo much quicker in hand and balanced feeling. my hand/wrist do not feel the same fatigue that i feel with the HenryV sword. the sharpness (extra sharp option) is indeed EXTRA sharp, and i did not have any of the misalignment issues that previous reviewers had. the hardware itself, including the scabbard and belt is BEYOND this price point. way way beyond.
really guys, is there anything else that even comes close for 400 bucks? this thing is SICK!
can you tell i am happy with this sword?
oh and great review odinguard, LOVE the black leather. but i love the brown/red of mine as well. +1 too you.
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Post by nethack on Jun 17, 2010 14:40:03 GMT
A very clean and beautiful blade with a nice scabbard and belt too. I would expect it to be heavier than a little over 2 pounds. Definitely considering buying this in the future. Look forward to cutting videos! +1 karma
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2010 15:15:32 GMT
After all I've read here about the fit, finish, and most importantly the handling, this could very well be my first western sword!
Nice review!
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