Global Gear Gladius
Sept 11, 2010 14:36:29 GMT
Post by bloodwraith on Sept 11, 2010 14:36:29 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 Construction
Hardened 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 (censored)s. 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.
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 Construction
Hardened 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 (censored)s. 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.