Windlass Qama
Oct 6, 2010 23:16:23 GMT
Post by Greg on Oct 6, 2010 23:16:23 GMT
Introduction
Ladies and Gents! It is my humble pleasure to present to you the Windlass Qama!
Ever since I had purchased a $35 saber a year ago, and was let down, I have been dreaming against dreams to find a good non-eastern sword for under $50.00. The Qama has been around for a while, but somehow had always eluded me, until now.
Historical overview
*The qama is a type of long and wide fighting knife, native to Georgia and neighboring regions. It resembles the Roman gladius in form.
**Used by warriors from Persia to the Caucasus for hundreds of years, the Qama is an effective, close quarter combat knife... The Qama is a deadly close combat design that traces it's origin back to the Roman Gladius. The Qama was used by the Cossacks and Northern Persians. Considered to be the national weapon of Russian Georgia.
Aside from the two sources listed below, there wasn't much I could find on the history of the qama. If anyone has any input on the history, either leave a reply or PM me.
Sources:
*Wikiapedia
**KultofAthena.com
Initial Impressions
Here is a "short" video that I made 5 minutes after it was delivered to my house. It is more or less a mini review, sans the cutting. But if there is any part of this review that the video would fit into, it's here.
Statistics
Blade Length: 17.625" (17 5/8" or 44.7675cm)
Blade & "Guard" Width: 2" (5.08cm)
Blade Thickness: .15625" (5/32" or 4.5mm) -[No distal taper until the last 5" of the blade.]
Handle Length: 3.5" (3 1/2" or 8.89cm) -[Non-constrictive- Allows for 'overflow']
Handle Thickness: 1" (2.54cm) -[Not accounting for height of rivets]
Overall Length: 22.625" (57.4675cm)
POB (Point of Balance): 3.5" (8.89cm) from guard
"Sweet Spot" or COP (Center of Percussion): 5.5" (13.97cm) from tip
Weight: 1 lb 4.8 oz (0.589 kg) -[Taken from the KoA website, I do not have a scale to weigh it]
Components
-The Blade
Before I discuss the blade, I would like to remind everyone that I purchased the un-sharpened version. Also, I did some hacking and stabbing into a wooden target prior to taking these pictures, so any scratches you may see were caused by that. When the blade arrived, it's finish was perfect.
The geometry is a diamond cross section with a very slight bevel. If the center ridge was any shallower, the blade would become a flat cross section.
The tip of the blade is literally needle sharp.
-The Handle
This is absolutely a "no frills" weapon. The grip is buffalo horn handle scales sandwiched around the tang which can be seen all the way around the handle. It sports two rivets to hold the grip in place.
There was some minor inperfection around the rivet. It looks to be more a defect in the material then any damage tho. The ground off portion of the "pommel" was my doing.
The only other imperfection was what looked almost like the beginnings of a crack near the top rivet. It doesn't look like it will spread, but I'll let you decide:
-The Guard / The Pommel
Both part of the handle.
-The Scabbard
This is part of the package where I was blow away! ... and let down.
First, lets talk about the good. It's a wooden core, leather wrapped scabbard complete with well executed chapes. The leather at the throat wraps all the way into the mouth of the scabbard, giving the whole area a very professional look.
I personally own swords that came with scabbards which don't even compare to the quality of this one. If I had the sword already and wanted a production scabbard for it, I would gladly have paid $35.00 just for the scabbard!
The seam on the back almost couldn't get any straighter:
The one thing that is odd about the scabbard, is how the chapes are secured to the core. This is the first time I've seen something like this done:
As far as looks go, this is one of the best scabbards I've seen on a production blade.
Now the part that was the let down. The fit of the blade to the scabbard was wobbly. If you watched my video above, you know what I'm talking about. I was able to fix the "falling out" problem by putting the mouth of the scabbard in a rubber lined vice and applied slight pressure. I don't recommend that everyone does this as this might crack the wooden core if you go to far, or if your wood is just finicky like that.
Handling Characteristics
When I first picked up the blade with the rivet side against my palm, I thought that I wouldn't be bothered by them as they fit snugly into the shape of my hand:
But upon swinging the sword, I soon realized that the way the handle moves across my hand during a swing makes this rivet become a point of great discomfort. If I hold the blade, what I assume to be, properly:
... then I experience no discomfort when swinging the sword.
Test Cutting
I have not sharpened the blade yet, but I intend to get in a stabbing video before it gets to dark outside.
Conclusions
This is by far the best dollar per blade ratio that I've seen on the market. When I first saw this sword on the market, my initial thought was "How decent can it really be for 35.00 dollars?" Well, after seeing it pop up here and there, and after getting one myself, I now know that it is a blade that could rival others at 10 times the cost.
Pros
-Price
-Great Temper
-Scabbard Finish
Cons
-Small Handle
-Scabbard Fit
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that if you even have the slightest notion to pick one of these up, do so quick! Windlass has been notorious for having limited production runs of swords. I don't know if they plan on retirering this one or not, but at 35.00 bucks, it would be a shame to pass up. Then, if you don't like it or just grow tired of it, you can always pass it along to someone else as a gift.
If you are concerned with the grip, well, it is a valid concern. But hopefully I will be able to update this thread with some small modifications to the handle and show that the small grip isn't a deal breaker.
Ladies and Gents! It is my humble pleasure to present to you the Windlass Qama!
Ever since I had purchased a $35 saber a year ago, and was let down, I have been dreaming against dreams to find a good non-eastern sword for under $50.00. The Qama has been around for a while, but somehow had always eluded me, until now.
Historical overview
*The qama is a type of long and wide fighting knife, native to Georgia and neighboring regions. It resembles the Roman gladius in form.
**Used by warriors from Persia to the Caucasus for hundreds of years, the Qama is an effective, close quarter combat knife... The Qama is a deadly close combat design that traces it's origin back to the Roman Gladius. The Qama was used by the Cossacks and Northern Persians. Considered to be the national weapon of Russian Georgia.
Aside from the two sources listed below, there wasn't much I could find on the history of the qama. If anyone has any input on the history, either leave a reply or PM me.
Sources:
*Wikiapedia
**KultofAthena.com
Initial Impressions
Here is a "short" video that I made 5 minutes after it was delivered to my house. It is more or less a mini review, sans the cutting. But if there is any part of this review that the video would fit into, it's here.
Statistics
Blade Length: 17.625" (17 5/8" or 44.7675cm)
Blade & "Guard" Width: 2" (5.08cm)
Blade Thickness: .15625" (5/32" or 4.5mm) -[No distal taper until the last 5" of the blade.]
Handle Length: 3.5" (3 1/2" or 8.89cm) -[Non-constrictive- Allows for 'overflow']
Handle Thickness: 1" (2.54cm) -[Not accounting for height of rivets]
Overall Length: 22.625" (57.4675cm)
POB (Point of Balance): 3.5" (8.89cm) from guard
"Sweet Spot" or COP (Center of Percussion): 5.5" (13.97cm) from tip
Weight: 1 lb 4.8 oz (0.589 kg) -[Taken from the KoA website, I do not have a scale to weigh it]
Components
-The Blade
Before I discuss the blade, I would like to remind everyone that I purchased the un-sharpened version. Also, I did some hacking and stabbing into a wooden target prior to taking these pictures, so any scratches you may see were caused by that. When the blade arrived, it's finish was perfect.
The geometry is a diamond cross section with a very slight bevel. If the center ridge was any shallower, the blade would become a flat cross section.
The tip of the blade is literally needle sharp.
-The Handle
This is absolutely a "no frills" weapon. The grip is buffalo horn handle scales sandwiched around the tang which can be seen all the way around the handle. It sports two rivets to hold the grip in place.
There was some minor inperfection around the rivet. It looks to be more a defect in the material then any damage tho. The ground off portion of the "pommel" was my doing.
The only other imperfection was what looked almost like the beginnings of a crack near the top rivet. It doesn't look like it will spread, but I'll let you decide:
-The Guard / The Pommel
Both part of the handle.
-The Scabbard
This is part of the package where I was blow away! ... and let down.
First, lets talk about the good. It's a wooden core, leather wrapped scabbard complete with well executed chapes. The leather at the throat wraps all the way into the mouth of the scabbard, giving the whole area a very professional look.
I personally own swords that came with scabbards which don't even compare to the quality of this one. If I had the sword already and wanted a production scabbard for it, I would gladly have paid $35.00 just for the scabbard!
The seam on the back almost couldn't get any straighter:
The one thing that is odd about the scabbard, is how the chapes are secured to the core. This is the first time I've seen something like this done:
As far as looks go, this is one of the best scabbards I've seen on a production blade.
Now the part that was the let down. The fit of the blade to the scabbard was wobbly. If you watched my video above, you know what I'm talking about. I was able to fix the "falling out" problem by putting the mouth of the scabbard in a rubber lined vice and applied slight pressure. I don't recommend that everyone does this as this might crack the wooden core if you go to far, or if your wood is just finicky like that.
Handling Characteristics
When I first picked up the blade with the rivet side against my palm, I thought that I wouldn't be bothered by them as they fit snugly into the shape of my hand:
But upon swinging the sword, I soon realized that the way the handle moves across my hand during a swing makes this rivet become a point of great discomfort. If I hold the blade, what I assume to be, properly:
... then I experience no discomfort when swinging the sword.
Test Cutting
I have not sharpened the blade yet, but I intend to get in a stabbing video before it gets to dark outside.
Conclusions
This is by far the best dollar per blade ratio that I've seen on the market. When I first saw this sword on the market, my initial thought was "How decent can it really be for 35.00 dollars?" Well, after seeing it pop up here and there, and after getting one myself, I now know that it is a blade that could rival others at 10 times the cost.
Pros
-Price
-Great Temper
-Scabbard Finish
Cons
-Small Handle
-Scabbard Fit
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that if you even have the slightest notion to pick one of these up, do so quick! Windlass has been notorious for having limited production runs of swords. I don't know if they plan on retirering this one or not, but at 35.00 bucks, it would be a shame to pass up. Then, if you don't like it or just grow tired of it, you can always pass it along to someone else as a gift.
If you are concerned with the grip, well, it is a valid concern. But hopefully I will be able to update this thread with some small modifications to the handle and show that the small grip isn't a deal breaker.