Cold Steel Scottish Baskethilt Broadsword
Aug 25, 2007 19:22:01 GMT
Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2007 19:22:01 GMT
Continuing on my recent Scottish theme, here is a review of my Cold Steel Scottish broadsword. I picked up this sword mainly to fill a niche in my collection. I had wanted one for quite some time, and had gone back and forth between some of the Windlass and Paul Chen models; the price of the Cold Steel always keeping it firmly out of reach. But something always held me back from getting either. The one day I found this one on ebay from an outfit named, aptly enough, Niche Shopping for 145.00. Taking that as an omen, I snapped it up.
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The sword arrived quickly (4 days, standard shipping) and was in excellent overall shape, with no looseness or rattles of any kind.
My initial impression of the sword was mixed. The blade and basketwork are well made, with clean lines. Aesthetically I didn’t care much for the basket liner, tassel or conical pommel. The liner seemed “generic” somehow, though well made; the tassel an annoyance; and the pommel just didn’t seem to flow with the sword’s lines. Others though may find these items appealing.
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The scabbard is black leather with blackened steel throat and chape. The throat piece has an arrangement reminiscent of a belt hanger, stamped with the Cold Steel logo. There are also two small embossed leather bands, purely ornamental; one approximately 1 ½” below the throat assembly, the other approximately 2” above the chape. The scabbard is well made, no loose or uneven stitching- I personally don’t care too much for the logo. It seems very much “out of place” and was unevenly stamped to a non-uniform depth.
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Regardless of that, the sword made the trip the next day to the Georgia Renaissance Festival as part of my kit. It received quite a number of positive comments from other fairgoers. I can also attest that it “wears” well—after an 8 hour day it wasn’t overly heavy or bothersome, which is something of an accomplishment in the June heat wearing a wool great kilt in Georgia (Och, the things a man does for “fun”, eh?).
On to the stats:
From Cold Steel’s site: www.coldsteel.com/scottishswords1.html
Mine:
Blade length: 31 5/8”, double fullered to 1 13/16’s”, triple fullered from 1 13/16’s” to 13 3/16’s “, single fullered from there to 21”. Factory sharpened no secondary bevel.
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Blade width: 1 5/8” at hilt, with continuous taper to tip.
Blade thickness: 5/32”
Basket assembly, overall length: 7 1/8” to hilt, 8 ½” total Basket assembly, overall width: 5 ¼”
Basket assembly, overall height: 5 ½”
Grip: oval, ray skin over wood, silver wire partial wrap, 5 1/8” long
Overall Length: 38 ¾” (yes, one inch longer than factory specs)
Pob: 3 1/8”
COP: approximately 16 ½”
The test: (Conditions: factory edge)
I found an undamaged edge of that much maligned shield. Here’s the result.
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I cut with this sword for about an hour against this target, and it held up very well. No looseness or rattles. There were a couple of blows that didn’t penetrate the shield and sent a wicked vibration up the blade, but I believe those were attributable to being struck more towards the blade tip (somewhere in the 28” range) Below is a pic of the blade after cutting, but before cleaning.
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After cleaning, I discovered the cutting session left a single very small scratch on the blade. Not too bad in my book.
The ratings:
Historical Accuracy: 3.25/5: A good modern interpretation of the Scottish basket hilt broadsword.
Fit and finish: 4.5/5 Very well made, very tight, and solid.
Handling: 4.5/5
Structural Integrity 5/5
Value for Money (mine 5/5, retail? 2.5/5)
Overall: 4.75(mine) 4. 125 (Retail)
This is a good solid cutter, right out of the box. I’m happy with this piece, though I’d like to see a few things redesigned. I’ve considered doing a few modifications, to personalize it more- perhaps one day.
Other than the outrageous price from Cold Steel, I’d recommend this one to anyone wanting a basket hilt broadsword of this type.
*
*
The sword arrived quickly (4 days, standard shipping) and was in excellent overall shape, with no looseness or rattles of any kind.
My initial impression of the sword was mixed. The blade and basketwork are well made, with clean lines. Aesthetically I didn’t care much for the basket liner, tassel or conical pommel. The liner seemed “generic” somehow, though well made; the tassel an annoyance; and the pommel just didn’t seem to flow with the sword’s lines. Others though may find these items appealing.
*
*
The scabbard is black leather with blackened steel throat and chape. The throat piece has an arrangement reminiscent of a belt hanger, stamped with the Cold Steel logo. There are also two small embossed leather bands, purely ornamental; one approximately 1 ½” below the throat assembly, the other approximately 2” above the chape. The scabbard is well made, no loose or uneven stitching- I personally don’t care too much for the logo. It seems very much “out of place” and was unevenly stamped to a non-uniform depth.
*
*
Regardless of that, the sword made the trip the next day to the Georgia Renaissance Festival as part of my kit. It received quite a number of positive comments from other fairgoers. I can also attest that it “wears” well—after an 8 hour day it wasn’t overly heavy or bothersome, which is something of an accomplishment in the June heat wearing a wool great kilt in Georgia (Och, the things a man does for “fun”, eh?).
On to the stats:
From Cold Steel’s site: www.coldsteel.com/scottishswords1.html
Mine:
Blade length: 31 5/8”, double fullered to 1 13/16’s”, triple fullered from 1 13/16’s” to 13 3/16’s “, single fullered from there to 21”. Factory sharpened no secondary bevel.
*
*
Blade width: 1 5/8” at hilt, with continuous taper to tip.
Blade thickness: 5/32”
Basket assembly, overall length: 7 1/8” to hilt, 8 ½” total Basket assembly, overall width: 5 ¼”
Basket assembly, overall height: 5 ½”
Grip: oval, ray skin over wood, silver wire partial wrap, 5 1/8” long
Overall Length: 38 ¾” (yes, one inch longer than factory specs)
Pob: 3 1/8”
COP: approximately 16 ½”
The test: (Conditions: factory edge)
I found an undamaged edge of that much maligned shield. Here’s the result.
*
*
*
I cut with this sword for about an hour against this target, and it held up very well. No looseness or rattles. There were a couple of blows that didn’t penetrate the shield and sent a wicked vibration up the blade, but I believe those were attributable to being struck more towards the blade tip (somewhere in the 28” range) Below is a pic of the blade after cutting, but before cleaning.
*
*
After cleaning, I discovered the cutting session left a single very small scratch on the blade. Not too bad in my book.
The ratings:
Historical Accuracy: 3.25/5: A good modern interpretation of the Scottish basket hilt broadsword.
Fit and finish: 4.5/5 Very well made, very tight, and solid.
Handling: 4.5/5
Structural Integrity 5/5
Value for Money (mine 5/5, retail? 2.5/5)
Overall: 4.75(mine) 4. 125 (Retail)
This is a good solid cutter, right out of the box. I’m happy with this piece, though I’d like to see a few things redesigned. I’ve considered doing a few modifications, to personalize it more- perhaps one day.
Other than the outrageous price from Cold Steel, I’d recommend this one to anyone wanting a basket hilt broadsword of this type.