Windlass Steelcrafts Pompeii Gladius
Jan 18, 2011 20:18:23 GMT
Post by Ninjadave89 on Jan 18, 2011 20:18:23 GMT
Windlass Pompeii Gladius
Intro
This is my second Roman sword after my much loved Deepeeka Pompeii. I have come to appreciate these short swords immensely, and being a bit of a Roman fanatic thought that I should expand my gladius collection. Now originally I really wanted to get hold of the VA Praetorian, but soon found out that it was out of stock or back ordered everywhere I looked. I thought to myself that’s ok, there’s many other gladius that I like the look of and so went to my second choice, the Gen2 Mainz. The best price was at Kult of Athena but just as I checked back to order it, it was back ordered! So, slightly annoyed that I should have gone to order the Mainz in the morning instead of the evening, went to my third choice, the Windlass Steelcrafts Pompeii. It may not be as tough or interesting as the other two, but I was drawn to it by its simplicity and, well, I just wanted it!
Disclaimer - I bought this sword and do not personally know the manufacturer or seller, but wish I did because then I might get some free stuff!
Historical Overview.
The Pompeii style was the most used gladius and named by modern historians after the Roman town of Pompeii, this Gladius was by far the most popular style. Four instances of the sword type were found in Pompeii, with others turning up elsewhere. The sword has parallel cutting edges and a triangular tip. This is the shortest of the gladii. It is primarily designed as a stabbing sword rather than a cutter, but was capable of severing various limbs if needed.
Initial Impressions
I bought this sword from Kult of Athena (my first sword buy from the US) for a bargain at $149.95 plus $40 shipping and it had crossed the Atlantic within a week. This is really quite amazing as I have waited longer for swords bought in my own country. Customs held it for a while but released it to me after I had paid them a customs clearance fee! It was packaged very well in a thick cardboard box filled with paper to protect it on its overseas journey. After removing all the paper and getting my first look at the sword, I was very happy to see that it all looked in good condition; nothing had broken or cracked whilst in shipping. The sword was ordered unsharpened, and although KOA could have sharpened the sword for me, I thought it would travel easier through customs if it wasn’t sharp. In fact I am very glad it wasn’t sharp, because if it was, I would most likely be having stitches in my hand right now. As I picked the sword up out of its box I tilted it very slightly, and it just slid completely out of the scabbard. The fit is ridiculously loose and something I definitely will have to fix soon. The sword itself is solidly made, and along with a weight distribution focused towards the tip of the blade, it definitely feels like it wants to be used.
Stats
Blade Length – 20 inches
Handle Length – 3.5inches/7.5inches with guard and pommel.
Overall Length – 27.5 inches
Guard Width – 3 inches
POB – 5 inches from guard
Weight – 1.6lbs/2.5lbs with scabbard
Blade – 20 inches long and 2.3inches wide angling off towards the end into a very sharp point. It’s a very simple look but that’s something that really catches my attention, a no thrills blade that was extremely effective in its time. It’s a fairly stiff blade and doesn’t have a lot of flex, which is a good thing for a stabbing weapon. It has a triangular ricasso and there are a lot of people who really don’t like this, unfortunately I would have to agree with them. I cannot pinpoint the reason why I don’t like it; it just doesn’t seem to suit the sword (as well as not being historically accurate). The tang is threaded and much thicker than I expected. I have heard that often on windlass swords the thread part of the tang is a very soft metal. I tested this and couldn’t bend it out of shape so this must be something they have fixed, which is great!
Handle
Nicely made of turned ash and maple wood. Grip feels very comfortable in your hand, although it is quite small. This is a bit of a problem whilst cutting as the pommel starts to dig into your wrist. The finger ridges are very comfortable and I’m quite sure that the sword would never be able to slip out of your hand when cutting. In my opinion the wood handle is much better than the plastic handle on offer on the Windlass Mainz, and much nicer than wood that’s painted white to imitate bone.
Guard
Guard is made from the same wood as the handle. It is nicely made and has a rather unique shape to it compared to the standard gladius guards which tend to be a plain square or half spherical shape.
Pommel
Again made from the same wood as the handle and guard. I like the fact that the wood is the same throughout the hilt as it adds to the simplicity of the sword. The patterning in the wood really shows and is rather nice to look at.
Scabbard
Well, I don’t really want to say that the scabbard was an afterthought, as it is much better than simple stitched leather or leather covered wood. It has brass decorations and scabbard rings but the problem is that they aren’t very well done. Parts of the brass are bent out of shape and it looks as if it’s been put together in a bit of a hurry. Also as stated before, the sword just slides in and out of the scabbard too easily. One last criticism is that the mouth of the scabbard is too wide and so the blade can shift about 1cm either way, which can be quite annoying.
Handling
This sword is really great in the handling department, its fast in both cuts and thrusts. With most of the weight centered towards the end of the blade you can get a lot of power out of this little sword. As far as I know this sword handles much like the originals, as the weight distribution seems to be the same as the gladius of 2000 years ago (most of the weight towards the end of the blade). Then again, I wasn’t around then so honestly I don’t know, i’m sure that ancient gladius varied in weight and shape as well as quality.
Test Cutting
After sharpening the blade it was time to test the swords cutting ability. I cut various milk bottles, cardboard cartons etc and the gladius did very well, making a nice ding sound when I did a good cut.
Overall I really like this gladius, its well made with a good weight and handles brilliantly.
Pros
• Solidly made
• Good balance
• Great price
Cons
• Badly made scabbard
• Not historically accurate
• Triangular ricasso is ugly
Bottom Line
I would have no hesitation recommending this sword to anyone with an interest in Roman swords. It would definitely make a great project sword and can actually be turned into something historically accurate if needed. Not forgetting that it is very good value for money especially from Kult of Athena.
Intro
This is my second Roman sword after my much loved Deepeeka Pompeii. I have come to appreciate these short swords immensely, and being a bit of a Roman fanatic thought that I should expand my gladius collection. Now originally I really wanted to get hold of the VA Praetorian, but soon found out that it was out of stock or back ordered everywhere I looked. I thought to myself that’s ok, there’s many other gladius that I like the look of and so went to my second choice, the Gen2 Mainz. The best price was at Kult of Athena but just as I checked back to order it, it was back ordered! So, slightly annoyed that I should have gone to order the Mainz in the morning instead of the evening, went to my third choice, the Windlass Steelcrafts Pompeii. It may not be as tough or interesting as the other two, but I was drawn to it by its simplicity and, well, I just wanted it!
Disclaimer - I bought this sword and do not personally know the manufacturer or seller, but wish I did because then I might get some free stuff!
Historical Overview.
The Pompeii style was the most used gladius and named by modern historians after the Roman town of Pompeii, this Gladius was by far the most popular style. Four instances of the sword type were found in Pompeii, with others turning up elsewhere. The sword has parallel cutting edges and a triangular tip. This is the shortest of the gladii. It is primarily designed as a stabbing sword rather than a cutter, but was capable of severing various limbs if needed.
Initial Impressions
I bought this sword from Kult of Athena (my first sword buy from the US) for a bargain at $149.95 plus $40 shipping and it had crossed the Atlantic within a week. This is really quite amazing as I have waited longer for swords bought in my own country. Customs held it for a while but released it to me after I had paid them a customs clearance fee! It was packaged very well in a thick cardboard box filled with paper to protect it on its overseas journey. After removing all the paper and getting my first look at the sword, I was very happy to see that it all looked in good condition; nothing had broken or cracked whilst in shipping. The sword was ordered unsharpened, and although KOA could have sharpened the sword for me, I thought it would travel easier through customs if it wasn’t sharp. In fact I am very glad it wasn’t sharp, because if it was, I would most likely be having stitches in my hand right now. As I picked the sword up out of its box I tilted it very slightly, and it just slid completely out of the scabbard. The fit is ridiculously loose and something I definitely will have to fix soon. The sword itself is solidly made, and along with a weight distribution focused towards the tip of the blade, it definitely feels like it wants to be used.
Stats
Blade Length – 20 inches
Handle Length – 3.5inches/7.5inches with guard and pommel.
Overall Length – 27.5 inches
Guard Width – 3 inches
POB – 5 inches from guard
Weight – 1.6lbs/2.5lbs with scabbard
Blade – 20 inches long and 2.3inches wide angling off towards the end into a very sharp point. It’s a very simple look but that’s something that really catches my attention, a no thrills blade that was extremely effective in its time. It’s a fairly stiff blade and doesn’t have a lot of flex, which is a good thing for a stabbing weapon. It has a triangular ricasso and there are a lot of people who really don’t like this, unfortunately I would have to agree with them. I cannot pinpoint the reason why I don’t like it; it just doesn’t seem to suit the sword (as well as not being historically accurate). The tang is threaded and much thicker than I expected. I have heard that often on windlass swords the thread part of the tang is a very soft metal. I tested this and couldn’t bend it out of shape so this must be something they have fixed, which is great!
Handle
Nicely made of turned ash and maple wood. Grip feels very comfortable in your hand, although it is quite small. This is a bit of a problem whilst cutting as the pommel starts to dig into your wrist. The finger ridges are very comfortable and I’m quite sure that the sword would never be able to slip out of your hand when cutting. In my opinion the wood handle is much better than the plastic handle on offer on the Windlass Mainz, and much nicer than wood that’s painted white to imitate bone.
Guard
Guard is made from the same wood as the handle. It is nicely made and has a rather unique shape to it compared to the standard gladius guards which tend to be a plain square or half spherical shape.
Pommel
Again made from the same wood as the handle and guard. I like the fact that the wood is the same throughout the hilt as it adds to the simplicity of the sword. The patterning in the wood really shows and is rather nice to look at.
Scabbard
Well, I don’t really want to say that the scabbard was an afterthought, as it is much better than simple stitched leather or leather covered wood. It has brass decorations and scabbard rings but the problem is that they aren’t very well done. Parts of the brass are bent out of shape and it looks as if it’s been put together in a bit of a hurry. Also as stated before, the sword just slides in and out of the scabbard too easily. One last criticism is that the mouth of the scabbard is too wide and so the blade can shift about 1cm either way, which can be quite annoying.
Handling
This sword is really great in the handling department, its fast in both cuts and thrusts. With most of the weight centered towards the end of the blade you can get a lot of power out of this little sword. As far as I know this sword handles much like the originals, as the weight distribution seems to be the same as the gladius of 2000 years ago (most of the weight towards the end of the blade). Then again, I wasn’t around then so honestly I don’t know, i’m sure that ancient gladius varied in weight and shape as well as quality.
Test Cutting
After sharpening the blade it was time to test the swords cutting ability. I cut various milk bottles, cardboard cartons etc and the gladius did very well, making a nice ding sound when I did a good cut.
Overall I really like this gladius, its well made with a good weight and handles brilliantly.
Pros
• Solidly made
• Good balance
• Great price
Cons
• Badly made scabbard
• Not historically accurate
• Triangular ricasso is ugly
Bottom Line
I would have no hesitation recommending this sword to anyone with an interest in Roman swords. It would definitely make a great project sword and can actually be turned into something historically accurate if needed. Not forgetting that it is very good value for money especially from Kult of Athena.