Angus Trim XVIII aka 1557
Feb 25, 2011 4:17:55 GMT
Post by Greg on Feb 25, 2011 4:17:55 GMT
So here it is. At last I am able to join the many that have already raved about this sword. To be perfectly honest, there are some things I love about this sword, but there were some details that made me less then frothing-at-the-mouth excited.
Initial Impressions:
So, the sword arrived not assembled and coated in the customary shipping grease. After I unwrapped it, I had embarked on a rather lengthy journey of cleaning the blade. Usually a couple of wipes with some alcohol or windex will remove most shipping greases, but this stuff was on there thick and it was rather dry to begin with. The journey ended with me giving the blade a shower, literally. I broke out the lever 2000 and used some nice warm water to give the sword a good cleaning.
Then I smelled the blade. Have any of you actually smelled a fresh sword once everything has been cleaned off? It was incredible.
So anyway. I went to putting the sword together and was pleasantly surprised that the grip was a SNUG fit. There was about 1/2" tang that showed after I slid the grip on. With some careful pushing and the help of the pommel, the grip is VERY snug.
So after the sword was assembled, I gave the old gal a light swing.
AMAZING
I now understand why so many people own this blade. If my XII.1 was the 1970 Dodge Charger of swords, then the 1557 is the rice burning crotch rocket... this gal is FAST.
Lets go over the stats!
-As a side note, this was part of the "Design Your Own" blade option on Fletcher's site, so some stats might vary slightly, but nothing that would detract from the core handling characteristics. The last I heard, this will still be available at some point at Gus's new vendor: Tried and True Armory
Total Weight: 2lb 3.5oz
Total Length: 33.75"
Blade Length: 27.25
Blade Width : 2"@ base
Grip Length: 4.25" (Guard to Pommel)
Center of Balance: 3.5"
Percussion Node (Blade): 17.5"
Percussion Node (Hilt): 0.5" -which is to say right under the index finger
Edge: Right at paper cutting sharp, but has a slight secondary bevel
Pictures!
While talking with Tom, he had mentioned that the tip on mine was different the the tip on his and he wanted me to talk a little bit on that. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to say... so here's a pic!
But, while we are on the subject of the tip, we can go ahead and cover one of the things that detracted from my enthusiasm of the blade:
Yes, that is tip discoloration. If this were a blade with a broader tip, I wouldn't be so hesitant about it. But this blade has so little metal up there that maintaining a proper heat treatment is imperative. While I'm not at all wild about this discovery, I don't want to immediately send it back. If the tip breaks while stabbing a water bottle... well, we will cross that bridge if it comes up.
So while we are on the subject of less then ideal characteristics:
Flecks!
Ok, so my first thought was bits of corrosion. Well, lucky for all of us, it wasn't. What this ended up being, or what I think it might have been, was the shipping grease. Whatever it was, it was gone after a quick treatment of Mothers Mag Polish. Somehow it had survived the alcohol, windex and soap... which is the only reason I ever thought it was corrosion in the first place.
Now the weird!
See the slight waviness? I'm still not sure if this is from the way the final finish was put on the blade, or if this is a product of the heat treatment. I haven't resurfaced the face of the blade yet, so I can't comment on how deep it goes. But for now, it's an interesting characteristic that I find... interesting.
Here we see the side profile. One thing about the guard tho, is that since it was from the DYO ATrim, it doesn't fit like a proper ATrim guard would. It is slightly loose and when put on a certain way, it tends to rock slightly.
While we have this picture up, I will note that the leather job was fantastic. There was only the smallest indication of the lip on the seam, and it couldn't be felt at all.
I will go ahead and mention the risers tho. Due to the proximity to the pommel, the bottom riser had created a pinch/rub point against my palm. If the riser would have been carried all the way to the pommel, it would have been perfect. But as it is, I had to rip the leather off, admire the cord wrapped wooden core grip, then removed the risers and wrapped my own leather back on.
Breakdown:
Ok, before looking at these pics, I'd like to note that these were taken after I redid the grip. So the slight overhangs near the pommel are my fault. Oh, and I also forgot to fill in the cord underneath the leather... whoops.
Alrighty, so here we can see the ATrim standard of the rounded shoulders where the tang meets the blade. Also take note that I've placed the hex nut the same distance that it holds onto the threads with. So we are talking almost it's full length.
The guard was made to fit a few different blade types, so a perfect fit wasn't sought. However, the area that the tang should meet the guard could have fit a bit more snuggly, but alas, the world isn't perfect.
If anyone would like more pictures, just let me know. I'm not against taking more pics, but I've always found reviews that are fluffed with superfluous pictures to be bothersome.
Handling What-nots
So, as you may have surmised by the beginning of this review, this sword is incredibly fast. But this comes at a price. For the swordsman who is used to a Type XII style sword, you'll need to make a forced effort to step in closer to the target. The CoP is a few inches closer to the guard then I'm used to, so it was hard to adjust on the first few swing. But being such a well balanced and light blade, this sword practically aligns the edge for you.
Video Review!
There isn't one! Sadly, I accidentally deleted the video review when I was making room on the card to film something else. So the mini video review, that I do, will have to wait until I get a chance to film it. This could be tomorrow, or it could be in a couple days. But it'll show up eventually.
Time Traveling: Would I buy it again?
I've always appreciated this part of a review more then any other. So if I could travel back in time with my current knowledge, would I still buy the blade?
Yes, but I would tell Christian to leave out the risers, and I would ask that Gus take extra caution with the tip. This is a ridiculously fun blade, even tho the review might have focused on the not-so-perfect aspects. But hey, we have other 1557 reviews out there to give us the finer points.