WokkyPoptart's Review of Rawlings Synthetic Longsword Waster
Apr 14, 2011 18:52:25 GMT
Post by WokkyPoptart on Apr 14, 2011 18:52:25 GMT
I don't know if this will be ok here since it's not a true longsword as much as it's a trainer, but I feel compelled to actually write down a review before I destroy the thing through training! I will definitely post pictures later, as I don't have access to the weapon right now so there will be parts that I won't be able to complete fully.
Introduction
After breaking my red oak waster and feeling that the Cold Steel poly pros are too ungainly to use (as well as taking a good crack to the head that drew blood), I figured I'd give these highly regarded wasters a chance.
Full Disclosure
Ok, well, I've got a few bits that might cloud my view in terms of reviewing this weapon.
-Firstly, the style of German broadsword that I'm originally schooled in is not Liechtenauer's style. The man I learned it from learned it while stationed in a town in Germany whose name I honestly don't remember. He claimed to have won a tournament (after losing in it a previous year) and trained rigorously in it while there. His style is a bit more forward and there was more blade trauma, so while I'm making strides in terms of learning the Liechtenauer style, I'm by no means trained in it.
-Secondly, I don't have a whole lot of experience handling either trainers nor blades. I've handled primarily Hanwei Practical European swords (Hand and a Half, Bastard, Viking, Knightly, Norman, Tinker Longsword, and Tinker Bastard), a Cold Steel Grossemesser, and a Generation 2 Agincourt. In terms of trainers I've worked with a wooden longsword I made (poorly) and Cold Steel's hand and a half trainers. That being the case I'm pretty sure that my experience with balance, weight, etc isn't exactly spot on so that could shade my views on the Rawlings Longsword.
I bought two of them from woodenswords.com (Purpleheart Armory) for $140 with $15 shipping.
Initial Impressions
The swords were shipped promptly and arrived within four days, ridiculously fast. The box was thinner than I had expected, but packed securely. When I opened it I discovered they put the handles on the tangs of the bare blades and had the pommels and hilts packaged separately (also very securely). After putting all the fittings together I held it lightly in the hand and found it to be far closer to the steel swords I had handled than the Cold Steel trainers. After a few swings I was impressed by the responsiveness and, dare I say it, liveliness of these nylon trainers. The fittings weren't particularly secure (the tang is about an eighth of an inch longer than the handle), with the handle shifting a decent amount. However this doesn't seem to affect the edge alignment when swinging it. The tip is considerably less "whippy" than I had expected, given the reviews I had read about it.
I don't know if you can see it too well, but there's about an eighth inch gap between the handle and the pommel, this causes the handle to slide around ever so slightly. Apparently my friend's did not have this issue.
Statistics
Blade Length: 37.5"
Handle Length: 7.5"
Overall Length: 49"
Guard Width:
POB (Point of Balance): 6 1/8"
Weight: 1 lb 13 oz
Components
The Blade
The blade is Purpleheart Armory's patented nylon. The tang has a metal threaded rod inside that goes about a third up the actual blade with about a quarter/half inch sticking out of the bottom to attach the pommel to.
The Handle
The handle is made of a rubbery plastic (rubber?) that friction slides onto the tang. It is relatively thin, but shaped to allow for proper edge alignment.
The Guard
The guard is made of a thicker plastic with rounded ball-like edges on the tips for safety reasons. It seems to be fairly heavy duty.
The Pommel
I ordered the wheel pommel, which is weighty without being clunky or heavy. It's heavy plastic, fairly large and might get in the way of some people's grips. Personally I like the look and feel of the pommel. There's an octagonal nut molded into the pommel to attach to the metal bar in the tang.
Handling Characteristics
Being lighter than a steel longsword, it seems to maintain the same kind of balance proportionately to the real mccoy. It feels lively in the hands and moves a lot smoother than either the Cold Steel waster or the wooden one I had made.
Testing
Given that these are trainers, I can't exactly do cutting tests with it. Instead me and a friend took them out back and worked on some training drills. After about an hour of wailing on each other, we were wowed by the complete lack of edge damage, denting, or any other kind of markings on the blades. We even tested them against Cold Steel's wasters and, other than a few black scuff marks, they were in pristine condition. While we didn't incorporate stabbing into our attacks, we did test the tip out and found that it bends and warps wonderfully to prevent any kind of painful accident while training. In terms of handling and responsiveness, it performed well, giving us enough of a register that we knew a hit had landed without hurting us and binding extremely well against each other for parries and the like.
I'm actually having to use a decent amount of force to bend it that much. It returns to form fairly easily.
Conclusions
I was pleased at the speed and expediency at which it arrived. I was surprised by the handling but disappointed in the looseness of the fittings. The weapon redeemed itself tremendously in what it was meant for: training. I can't wait to work with it again!
Next, to sum up you can list the:
Pros
+Seems to be well made materials-wise
+Handles very, very closely to the real thing
+"Whippiness" is overstated, I believe
+Stiff enough to strike, soft and giving enough to prevent injury
+Durability does not seem to be a concern because of the materials used to make the blade
Cons
-Fittings could be tighter (though that could probably be fixed with filing down the tang).
The Bottom Line
I've had bad experiences with tang failure (especially at the pommel), so I'm holding out on a final judgment of the trainer until I've had a chance to further use it and see how it holds up. However, I've been pleasantly surprised with the various characteristics of the sword and am right now excited to handle it and use it for further training. The price is a bit higher than I would have wanted to pay, but I have to say that it was well worth it.
Introduction
After breaking my red oak waster and feeling that the Cold Steel poly pros are too ungainly to use (as well as taking a good crack to the head that drew blood), I figured I'd give these highly regarded wasters a chance.
Full Disclosure
Ok, well, I've got a few bits that might cloud my view in terms of reviewing this weapon.
-Firstly, the style of German broadsword that I'm originally schooled in is not Liechtenauer's style. The man I learned it from learned it while stationed in a town in Germany whose name I honestly don't remember. He claimed to have won a tournament (after losing in it a previous year) and trained rigorously in it while there. His style is a bit more forward and there was more blade trauma, so while I'm making strides in terms of learning the Liechtenauer style, I'm by no means trained in it.
-Secondly, I don't have a whole lot of experience handling either trainers nor blades. I've handled primarily Hanwei Practical European swords (Hand and a Half, Bastard, Viking, Knightly, Norman, Tinker Longsword, and Tinker Bastard), a Cold Steel Grossemesser, and a Generation 2 Agincourt. In terms of trainers I've worked with a wooden longsword I made (poorly) and Cold Steel's hand and a half trainers. That being the case I'm pretty sure that my experience with balance, weight, etc isn't exactly spot on so that could shade my views on the Rawlings Longsword.
I bought two of them from woodenswords.com (Purpleheart Armory) for $140 with $15 shipping.
Initial Impressions
The swords were shipped promptly and arrived within four days, ridiculously fast. The box was thinner than I had expected, but packed securely. When I opened it I discovered they put the handles on the tangs of the bare blades and had the pommels and hilts packaged separately (also very securely). After putting all the fittings together I held it lightly in the hand and found it to be far closer to the steel swords I had handled than the Cold Steel trainers. After a few swings I was impressed by the responsiveness and, dare I say it, liveliness of these nylon trainers. The fittings weren't particularly secure (the tang is about an eighth of an inch longer than the handle), with the handle shifting a decent amount. However this doesn't seem to affect the edge alignment when swinging it. The tip is considerably less "whippy" than I had expected, given the reviews I had read about it.
I don't know if you can see it too well, but there's about an eighth inch gap between the handle and the pommel, this causes the handle to slide around ever so slightly. Apparently my friend's did not have this issue.
Statistics
Blade Length: 37.5"
Handle Length: 7.5"
Overall Length: 49"
Guard Width:
POB (Point of Balance): 6 1/8"
Weight: 1 lb 13 oz
Components
The Blade
The blade is Purpleheart Armory's patented nylon. The tang has a metal threaded rod inside that goes about a third up the actual blade with about a quarter/half inch sticking out of the bottom to attach the pommel to.
The Handle
The handle is made of a rubbery plastic (rubber?) that friction slides onto the tang. It is relatively thin, but shaped to allow for proper edge alignment.
The Guard
The guard is made of a thicker plastic with rounded ball-like edges on the tips for safety reasons. It seems to be fairly heavy duty.
The Pommel
I ordered the wheel pommel, which is weighty without being clunky or heavy. It's heavy plastic, fairly large and might get in the way of some people's grips. Personally I like the look and feel of the pommel. There's an octagonal nut molded into the pommel to attach to the metal bar in the tang.
Handling Characteristics
Being lighter than a steel longsword, it seems to maintain the same kind of balance proportionately to the real mccoy. It feels lively in the hands and moves a lot smoother than either the Cold Steel waster or the wooden one I had made.
Testing
Given that these are trainers, I can't exactly do cutting tests with it. Instead me and a friend took them out back and worked on some training drills. After about an hour of wailing on each other, we were wowed by the complete lack of edge damage, denting, or any other kind of markings on the blades. We even tested them against Cold Steel's wasters and, other than a few black scuff marks, they were in pristine condition. While we didn't incorporate stabbing into our attacks, we did test the tip out and found that it bends and warps wonderfully to prevent any kind of painful accident while training. In terms of handling and responsiveness, it performed well, giving us enough of a register that we knew a hit had landed without hurting us and binding extremely well against each other for parries and the like.
I'm actually having to use a decent amount of force to bend it that much. It returns to form fairly easily.
Conclusions
I was pleased at the speed and expediency at which it arrived. I was surprised by the handling but disappointed in the looseness of the fittings. The weapon redeemed itself tremendously in what it was meant for: training. I can't wait to work with it again!
Next, to sum up you can list the:
Pros
+Seems to be well made materials-wise
+Handles very, very closely to the real thing
+"Whippiness" is overstated, I believe
+Stiff enough to strike, soft and giving enough to prevent injury
+Durability does not seem to be a concern because of the materials used to make the blade
Cons
-Fittings could be tighter (though that could probably be fixed with filing down the tang).
The Bottom Line
I've had bad experiences with tang failure (especially at the pommel), so I'm holding out on a final judgment of the trainer until I've had a chance to further use it and see how it holds up. However, I've been pleasantly surprised with the various characteristics of the sword and am right now excited to handle it and use it for further training. The price is a bit higher than I would have wanted to pay, but I have to say that it was well worth it.