Advice needed please

Welcome aboard Paul! Glad to have you with us.

As for your choices, here's the breakdown. Darksword (DSA) makes a pretty rough and tumble sword. (this is actually meant as a compliment) They can take more abuse then a sword should take and they have some very attractive swords on the market.

But the biggest complaint I hear about DSA is that they are a bit heavy, sometimes a bit too heavy. Keep in mind that a sword that was used in medieval Europe needed to hit the other guy before he could hit you. If you are slinging an extra pound through the air, then chances are that he'll hit you first.

The price jump comes from the amount of research and refinement behind the sword. Albion has poured in a substantial amount of research into the weight distributions of their swords and I dare say that if you want to get as close to historically accurate, that Albion would be the way to go.

The reason that all that research is important is that even if you have two swords that weigh the same and are of the same typology, the distribution of the weight can make them feel like two completely different swords.

DSA started out making essentially sharpened crowbars. Over the years they have listened to the sword buyer community and have made vast improvements to their product. They still have an incredibly tough blade that weighs a bit more then it should but is well worth the price.

Albion has been making close to exact copies of swords for years. They know what they are doing and generally anything you buy from them is spot on perfect. But you pay for that perfection.

Also keep in mind that DSA doesn't sharpen their blades. Kult of Athena offers a $20 sharpening service... but I can't really comment on how good this is. Albion, if I remember correctly, sells all of their blades properly sharpened. So if you plan on joining the cutting part of the sword collecting community, having a properly sharpened sword out of the box helps. However, with this being your first sword, I'd hate for you to spend the $800 on the albion only to accidentally hit something you aren't supposed to.

Most people make their decision based on price, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for you.

In summary. Albion is as close to time-traveling as you'll get with their recreations. However, with the money you spend on one, you could get 3 or 4 other swords to see if you prefer one style over another.

I really hope I helped a little, but looking back at my post, I've probably only made the decision more vague.

Albion swords brand new are tad over-priced in my opinion...

That said... yes, there is a difference between them and the DSA swords... a HUGE difference.

The Albion will be a far better sword in almost every single way... attention to detail, balance, fit and finish, histrorical precedent/accuracy... everything.

The only thing the DSA might have over the Albion... and I say MAYBE... is durability. The DSA heat treatment is TOUGH... try to sharpen a DSA sword, the file almost skates off the sword... and they are a bit overbuilt making them solid re-enactor swords (what they were originally designed for) and beaters.

So if you want something sword like that you can beat the crap out of... the DSA might have an advantage.

However... if you are willing to spend the money... and want something as close to a true weapon of war as would have been made and used in the time when people trusted their lives to such weapons... go with the Albion, no contest.

Thanks for your reply’s guys.

Id all but made up my mind to get the 1329 Medieval Knight Bastard Sword until i came across the Crecy. Didn’t really think there would be that much of a difference in the handling but from what you guys are saying there is a vast difference in all aspects. I’m now leaning towards the Crecy, just wish it had the option of the scabbard & belt.

Cheers
Paul

Thanks Sean, very nice with all the options, same sword but different. But was hoping to buy from an Australia dealer so i can avoid all the hassle of filling in customs forms. Been looking at Ronin Swords who is located in Australia.

Again thankyou all very much for your input, Ive also managed to get a great price from Adam @ ronin swords.

Just have another query for those in the know, seems to be everyone but me

- A question about the Crecy, and i have already emailed Albion and got a reply stating, "The pommels are hot peened in place" thankyou to Mike Sigman, fast reply. Does anyone have a photo of the pommel showing this, The only photos of the current model i can find show no sign, either it is polished to perfection to hide it or just bad photos.

- Id also love to see a photo of someone with there hand on the grip, just to see if there is really space for 2 hands.

- And just a general query from my original post. For those that live in Victoria Australia, Im in the process of joining a sword club, but I’m not sure as to the storage requirements, would really appreciate some advice with this.

Thanks - Paul