Fable Blades Excalibur
May 25, 2011 15:33:11 GMT
Post by SwordFan on May 25, 2011 15:33:11 GMT
Introduction:
This is the second of my five new reviews for this week and Iv gone with the Excalibur from Fable Blades .
This was another tough choice to make purely as Brendan makes so many fine blades it makes choosing so very difficult .This time around I picked up the Excalibur as well as the Anduril . It was a close call though as I kept wavering between the Excalibur and Felarof .In the end Excalibur was my choice and a good choice it was .After deciding on Excalibur I spoke to Brendan about making the sword a little more personal and he suggested darkening the hilt furniture which looks really great in person as it gives the sword an older look to it .I also wanted to have some engraving done on the sword and came up with "TAKE ME UP" and on the reverse "CAST ME AWAY" in Anglo Saxon Runes on the guard from the Series Merlin .This turned out really good . My eldest son loves the sword so much that Iv already promised it to him (who at 4 loves swords already ) on his 18th birthday with the view that he will one day pass it along to his son or daughter once they reach 18 .This together with Anduril made their way to me in good time without any courier problems this time around as we used a different courier service ,one which was a lot more professional .
Historical overview:
This is a Functional Fantasy sword , here is a description taken from the Fable Blade’s listing :
Caledfwlch (Excalibur)
Given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake the sword was said to cut steel, and shine so brightly as to blind Arthur's enemies. The sword of Kings for all of time
"thenne he drewe his swerd Excalibur, but it was so breyght in his enemyes eyen that it gaf light lyke thirty torchys." Thomas Malory
Specifications:
Weight: 1525g (3lb 5oz)
Length Overall: 905mm (35.6”)
Blade Length: 760mm (30”)
Grip Length: 102mm (4”) including ferrules
Point Of Balance: 85mm (3.3”) From Guard
Centre Of Percussion: ~460mm (18”) from guard
Hilt Node of Percussion: 35mm (1.4”) behind guard
Guard Width: 187mm (7.4”)
Blade Width: 59mm (2.3”)
Blade Thickness: 6mm at hilt > 3mm at 2” from tip
Materials:
Blade: 9260 spring steel Oil Quenched then tempered twice to ~50Rc Hardness
Hilt Furniture: Brass with 316 Stainless Steel ferrules
Grip: European Beech Core with 2 strand opposing twist wire wrap
Engravings on the guard: "TAKE ME UP" and on the reverse "CAST ME AWAY" in Angle Saxon Runes
Initial Impressions:
I received the package which contained both my Anduril and Excalibur and as always Brendan had done a great job with the packaging . He ships the sword disassembled which really helps bring down the shipping costs when using a courier service . After removing all the packaging material I was left with both swords which I started to assemble . I started with the Excalibur ,but that is where I stopped ,well for a while anyway . After she was all put together I held her in hand and the urge was just too great to cut something .This sword has a presence about her ,something that just makes you want to pull on the armor and join the battle . So I was off to the backyard as I had to see how she handled and of course performed . She felt a little heavy in hand at first ,but amazingly because she is so well balanced she handles remarkably well and has a blade presence which just begs to be cut with .So I tried a single mat first ,no problem at all in fact it was all too easy ,so I got a little adventurous and jumped to three rolls of tatami and this is where I was blown away , it sailed through them like a hot knife through butter ! This was a sword built for cutting and had the looks to match . I had always thought of Excalibur as a single hander myself and here I now owned a sword fit for a King .
Statistics:
Taken from Fable Blades :
Specifications:
Weight: 1525g (3lb 5oz)
Length Overall: 905mm (35.6”)
Blade Length: 760mm (30”)
Grip Length: 102mm (4”) including ferrules
Point Of Balance: 85mm (3.3”) From Guard
Centre Of Percussion: ~460mm (18”) from guard
Hilt Node of Percussion: 35mm (1.4”) behind guard
Guard Width: 187mm (7.4”)
Blade Width: 59mm (2.3”)
Blade Thickness: 6mm at hilt > 3mm at 2” from tip
Materials:
Blade: 9260 spring steel Oil Quenched then tempered twice to ~50Rc Hardness
Hilt Furniture: Brass with 316 Stainless Steel ferrules
Grip: European Beech Core with 2 strand opposing twist wire wrap
Components:
The Blade:
This is a real beast of a blade which features a 9260 spring steel Oil Quenched ,twice tempered blade (50Rc Hardness) which is really sharp .The thing I love most about this blade is the way the shoulders flare out as you approach the guard .It’s a nice and stiff blade with a really nice finish to it ,no whippy blade here as is found on many Windlass pieces that’s for sure .The fuller is also well executed .
The Handle:
The grip features a European beech core with 2 strand opposing wire wrap .On either side of this is a 316 Stainless Steel Ferrule .These provide a very nice contrast to the darkened brass guard and pommel.I am always a little hesitant when it comes to wire wraps as if not done properly they can come undone really quickly ,but this has been done superbly and is really tight . This being said I found it best to use gloves when doing some extensive cutting as it just makes it more comfortable in hand .
The Guard:
This is done really well and is made from thick brass .It has lovely flared ends and the engraving was really well done
The Pommel:
The pommel is a solid brass pommel and this together with the thick guard adds a lot of weight to the sword as a whole ,but personally I would not change a thing as it creates a great balance making the sword a powerful cutting sword .
Handling Characteristics:
As iv mentioned she is a little heavy for a typical one hander ,but because of the excellent balance which Brendan has achieved it handles really well making cutting and handling a pleasure . Yes she will never be the quickest single hander in the world ,but she more than makes up for this in pure cutting power and in my opinion Brendan has reached a great balance .
Cutting:
This has to be one of my favorite cutting swords currently as it sails through any target iv put in front of her with ease . As mentioned earlier Iv even taken her against triple rolled tatami which she handled with very little effort . This is one of those swords which in battle you do not want to be on the wrong side off ,that much is for certain !Unfortunately my wife has taken the video camera with the footage I shot of cutting with her as she has gone to visit her family for a week ,but once back ill upload some video and update the review .
Conclusions:
This is most probably my favorite cutting sword currently ,it really feels as though it could handle any target put in its way . The fit an finish is as usual perfect from Brendan with loads of attention paid to detail . I love the blade geometry of this piece and will be proud to one day hand it over to my son .
Pros:
Great Customer service from Brendan at Fable Blades
Attention to detail
Great performing blade
Excalibur as it should have been in my opinion
Cons:
Honestly I personally could not find any ,but I suppose some would say that the weight might be a bit of an issue for a single hander historically.
The Bottom Line:
There are some who would say that historically it is too heavy for a single hander and I suppose you would be right ,however this is (as Excalibur is) primarily a fantasy sword and to be honest the sword in hand does not feel all that heavy whilst cutting at all ,in fact I find the balance so good on her that I keep wanting to take her out and cut some more . So what it boils down to I guess is personal preference (as it does with all swords) as personally I would not change a thing as it stands .
A sword fit for a King and ready to charge into the heat of battle .
This is the second of my five new reviews for this week and Iv gone with the Excalibur from Fable Blades .
This was another tough choice to make purely as Brendan makes so many fine blades it makes choosing so very difficult .This time around I picked up the Excalibur as well as the Anduril . It was a close call though as I kept wavering between the Excalibur and Felarof .In the end Excalibur was my choice and a good choice it was .After deciding on Excalibur I spoke to Brendan about making the sword a little more personal and he suggested darkening the hilt furniture which looks really great in person as it gives the sword an older look to it .I also wanted to have some engraving done on the sword and came up with "TAKE ME UP" and on the reverse "CAST ME AWAY" in Anglo Saxon Runes on the guard from the Series Merlin .This turned out really good . My eldest son loves the sword so much that Iv already promised it to him (who at 4 loves swords already ) on his 18th birthday with the view that he will one day pass it along to his son or daughter once they reach 18 .This together with Anduril made their way to me in good time without any courier problems this time around as we used a different courier service ,one which was a lot more professional .
Historical overview:
This is a Functional Fantasy sword , here is a description taken from the Fable Blade’s listing :
Caledfwlch (Excalibur)
Given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake the sword was said to cut steel, and shine so brightly as to blind Arthur's enemies. The sword of Kings for all of time
"thenne he drewe his swerd Excalibur, but it was so breyght in his enemyes eyen that it gaf light lyke thirty torchys." Thomas Malory
Specifications:
Weight: 1525g (3lb 5oz)
Length Overall: 905mm (35.6”)
Blade Length: 760mm (30”)
Grip Length: 102mm (4”) including ferrules
Point Of Balance: 85mm (3.3”) From Guard
Centre Of Percussion: ~460mm (18”) from guard
Hilt Node of Percussion: 35mm (1.4”) behind guard
Guard Width: 187mm (7.4”)
Blade Width: 59mm (2.3”)
Blade Thickness: 6mm at hilt > 3mm at 2” from tip
Materials:
Blade: 9260 spring steel Oil Quenched then tempered twice to ~50Rc Hardness
Hilt Furniture: Brass with 316 Stainless Steel ferrules
Grip: European Beech Core with 2 strand opposing twist wire wrap
Engravings on the guard: "TAKE ME UP" and on the reverse "CAST ME AWAY" in Angle Saxon Runes
Initial Impressions:
I received the package which contained both my Anduril and Excalibur and as always Brendan had done a great job with the packaging . He ships the sword disassembled which really helps bring down the shipping costs when using a courier service . After removing all the packaging material I was left with both swords which I started to assemble . I started with the Excalibur ,but that is where I stopped ,well for a while anyway . After she was all put together I held her in hand and the urge was just too great to cut something .This sword has a presence about her ,something that just makes you want to pull on the armor and join the battle . So I was off to the backyard as I had to see how she handled and of course performed . She felt a little heavy in hand at first ,but amazingly because she is so well balanced she handles remarkably well and has a blade presence which just begs to be cut with .So I tried a single mat first ,no problem at all in fact it was all too easy ,so I got a little adventurous and jumped to three rolls of tatami and this is where I was blown away , it sailed through them like a hot knife through butter ! This was a sword built for cutting and had the looks to match . I had always thought of Excalibur as a single hander myself and here I now owned a sword fit for a King .
Statistics:
Taken from Fable Blades :
Specifications:
Weight: 1525g (3lb 5oz)
Length Overall: 905mm (35.6”)
Blade Length: 760mm (30”)
Grip Length: 102mm (4”) including ferrules
Point Of Balance: 85mm (3.3”) From Guard
Centre Of Percussion: ~460mm (18”) from guard
Hilt Node of Percussion: 35mm (1.4”) behind guard
Guard Width: 187mm (7.4”)
Blade Width: 59mm (2.3”)
Blade Thickness: 6mm at hilt > 3mm at 2” from tip
Materials:
Blade: 9260 spring steel Oil Quenched then tempered twice to ~50Rc Hardness
Hilt Furniture: Brass with 316 Stainless Steel ferrules
Grip: European Beech Core with 2 strand opposing twist wire wrap
Components:
The Blade:
This is a real beast of a blade which features a 9260 spring steel Oil Quenched ,twice tempered blade (50Rc Hardness) which is really sharp .The thing I love most about this blade is the way the shoulders flare out as you approach the guard .It’s a nice and stiff blade with a really nice finish to it ,no whippy blade here as is found on many Windlass pieces that’s for sure .The fuller is also well executed .
The Handle:
The grip features a European beech core with 2 strand opposing wire wrap .On either side of this is a 316 Stainless Steel Ferrule .These provide a very nice contrast to the darkened brass guard and pommel.I am always a little hesitant when it comes to wire wraps as if not done properly they can come undone really quickly ,but this has been done superbly and is really tight . This being said I found it best to use gloves when doing some extensive cutting as it just makes it more comfortable in hand .
The Guard:
This is done really well and is made from thick brass .It has lovely flared ends and the engraving was really well done
The Pommel:
The pommel is a solid brass pommel and this together with the thick guard adds a lot of weight to the sword as a whole ,but personally I would not change a thing as it creates a great balance making the sword a powerful cutting sword .
Handling Characteristics:
As iv mentioned she is a little heavy for a typical one hander ,but because of the excellent balance which Brendan has achieved it handles really well making cutting and handling a pleasure . Yes she will never be the quickest single hander in the world ,but she more than makes up for this in pure cutting power and in my opinion Brendan has reached a great balance .
Cutting:
This has to be one of my favorite cutting swords currently as it sails through any target iv put in front of her with ease . As mentioned earlier Iv even taken her against triple rolled tatami which she handled with very little effort . This is one of those swords which in battle you do not want to be on the wrong side off ,that much is for certain !Unfortunately my wife has taken the video camera with the footage I shot of cutting with her as she has gone to visit her family for a week ,but once back ill upload some video and update the review .
Conclusions:
This is most probably my favorite cutting sword currently ,it really feels as though it could handle any target put in its way . The fit an finish is as usual perfect from Brendan with loads of attention paid to detail . I love the blade geometry of this piece and will be proud to one day hand it over to my son .
Pros:
Great Customer service from Brendan at Fable Blades
Attention to detail
Great performing blade
Excalibur as it should have been in my opinion
Cons:
Honestly I personally could not find any ,but I suppose some would say that the weight might be a bit of an issue for a single hander historically.
The Bottom Line:
There are some who would say that historically it is too heavy for a single hander and I suppose you would be right ,however this is (as Excalibur is) primarily a fantasy sword and to be honest the sword in hand does not feel all that heavy whilst cutting at all ,in fact I find the balance so good on her that I keep wanting to take her out and cut some more . So what it boils down to I guess is personal preference (as it does with all swords) as personally I would not change a thing as it stands .
A sword fit for a King and ready to charge into the heat of battle .