Borderwatch From Christian Fletcher
May 25, 2011 15:36:34 GMT
Post by SwordFan on May 25, 2011 15:36:34 GMT
Introduction:
This is the forth of my five new reviews for this week and Iv gone with the Borderwatch from Christian Fletcher .
This was a gift from My Wife who managed to keep it as a surprise for most of the time . She dealt with Christian when purchasing the sword and was really impressed with his great customer service and customer commitment and I'm pleased to say that his workmanship is every bit as good . I ended up with the Borderwatch (which uses an Albion Crecy Blade ,I think) with the matching green scabbard . The color choice was a simple one for my wife as she knows that I Love The Lord Of The Rings and wanted to get me something as close as possible to the Strider/Ranger sword which is wielded by Aragon in the movie’s . This turned out to be a rather good find by my wife as Christian had one ready made up which turned out just great .This is going to be more of a pictorial review for now as I simply have not had enough time as yet to fully put her through her paces ,but as I do I will update the review .
Historical overview:
This is a Functional Fantasy sword and is based on the Ranger/Strider sword used by Aragon
Initial Impressions:
This was meant to be a total surprise to me and originally it was ,however my wife was out when UPS arrived and thinking that it was one of my swords which I was expecting from KOA I opened the box up ,needless to say I was pleasantly surprised ,I grabbed my phone to call my wife and thank her when I was politely told to close the box and to leave it until it is given to me ,lol . Needless to say this did not happen and when my wife arrived home I was still handling the sword in awe and with a huge smile on my face . Eventually I had to put her down though as I decided to spoil my wife and take her out ,I figured after putting up with and supporting my hobby the least I could do was treat her .
The sword came packaged in a huge brown box with loads of padding and bubble wrap ,all in all a great packaging job .The sword itself was perfect , nothing loose and no common problems which one finds with production pieces ,this I guess is one of the plus points of custom swords .The sword itself really impressed me and the immediate feeling after picking her up was just how light and lively she felt in hand ,this is definitely one of those swords that have that wow factor ,something you just don’t want to let go of .
Statistics:
Taken from Christian Fletcher :
Specs:
Overall length: 46" (117 cm)
Blade length: 35 1/2" (90 cm)
Blade width: 2" (5 cm)
CoB: 4" (10 cm)
CoP: 21.5" (54.61 cm)
Weight: 3 lbs 1 oz (1.4 kilos)
The blade is an Albion Blade ( I believe an Albion Crecy Blade)
Components:
The Blade:
Is stunning , a nice satin finish with just the right amount of flex and no Whippy feeling to it at all .It has a scary sharp edge and though iv only done some light cutting thus far on some bottles I have no doubt it will handle some Mats with ease . It is an Albion Blade and features a Type XVIa blade according to Albion .Oakeshott describes the Type XVIa as having a long, tapering blade, broad at the hilt, with a sharp, often reinforced, point.
My wife got the matching scabbard with the sword which matches the grip color perfectly and has a very nice Tree of Gondor design embossed at the top which rounds off a stunning package .
The Handle:
This is simply stunning and in my opinion is done even better than the United Cutlery Versions which is based upon the swords used in the actual Movie . It has a rich forest green color with leatherwork which has been done so skillfully that one really has to look very closely to see the seam . It has a lovely Spacer in the middle of the grip after which the grip tapers off towards the pommel . This is one of the most comfortable two handed sword grips iv ever handled ,it really just makes you want to keep on swinging away .
The Guard:
The guard differs slightly to the movie version ,but once again something which I really like
The Pommel:
The pommel has the same general shape as the United Cutlery version ,though a little smaller .
Handling Characteristics:
This sword is amazing , handling wise it is really fast in hand and can be used pretty comfortably in one hand as well .I like the balance and overall feel of this piece ,now just need to go and find some Orc’s to slay with the rest of the “Borderwatch” club ,lol . All in all this sword is in my top 5 European type swords and Christian really does some outstanding work .
Cutting :
I need to spend some more time with her cutting as so far iv only had the chance to take her out cutting once and she went through the lighter targets like bottles and pool noodles as if they weren't even there . I really need to take some time and put her through her paces with some tatami .
Conclusions:
I love it ! I would not change a single thing on it . Christian does some amazing work and I cannot wait to pick up a couple of more pieces from him .
Pros:
Great Customer service from Christian
Attention to detail
In my opinion a Strider/Ranger sword which I actually prefer over the original used in the movie
Well Balanced lively piece
Cons:
Yes it is more expensive than your average sword ,but then this is no average sword and in my opinion is worth every penny !
The Bottom Line:
A great sword for the Lord Of The Rings Fan looking for a functional piece with the performance and looks to match rather than the display stuff
This is the forth of my five new reviews for this week and Iv gone with the Borderwatch from Christian Fletcher .
This was a gift from My Wife who managed to keep it as a surprise for most of the time . She dealt with Christian when purchasing the sword and was really impressed with his great customer service and customer commitment and I'm pleased to say that his workmanship is every bit as good . I ended up with the Borderwatch (which uses an Albion Crecy Blade ,I think) with the matching green scabbard . The color choice was a simple one for my wife as she knows that I Love The Lord Of The Rings and wanted to get me something as close as possible to the Strider/Ranger sword which is wielded by Aragon in the movie’s . This turned out to be a rather good find by my wife as Christian had one ready made up which turned out just great .This is going to be more of a pictorial review for now as I simply have not had enough time as yet to fully put her through her paces ,but as I do I will update the review .
Historical overview:
This is a Functional Fantasy sword and is based on the Ranger/Strider sword used by Aragon
Initial Impressions:
This was meant to be a total surprise to me and originally it was ,however my wife was out when UPS arrived and thinking that it was one of my swords which I was expecting from KOA I opened the box up ,needless to say I was pleasantly surprised ,I grabbed my phone to call my wife and thank her when I was politely told to close the box and to leave it until it is given to me ,lol . Needless to say this did not happen and when my wife arrived home I was still handling the sword in awe and with a huge smile on my face . Eventually I had to put her down though as I decided to spoil my wife and take her out ,I figured after putting up with and supporting my hobby the least I could do was treat her .
The sword came packaged in a huge brown box with loads of padding and bubble wrap ,all in all a great packaging job .The sword itself was perfect , nothing loose and no common problems which one finds with production pieces ,this I guess is one of the plus points of custom swords .The sword itself really impressed me and the immediate feeling after picking her up was just how light and lively she felt in hand ,this is definitely one of those swords that have that wow factor ,something you just don’t want to let go of .
Statistics:
Taken from Christian Fletcher :
Specs:
Overall length: 46" (117 cm)
Blade length: 35 1/2" (90 cm)
Blade width: 2" (5 cm)
CoB: 4" (10 cm)
CoP: 21.5" (54.61 cm)
Weight: 3 lbs 1 oz (1.4 kilos)
The blade is an Albion Blade ( I believe an Albion Crecy Blade)
Components:
The Blade:
Is stunning , a nice satin finish with just the right amount of flex and no Whippy feeling to it at all .It has a scary sharp edge and though iv only done some light cutting thus far on some bottles I have no doubt it will handle some Mats with ease . It is an Albion Blade and features a Type XVIa blade according to Albion .Oakeshott describes the Type XVIa as having a long, tapering blade, broad at the hilt, with a sharp, often reinforced, point.
My wife got the matching scabbard with the sword which matches the grip color perfectly and has a very nice Tree of Gondor design embossed at the top which rounds off a stunning package .
The Handle:
This is simply stunning and in my opinion is done even better than the United Cutlery Versions which is based upon the swords used in the actual Movie . It has a rich forest green color with leatherwork which has been done so skillfully that one really has to look very closely to see the seam . It has a lovely Spacer in the middle of the grip after which the grip tapers off towards the pommel . This is one of the most comfortable two handed sword grips iv ever handled ,it really just makes you want to keep on swinging away .
The Guard:
The guard differs slightly to the movie version ,but once again something which I really like
The Pommel:
The pommel has the same general shape as the United Cutlery version ,though a little smaller .
Handling Characteristics:
This sword is amazing , handling wise it is really fast in hand and can be used pretty comfortably in one hand as well .I like the balance and overall feel of this piece ,now just need to go and find some Orc’s to slay with the rest of the “Borderwatch” club ,lol . All in all this sword is in my top 5 European type swords and Christian really does some outstanding work .
Cutting :
I need to spend some more time with her cutting as so far iv only had the chance to take her out cutting once and she went through the lighter targets like bottles and pool noodles as if they weren't even there . I really need to take some time and put her through her paces with some tatami .
Conclusions:
I love it ! I would not change a single thing on it . Christian does some amazing work and I cannot wait to pick up a couple of more pieces from him .
Pros:
Great Customer service from Christian
Attention to detail
In my opinion a Strider/Ranger sword which I actually prefer over the original used in the movie
Well Balanced lively piece
Cons:
Yes it is more expensive than your average sword ,but then this is no average sword and in my opinion is worth every penny !
The Bottom Line:
A great sword for the Lord Of The Rings Fan looking for a functional piece with the performance and looks to match rather than the display stuff