Review: Windlass Renaissance Short Sword (Cinqueda)
Aug 23, 2011 19:52:12 GMT
Post by SeanF on Aug 23, 2011 19:52:12 GMT
Introduction
Most of my tastes in swords have been shaped by video games. In particular a little gem known as Final Fantasy Tactics. Of note there is sub-class of swords known as 'Knight Swords' which are very powerful weapons that only the Knight Class can use. FFT was a PS1 sprite game, and so the level of detail of the weapons is somewhat low. But one thing that always struck me was the shape of these knight swords, big wide triangular blades.
EDIT: If you are currious watch the sword the first human character uses, 24 seconds in
Since I started collecting swords I have always been keeping my head up for something that reminded me of this. Some members at a local friendly sword forum led me on to the 'Cinqueda' type of sword. An Italian Renascence Short Sword made for dueling. Not exactly the way I envisioned one of these big triangular blades being used, but it is what it is. The only problem is a Cinqueda is a fairly uncommon sword to make, and then most manufacturers only make them in 12"-20" to boot! This won't do at all.
I was then lead on to the Windlass Renaissance Short Sword… which is discontinued. Great. And then one day the Kult of Athena Scratch and Dent section answers my prayers.
Historical Overview
I really don’t know how well this stacks up to the historical Cinqueda, and quite frankly I don’t really care. I bought it because it reminds me of a fantasy sword design I like. I do know that it is at the extremely long end of the Cinqueda spectrum.
Full Disclosure
I paid $170 For this sword from Kult of Athena. The price was greatly reduced because of some minor scuffs on the guard, and because I suspect they just wanted to get rid of their last remaining stock of a discontinued item.
I also had it sharpened for free by our very own TomK. (It was at his house when I attended the cutting party in July, please don’t be harassing him to do free sharpening work for you.)
And also, most importantly, I am really not experienced enough to be properly reviewing swords. I just took a shot at this because it is a sword and type people typically don’t even know exists, let alone have any information on.
Initial Impressions
It came in the standard Kult of Athena packaging. An unassuming box with a ton of brown paper inside keeping everything well protected. My initial impressions were:
1) Yes, finally something with the shape I want.
2) Holy crap this is heavy
Statistics
Blade Length: 28”
Handle Length: 3.5”
Overall Length: 34”
Guard/ Width: 7.25”
POB (Point of Balance): 4”
COP (Center of Percussion): ~19” (Hard to measure because the blade is so damn stiff)
Weight: 2lbs 12oz
Components
The Blade
The blade is wide thick and extremely ridgid. It came dull, like all Windlasses, but was polished to a mirror surface. The blade features four fullers, two large ones running almost the entire length of the blade and two very thin ones running only 6.5” down. All and all they help break up the massive blade space up quite well.
I was informed by TomK that the blade is extremely hard, enough so that he was cursing it during the sharpening process.
The Handle
Aesthetically I don’t like the handle in the least. It’s solid enough, and I have never had any problems with discomfort of grip. It is round, which can lead to edge alignment problems. However with a blade so wide and heavy it makes up for it well enough. (And I am not that good to begin with). Also of note is that he metal pieces running the length of the handle are under tension and held it by the two metal end caps. When disassembled if the end caps pop off the whole thing springs apart in a huge mess. I don’t see any chance of problems when the sword is properly assembled.
The Guard
The guard is, well, a guard. Aesthetically I don’t like it. There are some minor scuffs on the guard, but small enough I don’t even notice them. I suspect KoA just wanted to get rid of the thing. It is sturdy with no rattling or wobbles. Can’t comment on how well it acts as a guard as I don’t plan on seeing much sword on sword action. I haven’t taken care of it in the least and it hasn’t developed any rust.
The Pommel
This is a little monster in its own right. At 14oz. The thing weighs almost 1/3 of the weight of the total sword! The pommel is screw on, but perfectly round so it can be tightened to fit with no issue. As you can see from the pictures it is starting to develop a rust coating. It is the first one of my swords to ever do that.
The Scabbard
The scabbard is made of leather and covers the blade, that is about all I can say about it. The fit is very loose and sloppy, and it won’t win any beauty contests. But if you are like me and mainly just want something to keep the sharp steel segregated from the outside world it fits the bill.
Handling Characteristics
This sword is a beast. Forget about making any Zoro cuts with it, when you swing it be sure you want to bisect whatever it is you are aiming at. If you want some finesse with your swords you are going to hate this.
I personally love it. It is exactly what I want. It takes a lot of strength to accelerate, but once you get it moving it feels like it will destroy absolutely everything in its path. I wouldn’t recommend taking it to a real sword fight though, it is very slow on the recovery. And as you can see from the cutting video control can be challenging.
Also keep in mind I am quite a big guy, so this isn’t for the faint of heart.
Durability
I’m not into destructive testing my swords, but I’m not particularly easy on them either. Here is the results of (…one of the instances of) the sword hitting the 3 /4” plywood on my cutting stand. I can’t see any discernable effect on the blade. Suffice to say I don’t think it will be chipping on a bottle cap any time soon. (this wasn’t the time I hit the stand in the video)
Test Cutting
Just so you know how sharp it is now:
It also starts slicing through the leather scabbard if it isn't inserted properly:
It cuts water bottles like they aren’t even there. It has gotten to the point where I stopped using it as water bottles just didn’t seem satisfying enough for something this heavy.
When I tried it on newspaper rolls I could barely feel it cutting through anything at all. However as you can see from the video the leftover roll is swinging wildly indicating I didn’t make that great of a cut. I am not sure what to make of this, as I can usually feel when the cuts I am making aren't particularly clean.
As you can see I had to move further into the 'woods' to get the right camera angle on the shot and ran into some... arborary concerns. Easily vanquished.
Conclusions
In conclusion this is exactly what I wanted in a blade, and nothing like I wanted in the fittings. Oh well, life isn’t perfect. I am just glad I got my hands on it to begin with.
Pros
- Mirror finish on blade
- Superb cutting ability
- Beautifully shaped blade
- Makes superb cuts
Cons
- Doesn’t come sharp.
- Pommel rusts easily
- Fittings don’t really match with my aesthetics
- Handles like a tank
The Bottom Line
I don’t think I would recommend this sword to anyone else. It is exactly what I wanted, and I would easily be willing to pay full price for it. But it is almost closer to an axe than a sword.
Most of my tastes in swords have been shaped by video games. In particular a little gem known as Final Fantasy Tactics. Of note there is sub-class of swords known as 'Knight Swords' which are very powerful weapons that only the Knight Class can use. FFT was a PS1 sprite game, and so the level of detail of the weapons is somewhat low. But one thing that always struck me was the shape of these knight swords, big wide triangular blades.
EDIT: If you are currious watch the sword the first human character uses, 24 seconds in
Since I started collecting swords I have always been keeping my head up for something that reminded me of this. Some members at a local friendly sword forum led me on to the 'Cinqueda' type of sword. An Italian Renascence Short Sword made for dueling. Not exactly the way I envisioned one of these big triangular blades being used, but it is what it is. The only problem is a Cinqueda is a fairly uncommon sword to make, and then most manufacturers only make them in 12"-20" to boot! This won't do at all.
I was then lead on to the Windlass Renaissance Short Sword… which is discontinued. Great. And then one day the Kult of Athena Scratch and Dent section answers my prayers.
Historical Overview
I really don’t know how well this stacks up to the historical Cinqueda, and quite frankly I don’t really care. I bought it because it reminds me of a fantasy sword design I like. I do know that it is at the extremely long end of the Cinqueda spectrum.
Full Disclosure
I paid $170 For this sword from Kult of Athena. The price was greatly reduced because of some minor scuffs on the guard, and because I suspect they just wanted to get rid of their last remaining stock of a discontinued item.
I also had it sharpened for free by our very own TomK. (It was at his house when I attended the cutting party in July, please don’t be harassing him to do free sharpening work for you.)
And also, most importantly, I am really not experienced enough to be properly reviewing swords. I just took a shot at this because it is a sword and type people typically don’t even know exists, let alone have any information on.
Initial Impressions
It came in the standard Kult of Athena packaging. An unassuming box with a ton of brown paper inside keeping everything well protected. My initial impressions were:
1) Yes, finally something with the shape I want.
2) Holy crap this is heavy
Statistics
Blade Length: 28”
Handle Length: 3.5”
Overall Length: 34”
Guard/ Width: 7.25”
POB (Point of Balance): 4”
COP (Center of Percussion): ~19” (Hard to measure because the blade is so damn stiff)
Weight: 2lbs 12oz
Components
The Blade
The blade is wide thick and extremely ridgid. It came dull, like all Windlasses, but was polished to a mirror surface. The blade features four fullers, two large ones running almost the entire length of the blade and two very thin ones running only 6.5” down. All and all they help break up the massive blade space up quite well.
I was informed by TomK that the blade is extremely hard, enough so that he was cursing it during the sharpening process.
The Handle
Aesthetically I don’t like the handle in the least. It’s solid enough, and I have never had any problems with discomfort of grip. It is round, which can lead to edge alignment problems. However with a blade so wide and heavy it makes up for it well enough. (And I am not that good to begin with). Also of note is that he metal pieces running the length of the handle are under tension and held it by the two metal end caps. When disassembled if the end caps pop off the whole thing springs apart in a huge mess. I don’t see any chance of problems when the sword is properly assembled.
The Guard
The guard is, well, a guard. Aesthetically I don’t like it. There are some minor scuffs on the guard, but small enough I don’t even notice them. I suspect KoA just wanted to get rid of the thing. It is sturdy with no rattling or wobbles. Can’t comment on how well it acts as a guard as I don’t plan on seeing much sword on sword action. I haven’t taken care of it in the least and it hasn’t developed any rust.
The Pommel
This is a little monster in its own right. At 14oz. The thing weighs almost 1/3 of the weight of the total sword! The pommel is screw on, but perfectly round so it can be tightened to fit with no issue. As you can see from the pictures it is starting to develop a rust coating. It is the first one of my swords to ever do that.
The Scabbard
The scabbard is made of leather and covers the blade, that is about all I can say about it. The fit is very loose and sloppy, and it won’t win any beauty contests. But if you are like me and mainly just want something to keep the sharp steel segregated from the outside world it fits the bill.
Handling Characteristics
This sword is a beast. Forget about making any Zoro cuts with it, when you swing it be sure you want to bisect whatever it is you are aiming at. If you want some finesse with your swords you are going to hate this.
I personally love it. It is exactly what I want. It takes a lot of strength to accelerate, but once you get it moving it feels like it will destroy absolutely everything in its path. I wouldn’t recommend taking it to a real sword fight though, it is very slow on the recovery. And as you can see from the cutting video control can be challenging.
Also keep in mind I am quite a big guy, so this isn’t for the faint of heart.
Durability
I’m not into destructive testing my swords, but I’m not particularly easy on them either. Here is the results of (…one of the instances of) the sword hitting the 3 /4” plywood on my cutting stand. I can’t see any discernable effect on the blade. Suffice to say I don’t think it will be chipping on a bottle cap any time soon. (this wasn’t the time I hit the stand in the video)
Test Cutting
Just so you know how sharp it is now:
It also starts slicing through the leather scabbard if it isn't inserted properly:
It cuts water bottles like they aren’t even there. It has gotten to the point where I stopped using it as water bottles just didn’t seem satisfying enough for something this heavy.
When I tried it on newspaper rolls I could barely feel it cutting through anything at all. However as you can see from the video the leftover roll is swinging wildly indicating I didn’t make that great of a cut. I am not sure what to make of this, as I can usually feel when the cuts I am making aren't particularly clean.
As you can see I had to move further into the 'woods' to get the right camera angle on the shot and ran into some... arborary concerns. Easily vanquished.
Conclusions
In conclusion this is exactly what I wanted in a blade, and nothing like I wanted in the fittings. Oh well, life isn’t perfect. I am just glad I got my hands on it to begin with.
Pros
- Mirror finish on blade
- Superb cutting ability
- Beautifully shaped blade
- Makes superb cuts
Cons
- Doesn’t come sharp.
- Pommel rusts easily
- Fittings don’t really match with my aesthetics
- Handles like a tank
The Bottom Line
I don’t think I would recommend this sword to anyone else. It is exactly what I wanted, and I would easily be willing to pay full price for it. But it is almost closer to an axe than a sword.