Odinblade GreenLeaf Bastard Sword
Dec 11, 2011 23:22:27 GMT
Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Dec 11, 2011 23:22:27 GMT
Odinblade GreenLeaf Bastard Sword -- Sean O. Stevens
Grovetown, GA
Introduction
Remember this? www.kultofathena.com/product.asp ... Half+Sword
I bet a lot of you are looking at that first picture and going "So THAT is where that sword went... you Bastard!"
:lol:
Yes... I saw this one on Kult of Athena late one night and I did a double take. I told my wife 'Honey, there is an ODINBLADE on KoA... WTF?' and she of course being the amazing and sweet woman that she is she said 'Well, get it.' To which I say 'I can't! I'm selling swords still to cover the money I spent on the hot tub... and this one is almost $1000.00! I can't afford it.' To which my wife, the most wonderful woman in all the world, says 'Buy it... then figure out what you can part with to cover the cost. You'll find the cash, you always do... but you'll kick yourself tomorrow if you look again and someone else got the sword.'
She was right... she almost always is... (Shhhh... don't tell her I said that.) so I snagged it. I decided I would give it a look over... I might not even like it. If I didn't want to keep it, I was sure I could pass it on to another SBG member and not lose any money, but be richer for the experience of having handled another Odinblade. If I did like it, I'd sell a couple swords to cover it.
As you can see... it is still here.
Historical overview
This is a 'Fantasy' style sword... meaning that a sword of this type is not really something that could be found in historical weaponry. The leafblade style swords are VERY old and were, as I understand it, mostly single handed swords from the bronze age. One is style hilted in this hand and a half style likely never happened.
That does not mean this is not a deadly weapon. Many of the better custom makers have made many HIGHLY functional Fantasy inspired swords. It does mean however that this sword has no specific counterparts or precedents to point to in history and 'This is based on that.'
Full Disclosure
I paid full price for this sword... and received no compensation for its review. I am not a history expert... not am I trained in the use of this style of sword. I have martial arts training, some fencing training, and some training with knives. I'm a lover and collector of all weapons of history, with no specific preference in culture of time period. I've just always love the warrior culture in all its forms. I have owned hundreds of different swords and weapons, and handled many, MANY more. I consider myself an experienced amateur, and my reviews are written from that perspective.
Initial Impressions
The sword arrived quickly and well packaged from KoA... as orders from them always do. the first thought I had when I took the sword out of the box was "WOW" :shock: I thought it was the most beautiful looking sword I had ever seen... or damn close to it. (For the Record, the last time I had that impression was when I laid hands on Marc Ridgeway's 'Laird'... which, as it happens, is also an Odinblade.)
I drew the sword and it was VERY light and well balanced... as I expected from my previous handling of two other Odinblades. I was then sad to see it has a very small chip in the blade... which I forgot to take a photo of. :roll: It's on the cutting edge near the CoG or 'sweet spot' of the belly of the blade... but the sword is pre-owned and who knows how much cutting or on what medium the previous owner had done with it. I was a little miffed that the chip was not mentioned in the ad for its sale... but decided that it was easily enough fixed that it was not worth fussing over.
Statistics
Blade Length: 29 & 1/8th inches
Handle Length: 6 & 3/8th inches
Overall Length: 38 & 7/8th inches
Guard Width: 7 & 3/4th inches
POB (Point of Balance): 2 & 15/16th inches
Weight: 2 lbs & 3oz
Components
The Blade
The blade of this sword is very elegant... it has a subtle, not overstated leaf shape with a long well executed fuller. There is a nice ricasso area that flares out just above the makers mark, and the sword is sharp from that point out. For a Bastard sword the blade is on the short side... but when you look at the sword as a whole everything seems RIGHT.
The Handle/Grip
Maybe my favorite feature of this sword.
The grip is a green striped wood... with finger grove in the upper portion of the grip. Its WICKED cool looking and also very comfortable. Sometimes wood grips can feel a bit slick... the groves on the upper of this grip actually help a lot to improve positive feel and confidence in the grip.
The pommel shape allows for a two handed grip that is surprisingly comfortable.
The Guard
The guard has a flowing, winged shape... I think its beautiful. Its in keeping with this swords overall theme... which is sweeping beautiful lines... a very elegant weapon. The blade slots into the guard VERY nicely.
The Pommel
This was another feature that attracted me to this sword. I've seen several of John's swords that have this awesome open shaped pommel, a shape I LOVE... but I know that the shape requires that the sword then can not bee peened... it has to be some form of screw on deal... which I'm not a fan of. This one... with the tang running threw the open space combines that elegant open shape I like and makes it like an Irish Ring pommel, which I also like a lot... and allows the sword to be peened. This feature helped sell me on grabbing this sword.
The Scabbard
The scabbard for this sword is VERY well built. Its the second best fitting scabbard I've ever owned... and also one of the best looking scabbard I've ever owned. Of course... being green and thus complimenting the sword does not hurt. I'd never seen one of John's scabbards before... and I am VERY impressed. He does GREAT scabbard work as well as making masterful swords.
Handling Characteristics
Like a dream.
Its very floaty... it does not have the place presence that the Odin Xa or Laird have... it feels like something an Elf would carry and wield in battle. It is a pleasure to move the sword from guard to guard... its so light and airy you want to do silly things with it... I try to resist the urge.
In one hand its great... tho being so light and having so much length behind your grip takes some getting used to. With other Bastard swords I've had you feel the weight behind your grip and you compensate... with this I don't feel the weight... but the mass is still there and it plays odd with my one handed cutting, it will take some getting used to.
In two hands tho... the blade is a laser fast and responsive cutter. With my second hand controlling the 'drift' of the lower grip the sword does exactly what I want, when I want it to.
Test Cutting
I have not cut with this sword much yet... and I'm still getting used to it. Thus, my couple cuts in the bellow vid kinda suck.
As you can see in the vid, when I do the single handed upwards cut, I move the sword somewhat slowly and lazy... and swat the bottle. Off Camera I tried that same cut a couple more times and still swatted the bottle. Very annoying. Also in the vid when I cut the BIG bottle... you see the first cut cleaves the lid... and a piece of the re-enforced plastic rim of the bottle which has chipped MANY of my blades. It did not, however, do any damage to this blade... so this edge is pretty tough. Makes me wonder what the guy before me hit to put the chip in the blade.
Conclusions
Overall this sword is beautiful, elegant... and exceed my expectations of what I hopped for when I bought it. Its green everywhere with smooth sweeping lines and is just a work of art. Its like no other sword in my collection or that I have ever handled. The scabbard was a pleasant surprise in how good it was as well... rather then just an extra it is as well made and beautiful as the sword itself.
Pros
Amazing quality construction.
Inventive and creative design.
Super light and floaty handling.
Great Scabbard!
Cons
Tiny chip from owner before me.
One handed cutting takes some getting used to.
Price. (While worth it, it is WELL beyond the sub 300 realm of our focus here at SBG.)
The Bottom Line
This is a full custom Odinblade that I just happened to pick up second handed. Normally when dealing with this level of sword and paying this much money... I would advise someone to design their own sword rather then pick up someone else's design. If you going to spend this much money and go with a custom sword... it will tend to mean more to you if it is your own design. However... THIS design was just perfect for me. It has many of the features I love and I was happy to have found this sword... and lucky to be the first one to get it, I believe as many as 7 others tried to buy it after me.
I love this blade... and plan to spend more time with it to improve my cutting with it... its my beautiful green baby and I'll never let her go.
Thanks for reading!
Grovetown, GA
Introduction
Remember this? www.kultofathena.com/product.asp ... Half+Sword
I bet a lot of you are looking at that first picture and going "So THAT is where that sword went... you Bastard!"
:lol:
Yes... I saw this one on Kult of Athena late one night and I did a double take. I told my wife 'Honey, there is an ODINBLADE on KoA... WTF?' and she of course being the amazing and sweet woman that she is she said 'Well, get it.' To which I say 'I can't! I'm selling swords still to cover the money I spent on the hot tub... and this one is almost $1000.00! I can't afford it.' To which my wife, the most wonderful woman in all the world, says 'Buy it... then figure out what you can part with to cover the cost. You'll find the cash, you always do... but you'll kick yourself tomorrow if you look again and someone else got the sword.'
She was right... she almost always is... (Shhhh... don't tell her I said that.) so I snagged it. I decided I would give it a look over... I might not even like it. If I didn't want to keep it, I was sure I could pass it on to another SBG member and not lose any money, but be richer for the experience of having handled another Odinblade. If I did like it, I'd sell a couple swords to cover it.
As you can see... it is still here.
Historical overview
This is a 'Fantasy' style sword... meaning that a sword of this type is not really something that could be found in historical weaponry. The leafblade style swords are VERY old and were, as I understand it, mostly single handed swords from the bronze age. One is style hilted in this hand and a half style likely never happened.
That does not mean this is not a deadly weapon. Many of the better custom makers have made many HIGHLY functional Fantasy inspired swords. It does mean however that this sword has no specific counterparts or precedents to point to in history and 'This is based on that.'
Full Disclosure
I paid full price for this sword... and received no compensation for its review. I am not a history expert... not am I trained in the use of this style of sword. I have martial arts training, some fencing training, and some training with knives. I'm a lover and collector of all weapons of history, with no specific preference in culture of time period. I've just always love the warrior culture in all its forms. I have owned hundreds of different swords and weapons, and handled many, MANY more. I consider myself an experienced amateur, and my reviews are written from that perspective.
Initial Impressions
The sword arrived quickly and well packaged from KoA... as orders from them always do. the first thought I had when I took the sword out of the box was "WOW" :shock: I thought it was the most beautiful looking sword I had ever seen... or damn close to it. (For the Record, the last time I had that impression was when I laid hands on Marc Ridgeway's 'Laird'... which, as it happens, is also an Odinblade.)
I drew the sword and it was VERY light and well balanced... as I expected from my previous handling of two other Odinblades. I was then sad to see it has a very small chip in the blade... which I forgot to take a photo of. :roll: It's on the cutting edge near the CoG or 'sweet spot' of the belly of the blade... but the sword is pre-owned and who knows how much cutting or on what medium the previous owner had done with it. I was a little miffed that the chip was not mentioned in the ad for its sale... but decided that it was easily enough fixed that it was not worth fussing over.
Statistics
Blade Length: 29 & 1/8th inches
Handle Length: 6 & 3/8th inches
Overall Length: 38 & 7/8th inches
Guard Width: 7 & 3/4th inches
POB (Point of Balance): 2 & 15/16th inches
Weight: 2 lbs & 3oz
Components
The Blade
The blade of this sword is very elegant... it has a subtle, not overstated leaf shape with a long well executed fuller. There is a nice ricasso area that flares out just above the makers mark, and the sword is sharp from that point out. For a Bastard sword the blade is on the short side... but when you look at the sword as a whole everything seems RIGHT.
The Handle/Grip
Maybe my favorite feature of this sword.
The grip is a green striped wood... with finger grove in the upper portion of the grip. Its WICKED cool looking and also very comfortable. Sometimes wood grips can feel a bit slick... the groves on the upper of this grip actually help a lot to improve positive feel and confidence in the grip.
The pommel shape allows for a two handed grip that is surprisingly comfortable.
The Guard
The guard has a flowing, winged shape... I think its beautiful. Its in keeping with this swords overall theme... which is sweeping beautiful lines... a very elegant weapon. The blade slots into the guard VERY nicely.
The Pommel
This was another feature that attracted me to this sword. I've seen several of John's swords that have this awesome open shaped pommel, a shape I LOVE... but I know that the shape requires that the sword then can not bee peened... it has to be some form of screw on deal... which I'm not a fan of. This one... with the tang running threw the open space combines that elegant open shape I like and makes it like an Irish Ring pommel, which I also like a lot... and allows the sword to be peened. This feature helped sell me on grabbing this sword.
The Scabbard
The scabbard for this sword is VERY well built. Its the second best fitting scabbard I've ever owned... and also one of the best looking scabbard I've ever owned. Of course... being green and thus complimenting the sword does not hurt. I'd never seen one of John's scabbards before... and I am VERY impressed. He does GREAT scabbard work as well as making masterful swords.
Handling Characteristics
Like a dream.
Its very floaty... it does not have the place presence that the Odin Xa or Laird have... it feels like something an Elf would carry and wield in battle. It is a pleasure to move the sword from guard to guard... its so light and airy you want to do silly things with it... I try to resist the urge.
In one hand its great... tho being so light and having so much length behind your grip takes some getting used to. With other Bastard swords I've had you feel the weight behind your grip and you compensate... with this I don't feel the weight... but the mass is still there and it plays odd with my one handed cutting, it will take some getting used to.
In two hands tho... the blade is a laser fast and responsive cutter. With my second hand controlling the 'drift' of the lower grip the sword does exactly what I want, when I want it to.
Test Cutting
I have not cut with this sword much yet... and I'm still getting used to it. Thus, my couple cuts in the bellow vid kinda suck.
As you can see in the vid, when I do the single handed upwards cut, I move the sword somewhat slowly and lazy... and swat the bottle. Off Camera I tried that same cut a couple more times and still swatted the bottle. Very annoying. Also in the vid when I cut the BIG bottle... you see the first cut cleaves the lid... and a piece of the re-enforced plastic rim of the bottle which has chipped MANY of my blades. It did not, however, do any damage to this blade... so this edge is pretty tough. Makes me wonder what the guy before me hit to put the chip in the blade.
Conclusions
Overall this sword is beautiful, elegant... and exceed my expectations of what I hopped for when I bought it. Its green everywhere with smooth sweeping lines and is just a work of art. Its like no other sword in my collection or that I have ever handled. The scabbard was a pleasant surprise in how good it was as well... rather then just an extra it is as well made and beautiful as the sword itself.
Pros
Amazing quality construction.
Inventive and creative design.
Super light and floaty handling.
Great Scabbard!
Cons
Tiny chip from owner before me.
One handed cutting takes some getting used to.
Price. (While worth it, it is WELL beyond the sub 300 realm of our focus here at SBG.)
The Bottom Line
This is a full custom Odinblade that I just happened to pick up second handed. Normally when dealing with this level of sword and paying this much money... I would advise someone to design their own sword rather then pick up someone else's design. If you going to spend this much money and go with a custom sword... it will tend to mean more to you if it is your own design. However... THIS design was just perfect for me. It has many of the features I love and I was happy to have found this sword... and lucky to be the first one to get it, I believe as many as 7 others tried to buy it after me.
I love this blade... and plan to spend more time with it to improve my cutting with it... its my beautiful green baby and I'll never let her go.
Thanks for reading!