Windlass Roman Maintz Pattern Gladius (updated with new grip
Dec 23, 2011 4:56:12 GMT
Post by gerbopyl on Dec 23, 2011 4:56:12 GMT
For some reason I always find myself drooling over pictures of leaf bladed swords. Especially when its a gladius, so after taking a short hiatus from sword buying my next purchase had to be one. I fell in love with the look of the Actium by KC but those are near impossible to find and I don't have the patience to wait. So I began looking for an alternative. I narrowed it down to the Windlass and the Gen 2 versions. Both about the same in price with the windlass having a nicer scabbard but the Gen2 having a better grip. To help make my decision I posed a question to you fine fellows who were incredibly helpful so thanks again! Little did I know my wife had already made the decision for me and bought the Windlass.
Historical Overview
The mainz pattern was a slight evolution from the hispaniensis being shorter, a little wider, and a little bit lighter. The gladius was typically used in very close quarters for stabbing the groin or armpits. If neither of those were possible they would attempt a slice at the back of the calf or thigh to cripple the opponent.
Full Disclosure
I have no connection with Windlass or any of their associates that would cause me to biased towards this sword. I received this as a Christmas present from my wife(quite the lady).
Initial Impressions
She bought the sword from Kult of Athena so im sure by now everyone knows that they inspect everything before it leaves and pack it very securely. I did not take a picture of this because just about every one looks the same. It came with a fine layer of grease on the blade which was easy to clean off. A few marks are visible near the top of the blade but would polish out easily. I could not capture these with my camera the light in my house wasn't cooperating and I work third shift so the sun was down when I was taking the pictures. She ordered it sharpened by Kult of Athena and they put a very sharp secondary bevel on it. It is paper cutting sharp for a majority of the blade. I found one spot that was a little duller than the rest shouldn't be hard to fix.
Stats
Total length-27"
Blade length-20"
Grip-3 11/16"
Pommel- 2 1/4" diameter and 7 3/4 circumference (Huge imo)
Weight-listed on KoA at 1lb 12oz my scale has a hard time with anything under 2 so I cant tell you for sure.
Components
I plan on updating this with more pictures when it stops raining and I get a day off. The grip is made of plastic and is the most uncomfortable thing I have ever tried to hold. Use without a glove can leave your hand in a lot of pain. This will be replaced hopefully by next week. The guard is wooden and has a nice grain pattern on it. The pommel is huge and makes swinging the sword very uncomfortable. I am unable to follow through with a cut if I try to use a hammer grip. This forces me to use a handshake grip but the large pommel makes it awkward.
The blade is nice,it has a satin finished with a few marks near the tip that I mentioned earlier. The sheath is wooden with a leather wrap and brass accents. The brass looks nice with an interesting design at the bottom but the fit of the blade is very poor. It doesn't slide all the way in and will take several shims to get it tight.
Made three different new grips for this thing and this is the one I settled on. The first was like most you see with three finger grooves. Fit was fine but the pommel still made the sword difficult for me to handle correctly and my fingers wouldnt line up in the grooves. So I made a second one with just 2 grooves that were slightly angled. I though that might make the handshake grip more comfortable and the pommel less obtrusive. I was wrong . So on to this one. I picked a larger bone that would line up almost perfectly with the edge of the pommel. Thus allowing my wrist freedom from that gigantic pommel. As you can see it will take a little more grinding at the bottom to get it to sit flush but after working on this sword for almost two months now I was ready to have it back together.
Handling
Minus the uncomfortable grip and pommel this sword is very maneuverable. An amazing thruster and sings beautifully with a good swing. It handles about how I would expect a real mainz gladius would. it meets all the size requirements and is almost spot on with the weight if KoA listed it right. 800 grams being accurate and windlass version at 793 grams.
Cutting
I went out and cut about 15 bottles total, started with the easy plastic milk jugs and moved on to harder plastics towards the end. It was raining and I was alone so no video of it. Started out great with the milk jugs took a couple swings to get my edge alignment and distance right. With what I would consider a moderately thick plastic bottle I could get in two cuts before toppling the bottle. Not bad for having such a narrow cutting space and the bottle resting on a soaking wet platform. Once I moved onto the harder plastics I could only get one or as you will see zero cuts before the bottle fell.
These are the better cuts I was able to do with a couple pieces of each type of plastic bottle. At the top you will notice the welchs bottle still intact.
I was able to get about 3/4 of the way through and then it went flying. I thought maybe I had missed the sweet spot on the blade but after inspecting it the wrapper was right where I wanted it. So I tried again with 2 other harder plastic bottles and got the same result. I couldn't let the bottles win so I refilled them stabbed them full of holes and then sliced them to pieces with my KC 28. The thrust is where this thing shines. Each stab would sail through both sides of the bottle and I could easily withdraw the sword without touching the bottle or knocking it off the platform. Once the rain stops I will buy some pool noodles or beach mats and test this thing out again.
Pros
Excellent thruster
Decent cutter for light targets
Historically accurate when it comes to size
Cons
Terrible plastic grip
Large pommel can make handling difficult
Poor fit in the scabbard
Bottom Line
Its good for what I wanted it for; light cutting and display piece. The problems I have with it should be easy and fun to fix. I will make a new grip over christmas if I can find the time. I might reshape the pommel to allow some more room for my hand and add some shims to the scabbard. For a sword that will only cost you $165 from KoA I think its definitely worth it. If you are a fan of the style or the gladius in general and don't want to do any heavy cutting this will definitely meet your needs.
Historical Overview
The mainz pattern was a slight evolution from the hispaniensis being shorter, a little wider, and a little bit lighter. The gladius was typically used in very close quarters for stabbing the groin or armpits. If neither of those were possible they would attempt a slice at the back of the calf or thigh to cripple the opponent.
Full Disclosure
I have no connection with Windlass or any of their associates that would cause me to biased towards this sword. I received this as a Christmas present from my wife(quite the lady).
Initial Impressions
She bought the sword from Kult of Athena so im sure by now everyone knows that they inspect everything before it leaves and pack it very securely. I did not take a picture of this because just about every one looks the same. It came with a fine layer of grease on the blade which was easy to clean off. A few marks are visible near the top of the blade but would polish out easily. I could not capture these with my camera the light in my house wasn't cooperating and I work third shift so the sun was down when I was taking the pictures. She ordered it sharpened by Kult of Athena and they put a very sharp secondary bevel on it. It is paper cutting sharp for a majority of the blade. I found one spot that was a little duller than the rest shouldn't be hard to fix.
Stats
Total length-27"
Blade length-20"
Grip-3 11/16"
Pommel- 2 1/4" diameter and 7 3/4 circumference (Huge imo)
Weight-listed on KoA at 1lb 12oz my scale has a hard time with anything under 2 so I cant tell you for sure.
Components
I plan on updating this with more pictures when it stops raining and I get a day off. The grip is made of plastic and is the most uncomfortable thing I have ever tried to hold. Use without a glove can leave your hand in a lot of pain. This will be replaced hopefully by next week. The guard is wooden and has a nice grain pattern on it. The pommel is huge and makes swinging the sword very uncomfortable. I am unable to follow through with a cut if I try to use a hammer grip. This forces me to use a handshake grip but the large pommel makes it awkward.
The blade is nice,it has a satin finished with a few marks near the tip that I mentioned earlier. The sheath is wooden with a leather wrap and brass accents. The brass looks nice with an interesting design at the bottom but the fit of the blade is very poor. It doesn't slide all the way in and will take several shims to get it tight.
Made three different new grips for this thing and this is the one I settled on. The first was like most you see with three finger grooves. Fit was fine but the pommel still made the sword difficult for me to handle correctly and my fingers wouldnt line up in the grooves. So I made a second one with just 2 grooves that were slightly angled. I though that might make the handshake grip more comfortable and the pommel less obtrusive. I was wrong . So on to this one. I picked a larger bone that would line up almost perfectly with the edge of the pommel. Thus allowing my wrist freedom from that gigantic pommel. As you can see it will take a little more grinding at the bottom to get it to sit flush but after working on this sword for almost two months now I was ready to have it back together.
Handling
Minus the uncomfortable grip and pommel this sword is very maneuverable. An amazing thruster and sings beautifully with a good swing. It handles about how I would expect a real mainz gladius would. it meets all the size requirements and is almost spot on with the weight if KoA listed it right. 800 grams being accurate and windlass version at 793 grams.
Cutting
I went out and cut about 15 bottles total, started with the easy plastic milk jugs and moved on to harder plastics towards the end. It was raining and I was alone so no video of it. Started out great with the milk jugs took a couple swings to get my edge alignment and distance right. With what I would consider a moderately thick plastic bottle I could get in two cuts before toppling the bottle. Not bad for having such a narrow cutting space and the bottle resting on a soaking wet platform. Once I moved onto the harder plastics I could only get one or as you will see zero cuts before the bottle fell.
These are the better cuts I was able to do with a couple pieces of each type of plastic bottle. At the top you will notice the welchs bottle still intact.
I was able to get about 3/4 of the way through and then it went flying. I thought maybe I had missed the sweet spot on the blade but after inspecting it the wrapper was right where I wanted it. So I tried again with 2 other harder plastic bottles and got the same result. I couldn't let the bottles win so I refilled them stabbed them full of holes and then sliced them to pieces with my KC 28. The thrust is where this thing shines. Each stab would sail through both sides of the bottle and I could easily withdraw the sword without touching the bottle or knocking it off the platform. Once the rain stops I will buy some pool noodles or beach mats and test this thing out again.
Pros
Excellent thruster
Decent cutter for light targets
Historically accurate when it comes to size
Cons
Terrible plastic grip
Large pommel can make handling difficult
Poor fit in the scabbard
Bottom Line
Its good for what I wanted it for; light cutting and display piece. The problems I have with it should be easy and fun to fix. I will make a new grip over christmas if I can find the time. I might reshape the pommel to allow some more room for my hand and add some shims to the scabbard. For a sword that will only cost you $165 from KoA I think its definitely worth it. If you are a fan of the style or the gladius in general and don't want to do any heavy cutting this will definitely meet your needs.