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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2012 21:47:51 GMT
Well, I just received my tinker bastard sword (fullered) on Friday and I've been playing with it quite a bit. Now mind you, this is my first 'real' European style sword, so bear that in mind. Since this sword has been reviewed so much on this site, I will keep this review short and sweet. Below are my strong and weak points:
Strengths Price!!! Handling is exceptional with either one or both hands 5160 spring steel Beautiful design - very aesthetically pleasing (in my mind, the classic looking euro sword) Blade is very firm - no whippiness or whobbles (which I strongly dislike) Outstanding thrusting capabilities right out of the box, you can practically touch something and pierce it Very good cutter once sharpened Maintains edge very well. Even after use on various targets (and with my usual brute force lack of technique), my blade maintained its paper cutting sharpness.
Weaknesses The scabbard can actually dull your blade and needs to me modified
There are really not many weaknesses with this sword, and you really have to get picky to find anything. I looked mine over very carefully and didn't find anything out of alignment (I may have just gotten lucky here). The first thing I did was weight the sword on my food scale without the scabbard, and it came out a bit heavier than advertised at 2 lbs, 8.7 ounces (mind you, this is the fullered version). That's fine with me, as I said before the handling is remarkable. The sword came pretty dull but the blade geometry is very good in my inexperienced opinion, and I was able to put a very sharp paper cutting edge on it in about an hour. I then used it fairly heaving last night and today and needless to say my blade is all scuffed up and scratched. I don't mind that, as it I bought it to use and I'm pretty good at buffing out scratches using the Pauls methods described in his sword care section. It is very good at cutting small bottles and 2 liter bottles, and I also cut through my homemade tatami mats (densely rolled paper) with relative ease. I couldn't cut all the way through a very thick 'mat' I had made, but considering it was almost 5 inches diameter (over 19 in circumference, probably the average human leg), this did not surprise me. And as Mr. Pearce had informed me, these were meant to be cut and thrust swords, so in that regard it really does cut very well for its type. I also cut through numerous cardboard boxes, and easily cut straight through the box it came in with a one handed cut.
The only downside is the scabbard, which looks find but the opening is too small for the blade and is lined with metal. When you draw the sword you can actually hear the metal on metal contact (scraping), so I immediately took a small metal file and filed away the sides. In about 5 minutes I had that issue totally resolved.
Overall, I feel that the sword is an absolute steal for what I paid for it ($175 at Kult of Athena). It has really surpassed all my expectations and I certainly plan on buying other swords from the Tinker Hanwei line in the future.
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Aaron
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Post by Aaron on Jan 8, 2012 2:40:28 GMT
Thanks for the write-up, JJ. It handles as well as many swords several times its cost, but suffers in the details. They obviously cut corners with the fittings, leather, polish and scabbards but nothing is unbearably lacking (except that damn scabbard throat). They deliver an excellent blade for a great price, really shows what can be done in the sub-200 market. And with a bit of extra cash all the fit and finish problems can be dealt with and you end up with a pretty incredible piece.
If you're thinking of trying out some of the other H/T's, take a look at the Norman. I wasn't too thrilled with the looks of it at first, but I got one in hand and, in my opinion, it blows away the EMSHS.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2012 14:03:22 GMT
Thanks for the suggestion Aaron! It's funny you mentioned it, because I was eyeballing both the Tinker Norman and the Tinker Viking as a future purchase. BTW- whats an EMSHS? Don't forget I'm still a newbie!
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 8, 2012 14:16:14 GMT
Early Medieval Single Hand Sword. I've got Aaron's old one and it's a real sweet handling little sword, so if he says the Norman blows it away, I'd be inclined to believe him.
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Aaron
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Post by Aaron on Jan 8, 2012 14:31:30 GMT
Vincent's right, it's the Early Medieval. The EMSHS is a nice little sword, love the look of it. In the end I think it suffers more than the rest of the H/T line for the slim grip. The Bastard has an equally thin grip but it doesn't cause concern, with the EMSHS I just could not get a comfortable grip on it. The large diameter wheel pommel didn't help (which is funny because I loved the Norman, which has an even beefier pommel, but lacks the grip issue). With a new grip and a different pommel, I think I would have a largely positive feeling toward the EMSHS, but out of the box I feel the Norman is a better sword. I can't give an opinion on the Viking, haven't owned one. Opinions seem to be favorable but that might mean nothing to you; everyone raves about the EMSHS but I found it lackluster to handle (for the aforementioned reasons). My opinion will likely differ greatly from yours, as well. The only solution is experience. At least these aren't expensive swords, and if you get one that doesn't tickle your fancy, flipping it in the classifieds is usually quick and smooth.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 8, 2012 14:35:57 GMT
Like Aaron said, the Viking's reviews have been mostly favorable; the only real concern I've heard is in regards to the hilt digging into the wrist, which is a concern with almost every Viking style sword.
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jhart06
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Post by jhart06 on Jan 8, 2012 14:46:01 GMT
So, not to thread-jack, but the EMSHS mainly has a thin grip and largish pommel?
How hard would it be to take the current pommel to say a grind wheel or the like and shape/shorten it for a better fit, and make a new grip?
I'm not like to afford any of the 'next steps up' as I'd like, so an HT I could switch for blunt or sharp is ideal really. And the EMSHS is close to what I already use on stage, so itd be nice.
Good impressions, and thanks for sharing them, new or not! They are just as valuable as anyone elses, so please keep sharin!
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Aaron
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Post by Aaron on Jan 8, 2012 14:50:58 GMT
I think you'd lose the harmonics if you did that to the pommel. The best solution I came up with is to have a type J styled pommel made (or find one) that matches the weight/is within a couple ounces. That way you keep the same blade dynamics that Tinker designed. Something akin to the Albion Knight or VA Crusader.
And many people may not have any problem with the pommel, I just found it too flat and too large in diameter.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 8, 2012 15:09:16 GMT
Well, the thin grip is only a real problem if you've got larger hands. I've got medium sized hands and I only found it to be a little thin; with gloves, that went away completely. Of course, I'm also used to the bulky size of a bokken handle. The pommel on mine measures 2 1/8" (which, oddly enough, isn't that much larger than most of the wheel pommels on swords I design), whereas, if my estimates are correct (since I don't have one in hand), pommels on swords like the VA Crusader that Aaron mentioned are 1 5/8" in diameter, so it's about a half inch larger. I haven't found it to be an issue, but that could be because of my hand size and my inexperience.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2012 18:10:02 GMT
I agree, I really didn't have any issues with the thin grip. I was just happy I could get both hands on it without any of my fingers having to hang off the pommel or bump the crossguard. I have medium sized hands though.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know anything about these swords (the Tinker line) from a historical perspective? The tinker bastard sword looks like the 'archtypical medieval' sword to me, but what time period would you say it was inspired from? My completely wild guess would be anywhere from 1350 through 1500.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Jan 10, 2012 18:29:54 GMT
The Tinker longsword and bastard are more or less late medieval/early Renaissance-- 1500s ish, plus or minus fifty-odd years either way. The Early Medieval is, well, early medieval but you could probably have seen similar swords in use all the way into the Renaissance. The Norman is more definitely 900's-1100's, and the Viking 800's-1000's.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2012 23:41:05 GMT
Thanks for that info! Do they tend to be fairly historically accurate?
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SeanF
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Post by SeanF on Jan 11, 2012 6:19:55 GMT
The hex nut assembly is going to be an automatic turn off for anyone who is really into historical accuracy.
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jhart06
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Post by jhart06 on Jan 11, 2012 7:05:38 GMT
Other than that, yeah, they're pretty good on accuracy. The hex nut is no better or worse than a peen, and for me, is preferable in some situations, such as a basic H/T sword... You can develop various grips and furniture and have a multitude of swords from one!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2012 0:23:21 GMT
You might have to correct me here because I could be totally mistaken. But, I do sort of favor the nut pommel too because the handle assembly can be taken apart, allowing customization of the handle (or replacement of handle if it broke). With a peened sword, the handle assembly cannot be taken apart, right? I know the peened pommel is more historically accurate, but is there any advantage?
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jhart06
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Post by jhart06 on Jan 12, 2012 0:32:24 GMT
Some will say the peened construction is stronger. And perhaps to the rigors of the elder days it was.
But if a company like Atrim and the H/T line of swords from Hanwei can become so popular among the community and have an excellent reputation for quality and toughness, then I can't say the peen is stronger, and if it is, its strength would be wasted for most uses.
Short and simple: the peen holds no true advantage over the hex nut assembly, when done right, excepting it is more historically accurate.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on Jan 12, 2012 0:42:38 GMT
A peened construction where the guard and pommel are individually fitted to the tang (like Albion's method) places less stress on the grip core than a hex nut construction, since there are no compression forces at play. You can replace a broken grip on a well-peened sword just as easily as on one with a hex nut, and it's probably less likely to break in the first place. (Not all peens are done well, though) A peened sword is more historically accurate for most swords, and many say it looks better.
The advantage of the hex nut is that it is easy to tighten up if an assembly loosens overtime, which is much more difficult to do with a peened sword. It also makes swapping out grips and guards and whatnot very simple.
Basically if your sword looks the way you want it to always look when it arrives, then there are some good advantages to the peen or permanent assembly. Otherwise, a hex nut is much more versatile.
The strength of the systems is variable, since sword quality is as well. A keyed-pommel-and-hex-nut construction is much stronger than a poorly done peen. A really well-done peen is as strong or stronger than most anything.
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Jan 12, 2012 0:46:56 GMT
i have the viking, its awesome, only con is it comes duller than my grandmothers butterknives (true story, her butterknives cut better than the viking did out of box) it handles very fast for a viking sword, its a WICKED thruster, and a pretty darn solid Flop free sword.
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