Odinblade Longship Line Steerboard
Feb 8, 2012 3:45:10 GMT
Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Feb 8, 2012 3:45:10 GMT
OdinBlades Longship Line Steerboard Sword
Sean O Stevens, Grovetown GA
Introduction
It was not so long ago that John Lundemo (Owner/Creator of Odinblades AKA 'the Odin Dude') announced that he was going to do a line of semi-production swords, with cast bronze fittings as opposed to his typical hand carved steel. Many of us began frothing at the mouth at the prospect. I, for one, had advocated before to him that he should just keep some swords in stock as opposed to making them on a commission by commission basis... because I know many collectors who would love to own an Odin Blade... but don't like the wait associated with custom swords. They want it and they want it now. I was sure anything he kept stocked would not last long because those sort of buyers would jump on them.
Still... a semi-production line of swords was even an even cooler concept then that.
John Partnered with James Fang for the Longship Line... and the infamous 'GreyBeard' (John Downham) made the bronze fittings. cast off originals carved by Mr. Lundemo himself. The goal being to create a line with a large but limited run that customers could buy from, knowing exactly what they were getting beforehand. Also, with the fittings being cast John could produce them more quickly... which is good news for impatient collectors.
Already having a couple Odinblades... I knew i would be wanting some of the new Longship line. Also... I knew this would be VERY big for the sword collecting community, as it made owning an Odinblade easier and accessible to more people then before. I wanted to be a part of it... so I grabbed a handful of the first batch to review.
This sword, the Steerboard, I got along with the Landlord sword as a matched set. Thus I had the same upturned guard, fishtail pommel... and green leather grips done to each. I don't know why... but I have wanted a matched set of long and arming sword for some time now.
Historical overview
The Steerboard seems to me to be a XIIa by Oakeshott's typology. The 'Big Brother' to the type XII... which is fitting... as this ones little brother, the Landlord, is such a XII. Like its 'little brother' the type XII, the type XIIa was common during the Middle Ages and shares the same properties as the XII, except bigger.
Full Disclosure
I bought this sword with my own money... and received no consideration or influence in regards to this review. I have bought swords from John before... and have had correspondence with him via e-mail many times.
Initial Impressions
The first thing you notice about this, or any Odinblade, is the packaging. Just take a look...
He builds a wooden create for his swords! Having bought from him before, this was not a surprise... but it still impresses me. The swords are packed in there so solidly that even the ham-handed USPS would be hard pressed to damage them. I've noticed this level of care with shipping is something custom makers tend to do... and its one of the many reasons going custom is so appealing. When someone puts so much care into crafting something... they want to make sure it makes it to its new owner intact.
After digging the Steerboard out of its packaging, the first thing that surprised me was the width of the blade. I'm not sure why... but I thought it was wider, bigger... more of a Greatsword/Warsword. In fact its not very wide at all, less so then its little brother the Landlord... more of a Longsword then a Greatsword.
After that... I moved it around a bit and found it to be VERY responsive. I thought the furniture was REALLY well done and attractive... I was VERY pleased with the overall appearance of the sword.
Also interesting is that the Longship Line is going to come with certificates of authenticity. These state which sword your Longship blade is, what number in the limited run they are, and are signed and dated by John Lundemo.
Statistics
Weight: 3lbs
Overall Length: 46 & 1/4th inches
Blade Length: 35 & 1/2 inches
Grip Length: 7 & 13/16ths inches
Blade Width (At Base): 1 & 15/16ths inches
Blade Width (One inch from tip): 12/16ths an inch
Center Of Balance: 5 inches
Components
The Blade
The blade on the Steerboard is clean and crisp... with a sharp and well blended edge as all of John's swords have. The profile taper is subtle and slow.
The Guard
The guard is made of darkened bronze, and is well cast. It is fitted to both the grip and the blade very well without any rattle. The upturned quilions are very elegant and attractive to me.
The Pommel
The pommel is a very well done Fishtail, in darkened cast bronze like the guard. The same pommel as on my Verrimus and Landlord... a family of Odinblades. The peen is visible, steel over bronze. As with the guard everything is solid and well fit.
The Grip
Grip on the Steerboard is GREAT. It has a bottle shape with more taper on the bottom half then the top. Very comfortable. Two center risers make the separation. The seam does wander a bit, but is not too noticeable visually unless you stick your face next to it, and you can't feel it in hand. Also... Green!
Handling Characteristics
The Steerboard is a dream to swing around. It reminded me a lot of my old Atrim 1562... which is a very good thing as everyone knows how well Atrim swords perform and handle. It moves quickly from guard to guard... is very manageable in one hand for cuts tho point control suffers without both hands to stabilize. It can produce powerful cuts in both hands. An all around excellent longsword.
Test Cutting
I can not even tell you how much fun cutting with the Steerboard is. It is my favorite of the Longship Line swords to cut with... as you can see I got several silent cuts. Its fast and nimble and also powerful and sturdy. I have a habit of hitting the caps on bottles it seems... no edge damage to the Steerboard.
Awesome!
Conclusions
The Longship line is a VERY exciting venture... and i think a lot of people who might not have had the chance to own an Odinblade before will get to now. All of those who are a bit leery of going custom will hopefully be able to buy a Longship Line sword when they have some in stock... and they will get to see just what an amazing sword smith like John Lundemo can do.
The Steerboard is an epic win. If I'm honest... this sword was the one I was least interested in of all the Longship line swords I got. I mainly got it just to match the Landlord. However... it has impressed me far more then I expected it to. The blade is very simple to look at... the sword just a XIIa longsword... nothing so special as the LeafBlade Morrigan or the Saber/Katana Verrimus... but once you take this sword in hand and start cutting with it... its amazing.
What a happy surprise.
Pros
Amazing Odinblade quality with a slightly smaller price.
Options... you can mix guards, pommels, grip color, make small changes in blade length in some cases.
Top notch service... from packing and shipping to James keeping in touch.
For those Leary of custom work unknowns, the Longship Line gives you a strong sense of what you will get.
Amazing Handling Longsword!
Cons
The a good value in custom blades, the price is higher then some can afford for a sword.
Bronze fittings might not appeal to everyone.
The Bottom Line
I think the Longship Line is one of the best ideas to hit the sword collection community in some time. Right up there with What Sonny Suttles did with Valiant Armory and the Custom Sword Shoppe, and Tried and True Armory for atrims, the Longship Line is going to make amazing Odinblade quality swords available to a much larger group of collectors then was possible before... and that is a VERY good thing.
The Steerboard might not be the first sword that pops into everyones mind who is considering a Longship line sword... its the quiet 'girl next door' of the bunch. However, I promise you, if you like a good longsword... ask her out and the Steerboard will rock your world.
Thanks for reading!
Sean O Stevens, Grovetown GA
Introduction
It was not so long ago that John Lundemo (Owner/Creator of Odinblades AKA 'the Odin Dude') announced that he was going to do a line of semi-production swords, with cast bronze fittings as opposed to his typical hand carved steel. Many of us began frothing at the mouth at the prospect. I, for one, had advocated before to him that he should just keep some swords in stock as opposed to making them on a commission by commission basis... because I know many collectors who would love to own an Odin Blade... but don't like the wait associated with custom swords. They want it and they want it now. I was sure anything he kept stocked would not last long because those sort of buyers would jump on them.
Still... a semi-production line of swords was even an even cooler concept then that.
John Partnered with James Fang for the Longship Line... and the infamous 'GreyBeard' (John Downham) made the bronze fittings. cast off originals carved by Mr. Lundemo himself. The goal being to create a line with a large but limited run that customers could buy from, knowing exactly what they were getting beforehand. Also, with the fittings being cast John could produce them more quickly... which is good news for impatient collectors.
Already having a couple Odinblades... I knew i would be wanting some of the new Longship line. Also... I knew this would be VERY big for the sword collecting community, as it made owning an Odinblade easier and accessible to more people then before. I wanted to be a part of it... so I grabbed a handful of the first batch to review.
This sword, the Steerboard, I got along with the Landlord sword as a matched set. Thus I had the same upturned guard, fishtail pommel... and green leather grips done to each. I don't know why... but I have wanted a matched set of long and arming sword for some time now.
Historical overview
The Steerboard seems to me to be a XIIa by Oakeshott's typology. The 'Big Brother' to the type XII... which is fitting... as this ones little brother, the Landlord, is such a XII. Like its 'little brother' the type XII, the type XIIa was common during the Middle Ages and shares the same properties as the XII, except bigger.
Full Disclosure
I bought this sword with my own money... and received no consideration or influence in regards to this review. I have bought swords from John before... and have had correspondence with him via e-mail many times.
Initial Impressions
The first thing you notice about this, or any Odinblade, is the packaging. Just take a look...
He builds a wooden create for his swords! Having bought from him before, this was not a surprise... but it still impresses me. The swords are packed in there so solidly that even the ham-handed USPS would be hard pressed to damage them. I've noticed this level of care with shipping is something custom makers tend to do... and its one of the many reasons going custom is so appealing. When someone puts so much care into crafting something... they want to make sure it makes it to its new owner intact.
After digging the Steerboard out of its packaging, the first thing that surprised me was the width of the blade. I'm not sure why... but I thought it was wider, bigger... more of a Greatsword/Warsword. In fact its not very wide at all, less so then its little brother the Landlord... more of a Longsword then a Greatsword.
After that... I moved it around a bit and found it to be VERY responsive. I thought the furniture was REALLY well done and attractive... I was VERY pleased with the overall appearance of the sword.
Also interesting is that the Longship Line is going to come with certificates of authenticity. These state which sword your Longship blade is, what number in the limited run they are, and are signed and dated by John Lundemo.
Statistics
Weight: 3lbs
Overall Length: 46 & 1/4th inches
Blade Length: 35 & 1/2 inches
Grip Length: 7 & 13/16ths inches
Blade Width (At Base): 1 & 15/16ths inches
Blade Width (One inch from tip): 12/16ths an inch
Center Of Balance: 5 inches
Components
The Blade
The blade on the Steerboard is clean and crisp... with a sharp and well blended edge as all of John's swords have. The profile taper is subtle and slow.
The Guard
The guard is made of darkened bronze, and is well cast. It is fitted to both the grip and the blade very well without any rattle. The upturned quilions are very elegant and attractive to me.
The Pommel
The pommel is a very well done Fishtail, in darkened cast bronze like the guard. The same pommel as on my Verrimus and Landlord... a family of Odinblades. The peen is visible, steel over bronze. As with the guard everything is solid and well fit.
The Grip
Grip on the Steerboard is GREAT. It has a bottle shape with more taper on the bottom half then the top. Very comfortable. Two center risers make the separation. The seam does wander a bit, but is not too noticeable visually unless you stick your face next to it, and you can't feel it in hand. Also... Green!
Handling Characteristics
The Steerboard is a dream to swing around. It reminded me a lot of my old Atrim 1562... which is a very good thing as everyone knows how well Atrim swords perform and handle. It moves quickly from guard to guard... is very manageable in one hand for cuts tho point control suffers without both hands to stabilize. It can produce powerful cuts in both hands. An all around excellent longsword.
Test Cutting
I can not even tell you how much fun cutting with the Steerboard is. It is my favorite of the Longship Line swords to cut with... as you can see I got several silent cuts. Its fast and nimble and also powerful and sturdy. I have a habit of hitting the caps on bottles it seems... no edge damage to the Steerboard.
Awesome!
Conclusions
The Longship line is a VERY exciting venture... and i think a lot of people who might not have had the chance to own an Odinblade before will get to now. All of those who are a bit leery of going custom will hopefully be able to buy a Longship Line sword when they have some in stock... and they will get to see just what an amazing sword smith like John Lundemo can do.
The Steerboard is an epic win. If I'm honest... this sword was the one I was least interested in of all the Longship line swords I got. I mainly got it just to match the Landlord. However... it has impressed me far more then I expected it to. The blade is very simple to look at... the sword just a XIIa longsword... nothing so special as the LeafBlade Morrigan or the Saber/Katana Verrimus... but once you take this sword in hand and start cutting with it... its amazing.
What a happy surprise.
Pros
Amazing Odinblade quality with a slightly smaller price.
Options... you can mix guards, pommels, grip color, make small changes in blade length in some cases.
Top notch service... from packing and shipping to James keeping in touch.
For those Leary of custom work unknowns, the Longship Line gives you a strong sense of what you will get.
Amazing Handling Longsword!
Cons
The a good value in custom blades, the price is higher then some can afford for a sword.
Bronze fittings might not appeal to everyone.
The Bottom Line
I think the Longship Line is one of the best ideas to hit the sword collection community in some time. Right up there with What Sonny Suttles did with Valiant Armory and the Custom Sword Shoppe, and Tried and True Armory for atrims, the Longship Line is going to make amazing Odinblade quality swords available to a much larger group of collectors then was possible before... and that is a VERY good thing.
The Steerboard might not be the first sword that pops into everyones mind who is considering a Longship line sword... its the quiet 'girl next door' of the bunch. However, I promise you, if you like a good longsword... ask her out and the Steerboard will rock your world.
Thanks for reading!