Size Matters I: A&A "Chuck Norris" GBS
May 31, 2012 10:55:00 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 31, 2012 10:55:00 GMT
Arms & Armor "Chuck Norris" German Bastard Sword: I can. You can't.
by Filippo "Kittenslayer/Baby Baboon" Fantini, 31 May 2012
To each his own. The knight had the knightly sword, the hunter had the hunting sword, the bastard had the bastard sword.. every weapon is the result of the particular context it has been engineered for. So what was a sword like this engineered for and who wielded it? Just thinking..
Nowadays, every man that has climbed the Everest in shorts while having frozen yogurt or sleeps with "Lorena Bobbitt and the Castratorettes" or that kick-happy Duster-wearing Sheriff-impersonating martial artist can legitimately claim to have right to own a sword like this ("Phew..it's not that large") but back then its owners would have been a bunch called the Landesknechtes.
TECHNICAL OVERVIEW
Steel: 6150. It's a TOUGH, very well tempered steel..I say that because the sword came with the tip a little rolled (I straightened it, obviously). When the steel is correctly tempered it just bends, not breaks.
Sword lenght: 56,10 inches (143,5 cm)
Blade: Oakeshott XVIIIc, 2,125 inches wide (5,3 cm) at the base and 42,30" long (107,5 cm). The distal tapering is very subtle, but evident. Obviously if you want a good handling sword of this dimensions, you'll have to make the blade thin. Another thing worth mentioning is that the blade seem to taper more than a standard GBS towards the end..BUT since it is longer the width is the same, the tapering influences only the few inches it gained when compared to a standard one.
Guard style: Dunno. the beautiful crossguard is writhen all along with two big rings for half-swording (or "chainsaw wielding"). the finials are writhen too. A big surprise, eh?
Grip: VERY thick hourglass grip with a "gothic" hemp rope X under the leather cover. Seriously guys, this sword can't be gripped by just everyone.. HUGE hands only. The BEST grip I ever tried. Just under 11.5" long (28,5 cm). The seam is visible but well-done.
Pommel: A big ball of steel, 2,375" in diameter. A worthy counterbalance for such an imposing blade. It is beautifully sculpted into what looks like..vegetation..the curse of Brian Kunz's pansy pommels still lingers heavily in here. However, you don't want to be stricken by a pommel like this. Believe me.
Weight: 5,20 lbs (2,35 kg). I couldn't believe it when handling it.
The flex on the Chuck Norris can be compared to that of a not-flexy XII-XIII.. that means that it can eat all the targets such broad blades can take plus still being able to thrust an armored man like a roasted chicken at Oktoberfest in Munich like it's not even there. They have WALLS of roasted chickens at Oktoberfest.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Landesknechtes.. if you want a mental picture in order to better understand the subject just take a mid 1500 AD guy clothed like a Rio de Janeiro Drag Queen during the Carnival and give him a polearm or a big sword like this one or the Albion Maximilian. Then add a life of violence, rapes and self-destruction (in no particular order) and here you got your Lanzee. Or Football player.
DYNAMICAL OVERVIEW
There's NO way this is an almost 2,5 kg sword.. NO way. Feels a LOT more like an oversized Earl than a Svante.. the Chuck Norris is a PERFECT Montante for German swordsmanship. Unbelievable.. it almost floats. Not trusting my mighty arms I gave the sword in the hands of a girl (who had troubles gripping it being that thick) who was able to swing it to good velocity without straining her shoulders by the least. I can easily grip it one-handed, even a little bit easily that with the Svante!
Talking about blade presence seem superfluous (and it is..) but what captured my attention is its thrusting potential.. you can poke with remarkable ease, it is a precision tool.. and the fact that this aspect can be further improved putting two fingers in the sidering renders this sword more like a polearm than the big brute cleaver I imagined. Weapon of that time were really improvement over the simpler XII-XIII..this sword can cut the same things of its broader cousin (..and then some..) and be a terrific poker.
Overall, refined implement of destruction.
TEST CUTTING
No. Dan Dickinson did some test cutting, ask him if you are curious. I really shouldn't have this.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Chuck Norris is what I call an half-custom.. basically Vay Duong (the previous owner) told Craig to take a standard GBS and make it bigger..the gothic touches are there, but those are aesthetic refinements. The levels of fit and finish are amazing, with that "Deltin-esque" flair that set A&A's swords apart from a pristine Albion or a deliberately machined Atrim. They look..human. Made by humans. There's the fact that in these times of price rising from Albion, A&A is beginning to look more and more appealing to my eyes..their customs are of slightly better quality than their standard line quality being more treated in the details and with the intention to satisfy a picky custom-oriented customer. As I'm writing I have a performance-oriented custom Medici ffalchion being made by those folks and I know I won't regret it.
by Filippo "Kittenslayer/Baby Baboon" Fantini, 31 May 2012
To each his own. The knight had the knightly sword, the hunter had the hunting sword, the bastard had the bastard sword.. every weapon is the result of the particular context it has been engineered for. So what was a sword like this engineered for and who wielded it? Just thinking..
Nowadays, every man that has climbed the Everest in shorts while having frozen yogurt or sleeps with "Lorena Bobbitt and the Castratorettes" or that kick-happy Duster-wearing Sheriff-impersonating martial artist can legitimately claim to have right to own a sword like this ("Phew..it's not that large") but back then its owners would have been a bunch called the Landesknechtes.
TECHNICAL OVERVIEW
Steel: 6150. It's a TOUGH, very well tempered steel..I say that because the sword came with the tip a little rolled (I straightened it, obviously). When the steel is correctly tempered it just bends, not breaks.
Sword lenght: 56,10 inches (143,5 cm)
Blade: Oakeshott XVIIIc, 2,125 inches wide (5,3 cm) at the base and 42,30" long (107,5 cm). The distal tapering is very subtle, but evident. Obviously if you want a good handling sword of this dimensions, you'll have to make the blade thin. Another thing worth mentioning is that the blade seem to taper more than a standard GBS towards the end..BUT since it is longer the width is the same, the tapering influences only the few inches it gained when compared to a standard one.
Guard style: Dunno. the beautiful crossguard is writhen all along with two big rings for half-swording (or "chainsaw wielding"). the finials are writhen too. A big surprise, eh?
Grip: VERY thick hourglass grip with a "gothic" hemp rope X under the leather cover. Seriously guys, this sword can't be gripped by just everyone.. HUGE hands only. The BEST grip I ever tried. Just under 11.5" long (28,5 cm). The seam is visible but well-done.
Pommel: A big ball of steel, 2,375" in diameter. A worthy counterbalance for such an imposing blade. It is beautifully sculpted into what looks like..vegetation..the curse of Brian Kunz's pansy pommels still lingers heavily in here. However, you don't want to be stricken by a pommel like this. Believe me.
Weight: 5,20 lbs (2,35 kg). I couldn't believe it when handling it.
The flex on the Chuck Norris can be compared to that of a not-flexy XII-XIII.. that means that it can eat all the targets such broad blades can take plus still being able to thrust an armored man like a roasted chicken at Oktoberfest in Munich like it's not even there. They have WALLS of roasted chickens at Oktoberfest.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Landesknechtes.. if you want a mental picture in order to better understand the subject just take a mid 1500 AD guy clothed like a Rio de Janeiro Drag Queen during the Carnival and give him a polearm or a big sword like this one or the Albion Maximilian. Then add a life of violence, rapes and self-destruction (in no particular order) and here you got your Lanzee. Or Football player.
DYNAMICAL OVERVIEW
There's NO way this is an almost 2,5 kg sword.. NO way. Feels a LOT more like an oversized Earl than a Svante.. the Chuck Norris is a PERFECT Montante for German swordsmanship. Unbelievable.. it almost floats. Not trusting my mighty arms I gave the sword in the hands of a girl (who had troubles gripping it being that thick) who was able to swing it to good velocity without straining her shoulders by the least. I can easily grip it one-handed, even a little bit easily that with the Svante!
Talking about blade presence seem superfluous (and it is..) but what captured my attention is its thrusting potential.. you can poke with remarkable ease, it is a precision tool.. and the fact that this aspect can be further improved putting two fingers in the sidering renders this sword more like a polearm than the big brute cleaver I imagined. Weapon of that time were really improvement over the simpler XII-XIII..this sword can cut the same things of its broader cousin (..and then some..) and be a terrific poker.
Overall, refined implement of destruction.
TEST CUTTING
No. Dan Dickinson did some test cutting, ask him if you are curious. I really shouldn't have this.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Chuck Norris is what I call an half-custom.. basically Vay Duong (the previous owner) told Craig to take a standard GBS and make it bigger..the gothic touches are there, but those are aesthetic refinements. The levels of fit and finish are amazing, with that "Deltin-esque" flair that set A&A's swords apart from a pristine Albion or a deliberately machined Atrim. They look..human. Made by humans. There's the fact that in these times of price rising from Albion, A&A is beginning to look more and more appealing to my eyes..their customs are of slightly better quality than their standard line quality being more treated in the details and with the intention to satisfy a picky custom-oriented customer. As I'm writing I have a performance-oriented custom Medici ffalchion being made by those folks and I know I won't regret it.