Lutel 15021
Sept 28, 2012 20:38:27 GMT
Post by Ninjadave89 on Sept 28, 2012 20:38:27 GMT
Lutel 15021
When Lutel had a 10% discount on all their swords way back in May I decided it was about time to try out a European sword actually made in Europe. I hadn’t really known a lot about Lutel but all the reviews I found seemed to be positive so I took the plunge and ordered a sword from their website www.lutel-handicraft.com. Although Lutel will allow you to mix and match hilt parts and blade types I decided to go for one of their stock models, the 15021. After selling most of my hand and halfs I thought I should get a new one, and the 15021 immediately stood out to me. It was quite a wait, ordered in May and it was stated as usually shipping in 2 months but received in late September. This isn’t really a problem as you can never be exact when things are being hand made, and they kept me up to date on my order the whole time.
When it arrived I was actually quite annoyed. It took me 20 minutes to get to the sword! It was without doubt the best packed sword I have ever bought. I had to destroy most of the box and was then greeted by multiple layers of polystyrene before I finally got to the sword which was completely rolled up in plastic!
Historical overview.
Not really sure where this sword fits historically. I didn’t buy it for its historical accuracy so I didn’t really research the type. I imagine this type of sword would have seen a lot of use in duels but would be equally at home on the battlefield. Lutel’s website states that it is a central European style longsword from around 1490, so let’s go with that!
Full Disclosure
I bought this sword with my own money and have no affiliation with Lutel Handicraft.
Initial Impressions
First impressions were very good, the sword was a lot bigger than I had expected! I had heard that Lutel make their swords on the heavy side to make them tougher than average, more than likely to cater for WMA practitioners. This was definitely the heaviest longsword I have owned, and it doesn’t have a lot of distal taper (but it does have a bit). Nevertheless, it is very well balanced and is not unwieldy at all. I personally like the higher weight, it makes the whole sword seem more solid and dependable to me.
Stats
Blade length – 37.5 inches
Handle length – 7.3 inches
Total length – 48.5 inches
Blade width at guard – 4.5cm
Guard width – 10 inches
P.O.B – 4 inches from guard
C.O.P – 22 inches
Weight – 3lbs 5oz
(with scabbard 4lbs)
Blade
A longer blade than I am used to, and very different to my H/T longsword. It has a good amount of flex and held out straight the blade drops about 1cm. It is in no way whippy, but at the same time not very rigid. I believe this is about right for a sword with this blade length. I do not know what type of steel is used but it seems to be very good quality. It is tempered to 48HRC which may seem a bit low compared to Albions and ATrims but I think it is similar to the hardness that historical weapons may have been. It has a nice satin finish and is very sharp. A nice surprise is that there is no secondary bevel, just a very nicely done appleseed edge that slices through paper easily. The fuller runs about half the length of the blade and starts just above the guard. A lot of people don’t like this but I don’t mind, in fact I think it looks quite nice. You can ask Lutel to make the fuller run under the guard and I believe they will do it at no extra charge. I was recently looking at Ewart Oakeshotte’s records of the medieval sword and saw pics of a few swords with fullers that stop before the guard, so as it can be found historically I decided to keep it as it is. I’m not a big fan of the thick ricasso but it doesn’t seem to affect the handling, and as I wasn’t looking for full historical accuracy (that’s what Albion is for after all) it is not a problem.
One thing I would like to mention is the tang. Normally I don’t go anywhere near a sword with a weld on any part of the tang, I just don’t trust welds on sword blades. This though, is one hell of a weld! The very thick threaded rod is slotted into the upper part of the tang and then welded on. This looks extremely secure and the weld is not at a major stress point. Plus I have never heard of a Lutel failing so I have no worries about it. I added a pencil in one of the photos just to show how thick the threaded rod is, much thicker than any Windlass I have seen.
Handle
Wood covered in a single thin strip of leather wrapped neatly around the handle. It is wine bottle shaped and is surprisingly comfortable in hand. It is quite a thick handle so it may be a bit awkward to grip for people with small hands.
Guard
One of my favourite aspects of this sword. I think it is called an s-guard. I like the fact that it doesn’t look like it was a straight guard that’s been twisted, but actually made in the style if that makes sense. Also has some nice designs on each end of the guard.
Pommel
Onion shaped. If you have to have a threaded pommel I think these are the best type. Simply because after tightening the assembly up quite a few times you wouldn’t have to worry about a misaligned pommel. It also lengthens the handle by an extra inch and is very comfortable when you have to grab the pommel during cutting. I imagine the hilt pieces are mild steel, but I’m not sure.
Scabbard
Lutel includes a scabbard and sword belt with their weapons unless you state that you don’t want them. I guess you could call them simple scabbards as they are not wood cored or very fancy but they sure are better than any scabbard I’ve got with any production sword so far. The leather is top quality and the belt and buckles don’t feel like they would fall apart anytime soon. The chape is well made and secure. The only criticism I can find (very minor) is that the metal plate thing at the top of the scabbard is a bit roughly finished, but I didn’t even notice that until I looked closely at the photos. Oh and its bright red which makes it look great in good light.
Handling Characteristics
It’s an interesting sword to use. It feels heavy and a bit cumbersome until you start doing some drills and putting the sword into motion, at which time it comes alive and can be manoeuvred very easily. Although it can be swung around quite quickly, I wouldn’t say it was a light and nimble sword, more like something in between a longsword and war sword. You get the feeling it could cleave through anything but at the same time can recover quickly and has good point control. I imagine this is due in part to the POB being quite close to the guard. As with any sword, it just takes some getting used to and I don’t think it would take a lot of time to become confident in using it.
Test Cutting
This was the first time I had cut with this sword, and although it was a bit difficult to begin with, it was quite easy to get the hang of after a few cuts.
Conclusion
I have been very surprised by the quality of this sword. I guess I expected something just above a windlass in terms of quality. It’s actually more like a nice Del Tin except that you can choose which hilt parts you want, as well as the handle/scabbard colours and what type of sword belt.
Pros
• Solid sword
• Very sharp
• Scabbard and sword belt included
• Nice attention to detail
• Very good price for what you get
• Good communication from Lutel
• Very good cutter on heavier targets
Cons
• Threaded pommel (I believe Lutel can peen the pommel if you ask them)
• Wait time (will vary from piece to piece)
• A bit on the heavy side
Thanks for reading, let me know if I missed anything.
When Lutel had a 10% discount on all their swords way back in May I decided it was about time to try out a European sword actually made in Europe. I hadn’t really known a lot about Lutel but all the reviews I found seemed to be positive so I took the plunge and ordered a sword from their website www.lutel-handicraft.com. Although Lutel will allow you to mix and match hilt parts and blade types I decided to go for one of their stock models, the 15021. After selling most of my hand and halfs I thought I should get a new one, and the 15021 immediately stood out to me. It was quite a wait, ordered in May and it was stated as usually shipping in 2 months but received in late September. This isn’t really a problem as you can never be exact when things are being hand made, and they kept me up to date on my order the whole time.
When it arrived I was actually quite annoyed. It took me 20 minutes to get to the sword! It was without doubt the best packed sword I have ever bought. I had to destroy most of the box and was then greeted by multiple layers of polystyrene before I finally got to the sword which was completely rolled up in plastic!
Historical overview.
Not really sure where this sword fits historically. I didn’t buy it for its historical accuracy so I didn’t really research the type. I imagine this type of sword would have seen a lot of use in duels but would be equally at home on the battlefield. Lutel’s website states that it is a central European style longsword from around 1490, so let’s go with that!
Full Disclosure
I bought this sword with my own money and have no affiliation with Lutel Handicraft.
Initial Impressions
First impressions were very good, the sword was a lot bigger than I had expected! I had heard that Lutel make their swords on the heavy side to make them tougher than average, more than likely to cater for WMA practitioners. This was definitely the heaviest longsword I have owned, and it doesn’t have a lot of distal taper (but it does have a bit). Nevertheless, it is very well balanced and is not unwieldy at all. I personally like the higher weight, it makes the whole sword seem more solid and dependable to me.
Stats
Blade length – 37.5 inches
Handle length – 7.3 inches
Total length – 48.5 inches
Blade width at guard – 4.5cm
Guard width – 10 inches
P.O.B – 4 inches from guard
C.O.P – 22 inches
Weight – 3lbs 5oz
(with scabbard 4lbs)
Blade
A longer blade than I am used to, and very different to my H/T longsword. It has a good amount of flex and held out straight the blade drops about 1cm. It is in no way whippy, but at the same time not very rigid. I believe this is about right for a sword with this blade length. I do not know what type of steel is used but it seems to be very good quality. It is tempered to 48HRC which may seem a bit low compared to Albions and ATrims but I think it is similar to the hardness that historical weapons may have been. It has a nice satin finish and is very sharp. A nice surprise is that there is no secondary bevel, just a very nicely done appleseed edge that slices through paper easily. The fuller runs about half the length of the blade and starts just above the guard. A lot of people don’t like this but I don’t mind, in fact I think it looks quite nice. You can ask Lutel to make the fuller run under the guard and I believe they will do it at no extra charge. I was recently looking at Ewart Oakeshotte’s records of the medieval sword and saw pics of a few swords with fullers that stop before the guard, so as it can be found historically I decided to keep it as it is. I’m not a big fan of the thick ricasso but it doesn’t seem to affect the handling, and as I wasn’t looking for full historical accuracy (that’s what Albion is for after all) it is not a problem.
One thing I would like to mention is the tang. Normally I don’t go anywhere near a sword with a weld on any part of the tang, I just don’t trust welds on sword blades. This though, is one hell of a weld! The very thick threaded rod is slotted into the upper part of the tang and then welded on. This looks extremely secure and the weld is not at a major stress point. Plus I have never heard of a Lutel failing so I have no worries about it. I added a pencil in one of the photos just to show how thick the threaded rod is, much thicker than any Windlass I have seen.
Handle
Wood covered in a single thin strip of leather wrapped neatly around the handle. It is wine bottle shaped and is surprisingly comfortable in hand. It is quite a thick handle so it may be a bit awkward to grip for people with small hands.
Guard
One of my favourite aspects of this sword. I think it is called an s-guard. I like the fact that it doesn’t look like it was a straight guard that’s been twisted, but actually made in the style if that makes sense. Also has some nice designs on each end of the guard.
Pommel
Onion shaped. If you have to have a threaded pommel I think these are the best type. Simply because after tightening the assembly up quite a few times you wouldn’t have to worry about a misaligned pommel. It also lengthens the handle by an extra inch and is very comfortable when you have to grab the pommel during cutting. I imagine the hilt pieces are mild steel, but I’m not sure.
Scabbard
Lutel includes a scabbard and sword belt with their weapons unless you state that you don’t want them. I guess you could call them simple scabbards as they are not wood cored or very fancy but they sure are better than any scabbard I’ve got with any production sword so far. The leather is top quality and the belt and buckles don’t feel like they would fall apart anytime soon. The chape is well made and secure. The only criticism I can find (very minor) is that the metal plate thing at the top of the scabbard is a bit roughly finished, but I didn’t even notice that until I looked closely at the photos. Oh and its bright red which makes it look great in good light.
Handling Characteristics
It’s an interesting sword to use. It feels heavy and a bit cumbersome until you start doing some drills and putting the sword into motion, at which time it comes alive and can be manoeuvred very easily. Although it can be swung around quite quickly, I wouldn’t say it was a light and nimble sword, more like something in between a longsword and war sword. You get the feeling it could cleave through anything but at the same time can recover quickly and has good point control. I imagine this is due in part to the POB being quite close to the guard. As with any sword, it just takes some getting used to and I don’t think it would take a lot of time to become confident in using it.
Test Cutting
This was the first time I had cut with this sword, and although it was a bit difficult to begin with, it was quite easy to get the hang of after a few cuts.
Conclusion
I have been very surprised by the quality of this sword. I guess I expected something just above a windlass in terms of quality. It’s actually more like a nice Del Tin except that you can choose which hilt parts you want, as well as the handle/scabbard colours and what type of sword belt.
Pros
• Solid sword
• Very sharp
• Scabbard and sword belt included
• Nice attention to detail
• Very good price for what you get
• Good communication from Lutel
• Very good cutter on heavier targets
Cons
• Threaded pommel (I believe Lutel can peen the pommel if you ask them)
• Wait time (will vary from piece to piece)
• A bit on the heavy side
Thanks for reading, let me know if I missed anything.