Quick, Short, Sweet Review of CS Colichemarde
Oct 23, 2012 5:54:04 GMT
Post by kingrikoraru on Oct 23, 2012 5:54:04 GMT
So this is officially my first review ever. Yay!
I notice that there is no review of this around, and I happened to just got this as a resent.
There will not be any picture, as my room is a mess right now, my camera is terrible, and quite frankly, there is not much to show, blade wise. This is a rather simple blade.
Official specs from Cold Steel:
COLICHEMARDE SWORD
Specifications:
Blade Length: 32 3/8"
Overall Length: 40"
Steel: 1055 Carbon
Weight: 25.6 oz - Approximately 1.5 lbs
Handle: 7 5/8"
Scabbard: Leather Scabbard w/ Steel Fittings
I'm a big fan of rapier, side swords, and generally swords from the Renaissance period, so when I heard I was getting something like this I was very excited. Then I saw that it was a Cold Steel Colichemarde, and the uniqueness of the blade caught my eye right away. This is definitely something I'm not very familiar with, and in fact, have not seen or heard of any reproductions of this type.
First off, when I first held it, I notice how light and responsive this sword was. It's rather well balanced, with the POB right at the guard. I admit that my form is terrible, but quick jabs with this sword was easy, and the blade would go in with ease.
Perhaps this is because of me, comparing it to the DSA Italian Rapier and all the katanas I've ever held, but 1.6 lbs does not give a sense of how light this blade it. Truthfully, they could've fooled me with the weight being 1 pound.
The scabbard is not terrible, the steel fittings are quite attractive and shiny, and nothing is loose once you put the blade all the way in.
The most attractive part of the sword has got to be the hilt. The design is beautiful and the wire wrapping is nice and attractive. It does get a bit slippery without gloves, but that's a given. The pommel is nice, perhaps a bit too small for my taste, but it does bring down the weight of this sword. The guard is very well designed, with an almost double spades-shaped with nice engravings on it.
The only thing that really annoys me about this sword is the little belt clip on the scabbard, and I could be wrong, but it does seem a bit historically inaccurate.
TESTING:
This sword is lightning fast. That Cold Steel video does not even do this blade justice of how fast you could possibly go with it. The only trade off is penetration. Because of the blade design (Wider blade closer to the hilt with a needle like tip), there is not much power in the blade for deep penetration, if you get what I mean. The tip is sharp, and the wide bottom blade is semi-sharp, design to prevent the sword from being grabbed but at the same time strong enough to deflect bigger swords.
*As mentioned in a response, the balance of this sword makes it seem lighter than it actually it, giving it some nice control.
This easily poke holes in cardboard boxes and bigger water bottles. Anything else and you will probably have to have better form. The tip is designed to penetrate the flesh, so it's understandable that this will have a harder times penetrating harder targets.
I noticed that the blade does get a little whippy (I'd like to say that it flexes nicely, not the Windlass whippy type), but because it is so thin (Almost an epee like kind of whip, but a little more stiff). The blade is undoubtedly strong, however, and I would keep it "sword in stone" style without it bending over or flipping the cardboard box I impale it in. I planned to test this on some flesh, but atlas this sword is really not my style and I prefer to keep it in this perfect condition to sell back. (I prefer some heavy, strong blade - which explains my love for DSA swords)
In the end, this is a great sword, especially for being one of the only production model on the market. Anyone looking for a unique small sword or a transitional period between rapier and small sword sword should definitely get one. It is well built, strong, very pleasing to the eye, and ultimately a great and unique piece.
Pros:
-Very light and well balanced.
-Very good control
-Lightning fast
-Well built, stiff blade
-Detailed guard and nice wire wrap
-Scabbard leather feels rather nice
***One of a kind, unique production piece.
Cons:
-Perhaps a bit too small
-Steel fittings on scabbard is a bit plain compared to the rest of the sword
-Sword belt clip feels a bit historically inaccurate
-It's a bit whippy, but this is from the blade being so thin
-Traded all the power for speed and control
4/5 stars. I will try to get some pictures if I ever get my life in order soon.
Thanks and feel free to give some feedback.
***Pictures are in. These I took a while back.
I notice that there is no review of this around, and I happened to just got this as a resent.
There will not be any picture, as my room is a mess right now, my camera is terrible, and quite frankly, there is not much to show, blade wise. This is a rather simple blade.
Official specs from Cold Steel:
COLICHEMARDE SWORD
Specifications:
Blade Length: 32 3/8"
Overall Length: 40"
Steel: 1055 Carbon
Weight: 25.6 oz - Approximately 1.5 lbs
Handle: 7 5/8"
Scabbard: Leather Scabbard w/ Steel Fittings
I'm a big fan of rapier, side swords, and generally swords from the Renaissance period, so when I heard I was getting something like this I was very excited. Then I saw that it was a Cold Steel Colichemarde, and the uniqueness of the blade caught my eye right away. This is definitely something I'm not very familiar with, and in fact, have not seen or heard of any reproductions of this type.
First off, when I first held it, I notice how light and responsive this sword was. It's rather well balanced, with the POB right at the guard. I admit that my form is terrible, but quick jabs with this sword was easy, and the blade would go in with ease.
Perhaps this is because of me, comparing it to the DSA Italian Rapier and all the katanas I've ever held, but 1.6 lbs does not give a sense of how light this blade it. Truthfully, they could've fooled me with the weight being 1 pound.
The scabbard is not terrible, the steel fittings are quite attractive and shiny, and nothing is loose once you put the blade all the way in.
The most attractive part of the sword has got to be the hilt. The design is beautiful and the wire wrapping is nice and attractive. It does get a bit slippery without gloves, but that's a given. The pommel is nice, perhaps a bit too small for my taste, but it does bring down the weight of this sword. The guard is very well designed, with an almost double spades-shaped with nice engravings on it.
The only thing that really annoys me about this sword is the little belt clip on the scabbard, and I could be wrong, but it does seem a bit historically inaccurate.
TESTING:
This sword is lightning fast. That Cold Steel video does not even do this blade justice of how fast you could possibly go with it. The only trade off is penetration. Because of the blade design (Wider blade closer to the hilt with a needle like tip), there is not much power in the blade for deep penetration, if you get what I mean. The tip is sharp, and the wide bottom blade is semi-sharp, design to prevent the sword from being grabbed but at the same time strong enough to deflect bigger swords.
*As mentioned in a response, the balance of this sword makes it seem lighter than it actually it, giving it some nice control.
This easily poke holes in cardboard boxes and bigger water bottles. Anything else and you will probably have to have better form. The tip is designed to penetrate the flesh, so it's understandable that this will have a harder times penetrating harder targets.
I noticed that the blade does get a little whippy (I'd like to say that it flexes nicely, not the Windlass whippy type), but because it is so thin (Almost an epee like kind of whip, but a little more stiff). The blade is undoubtedly strong, however, and I would keep it "sword in stone" style without it bending over or flipping the cardboard box I impale it in. I planned to test this on some flesh, but atlas this sword is really not my style and I prefer to keep it in this perfect condition to sell back. (I prefer some heavy, strong blade - which explains my love for DSA swords)
In the end, this is a great sword, especially for being one of the only production model on the market. Anyone looking for a unique small sword or a transitional period between rapier and small sword sword should definitely get one. It is well built, strong, very pleasing to the eye, and ultimately a great and unique piece.
Pros:
-Very light and well balanced.
-Very good control
-Lightning fast
-Well built, stiff blade
-Detailed guard and nice wire wrap
-Scabbard leather feels rather nice
***One of a kind, unique production piece.
Cons:
-Perhaps a bit too small
-Steel fittings on scabbard is a bit plain compared to the rest of the sword
-Sword belt clip feels a bit historically inaccurate
-It's a bit whippy, but this is from the blade being so thin
-Traded all the power for speed and control
4/5 stars. I will try to get some pictures if I ever get my life in order soon.
Thanks and feel free to give some feedback.
***Pictures are in. These I took a while back.