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Post by LemuelTheLemur on Jan 4, 2013 20:00:04 GMT
Hello all, finally got my very first sword, the H/T Longsword for an incredible £135 ( www.medieval-weaponry.co.uk/acat ... promo.html the sales still going UK shoppers!!) and I thought I'd give my first impressions If you don't own a sword yet (unlikely) looking at swords on the internet and having one in front of you are two completely different things. Every notion I had about the h/t longsword being plain or utilitarian went out the window after seeing 38 inches of bare steel for the first time. It also occurred to me then that 38 inches of steel might be a bit much considering that i live in 5 x 5 meter square room. In my eagerness to own a weapon with roughly the same dimensions as my beloved great sword on mount&blade (which i am quite proficient with ) i happily ignored the logistics of waving a 48 inch long sword around in such a small space. I'm very glad the blade came dull; I'd hate to explain to my roommate why his mattress is full of holes The sword was pretty blemish free, the guard had a slight scuffle but that was it. The last cm of the blade is bent at a 5 degree angle; something that i didn't notice for a while and then couldn't stop noticing afterwards i guess i can hammer it straight? I really should have ordered something more manageable like the h/t european sword, especially since i was planning to buy the sword of roven longsword by windlass next. Does anyone own a h/t longsword and the sword of roven and care to make a comparison? I might buy it if they're too similar. Now to the handling. This sword has gotten nothing but glowing reviews in the handling department, and since I've never held a real sword before other than a cheap Anduril wallhanger (i got it for £50 as as birthday gift for my best mate, and needless to say it was disgusting) i was half expecting the sword to levitate. it did not levitate. In fact it was about as heavy as crappy Anduril, had a similar POB to crappy Anduril, and definitely wasn't 'weightless' as one reviewer described it. I watched some cutting videos of it on youtube and I was amazed at how fast the blade was moving; I could barely swing it at half the speed. I own up, I'm a shrimpy college kid, and after half an hour of timidly waving it around my forearms were too tired to continue. The POB is roughly in the right place at 11cm away from the guard but would it be better if it was closer to the hilt? I was thinking about commissioning a bigger pommel (and fancier grip) to bring the POB closer to the hilt so the blade would be easier to maneuver. Is that a good idea or are there other considerations i need to take? Should I just man up and work on my forearms? thanks for reading!
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on Jan 5, 2013 2:10:34 GMT
The H/T longsword comes about as close to levitating as any sword on the market--even skinny guys like me and Slayer of Darkness can whip it around one handed with no effort. Are you sure you actually got an Tinker-line Longsword, and not some other generic Hanwei longsword? There are a bunch of weird warning signs in this message--the Tinker Longswords do not ship dull, the newest ones come fairly sharp with a good edge, and the last few cm being bent out of line is unacceptable.
Adding weight to the hilt of a real H/T longsword would ruin its handling and adding weight never makes a sword any lighter.
Can you post pictures of the edge and the tip? (and the whole sword, but those details would be important)
**Edit, just looked at your link and the problem is obvious. They didn't ship you a Tinker Longsword, they sent you a Tinker Great Sword of War (and have it labeled incorrectly on the site), which is much bigger and much heavier than the Longsword, and the last few inches should sag due to gravity when you hold it out straight. You are indeed just wimpy, but it's also not the right type of sword for wimpy people. :lol: What you have in your hands is not the super-light sword people are talking about. It's the big beefy cutter.
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Razor
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Post by Razor on Jan 5, 2013 4:38:09 GMT
The H/T Longsword doesn't come with a 38'' blade, it comes with a 35'' blade. The H/T Longsword is very manageable and handles a lot better than the Sword of Roven. I have the H/T Longsword and I used to have the Roven(used to be named Longsword) And if the sword you have(pics woud of been nice to tell ) the H/T Longsword, there is no way you would be able to handle the Roven.
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Post by LemuelTheLemur on Jan 5, 2013 11:08:21 GMT
:? yikes. It definitely looks like the tinker longsword, i've been google imaging it obsessively for the last week waiting for it to arrive. The site just posted the wrong picture. I ordered a sharp version, and it does come with a very satisfying pointy end and a beveled edge but when I run a piece of a paper along the edge, it only nicks it and doesn't cut. I made a mistake when i said the blade was 38 inches, I misremembered it being 35 inches, in any case I haven't got any measuring tape to confirm that, or a scale to weigh the sword for that matter. The blade definitely doesn't sag. on to pictures! here's the bent tip, that really isn't that bent, i'm probably just being a bit nitpicky. You can really only see it when it catches the light. s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/ ... sort=3&o=0 s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/ ... sort=3&o=0 s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/ ... sort=3&o=2 The POB is 11cm away from the guard, SBG review it had the POB down as 4 inches which is 10cm. I can wave it around with one hand, just not very comfortably, and I certainly can't imagine being able to spar effectively with it (with 2 hands). I am a bit of a wimp, but I'm not exceptionally wimpy! so what do you think?
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jan 5, 2013 11:35:04 GMT
Send it back. The bent tip is not acceptable.
Otherwise... I fear you have to man up. This is your first sword, right? Well, while they sure aren't hollywood beaters, even good swords have SOME weight. You just have to get used to it. Now I personally don't think the H/T longsword is effortless in one hand but in two it pretty much is as good as it gets with longswords (unless you go custom or get the Albion Brescia Spadona). Maybe the H/T bastard sword is for you? That one can be used very easily with one hand.
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Jan 5, 2013 17:18:52 GMT
if the tinker longsword is too heavy for you, you need to hit the gym and grow stronger
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ChrisA
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Post by ChrisA on Jan 5, 2013 17:46:35 GMT
I think you took the term "weightless" a little too literally Get thee to a gym! I would return it immediately as a bent tip is not acceptable. Maybe an exchange for the fullered bastard might be more suitable for you? It is lighter.
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Post by LemuelTheLemur on Jan 5, 2013 18:52:01 GMT
thanks for the feedback guys, just sent an email to the distributor telling them i want a replacement unfortunately they only have the non fullered bastard sword, and I simply must have a sword with a fuller (for purely selfish aesthetic reasons)! I've also become rather attached to how impractically big it is, and indeed i shall work on my forearms! Did people really wear these from their hips back then? I'm 1.69m and i think i look pretty ridiculous strutting around with it through my belt
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Jan 5, 2013 18:56:15 GMT
i wear my great sword around get yourself a sword frog or a suspension system and it will be much less awkward than sticking it through your trouser belt.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on Jan 5, 2013 20:25:16 GMT
Hahaha, wow. Ok, first things first, send it back for having a tip bent out of alignment. The edge looks like it's from older stock before they improved the sharpening (that's probably why they had it for so cheap) so I wouldn't expect the new one to have any better of an edge, but sharpening's a good skill to learn anyway. And that is definitely a Hanwei/Tinker Longsword. Like others, I might suggest you get a H/T Bastard sword instead, since that blade is REALLY LIGHT AND FAST and might be more your style, but I want to check something first. This might be a case of timidness and technique. I refuse to believe that the sword is overwhelming you due to your being "a bit of a wimp, but not exceptionally wimpy" and the sword's somehow massive dimensions. It weighs 3 pounds flat, it has a tremendous amount of profile and distal taper, and it has an enormous grip to leverage the pommel weight. It is in every department designed to be extra easy to swing around. I'm as skinny as they come (though I've never been described as wimpy) and here's what it looked like when I first tried cutting with that sword. Bear in mind I've been handling and owning swords for 12 years, but I'm still pretty new to cutting with them. Two things. You keep mentioning "waving around" the sword instead of swinging it. And you keep mentioning the point of balance over and over. This is what's making me think the issue here is not physical frailness, but timidness and lack of technique. It's possible that you are so new to this that you don't understand the difference between static balance and dynamic balance. Static balance, represented by the center of mass (the POB), tells you how the weight of the sword "averages out" when it is standing still. It tells you very little about the blade's handling characteristics because poorly designed and expertly designed swords can "average out" to a similar point on the blade. POB is one of the most overrated and overvalued stats out there; it only tells you very general info about the overall dimensions. It's like asking if a boat will float and getting the response "It's twice as long as it is wide. Most boats like this that float are twice as long as they are wide." While technically true, it doesn't let you know if all of the other things that allow the boat to be seaworthy are taken care of. Just as a certain range of POBs will be present on good swords of a certain type, it is not the POB that makes them good, or makes them handle well. It can give you a vague idea of the handling only if you already know that the other stuff is taken care of. POB would be useful information if swords were used to construct teeter-totters or hanging mobiles, but they are not. They are used to swing fast and hit things. Dynamic balance, on the other hand, refers to how the sword behaves in motion and how easy it is to control at speed. It has to do with rotational inertia, mass distribution, and natural pivot points. All the physics. The stuff that makes the boat actually float. When people say "this sword feels weightless" they are referring to the dynamic balance. They mean that it requires very little effort to control and that it goes exactly where they want it to. There's no "weight" that they have to struggle against to get it to do what they want, it "feels like an extension of their arm". That's referring to the blades rotational inertia, not its interaction with the earth's gravity. Thing is, you can only get a sense of dynamic balance by putting the sword into a full range of motion, not by waving it around meekly. Often the sword's static balance (the way it feels when held still or moved slowly) feels completely different from its dynamic balance when it's actually put into use. On some poorly designed swords with too much weight in the hilt, the static balance feels really good because the center of gravity is so neutral, but when you go to swing it the dynamic balance feels extremely sluggish and awkward. On well designed swords, both the dynamic and static balances will feel pleasant, but often the dynamic balance is worlds ahead, and surprisingly so. That's the moment that makes you go "whoa." I've had several high-end swords that just feel "alright" when you pick them up, but then take your breath away once you put them into motion. Very few of them have a particularly short or neutral POB. It's more that they have exceptional control of the way mass tapers along the length of the blade. For example, I have an Angus Trim XIIa.4. It is a big sword. It is a wide sword. It is a long sword. It is a hefty sword. When you first pick it up, the static balance is burly. The POB is well out it front. You think, "There's no way I could move this around for more than a minute or two without getting sore." Then you actually swing it and it feels like it's floating. I suggest you go outside so that you're not worried about hitting the walls of your small dwelling, be able to swing the sword freely, let it move through a full range of motion and transitions, and then come back and re-evaluate how preposterous it seems that people can spar with it. The other thing to do is go down to the Backyard Cutting section and watch some videos on basic sword technique (actually, do this part first). The people you see in cutting videos have a lot of control over the swords they use. This amount of skill and control might at first look like superhuman speed. But it's really just efficient motion. Good luck. Oh, and yea, of course the sword will feel awkward if you stick it through your belt. :lol: A longsword suspension has to have some give and detatchment from your body adjustments, and interface with a purpose-made belt. You wouldn't look ridiculous strutting around if you had one of these for it:
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Post by LemuelTheLemur on Jan 5, 2013 21:30:48 GMT
Thanks lunaman! That was really helpful Living in London there's not really a whole lot places I can swing a sword around without being arrested but I might take the sword for a midnight stroll through the park when no ones about except possibly muggers and rapists but they wouldn't dare btw your sword designs are amazing! Especially your rapier designs
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Post by willhart on Jan 5, 2013 21:34:12 GMT
I have to agree with everyone here. Need to build up some muscles a bit. I think the bastard sword old have been a better choice as it feels much lighter. If you're going o return it I would try to exchange it for that one.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on Jan 5, 2013 22:43:51 GMT
You're welcome! Ah, hmm. I've spent a lot of time in London but I don't well know the sword-laws there. Would hate to recommend something that gets you in trouble with the police. If you don't have access to a front yard, back yard, shared area or courtyard, maybe you could talk to a local gym or martial arts dojo about practicing forms there? Or a dance studio. Theatre. Wherever there's room and you're not scaring the public. :lol: Thank you, kindly. :oops:
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Post by LemuelTheLemur on Jan 9, 2013 19:51:43 GMT
Update: I've sent the sword back and the dsitributors have agreed to send me a replacement or have my pick of some other sword. Unfortunately they said that after checking out a handful of other h/t longswords in their stock they all have slightly misaligned tips but less pronounced than mine. I didn't think mine was that out of line to begin with! Even though its not very appropriate for me i do love its size and profile a lot more bastard sword (they only have the non-fullered one in stock. Couldnt find much info on the non fullered one) and since i wont be able to cut withit very often it is going to be a swingable wallhanger for the most part. Is the bent tip a big deal? Can i correct it? Is it more likely to be bend/break, is it a sign of overall structural weakness?
Also is the secondary bevel edge the only way in which the older stock which this seems to be, differs from the new ones?
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Post by willhart on Jan 9, 2013 23:15:13 GMT
I'm not sure about the tip so someone else can answer that.
And I'm not 100% sure on being the old stock for the Longsword, but I have compared a HT Bastard between the new and old stock. Besides the secondary bevel edge, the guard and pommel had a high polish on them I'm guessing around 2000+ grit polish, while the old stock had a really rough polish of 800grit. Also I've noticed the new Hexnuts fit the hex key much better than the old hexnuts.
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