Legendary Arms 1850 U.S. Foot Officer's Sword
May 30, 2013 2:45:13 GMT
Post by SPQR on May 30, 2013 2:45:13 GMT
I purchased this sword for a simple reason; because I'd been looking for an inexpensive blade to experiment with regarding distal taper. I knew the run of the mill Civil War swords tended to be free of distal taper, or nearly so. When I discovered the Legendary Arms 1850 Foot Officers Sword "without markings" for $65, described as the same as the $199 sword that did have the (fake, of course) Horstmann Phila markings, I ordered one.
Legendary arms seems to deal exclusively in Atlanta Cutlery merchandise, so I figured I might be seeing old stock from AC at a reduced price. That might be the case, but Windlass Steelcrafts this is not.
The sword arrived in stealth mode, as the website I was given to track my order was never updated, and I had in fact emailed an inquiry about it the day it showed up. Can't say much for the responsiveness of the company; it's never been answered. It did arrive in good time, and was well packaged.
My first thought on lifting this sword was how heavy it seemed. My second thought was that removing the scabbard really didn't help much. The blade did prove to be very stiff, practically untapered and it required no little force to flex it several inches out of true. It did return correctly. Make no mistake; you are not going to break or bend this blade in normal use, or probably abnormal use either. The blade carries an etched vaguely accurate rendition of a patriotic scene many of the originals featured.
The hilt and grip are best decribed as crude. The casting is only semi-finished, with much flash left in the openwork of the guard. The top surfaces are somewhat roughly polished, with many scratches and whorls left from the polishing process. The nooks and crannies carry quantities of abrasive dust, showing this piece was never finish buffed. The guard enters the endcap at an angle and looks off. The peen is properly done, and although the overall look is rugged, it's tight and solid. The grip is wrapped with faux leather (VINYL!) which is easily peeled up to expose some kind of adhesive. There is an overlap to the two edges. The whole is wrapped in twisted brass wire. The whole grip is a massive 5+ inces long, huge for a civil war sword. The grip stands proud of the brass; it's too large.
Possibly the worst feature is the scabbard. Poorly made brass pieces look for all the world as though they are the same ones for the leather scabbard simply jammed onto the steel one. Poor fit, poor workmanship and a laughable attempt at authenticity. A poor attempt by any standard.
Honestly though, I can't say I'm disappointed; this seems like a decent project/learning experience sword, and I got pretty much what I paid for. The blade is decent, if much overweight. POB is a full 7 inches from the guard, so I have plenty of meat to work with. At a shade over 2.5 pounds, it's probably about 30% overweight. As I say, I was looking for a school sword that had a decent blade, and I have it now. I do have to wonder about the sellers claim it was "the same as" his $199 version. At 65 bucks, it's a cheap beater or project. At 200, I'd be screaming blue murder. It is what it is, and it does have possibilites if you're handy and like a challenge. (I'm not so sure the scabbard can be saved though-it truly is butt ugly) If that's not the case, other vendors have better products at good prices that don't need work to look good.
Legendary arms seems to deal exclusively in Atlanta Cutlery merchandise, so I figured I might be seeing old stock from AC at a reduced price. That might be the case, but Windlass Steelcrafts this is not.
The sword arrived in stealth mode, as the website I was given to track my order was never updated, and I had in fact emailed an inquiry about it the day it showed up. Can't say much for the responsiveness of the company; it's never been answered. It did arrive in good time, and was well packaged.
My first thought on lifting this sword was how heavy it seemed. My second thought was that removing the scabbard really didn't help much. The blade did prove to be very stiff, practically untapered and it required no little force to flex it several inches out of true. It did return correctly. Make no mistake; you are not going to break or bend this blade in normal use, or probably abnormal use either. The blade carries an etched vaguely accurate rendition of a patriotic scene many of the originals featured.
The hilt and grip are best decribed as crude. The casting is only semi-finished, with much flash left in the openwork of the guard. The top surfaces are somewhat roughly polished, with many scratches and whorls left from the polishing process. The nooks and crannies carry quantities of abrasive dust, showing this piece was never finish buffed. The guard enters the endcap at an angle and looks off. The peen is properly done, and although the overall look is rugged, it's tight and solid. The grip is wrapped with faux leather (VINYL!) which is easily peeled up to expose some kind of adhesive. There is an overlap to the two edges. The whole is wrapped in twisted brass wire. The whole grip is a massive 5+ inces long, huge for a civil war sword. The grip stands proud of the brass; it's too large.
Possibly the worst feature is the scabbard. Poorly made brass pieces look for all the world as though they are the same ones for the leather scabbard simply jammed onto the steel one. Poor fit, poor workmanship and a laughable attempt at authenticity. A poor attempt by any standard.
Honestly though, I can't say I'm disappointed; this seems like a decent project/learning experience sword, and I got pretty much what I paid for. The blade is decent, if much overweight. POB is a full 7 inches from the guard, so I have plenty of meat to work with. At a shade over 2.5 pounds, it's probably about 30% overweight. As I say, I was looking for a school sword that had a decent blade, and I have it now. I do have to wonder about the sellers claim it was "the same as" his $199 version. At 65 bucks, it's a cheap beater or project. At 200, I'd be screaming blue murder. It is what it is, and it does have possibilites if you're handy and like a challenge. (I'm not so sure the scabbard can be saved though-it truly is butt ugly) If that's not the case, other vendors have better products at good prices that don't need work to look good.