Is that a saber I see before me?

Well, I like them... ;D

Strange news on the saber front: I got my 1796 yesterday. Hands practically trembling with excitement, I opened the box. What did I find waiting inside? I not really sure... It is a 1796, no question, but the hilt is...weird. Instead of the flush-peened tang, this one has a sort of steel "button" on the end of the grip through which the tang runs. Also, the pin that goes through the steel tabs that fold down on either side of the grip is absent. There isn't even a hole to accomodate such a pin. I can't tell whether the button is threaded onto the tang, or the tang is peened over it, and, since there's a strong possibility that i'll be returning the sword, I didn't want to clamp my vise grips over it and give it a try.

I contacted the store I ordered it from and the guy was surprised to hear this, too. He's going to take a look at a few others he has in stock and see if they're the same. My greatest fear is that Cold Steel may have switched it's saber production over to Windlass (as it has with some of its other Indian made swords), and that Windlass has replaced the old peened and pinned hilt with a tang nut version. If this turns out to be the case, it will truly suck. My only hope will be to find a used one in good condition...

I hope to hear back from the guy Monday, so I'll update then.

Here's a pic of the hilt in all its hideousness...

Kriegschwert,

I've had my Cold Steel 1796 LCS for about 6-8 months and it's exactly like yours. I am pretty sure it's at least a year old. I haven't tried to disassemble it. But so far, it's held up to the small amount of abuse I've given it. The pin in the grip tabs has (I believe) always been missing on these Cold Steel reproductions. I actually like it better without them, as compared to my Austrian original. The pins make the grip very uncomfortable.

Anyway, I think it will turn out to be quite durable and usable, though just a bit unauthentic.

Kriegschwert,

If it will help your decision, I am going to be at my tire pell today. I will take along my CS 1796 and apply it vigorously to the tires for about 500 strokes to see if the hilt loosens any. Then I'll cut a few pieces of rope to see how the edge holds up.

I will post feedback tonight or tomorrow.

Hey Kriegschwert,

Well...I thoroughly tested the hilt components of my Cold Steel 1796 Light Cavalry Saber. I whacked the tire pell at all angles. I made impact all along the blade, mostly from the middle where the edge starts until about 8 inches from the tip. Then I concentrated on some tip cuts on small green cedar limbs. Then I worked over my pine 2x2 "opponent's blade" with the unsharpened forte. Then I whacked the pell at an angle to cause maximum vibration through the blade. I lost count of the strokes at about 200, as I was starting to get tired. But I continued for about another 15-20 minutes.

I am having to stop typing after every sentence or so because my forearms are cramping. I think I overdid it a bit, actually wailing away until my arm gave out. I wanted to do you a good test. ;D

The result is that my particular CS 1796 LCS is every bit as tight as the day I took it out of the box. And I'm pretty darned impressed. Oh, and the pin through the metal flap on the sides of the grip is there, it's just polished flush. Mine finally discolored enough to be noticed. But it hasn't loosened any.

Hope that helps your decision making process.

heh...speaking of forarms growth during the middle ages, my left arm is a few inches larger in circumference than my right one. Anyone know if swordsmen would be just as lopsided as, say, a longbowman?

Just a thought.

Anyway, more karma to shootermike for his tests for kriegschwerts (and other forumites as well) benifits!

You bring up a very interesting subject Rammstein. The skelletons from the Maryrose are famous for the one shoulder being much larger and the tendons in the opposite side of the upperback being shorter. These man trained to shoots heavy bows from their youth had effectively become deformed.

Now before you panic and say that you will never shoot a bow, let me say that the problem here is not that heavy tension. It is that that tension is not being applied to both sides of the body evenly so that symetry and balance can be maintained. In order to avoid such problems a person should learn to shoot with both arms and do so evenly. The problem is that most people are dominant in one eye or the other and that is the arm they will shoot with to be most accurate. Luckily I am not dominant in neither eye. Still even people who are, I do believe that they can train to focus with their other eye too. If shooting offhanded is simply imposible for them they should definelty find some other means to train the opposite side of their body.

Bone is living tissue and it responds to training just like the muscles do. This is a good thing, strong bones are better then weak ones. Back when I was in college my friend's sister was working for a bone doctor. One day when we went to by to see her he introduced himself and told us that he had heard that me and my friend where into powerlifting. He asked if he could x-ray our legs for his own personal research. The x-ray showed how the ends of our bones in our knees had been built up and squared off to support the weight from heavy squating. Most less active peole have more rounded bones in the knee joint. The human body is pretty amazing in how it adapts but you have to be sure to keep all things even and balanced.

Also important is to do supplmental excercises that work the muscle though its whole range of motion. This will prevent shortening of the tendons as in the case of the upper back muscles of the Maryrose archers.

I have found that strengthening forarms is not that much of a problem for most people. Most pulling excesices involve gripping. You can through in some wrist curls for added measure. The real problem is strengthing fingers because the fingers have mostly tendon and ligament. Their is no muscle in the fingers to grow and strengthen, so you can hand from your fingers in a door way all day and it will have a minimum effect. Finger excercises tend to work the forearm too because that is where the muscles are that are pulling. This can be very fustrating, I find that my fingers are the fist to get tired when shooting heavy bows. Only thing to do is get archery gloves or make some kind of finger protection to spread the stress out on the fingers doing the pulling.

WooHoo! I just received an in-depth reply from Loyalist, and the 1796 they sell has the historically accurate hilt. Unfortunately, they're out of stock for 6-8 weeks, but it looks like I will finally have my saber when the next batch comes in!