Received my Sword! (1840 NCO)
Jan 8, 2008 6:42:07 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2008 6:42:07 GMT
Got home today and found that long awaited, long weighted, box on my front porch. Finished taking in the groceries so that I might show the proper reverence for the package. Carried it in with silence and respect and began opening the package (selecting my Windlass bone-handled rondel dagger for the task). After a moment I lifted my lightly oiled prize into the light and began my examination of the Windlass NCO Sword...
The sword itself is much nicer than I expected (after all, it was less than $100 shipped!). The single edge blade was straight with a wide fuller extending from the ricasso to within 4" of the point. The hilt itself is beautifully cast with minor gaps to either side of the blade. There is no mistaking the casting for a real wire wrap but it looks much nicer than the picture.The blade is definitely peened to the grip.. something I expected but still nice to see. Without a scale the weight is hard to determine but I would be suprised if it exceeds 2 pounds. A VERY managable package overall, somehow succeeding in finding that balance between feeling elegant and lethal at the same time.
Now to the scabbard... The steel scabbard was nicely done with the ring bands evenly braized to the body. The body does not appear quite as substantial as the scabbard that came with my 1860 Cav Sabre (and certainly not to the point of the 1796 British Lt Cav Saber - a weapon in its own right!!!) but this may just be due to the fact that there is less sword to cover. The wipes do appear to be plastic but do their job well, retaining the sword while not impeeding the draw. The rings themselves, as indicated by Themaster293 in another thread, were keyrings. Although I had read this it was still a suprise. I guess I was somehow hoping that this was an improvised fix by his vendor. Not sure that they saved a huge amount of money over the simple rings on my other saber scabbards but, a) this is a budget sword, and b) they work.
So far I have shimmed the gaps between the guard and the blade, replaced the felt 'cushion' with a freshly cut leather pad, and began the Acu-Sharp sharpening. Though the grip is a little small for my hand I love the overall feeling of this sword. In spite of the budget-point pricing I feel that I have found my new favorite sword.
Two thumbs up!! :^D
The sword itself is much nicer than I expected (after all, it was less than $100 shipped!). The single edge blade was straight with a wide fuller extending from the ricasso to within 4" of the point. The hilt itself is beautifully cast with minor gaps to either side of the blade. There is no mistaking the casting for a real wire wrap but it looks much nicer than the picture.The blade is definitely peened to the grip.. something I expected but still nice to see. Without a scale the weight is hard to determine but I would be suprised if it exceeds 2 pounds. A VERY managable package overall, somehow succeeding in finding that balance between feeling elegant and lethal at the same time.
Now to the scabbard... The steel scabbard was nicely done with the ring bands evenly braized to the body. The body does not appear quite as substantial as the scabbard that came with my 1860 Cav Sabre (and certainly not to the point of the 1796 British Lt Cav Saber - a weapon in its own right!!!) but this may just be due to the fact that there is less sword to cover. The wipes do appear to be plastic but do their job well, retaining the sword while not impeeding the draw. The rings themselves, as indicated by Themaster293 in another thread, were keyrings. Although I had read this it was still a suprise. I guess I was somehow hoping that this was an improvised fix by his vendor. Not sure that they saved a huge amount of money over the simple rings on my other saber scabbards but, a) this is a budget sword, and b) they work.
So far I have shimmed the gaps between the guard and the blade, replaced the felt 'cushion' with a freshly cut leather pad, and began the Acu-Sharp sharpening. Though the grip is a little small for my hand I love the overall feeling of this sword. In spite of the budget-point pricing I feel that I have found my new favorite sword.
Two thumbs up!! :^D
