George Washington's saber
Mar 7, 2008 1:52:51 GMT
Post by hotspur on Mar 7, 2008 1:52:51 GMT
The Windlass sword is a little bit anachronistic (whimsically) but has the basic characteristics of some sabres of the 18th century. The overall profile really looks pretty good except for the thickness of the guard components.
I don't know what they list the weight at but reproductions of this type tend to be about 50% heavier than originals. The downfall is typically distal taper, as also the case with many medieval reproductions. Consider my last sword in, an original from right around 1800. The thickness at the hilt os 3/8" and it reduces rapidly over the first four inches, then is a more linear taper to only 1/16" at the tip. That is an extreme but one sees similar characteristics to other period swords. The first few inches taper rapidly and then more gradually to the tip. Reproductions (especially Windlass) often tend to find a happy medium and exhibit either no distal taper, or quite minimal.
I know folk have wondered about this one over at SFI but no one seems to have taken the plunge. Not really much to go wrong with a pattern like that. I'd just expect it to weigh more than an original.
The general form would not have been out of place for the period of the American Revolution but ad copy at AC or MRL is not always a good reflection of history. In this case, a bit of a fairy tale about honoring French blades.
The book Jonathan mentions is a very nice reference for swords of the 18th century. I meant to take a look today to see if I could find something Windlass might have used as a model, as I have a hunch several might be close enough for government work.
www.gggodwin.com as mentioned in other threads has a selection of 18th century edged weapons. the Old Dominion site is a nice bookmark to save and also not bad as a period reference. For what a custom would cost, you could likely find a couple/three original long hunting swords.
Cheers
hotspur; actually just back from looking at a circa 1750 sabre for about $700
I don't know what they list the weight at but reproductions of this type tend to be about 50% heavier than originals. The downfall is typically distal taper, as also the case with many medieval reproductions. Consider my last sword in, an original from right around 1800. The thickness at the hilt os 3/8" and it reduces rapidly over the first four inches, then is a more linear taper to only 1/16" at the tip. That is an extreme but one sees similar characteristics to other period swords. The first few inches taper rapidly and then more gradually to the tip. Reproductions (especially Windlass) often tend to find a happy medium and exhibit either no distal taper, or quite minimal.
I know folk have wondered about this one over at SFI but no one seems to have taken the plunge. Not really much to go wrong with a pattern like that. I'd just expect it to weigh more than an original.
The general form would not have been out of place for the period of the American Revolution but ad copy at AC or MRL is not always a good reflection of history. In this case, a bit of a fairy tale about honoring French blades.
The book Jonathan mentions is a very nice reference for swords of the 18th century. I meant to take a look today to see if I could find something Windlass might have used as a model, as I have a hunch several might be close enough for government work.
www.gggodwin.com as mentioned in other threads has a selection of 18th century edged weapons. the Old Dominion site is a nice bookmark to save and also not bad as a period reference. For what a custom would cost, you could likely find a couple/three original long hunting swords.
Cheers
hotspur; actually just back from looking at a circa 1750 sabre for about $700
