Longship Odinblade "Silvia" Prototype
Sept 19, 2013 23:54:43 GMT
Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Sept 19, 2013 23:54:43 GMT
Sean O. Stevens -- Grovetown, GA
Introduction
So... I have wanted one of these for a LONG time. Ever since I saw the first Silvia Ringare Odinblade. I thought it was an amazing and unique looking sword... and it just touched all the right points for me. Sleek, beautiful, elegant... and somewhat otherworldly.
As soon as I heard Longship Armoury was going to do a run of Ringare like swords based off the Silvia, I contacted James and told him "I want the Prototype!" About a week ago it arrived at last.
I'm a kid in a candy store...
Historical overview
This is a fantasy themed sword created by John Lundemo... and has no historical precedent. At least, not in this world.
Full Disclosure
I bought this prototype 'Silvia' with my own money... I had asked for it and agreed to buy it a long time ago when it was first announced and recently when it was ready paid for it. I don't work for or with Longship Armoury or Odinblades, and I receive no compensation for doing this review. I HAVE done quite a few reviews of Odinblades in the past... but I paid for each of those as well. If any bias could exist, it would be that I just really like John Lundeom's work and have been consistently impressed with the swords I have gotten from him. Of course, the same couyld be said for Albion, Fable Blades, Gus Trim, and several others. I buy (and sell) a LOT of swords.
Initial Impressions
Odinblades and Longship Armoury swords arrive in these hand built wooden creates. Having bought Odinblades before I was expecting this... but they improved it a little more this time. The sword was covered with bubble wrap and held in tight by these wooden spaces that were screwed into the box. The sword was not going anywhere. When a maker takes that much care to protect the sword you bought in shipping, it tells you something.
Once I got the sword free of its wooden prison, I was struck by the size and weight of the sword. Its VERY hefty... with such a large and wide blade you can feel it instantly... it has a LOT of blade presence and feels like it WANTS to cut. There is so much handle space tho, its easy to find a position that feels very comfortable.
Speaking of the grip, the leather is VERY nicely done and super comfortable in the hands.
The over all look of the whole sword was VERY elegant and impressive.
Statistics
Length of Blade: 30 inches
Length of Grip: 10 inches
Overall Length: 42 inches
Guard Width: 4 & 1/4 inches
Blade Width at Base: 2 & 1/4th inches
Blade Width at Swell near tip): 2 & 1/8th inches
Blade width at narrowest point (near base): 1 & 5/8ths inches
Center of Balance: 4 & 1/2 inches
Weight: 3.8lbs
Components
The Blade
The blade on the 'Silvia' is gorgeous to me. It curves in from a wide base at the guard and slowly swells out wide again to the cutting tip. The edge, like ever edge I have ever gotten from John Lundemo, is a REALLY sharp and clean apple-seed. It has a fairly complex geometry with a bit of a hollow grin that moves into the long fuller... and the fuller curves up from the base to run along the spine of the sword. Beautiful.
The Handle
There is a lot of grip-able space here. The grip flows slowly in the opposet direction of the blade... which is something I've seen on a few Jody Samson Swords before and always thought it looked cool. It has to be done right tho, or it quickly becomes cartoon-ish. I think its well done here. The leather feels supple and very comfortable in the hand. the grip spacer in the center is something I like on a lot of different swords, helps break up the grip and add some flair to it. I'm a nut for fishtail pommels as well. I have very large hands and tend to like large grips... so this works very well for me. The color is a sort of wine or burgundy... I might have liked something more purple (I'm kinda a nut for purple) but its very regal.
The Guard
The guard is like a very small clam-shell guard... with reverse 'S' quilions. Everything is VERY well fitted and solid. No rattles or play at all. I would have liked to see the quillions extend more... I love 'S' Shaped guards and I think the flow would have worked really well here. I suppose if they did extend further they may have gotten in the way somewhat... but they would still look wicked cool.
The Pommel
Beautiful dark grey fishtail pommel with a solid peen. I love Fishtail pommels, I could put them on almost any sword. On THIS sword the fishtail looks very good... it fits the flow of the sword.
Handling Characteristics
This sword does not handle quite like anything else I've had. It has SO much grip space you can find many different positions. Its heavy... and blade heavy at that... but is not as hard to control and change directions as you might think. Single handed use would not be my preference... there is just to much blade presence... but it cuts well in one hand and is easy to get moving... just hard to stop.
I found I enjoyed working it from two hands to one and back to two hands again... it flows well while in motion... but it does not stop on a dime. There is too much blade for that.
Its an EPIC cutter tho... top 5 cutting sword I have ever used. The wide blade with sharp clean edge and that mass behind it... it just slices threw bottles without effort. I look forward to trying this out on mats, I think it would do VERY well.
Its certainly not a fast or nimble sword... but its much more controllable then you would think it should be. Its a sort of magic I've noticed both John Lundemo and Gus Trim seem to pull off.
Test Cutting
I wanted to get more video... I did more cutting then is seen here and the 'Silvia' cuts amazingly well. I was using an Ipad to record this, and I'm not an Apple guy.... we are lucky we got this much. :?
The 'Silvia' is MADE for cutting. It just moves so well and cuts effortlessly. As I said... one of the top 5 cutting swords I've ever used.
Conclusions
I have been wanting this sword for a very long time... and sometimes when you get that excited and wait that long for something, your expectations are so high the sword becomes something of a let-down.
That is not the case here.
The 'Silvia' is everything I hopped it would be. Its unique and beautiful to look at. It handles like nothing else and is a MONSTER cutter. I've read that some people want to see less mass at the cutting tip of this sword... and I am sure John will offer different blade shapes for buyers. For me tho, I LIKE the fat cutting tip on this sword... it adds curves and character to the sword. If it were more narrow it would look more like a standard Dao type blade to me.
Aside from a more extended 'S' curve on the guard and a more purple color on the leather... I would not change a thing on this sword.
This one has Steel fittings... but the Longship run will have bronze fittings... which can be darkened or polished bright allowing a lot of different looks. Different leather colors, slight changes in blade shape... I look forward to seeing what other peoples 'Silvias' will look like.
Pros
Archetypal Odinblade design.
Monster cutting ability.
Some customization options available.
Cons
Price... far above the sub 300 price range focused on here, tho still VERY fair for custom work of this quality.
Waiting... even tho Longship Armoury swords tend to be made faster then your standard Odinblade, there is still a wait time involved for custom or even semi custom work.
The Bottom Line
As many here know... I've been selling a lot of swords lately. Some really nice swords that I really did not want to sell. If I had been offered this sword to buy recently, I would have passed as I really can't afford it. If I had not agreed a long time ago to buy the prototype, I would not have this sword now.
That would have been a shame. I LOVE this sword. I don't know if I'll be able to keep it... but I know if I have to let it go I will be very, VERY sad. This is one of those swords I have lusted after for a very long time... and after all that build up the final product did NOT disappoint.
I feel lucky to be the first to handle one of these new Longship Armoury Silvia swords... and I think anyone that decides to buy one will as well.
Thanks for reading!
Introduction
So... I have wanted one of these for a LONG time. Ever since I saw the first Silvia Ringare Odinblade. I thought it was an amazing and unique looking sword... and it just touched all the right points for me. Sleek, beautiful, elegant... and somewhat otherworldly.
As soon as I heard Longship Armoury was going to do a run of Ringare like swords based off the Silvia, I contacted James and told him "I want the Prototype!" About a week ago it arrived at last.
I'm a kid in a candy store...
Historical overview
This is a fantasy themed sword created by John Lundemo... and has no historical precedent. At least, not in this world.
Full Disclosure
I bought this prototype 'Silvia' with my own money... I had asked for it and agreed to buy it a long time ago when it was first announced and recently when it was ready paid for it. I don't work for or with Longship Armoury or Odinblades, and I receive no compensation for doing this review. I HAVE done quite a few reviews of Odinblades in the past... but I paid for each of those as well. If any bias could exist, it would be that I just really like John Lundeom's work and have been consistently impressed with the swords I have gotten from him. Of course, the same couyld be said for Albion, Fable Blades, Gus Trim, and several others. I buy (and sell) a LOT of swords.
Initial Impressions
Odinblades and Longship Armoury swords arrive in these hand built wooden creates. Having bought Odinblades before I was expecting this... but they improved it a little more this time. The sword was covered with bubble wrap and held in tight by these wooden spaces that were screwed into the box. The sword was not going anywhere. When a maker takes that much care to protect the sword you bought in shipping, it tells you something.
Once I got the sword free of its wooden prison, I was struck by the size and weight of the sword. Its VERY hefty... with such a large and wide blade you can feel it instantly... it has a LOT of blade presence and feels like it WANTS to cut. There is so much handle space tho, its easy to find a position that feels very comfortable.
Speaking of the grip, the leather is VERY nicely done and super comfortable in the hands.
The over all look of the whole sword was VERY elegant and impressive.
Statistics
Length of Blade: 30 inches
Length of Grip: 10 inches
Overall Length: 42 inches
Guard Width: 4 & 1/4 inches
Blade Width at Base: 2 & 1/4th inches
Blade Width at Swell near tip): 2 & 1/8th inches
Blade width at narrowest point (near base): 1 & 5/8ths inches
Center of Balance: 4 & 1/2 inches
Weight: 3.8lbs
Components
The Blade
The blade on the 'Silvia' is gorgeous to me. It curves in from a wide base at the guard and slowly swells out wide again to the cutting tip. The edge, like ever edge I have ever gotten from John Lundemo, is a REALLY sharp and clean apple-seed. It has a fairly complex geometry with a bit of a hollow grin that moves into the long fuller... and the fuller curves up from the base to run along the spine of the sword. Beautiful.
The Handle
There is a lot of grip-able space here. The grip flows slowly in the opposet direction of the blade... which is something I've seen on a few Jody Samson Swords before and always thought it looked cool. It has to be done right tho, or it quickly becomes cartoon-ish. I think its well done here. The leather feels supple and very comfortable in the hand. the grip spacer in the center is something I like on a lot of different swords, helps break up the grip and add some flair to it. I'm a nut for fishtail pommels as well. I have very large hands and tend to like large grips... so this works very well for me. The color is a sort of wine or burgundy... I might have liked something more purple (I'm kinda a nut for purple) but its very regal.
The Guard
The guard is like a very small clam-shell guard... with reverse 'S' quilions. Everything is VERY well fitted and solid. No rattles or play at all. I would have liked to see the quillions extend more... I love 'S' Shaped guards and I think the flow would have worked really well here. I suppose if they did extend further they may have gotten in the way somewhat... but they would still look wicked cool.
The Pommel
Beautiful dark grey fishtail pommel with a solid peen. I love Fishtail pommels, I could put them on almost any sword. On THIS sword the fishtail looks very good... it fits the flow of the sword.
Handling Characteristics
This sword does not handle quite like anything else I've had. It has SO much grip space you can find many different positions. Its heavy... and blade heavy at that... but is not as hard to control and change directions as you might think. Single handed use would not be my preference... there is just to much blade presence... but it cuts well in one hand and is easy to get moving... just hard to stop.
I found I enjoyed working it from two hands to one and back to two hands again... it flows well while in motion... but it does not stop on a dime. There is too much blade for that.
Its an EPIC cutter tho... top 5 cutting sword I have ever used. The wide blade with sharp clean edge and that mass behind it... it just slices threw bottles without effort. I look forward to trying this out on mats, I think it would do VERY well.
Its certainly not a fast or nimble sword... but its much more controllable then you would think it should be. Its a sort of magic I've noticed both John Lundemo and Gus Trim seem to pull off.
Test Cutting
I wanted to get more video... I did more cutting then is seen here and the 'Silvia' cuts amazingly well. I was using an Ipad to record this, and I'm not an Apple guy.... we are lucky we got this much. :?
The 'Silvia' is MADE for cutting. It just moves so well and cuts effortlessly. As I said... one of the top 5 cutting swords I've ever used.
Conclusions
I have been wanting this sword for a very long time... and sometimes when you get that excited and wait that long for something, your expectations are so high the sword becomes something of a let-down.
That is not the case here.
The 'Silvia' is everything I hopped it would be. Its unique and beautiful to look at. It handles like nothing else and is a MONSTER cutter. I've read that some people want to see less mass at the cutting tip of this sword... and I am sure John will offer different blade shapes for buyers. For me tho, I LIKE the fat cutting tip on this sword... it adds curves and character to the sword. If it were more narrow it would look more like a standard Dao type blade to me.
Aside from a more extended 'S' curve on the guard and a more purple color on the leather... I would not change a thing on this sword.
This one has Steel fittings... but the Longship run will have bronze fittings... which can be darkened or polished bright allowing a lot of different looks. Different leather colors, slight changes in blade shape... I look forward to seeing what other peoples 'Silvias' will look like.
Pros
Archetypal Odinblade design.
Monster cutting ability.
Some customization options available.
Cons
Price... far above the sub 300 price range focused on here, tho still VERY fair for custom work of this quality.
Waiting... even tho Longship Armoury swords tend to be made faster then your standard Odinblade, there is still a wait time involved for custom or even semi custom work.
The Bottom Line
As many here know... I've been selling a lot of swords lately. Some really nice swords that I really did not want to sell. If I had been offered this sword to buy recently, I would have passed as I really can't afford it. If I had not agreed a long time ago to buy the prototype, I would not have this sword now.
That would have been a shame. I LOVE this sword. I don't know if I'll be able to keep it... but I know if I have to let it go I will be very, VERY sad. This is one of those swords I have lusted after for a very long time... and after all that build up the final product did NOT disappoint.
I feel lucky to be the first to handle one of these new Longship Armoury Silvia swords... and I think anyone that decides to buy one will as well.
Thanks for reading!
