Albion Steward and Crusader Monk Scabbard Review
Feb 7, 2014 10:34:25 GMT
Post by Caboose on Feb 7, 2014 10:34:25 GMT
Introduction
I've been thinking of buying a high-end sword for a month or so, and eventually I narrowed it down to the Albion Crecy and Steward. In the end, I decided on the Steward.
At the time of ordering, it said that the wait time would be 4-6 months. However, I assume Albion had a Steward with the grip color I wanted in stock, because a week or two after I ordered, I got an email saying they were shipping the sword off to get the scabbard made. The 4-6 months ended up only being about 7 weeks.
Historical Accuracy
This sword is a type XIIIa and is based off an original from the 14th century.
Full Disclosure
I paid full price for my sword, which I bought from Kult of Athena. However, this is only my second sword (the first being a Cold Steel Italian Long Sword) so I am hardly an expert.
Initial Impressions
The sword seemed to be packed decently, coming shipped in a box filled with brown paper. I did notice a few issues (more on that later), but I don't know if that could be a result of the packaging.
When I first opened the box, the hilt seemed a bit smaller than I expected. The grip was thinner, and the crossguard was shorter than the CS Italian. The tip was also rounder than it appeared to be in the pictures I had seen.
Statistics
(all taken from Albion's website, though I did some brief measurements myself, and they seem to be spot on)
Total length: 43.69" (111 cm)
Blade length: 34.87" (88.6 cm)
Blade width: 1.93" (4.9 cm)
CoB: 4.5" (11.43 cm)
CoP: 23.25" (59 cm)
Weight: 2 lbs 14 oz (1.3 kilos)
Components
The Blade
The blade is very nice, it is nicely finished and paper cutting sharp. The fuller looks good, it is straight and even from beginning to end. There are a few spots where the finish isn't even, but I couldn't really get it to show in a picture.
I did notice one problem. Towards the end of the fuller there are many short, but quite visible scratches on both sides. It really bothers me, because they are quite noticable, and with a sword this expensive, I dont expect have flaws like this. The sword was shipped in the scabbard, so this damage could not have happened shipping from KoA to me.
Also, the last quarter of the blade (the unfullered part) looks a little bit plain in my opinion. Just something about it looks too flat, but perhaps that is just me.
EDIT: After having it for several months, I no longer think this is the case.
Handle
The handle is wood that has been cord wrapped and covered in a brown leather. It is very comfortable and easy to grip.
I expected the leather to be much darker, because it is listed as "Dark Brown" on Kult of Athena's website, and I've heard that it is almost like a black. However, I would just describe it as an average brown, certainly not dark brown. But not really an issue for me.
The grip might be too short for some, but I find it just long enough for me to grip with both hands.
Also, some might find the grip too thin, but again, not the case with me.
Pommel and Crossguard
The pommel and crossguard are both very nicely finished. They are cast well, and are not "perfect". However, not being perfect isn't a problem, as it gives the sword a hand forged look, as opposed to a machined look.
They both look quite simple on first glance, but as you look closely at them, you notice a lot of detail has been put into designing them.
Scabbard
When I first unwrapped the scabbard, I was extremely pleased. However, the more I examined it, the more problems I found with it.
To start positive, the leather color matches the grip color well, as requested. I asked that the scabbard be designed around the same style as the sword, which it was. The two risers of the grip of the sword were incorporated into the top portion of the scabbard.
Unfortunately, this is where the positives end.
The seam of the leather is poorly done. There are many spots where the leather doesn't cover all the way around the scabbard, and you can easily see the wood.
The metal chape has some scratches. (hard to see in the picture)
The sword rattles in the scabbard, even when it is shaken with just a tiny amount of force.
The sword doesn't fit tightly in the scabbard. It says on Crusader Monk's website:
"A tight fit for the scabbard is ensured by using hidden tooling leather shims which conform to the fit of the blade. This results in a solid fit with no play in the blade once finished. Of course, you can hold the scabbard upside down, and the sword will not come out."
And yet the sword slides out when held at an angle of about 20 degrees. The scabbard will also slide off when the sword is being gripped point down.
You can feel the sword moving in the scabbard just by holding the grip and moving your hand a little bit.
There is a stain of what appears to be leather dye on the belt buckle. The buckle itself is not very well secured, and it moves around a lot.
Handling Characteristics
The sword has a large amount of distal taper, which makes it light and quick in hand. So far I have only done dry handling, but it feels very pleasant.
It has a lot of blade presence, and this sword feels like it could cut through just about anything. This doesn't mean it is blade-heavy though, it feels well balanced.
Despite not being designed for thrusting, it has decent control in the thrust, and I think it would thrust through soft targets quite well.
Cutting
I finally got around to doing a bit of test cutting with this sword. Despite this being my first time doing any sort of cutting, I think I did pretty well. Or at least the sword did
I am fairly certain my technique wasn't perfect, but the sword cut through everything quite easily. The only time I flubbed a cut was when I second guessed myself midswing on whether I could hit the bottom part of a bottle.
I was only able to cut a couple bottles because it was getting dark, but here is the aftermath:
and my cat
Overall, I think it went pretty well and there will certainly be more cutting secession to go. After all, gotta practice that technique, plus I haven't even gotten around to trying to cut with my CS Italian (perhaps a review if people are interested? Haven't seen on here on SBG.)
Conclusions
This is an expensive, high end sword from a reputable company. However, I feel a bit let down by the noticeable scratches on the blade and spotty finish.
I am very let down about the scabbard and its numerous problems. I feel that the scabbard that came free with my Cold Steel Italian Long Sword was made better.
Pros
The sword blade is very well finished
Pommel and Crossguard are beautiful and nicely finished
Sword is sharpened well
Grip is comfortable
Very historically accurate
Cons
Expensive
Very expensive when you factor in international shipping, exchange rate, and customs fees.
Scabbard was a bit of a let down
Small scratches on blade
Grip might be too short/thin for some
Bottom Line
I would recommend this sword, but only to those who are looking for a very high end, expensive sword of this type and size.
I've been thinking of buying a high-end sword for a month or so, and eventually I narrowed it down to the Albion Crecy and Steward. In the end, I decided on the Steward.
At the time of ordering, it said that the wait time would be 4-6 months. However, I assume Albion had a Steward with the grip color I wanted in stock, because a week or two after I ordered, I got an email saying they were shipping the sword off to get the scabbard made. The 4-6 months ended up only being about 7 weeks.
Historical Accuracy
This sword is a type XIIIa and is based off an original from the 14th century.
Full Disclosure
I paid full price for my sword, which I bought from Kult of Athena. However, this is only my second sword (the first being a Cold Steel Italian Long Sword) so I am hardly an expert.
Initial Impressions
The sword seemed to be packed decently, coming shipped in a box filled with brown paper. I did notice a few issues (more on that later), but I don't know if that could be a result of the packaging.
When I first opened the box, the hilt seemed a bit smaller than I expected. The grip was thinner, and the crossguard was shorter than the CS Italian. The tip was also rounder than it appeared to be in the pictures I had seen.
Statistics
(all taken from Albion's website, though I did some brief measurements myself, and they seem to be spot on)
Total length: 43.69" (111 cm)
Blade length: 34.87" (88.6 cm)
Blade width: 1.93" (4.9 cm)
CoB: 4.5" (11.43 cm)
CoP: 23.25" (59 cm)
Weight: 2 lbs 14 oz (1.3 kilos)
Components
The Blade
The blade is very nice, it is nicely finished and paper cutting sharp. The fuller looks good, it is straight and even from beginning to end. There are a few spots where the finish isn't even, but I couldn't really get it to show in a picture.
I did notice one problem. Towards the end of the fuller there are many short, but quite visible scratches on both sides. It really bothers me, because they are quite noticable, and with a sword this expensive, I dont expect have flaws like this. The sword was shipped in the scabbard, so this damage could not have happened shipping from KoA to me.
Also, the last quarter of the blade (the unfullered part) looks a little bit plain in my opinion. Just something about it looks too flat, but perhaps that is just me.
EDIT: After having it for several months, I no longer think this is the case.
Handle
The handle is wood that has been cord wrapped and covered in a brown leather. It is very comfortable and easy to grip.
I expected the leather to be much darker, because it is listed as "Dark Brown" on Kult of Athena's website, and I've heard that it is almost like a black. However, I would just describe it as an average brown, certainly not dark brown. But not really an issue for me.
The grip might be too short for some, but I find it just long enough for me to grip with both hands.
Also, some might find the grip too thin, but again, not the case with me.
Pommel and Crossguard
The pommel and crossguard are both very nicely finished. They are cast well, and are not "perfect". However, not being perfect isn't a problem, as it gives the sword a hand forged look, as opposed to a machined look.
They both look quite simple on first glance, but as you look closely at them, you notice a lot of detail has been put into designing them.
Scabbard
When I first unwrapped the scabbard, I was extremely pleased. However, the more I examined it, the more problems I found with it.
To start positive, the leather color matches the grip color well, as requested. I asked that the scabbard be designed around the same style as the sword, which it was. The two risers of the grip of the sword were incorporated into the top portion of the scabbard.
Unfortunately, this is where the positives end.
The seam of the leather is poorly done. There are many spots where the leather doesn't cover all the way around the scabbard, and you can easily see the wood.
The metal chape has some scratches. (hard to see in the picture)
The sword rattles in the scabbard, even when it is shaken with just a tiny amount of force.
The sword doesn't fit tightly in the scabbard. It says on Crusader Monk's website:
"A tight fit for the scabbard is ensured by using hidden tooling leather shims which conform to the fit of the blade. This results in a solid fit with no play in the blade once finished. Of course, you can hold the scabbard upside down, and the sword will not come out."
And yet the sword slides out when held at an angle of about 20 degrees. The scabbard will also slide off when the sword is being gripped point down.
You can feel the sword moving in the scabbard just by holding the grip and moving your hand a little bit.
There is a stain of what appears to be leather dye on the belt buckle. The buckle itself is not very well secured, and it moves around a lot.
Handling Characteristics
The sword has a large amount of distal taper, which makes it light and quick in hand. So far I have only done dry handling, but it feels very pleasant.
It has a lot of blade presence, and this sword feels like it could cut through just about anything. This doesn't mean it is blade-heavy though, it feels well balanced.
Despite not being designed for thrusting, it has decent control in the thrust, and I think it would thrust through soft targets quite well.
Cutting
I finally got around to doing a bit of test cutting with this sword. Despite this being my first time doing any sort of cutting, I think I did pretty well. Or at least the sword did
I am fairly certain my technique wasn't perfect, but the sword cut through everything quite easily. The only time I flubbed a cut was when I second guessed myself midswing on whether I could hit the bottom part of a bottle.
I was only able to cut a couple bottles because it was getting dark, but here is the aftermath:
and my cat
Overall, I think it went pretty well and there will certainly be more cutting secession to go. After all, gotta practice that technique, plus I haven't even gotten around to trying to cut with my CS Italian (perhaps a review if people are interested? Haven't seen on here on SBG.)
Conclusions
This is an expensive, high end sword from a reputable company. However, I feel a bit let down by the noticeable scratches on the blade and spotty finish.
I am very let down about the scabbard and its numerous problems. I feel that the scabbard that came free with my Cold Steel Italian Long Sword was made better.
Pros
The sword blade is very well finished
Pommel and Crossguard are beautiful and nicely finished
Sword is sharpened well
Grip is comfortable
Very historically accurate
Cons
Expensive
Very expensive when you factor in international shipping, exchange rate, and customs fees.
Scabbard was a bit of a let down
Small scratches on blade
Grip might be too short/thin for some
Bottom Line
I would recommend this sword, but only to those who are looking for a very high end, expensive sword of this type and size.