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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 15, 2014 3:17:24 GMT
IntroductionHaving recently found an out of production Windlass LaBiocca on Ebay and been impressed with it I was receptive to trying another, given the chance. Developed some interest in this active production Longsword and suddenly one came up on Ebay that I managed to get a nice price on. The Seller was only 70 miles away in Norfolk. I shared a few pics of my collection with him and he offered to drive the sword up here just to see what was in the house. So we have another another oversized addition in the Medis. DisclaimerThe author has no affiliation with Windlass and this was a private purchase from the original buyer. My area of emphasis is 19th Century European Military sabers. There are many people on the forum better acquainted with this periods craft and martial arts. I will do the best I can and invite those better experienced to add their knowledge to amplify and correct my observations. BackgroundFor me this will be startlingly brief. Sales material from Windlass states that this is a reproduction of a longsword from the English Royal Armory Leeds (catalog num IV-1787). An Oakeshott type XVIII from aprox 1450. This equates to High Middle Ages on the verge of what is now known as the Renaissance. The elite of European Chivalry is arming in full plate which will become ever more elaborate over the next three generations until handguns nullifies their usefulness. The diversity of defensive gear posses a problem for arming. Stabbing and cutting plate is useless. More percussive methods are needed. On the other hand there are many soldiers of second class who are more vulnerable to cut and thrust weapons still. The type XVIIIs diversify to meet various uses. The XXs and even the larger warswords come along to provide weightier swords to bash where penetration won't work. ComponentsThe Kult of Athena statistics for the sword are more correct than those on the MRL site. Sword is 57 inches long with a 44 inch blade. The 13 inch hilt has a 9.5 in grip, 3 in peened pommel and the quillons are a hefty .5 in; straight with lobe ends. The blade is nicely tapered. Width is 2.12 in at the guard and .5 in at the point. Thickness varies from 5.4 mm to 3.8 mm. Sword weighs a healthy 4lb 10oz. The PoB is only 4.5 in above the guard. You can purchase the sword with optional sharpening for a fee. The scabbard and grip, I believe, are both fiber glass. Scabbard has metal chape and boot. Metal parts come clear; the bluing on this sword was done by the original owner. Seems my high end cam makes this peen look uglier than my eyeballs do. 'course without the bluing it may look this way in clear steel. Handling ChracteristicsAs the stats indicate this sword has dynamic taper. Balance is very centered for responsiveness. Sword is a pile driving thruster with the weight and rapieresque foible. Shaft is an able cutter. As to the dread "Windlass Whippiness". Made this photo presenting the blade on a horizontal plane to demonstrate that the sword does not bow when extended; it is straight. That said it is a long and light blade; it does cavitate in use. It is well tempered and true so in form it seems correct enough to me. May or may not be to your taste. ConclusionPersonal opinion, this is another very well done Windlass. For the price its a well composed piece with taper and balance and a very good blade. You got fiber glass and a wimpy scabbard at this level but for what you paid you can mod these without breaking your piggy bank. It's a keeper. ( Some photos don't quite fit the screen. You can view them full scale by using the print preview button at the top right of the screen. )
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Post by Madmartigen on Mar 15, 2014 9:17:44 GMT
Excellent review Dave, thanks!
I was eyeing this sword for some time, it is nice looking - I like the blade and fittings, also overall shape is cool. I was a bit afraid about Windlass making the longer blade whippy, thanks for clearing this up.
A bit of disappointment about the fiberglass, but as you stated - nothing that cannot be fixed.
Also - how's the peen?
Edited to add: I know it's been said many times, but I do admire your collection. Impressive!
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Post by William Swiger on Mar 15, 2014 10:14:36 GMT
I ended up getting one of these.
Good review and thanks for posting it up.
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Post by Bryan Heff on Mar 15, 2014 11:26:57 GMT
Great review Dave. Thank you. Glad to see Windlass pull off a nicely done bigger sword. In my estimation...the bigger the sword the more difficult to get it right.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2014 13:17:52 GMT
I also have that one and i like it quite a lot. Wondering about the fiberglass issue though; on mine the grip is definitely wood and the scabbard is the usual Windlass "leather-limp-bizkuit"!?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2014 13:19:48 GMT
Right! That collection is amazing! Buy the way, the peen is OK; not Albion ultraclean but OK.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 15, 2014 16:08:47 GMT
Spent most of the morning on an emergency call to the vets :roll: Will post a pic of the peen shortly. As to what's on the grip, don't know if it's a production cycle difference or I'm just leary of the texture of whats there. My grip has the same laquered over texture as the scabbard, causing me to call it fiberglass or naugahide or somthin... Faux leather/fiberglass was refering to the cover over whatever the core is. Since this is peened I'm not poking to find out.
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Mar 16, 2014 0:20:45 GMT
Sorry to hear about the vet situation and hope everything is OK... the sword looks very nice, and the review as well. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by Nilfgaardian on Mar 16, 2014 0:32:02 GMT
Great review and a fine sword. I would make a new grip wrap for it if I got one though, not a fan of the blue colour.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 16, 2014 0:58:14 GMT
Cat came galloping into the house this morning with about 4 inches of the middle hide of his tail hanging by a thread. Didn't seem to bother him, but I'm not a vet and immediately went into panic mode. Had to chase and wrastle him for 90 mins to get him in a box. He made one whine when the car pulled out of the driveway, then nuthin while we waited for the vet. Told everybody in the hospital he was sorta still wild and not used to people and I had no idea how well he'd take all of this. Vet opened the box and semprinihead was rolled up in a ball snoring. :lol: Turned out the scalp loss was inconsequential; Vet said there was no infection and in a month he'd get his hair growing back in; other than that he was healthy as a horse. Worst part of the whole deal was that it ate up half the day and $100.00 bucks for the visit and meds. For the $210 I paid for it, it's really a nice piece. ( Er, we're talkin the sword again, not Windlass the Cat :mrgreen: )
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Post by nddave on Mar 16, 2014 1:15:06 GMT
Nice Review Dave, I have been wanting to purchase one of those for a while now, glad to finally see a review on one. One question I have is, how is the rectangle handle? One thing that kept me from taking the plunge on KoA was just how abruptly edged the handle is. nothing a little sandpaper wouldnt fix before a re-wrap but still, how comfortable is the handle?
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 16, 2014 3:11:35 GMT
I'm a terrible person to answer that one, because I've always worn gauntlets when I handle swords ( goes back to fencing training long, long ago. ) Can't think of any particular swords I've had handling issues with because of grip style. Handled a Hanwei GSOW? About the same. Don't think either have particularly squared of angles.
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Post by nddave on Mar 16, 2014 5:38:49 GMT
Thanks Dave,
Yea I might just be looking to much into it since the it's such a tapered handle. I've been wanting a great sword for a while and bit at the Hero's Warsword by Windlass due to the weekend sale. Still, nice to see a more personal view of this sword, thanks.
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Uhlan
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Post by Uhlan on Mar 17, 2014 15:19:15 GMT
About 1 year ago, or 2 years?, cannot remember, I did a post where I mentioned this sword as a blade replacement for that pigmy blade Windlass used for the German Bastard. Said this sword was way undervalued and linked to the review on SFI done by some HEMA person. Said person was very impressed. This is one of the Windlasses that punches far above its mark. A steal. Did not like the guard at the time, but now and after seeing pictures of the original, it kinda grew on me. It is a beauty as is. Have its sister the Novarra. This one is better. Thanks for the review.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2014 21:30:39 GMT
Glad it wasnt anything serious; i am happy to see how many guys who collect sharp and pointy metallic things do care that way about their cats/dogs/whatever...had a serious incident myself today with a wannabee racedriver knocking my fat kitty off the street; man if i get that one! I swear, some *censored* aim for them when they cross the street! Broken and dislocated hind leg but could be fixed! I would sell ANYTHING for my cats!
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Aikidoka
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Monstrous monk in training...
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Post by Aikidoka on Jan 7, 2018 4:01:26 GMT
For those who haven't seen it, here is an old thread that shows the hilt construction for this English Two Hand Sword: sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/40952I acquired one of these swords from Irongate Armory several months ago and I'm getting the urge to cut with it. I'll probably send it off to Steve Huerta to have a new grip made for it. FYI... after I bought mine, the site showed the sword as being out of stock. But now they appear to have restocked (3 or more in stock): irongatearmory.com/swords/two-handed_swords/english_two-hand_swordEDIT: A couple of corrections to the information on that site. The thickness is not 4.8 mm. The tang is 6mm thick and the blade tapers from there. Also, the weight is not 4 lbs 2 oz. My sword weighs 4 lbs 13 oz.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Jan 7, 2018 11:06:12 GMT
Surprised that this survived. :D
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Veerdin
Member
Penniless Arisocrat
Posts: 78
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Post by Veerdin on Jan 7, 2018 12:17:03 GMT
At first I was very surprised to see this thread pop up, as I just made a thread in the Classifieds forum asking if anybody had one of these for sale! Talk about coincidence. Great review, even though it's approaching 4 years old, now. Plenty of really good info here. I'm hoping to grab one of these swords, myself. Probably later in the year due to my slow finance situation, unless I can find somebody to sell me one at a bargain. And I was a bit concerned about the potential "blade droop" that some thinner, longer swords can have. Especially with Windlass's reputation in that respect. It's very good to know that the blade stays straight when held horizontally! Dave Kelly, if you still own this sword, do you have any info on how it's held up over the years? I don't know if you've used this for cutting or sparring or anything, but even if it's just been a collection piece, I'd be very interested to hear what state it is in four years after the fact. Cheers! And thanks for this review, even if it's a bit old for forum standards.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Jan 7, 2018 22:29:45 GMT
At first I was very surprised to see this thread pop up, as I just made a thread in the Classifieds forum asking if anybody had one of these for sale! Talk about coincidence. Great review, even though it's approaching 4 years old, now. Plenty of really good info here. I'm hoping to grab one of these swords, myself. Probably later in the year due to my slow finance situation, unless I can find somebody to sell me one at a bargain. And I was a bit concerned about the potential "blade droop" that some thinner, longer swords can have. Especially with Windlass's reputation in that respect. It's very good to know that the blade stays straight when held horizontally! Dave Kelly , if you still own this sword, do you have any info on how it's held up over the years? I don't know if you've used this for cutting or sparring or anything, but even if it's just been a collection piece, I'd be very interested to hear what state it is in four years after the fact. Cheers! And thanks for this review, even if it's a bit old for forum standards. Penniless Aristocrat is not good. Sword market has crept upwards in the past 4 years. Re the sustainability of the particular Windlass. It gets dry handled occasionally during maint periods and is other wise a display piece. It is pristeen. same for the scabbard. Windlass has a few stinkers that breed rust. Hanwei's are worse. (Non oriental swords that is)
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Veerdin
Member
Penniless Arisocrat
Posts: 78
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Post by Veerdin on Jan 7, 2018 22:41:38 GMT
Thanks for the reply! Glad to know it isn't the sort of sword that will start crumbling to dust the moment it stops getting oiled properly, not that I plan on neglecting mine - whenever I get one, that is.
I haven't seen much in terms of the hard-use durability of this sword. I know that larger swords can be a bit tricky in that regard, especially the ones that are less costly. Hanwei's Lowlander is another one I'd love to someday own, but I know thanks to Skallagrim's videos that the hilt assembly is prone to losing integrity after only a short period of use. Hopefully this sword doesn't suffer any similar issues.
As for my title, well, I'm just being honest, sadly. While I do technically hold a Lordship (I own a whopping 5 square feet of land with an attached title) I'm afraid finance has been something of a problem for me in the past... Oh, let's say, 7 years? Hopefully that'll be changing soon. In fact I'm kind of counting on that, or else my collection plans will have to take yet another hiatus. But for the time being? The only payment I can offer people is my wit. And that's an acquired taste if ever there was one.
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