Windlass Spartacus Arena Sword
Mar 27, 2014 14:30:43 GMT
Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Mar 27, 2014 14:30:43 GMT
Windlass Spartacus Arena Sword
Sean Stevens, Grovetown GA
Introduction
This sword typically is not my cup of tea. I don't find myself interested in too many lower-end swords these days... call me a sword snob if you will, but after having owned so many Odinblades, Atrims, Albions and the like... its just rare I get excited about a sub 300 production sword now. To be honest... this sword was no exception.
I've watched the 'Spartacus' series... there were some things I liked about it, and some things I didn't. That said... I found this sword in the show to be at least interesting. Sort of like a roman gladius but with a more dynamic blade shape... it was a unique looking weapon. Windlass, the king of licensed TV and Movie swords, made a functional version:
www.museumreplicas.com/p-1819-sp ... sword.aspx
I wasn't instantly interested... but when they put the sword on their Deal of the Day and a couple forum members were talking about it... it occurred to me I had not done a review of a sub 300 priced sword for a while... so i ordered it up and decided to give it a shot.
Historical overview
This sword is a licensed replica of a TV series sword... its not intended to be a authentic replica of a true historical piece. In my opinion, the waters get somewhat murky when dealing with historical roman gladiator weapons... I've found a lot of very strong opinions on what was used, what is real... and those opinions differ wildly. Many think gladiators used the traditional Gladius, others think a weapon more like a Sica was used: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sica
Clearly this sword is designed more like a Sica... but that is incidental, its a TV replica.
Full Disclosure
I bought this sword with my own money, and received no discounts or consideration from Windlass for a review. I did, however, plan on giving the sword when I was done to my nephew... so from the jump I had no intention of keeping the sword.
Initial Impressions
Since I live less then an hour from the MRL warehouse, shipping was pretty quick. ;-)
The sword was well packed, as has always been the case for me regarding MRL/Windlass products. It was well greased and protected.
The sword felt lighter then I thought it would... with such a wide blade and Windlass having a history of heavier weapons. The balance is a bit strange given the swords sharp and that light weight of the hilt. Right off the bat I knew this sword would be different then any sword I'd handled before.
Statistics
Again, I failed here... as I looked over the sword, wrote the stats down on a piece of paper (The same one I had stats for my custom XVIIIb recently reviewed) and then I boxed up the sword and gave it to my nephew. When I got back and sat down to write out the reviews, the paper with the stats for this and the XVIIIb were gone. :-(
From Windlass:
Overall: 32"
Blade: 24" long, 2" wide, 3/16" thick
Wt: 2 lbs / 4 oz
From Kult of Athena:
Overall Length: 32'' Blade: 24''
Weight: 2 lb 4 oz
P.O.B.: 3 1/4''
Thickness: 4.4 mm - 3.8 mm
Width: 51.5 mm
Grip Length: 8 1/2''
Components
The Blade
As you can see, the sharpening from Windlass leaves a pretty large secondary bevel. Its sharp, sure, but if you want really good performance out of it you would certainly want to smooth out the transition. The blade is sharp on both sides, and it has a pretty wicked tip. The blade is wide but short... and angles oddly like a Sica. The swell from the guard is interesting.
The Handle
The grip is surprisingly comfortable. Its wrapped with a suede like material. Its not too thin, not too thick... just right for my hands. There is some staining here and there along the grip... not a problem for me but could be for those who like everything pristine. There is a lot of room and the pommel and guard are rounded and turn away from your hand, making the over all grip feel very cozy. The material is tactile and grippy, which would be good when hands get sweaty.
The Guard
The guard is a metal plate over the wood. I find the wood guard with metal inlay rings to be very attractive. The metal plate had a large odd looking gap where the blade meets, which I'm not a fan off. There is no rattle however and everything seems tight.
The Pommel
Big round wood ball with what looks like a peen, but is actually a recessed thread. Not sure how you would un-thread it, but it seems solid. I'm normally not a fan of threaded pommels... but the ones I don't mind so much are on circular or uniform pommels. On non-uniform pommels if the thread becomes lose the pommel looks off balance and losses its symmetry with the sword. With a uniform round pommel, that is not an issue.
Handling Characteristics
This is a VERY strange sword to use. Its not heavy... but it is slightly awkward. Despite the light wood hilt and wide blade, its not blade heavy... but certainly has blade presence. The odd shape of the Sica-like blade makes the handling unlike anything else I've used. The comfortable grip makes swinging the sword easy... but the over-all handling is very odd and unfamiliar to me.
Over all the sword is easy to swing, its not bad in the recovery, the grip is comfortable in use... but I never got quite used to it.
Test Cutting
The rough and steep secondary bevel really hurts this sword in cutting. It doesn't so much cut as tear the targets apart. I'm VERY sure that if I smooth the transition on the edge out it would perform much, MUCH better. The sword is easy to bring to speed and cut with... tho edge alignment is a little tricky. I don't think I'd use the blade on heavy or even medium targets... it does not feel that sturdy. Consider this sword a light cutter only.
Conclusions
Overall the Spartacus sword is decent at its price-point... but not good enough to be considered one of the 'good buys' from Windlass IMO. While everything is solid and there were no rattles... it does not give an impression of durability at all in handling it. The Balance is strange an unfamiliar... and the cutting suffers more from the rough secondary bevel then other Windlass swords I've used... I think due to the odd balance. The lack of a scabbard is a small detractor as well... as most Windlass sword do come with one.
Pros
VERY affordable
Quick and safe shipping
Licensed Replica that is actually functional
Cons
Odd Balance
No scabbard
Big Secondary bevel (or un-sharpened)
The Bottom Line
I think if you were a fan of the TV series and wanted a replica... or you just really loved the look of the sword... it would be a good buy. Its VERY affordable and is not by any means a bad sword. However... if the look of it did not attract you, then give it a pass. Judging it just as a cutting sword it wouldn't be a 'must buy' to me.
Its available from MRL and KoA for just under 130 dollars, which makes it very affordable. As functional TV replicas are rare, and one this affordable even more rare, I think there is certainly something to be said for this sword.
Thanks for reading.
Sean Stevens, Grovetown GA
Introduction
This sword typically is not my cup of tea. I don't find myself interested in too many lower-end swords these days... call me a sword snob if you will, but after having owned so many Odinblades, Atrims, Albions and the like... its just rare I get excited about a sub 300 production sword now. To be honest... this sword was no exception.
I've watched the 'Spartacus' series... there were some things I liked about it, and some things I didn't. That said... I found this sword in the show to be at least interesting. Sort of like a roman gladius but with a more dynamic blade shape... it was a unique looking weapon. Windlass, the king of licensed TV and Movie swords, made a functional version:
www.museumreplicas.com/p-1819-sp ... sword.aspx
I wasn't instantly interested... but when they put the sword on their Deal of the Day and a couple forum members were talking about it... it occurred to me I had not done a review of a sub 300 priced sword for a while... so i ordered it up and decided to give it a shot.
Historical overview
This sword is a licensed replica of a TV series sword... its not intended to be a authentic replica of a true historical piece. In my opinion, the waters get somewhat murky when dealing with historical roman gladiator weapons... I've found a lot of very strong opinions on what was used, what is real... and those opinions differ wildly. Many think gladiators used the traditional Gladius, others think a weapon more like a Sica was used: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sica
Clearly this sword is designed more like a Sica... but that is incidental, its a TV replica.
Full Disclosure
I bought this sword with my own money, and received no discounts or consideration from Windlass for a review. I did, however, plan on giving the sword when I was done to my nephew... so from the jump I had no intention of keeping the sword.
Initial Impressions
Since I live less then an hour from the MRL warehouse, shipping was pretty quick. ;-)
The sword was well packed, as has always been the case for me regarding MRL/Windlass products. It was well greased and protected.
The sword felt lighter then I thought it would... with such a wide blade and Windlass having a history of heavier weapons. The balance is a bit strange given the swords sharp and that light weight of the hilt. Right off the bat I knew this sword would be different then any sword I'd handled before.
Statistics
Again, I failed here... as I looked over the sword, wrote the stats down on a piece of paper (The same one I had stats for my custom XVIIIb recently reviewed) and then I boxed up the sword and gave it to my nephew. When I got back and sat down to write out the reviews, the paper with the stats for this and the XVIIIb were gone. :-(
From Windlass:
Overall: 32"
Blade: 24" long, 2" wide, 3/16" thick
Wt: 2 lbs / 4 oz
From Kult of Athena:
Overall Length: 32'' Blade: 24''
Weight: 2 lb 4 oz
P.O.B.: 3 1/4''
Thickness: 4.4 mm - 3.8 mm
Width: 51.5 mm
Grip Length: 8 1/2''
Components
The Blade
As you can see, the sharpening from Windlass leaves a pretty large secondary bevel. Its sharp, sure, but if you want really good performance out of it you would certainly want to smooth out the transition. The blade is sharp on both sides, and it has a pretty wicked tip. The blade is wide but short... and angles oddly like a Sica. The swell from the guard is interesting.
The Handle
The grip is surprisingly comfortable. Its wrapped with a suede like material. Its not too thin, not too thick... just right for my hands. There is some staining here and there along the grip... not a problem for me but could be for those who like everything pristine. There is a lot of room and the pommel and guard are rounded and turn away from your hand, making the over all grip feel very cozy. The material is tactile and grippy, which would be good when hands get sweaty.
The Guard
The guard is a metal plate over the wood. I find the wood guard with metal inlay rings to be very attractive. The metal plate had a large odd looking gap where the blade meets, which I'm not a fan off. There is no rattle however and everything seems tight.
The Pommel
Big round wood ball with what looks like a peen, but is actually a recessed thread. Not sure how you would un-thread it, but it seems solid. I'm normally not a fan of threaded pommels... but the ones I don't mind so much are on circular or uniform pommels. On non-uniform pommels if the thread becomes lose the pommel looks off balance and losses its symmetry with the sword. With a uniform round pommel, that is not an issue.
Handling Characteristics
This is a VERY strange sword to use. Its not heavy... but it is slightly awkward. Despite the light wood hilt and wide blade, its not blade heavy... but certainly has blade presence. The odd shape of the Sica-like blade makes the handling unlike anything else I've used. The comfortable grip makes swinging the sword easy... but the over-all handling is very odd and unfamiliar to me.
Over all the sword is easy to swing, its not bad in the recovery, the grip is comfortable in use... but I never got quite used to it.
Test Cutting
The rough and steep secondary bevel really hurts this sword in cutting. It doesn't so much cut as tear the targets apart. I'm VERY sure that if I smooth the transition on the edge out it would perform much, MUCH better. The sword is easy to bring to speed and cut with... tho edge alignment is a little tricky. I don't think I'd use the blade on heavy or even medium targets... it does not feel that sturdy. Consider this sword a light cutter only.
Conclusions
Overall the Spartacus sword is decent at its price-point... but not good enough to be considered one of the 'good buys' from Windlass IMO. While everything is solid and there were no rattles... it does not give an impression of durability at all in handling it. The Balance is strange an unfamiliar... and the cutting suffers more from the rough secondary bevel then other Windlass swords I've used... I think due to the odd balance. The lack of a scabbard is a small detractor as well... as most Windlass sword do come with one.
Pros
VERY affordable
Quick and safe shipping
Licensed Replica that is actually functional
Cons
Odd Balance
No scabbard
Big Secondary bevel (or un-sharpened)
The Bottom Line
I think if you were a fan of the TV series and wanted a replica... or you just really loved the look of the sword... it would be a good buy. Its VERY affordable and is not by any means a bad sword. However... if the look of it did not attract you, then give it a pass. Judging it just as a cutting sword it wouldn't be a 'must buy' to me.
Its available from MRL and KoA for just under 130 dollars, which makes it very affordable. As functional TV replicas are rare, and one this affordable even more rare, I think there is certainly something to be said for this sword.
Thanks for reading.