Albion Ringeck review
Aug 14, 2014 20:20:10 GMT
Post by Iradei on Aug 14, 2014 20:20:10 GMT
Let’s be straightforward, I’m by no means an expert on this topic and the sword reviewed here is but the second one that I own and is only amongst the few decent ones that I have handled thus far.
I have not seen many reviews dealing with the Ringeck so I thought it might be a good idea to give my feedback concerning this sword:
Now I’m not going to account for in detail why I eventually picked this particular sword over the countless others I could’ve chosen on the Albion site. To make it both simple and brief I’d say that I felt quite attracted by the waisted grip that the Ringeck has along with its gorgeous-looking scent stopper pommel.
I’m a mere customer of Albion’s and as such I have no affiliation with this factory. I purchased this model via Albion Europe.
Historical overview :
This obviously is a thrusting sword as the strongly-tapering blade and the central ridge can tell. As a consequence it was meant to face opponents wearing plate armour. Its narrow point could sneak inside the gaps these kinds of protection had and hopefully for the man wielding this sword, pierce the flesh and vital organs lying beneath it. This very sword was used primarily during the 15th century and is related to the type XVa swords in the Oakeshott typology.
I) The blade :
The most striking thing about the blade is the huge amount of distal taper it has got. At its very base one can measure a thickness of approximately 8 to 9mm while a few centimeters from the tip, the blade is barely 4mm thick. Perhaps this is a common feature to be expected on such a blade type, yet, I it surprised me quite a bit. The edges are evenly narrowed down to a needle-sharp tip forming a perfect isosceles triangle. The central ridge running throughout the length of the blade is just as crisply made and no wavy pattern can be seen. The blade also bears no secondary bevel (or at least visible to the naked eye).
II) The cross guard :
Now the guard is probably the part I dislike most in this sword, not because it is badly made, far from it, but it’s merely a matter of personal taste. As such, I’ll try to be as unbiased as I can on this particular aspect.
The guard is well centered and both quillons are identical to one another. The curves once again evenly flare as they deviate away from the grip. Apart from this I’ve nothing more to add except that even though this is not the type of guard I’m deeply fond of, it definitely would be beyond reproach for someone liking such a design.
III) The Pommel :
This pommel is a wonderful masterpiece in its own right. It is endowed with eight well defined ridges fading away as they come closer to a nicely-ground peen. The flaring shape this pommel has matches perfectly the waisted grip and is well-centered too. This is incidentally the reason why I chose the Ringeck over the Fiore which has the common wheel pommel.
IV) The handle :
As I previously mentioned, the waisted grip Albion offers genuinely gives a unique flair to this sword. The leather wrapping around the wooden handle bears the attractive imprints of the cord it has been firmly tied with. There are also three leather risers : one in the middle, one below the guard and another above the pommel. I’ve always been tremendously fond of these risers. It looks as if it weren’t for them the handle and, by extension the sword itself, would look so dull and plain. I am therefore quite happy to have three on the same grip. I attempted in vain to make out the seam of the leather handle, so it surely is hidden somewhere along the grip but after quite a while looking for it I must have failed to find it. Overall, the grip gives the wielder a feeling of sturdiness and feels great in the hand. It is all the more pleasant to hold on account of the waisted grip shape.
V) Balance :
In this sword the balance is likely to be the most enigmatic feature one can encounter. When I first grabbed it out of the box it came in, I was truly surprised by its weight. I could feel the 1500 grams in my hand quite well and heavy was the very word that instantly came into my mind. While handling it the weight didn’t feel to be much distributed in the blade, but mostly in the hilt and I think this is primarily due to the impressive blade thickness at the base of the blade. Since it strongly tapers towards a both acute and thin tip, the sword felt as though it hadn’t got much blade presence. Nevertheless, once I got accustomed to the balance this sword has, I experienced the opposite feeling. Indeed, it no longer felt “heavy” but very light (in fact even lighter than another sword I own that weighs 200 grams less than this one) and I could then also feel a lot of blade presence. So that’s something I definitely wasn’t expecting.
VI) Fit and Finish :
As far as the fitting and finish are concerned, perfection would be the appropriate word. The hilt shows a very tight assembly thanks to which the different iron parts are less likely to grow loose. This is detail I pay particular attention to since I had a few issues with a previous high end sword (not an Albion one) being not enough tightly assembled and which resulted in quite a lot of play in both the garde and the pommel. No scratches can be seen on the well-polished iron parts and the edges are evenly sharpened. The black leather bears no discoloration.
As for the measurements and weight, they are virtually identical to the ones on the Albion web site.
VII) Cutting :
I haven’t as yet cut with the Ringeck and I’m not planning on doing it in the future.
Conclusion : I consider this sword as being one reaching the pinnacle of harmony. Indeed, on the one hand the curved guard and the pommel match perfectly the waisted grip. And on the other hand, the straight blade wonderfully comes in contrast with this curve theme. Furthermore, there is an obvious tapering theme that can be seen in each and every part of this sword : the blade gets narrower as it comes closer to the tip, the guard tapers towards the grip, the grip tapers towards the pommel and in return, the pommel tapers towards the grip.
Long story short, this truly is a high end sword with an outstanding harmony that makes it so attractive (in my opinion at least). In fact the only thing I can criticize the Albion company for is the delay I had to endure since I ultimately has to wait 6 months instead of the 3 or 4 months predicted. The Ringeck is clearly a weapon worth investing it !
I have not seen many reviews dealing with the Ringeck so I thought it might be a good idea to give my feedback concerning this sword:
Now I’m not going to account for in detail why I eventually picked this particular sword over the countless others I could’ve chosen on the Albion site. To make it both simple and brief I’d say that I felt quite attracted by the waisted grip that the Ringeck has along with its gorgeous-looking scent stopper pommel.
I’m a mere customer of Albion’s and as such I have no affiliation with this factory. I purchased this model via Albion Europe.
Historical overview :
This obviously is a thrusting sword as the strongly-tapering blade and the central ridge can tell. As a consequence it was meant to face opponents wearing plate armour. Its narrow point could sneak inside the gaps these kinds of protection had and hopefully for the man wielding this sword, pierce the flesh and vital organs lying beneath it. This very sword was used primarily during the 15th century and is related to the type XVa swords in the Oakeshott typology.
I) The blade :
The most striking thing about the blade is the huge amount of distal taper it has got. At its very base one can measure a thickness of approximately 8 to 9mm while a few centimeters from the tip, the blade is barely 4mm thick. Perhaps this is a common feature to be expected on such a blade type, yet, I it surprised me quite a bit. The edges are evenly narrowed down to a needle-sharp tip forming a perfect isosceles triangle. The central ridge running throughout the length of the blade is just as crisply made and no wavy pattern can be seen. The blade also bears no secondary bevel (or at least visible to the naked eye).
II) The cross guard :
Now the guard is probably the part I dislike most in this sword, not because it is badly made, far from it, but it’s merely a matter of personal taste. As such, I’ll try to be as unbiased as I can on this particular aspect.
The guard is well centered and both quillons are identical to one another. The curves once again evenly flare as they deviate away from the grip. Apart from this I’ve nothing more to add except that even though this is not the type of guard I’m deeply fond of, it definitely would be beyond reproach for someone liking such a design.
III) The Pommel :
This pommel is a wonderful masterpiece in its own right. It is endowed with eight well defined ridges fading away as they come closer to a nicely-ground peen. The flaring shape this pommel has matches perfectly the waisted grip and is well-centered too. This is incidentally the reason why I chose the Ringeck over the Fiore which has the common wheel pommel.
IV) The handle :
As I previously mentioned, the waisted grip Albion offers genuinely gives a unique flair to this sword. The leather wrapping around the wooden handle bears the attractive imprints of the cord it has been firmly tied with. There are also three leather risers : one in the middle, one below the guard and another above the pommel. I’ve always been tremendously fond of these risers. It looks as if it weren’t for them the handle and, by extension the sword itself, would look so dull and plain. I am therefore quite happy to have three on the same grip. I attempted in vain to make out the seam of the leather handle, so it surely is hidden somewhere along the grip but after quite a while looking for it I must have failed to find it. Overall, the grip gives the wielder a feeling of sturdiness and feels great in the hand. It is all the more pleasant to hold on account of the waisted grip shape.
V) Balance :
In this sword the balance is likely to be the most enigmatic feature one can encounter. When I first grabbed it out of the box it came in, I was truly surprised by its weight. I could feel the 1500 grams in my hand quite well and heavy was the very word that instantly came into my mind. While handling it the weight didn’t feel to be much distributed in the blade, but mostly in the hilt and I think this is primarily due to the impressive blade thickness at the base of the blade. Since it strongly tapers towards a both acute and thin tip, the sword felt as though it hadn’t got much blade presence. Nevertheless, once I got accustomed to the balance this sword has, I experienced the opposite feeling. Indeed, it no longer felt “heavy” but very light (in fact even lighter than another sword I own that weighs 200 grams less than this one) and I could then also feel a lot of blade presence. So that’s something I definitely wasn’t expecting.
VI) Fit and Finish :
As far as the fitting and finish are concerned, perfection would be the appropriate word. The hilt shows a very tight assembly thanks to which the different iron parts are less likely to grow loose. This is detail I pay particular attention to since I had a few issues with a previous high end sword (not an Albion one) being not enough tightly assembled and which resulted in quite a lot of play in both the garde and the pommel. No scratches can be seen on the well-polished iron parts and the edges are evenly sharpened. The black leather bears no discoloration.
As for the measurements and weight, they are virtually identical to the ones on the Albion web site.
VII) Cutting :
I haven’t as yet cut with the Ringeck and I’m not planning on doing it in the future.
Conclusion : I consider this sword as being one reaching the pinnacle of harmony. Indeed, on the one hand the curved guard and the pommel match perfectly the waisted grip. And on the other hand, the straight blade wonderfully comes in contrast with this curve theme. Furthermore, there is an obvious tapering theme that can be seen in each and every part of this sword : the blade gets narrower as it comes closer to the tip, the guard tapers towards the grip, the grip tapers towards the pommel and in return, the pommel tapers towards the grip.
Long story short, this truly is a high end sword with an outstanding harmony that makes it so attractive (in my opinion at least). In fact the only thing I can criticize the Albion company for is the delay I had to endure since I ultimately has to wait 6 months instead of the 3 or 4 months predicted. The Ringeck is clearly a weapon worth investing it !