Albion Swords Landgraf Type XVII
Jan 11, 2015 7:12:56 GMT
Post by Dave Kelly on Jan 11, 2015 7:12:56 GMT
ALBION SWORDS LANDGRAF TYPE XVII
Introduction
This review is the third in a series of reviews of swords purchased by me in the last quarter of 2014. The Valiant Armory XVa Crecy and Albion XVa Ringeck are here:
sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/43078/valiant-armoury-crecy-special-edition
sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/43168/albion-swords-ringeck-xva
The Landgraf was the first Albion I ever purchased. I sold it to board member Kelmain. Two of these came up for auction during the Christmas season and I was lucky enough to get one of them. Medieval arms are not my specialty. There are a lot of folks here better qualified to speak to the qualities of this sword. But I will try to relate why I am particularly fond of the XVII type.
Disclaimer
The author is addressing a sword purchased by himself. I have no affiliation or considerations from the manufacturer or wholesalers of Albion swords.
Background
For detailed elements of background I refer you to the Albion sales presentation on their site and a review from MyArmoury:
www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-medieval-landgraf-xvii.htm
myarmoury.com/review_alb_lansem.html
Sword Elements
The blade is 36x1.75 inches a the base. Pob is 4.5 inches. Seemingly smaller than the XVa
The blade is hexagonal(six sided). 6mm thick but the core of the blade is .5 in wide at that thickness. Although of less mass than the XVa it feels about the same. One handed it actually feels like it has more forward weight than the XVa.
The point has twice the stock of the Ringeck but is finer than the VA Crecy.
Hilts employs an H type pommel, tapered grip and type 6 guard. The scabbard is borrowed from my VA Templar. This sword seats comfortably in the scabbard.
Handling
Balance is tight, thanks to the aggressive fullering of the 12 inches of the blade forte. So point control remains excellent.
The character of the blade approaches 16th Century cut and thrust weapons in dimensions.
The large pommel provides little play for two hands, but the sword is at it's best when used with both hands.
Conclusions
The hex blade is a less common approach whose use varies in time and regions. Seems to show up more in eastern europe. Perhaps working with a six sided object takes more time and effort to work out properly than a diamond shape. In the Landgraf this effectively gets a sword that uses a broader band of thickness with a more compact blade to achieve similar performance as a diamond blade.
While this achieves similar results to the XVa and the balance is slightly backed off from the XVa the XVII feels like it has slightly more forward bias. Must be the fullering pushing the blade weight forward a bit.
Aesthetically, the appealing visual impact of the XVII is of a longer, leaner sword.
Introduction
This review is the third in a series of reviews of swords purchased by me in the last quarter of 2014. The Valiant Armory XVa Crecy and Albion XVa Ringeck are here:
sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/43078/valiant-armoury-crecy-special-edition
sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/43168/albion-swords-ringeck-xva
The Landgraf was the first Albion I ever purchased. I sold it to board member Kelmain. Two of these came up for auction during the Christmas season and I was lucky enough to get one of them. Medieval arms are not my specialty. There are a lot of folks here better qualified to speak to the qualities of this sword. But I will try to relate why I am particularly fond of the XVII type.
Disclaimer
The author is addressing a sword purchased by himself. I have no affiliation or considerations from the manufacturer or wholesalers of Albion swords.
Background
For detailed elements of background I refer you to the Albion sales presentation on their site and a review from MyArmoury:
www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-medieval-landgraf-xvii.htm
myarmoury.com/review_alb_lansem.html
Sword Elements
The blade is 36x1.75 inches a the base. Pob is 4.5 inches. Seemingly smaller than the XVa
The blade is hexagonal(six sided). 6mm thick but the core of the blade is .5 in wide at that thickness. Although of less mass than the XVa it feels about the same. One handed it actually feels like it has more forward weight than the XVa.
The point has twice the stock of the Ringeck but is finer than the VA Crecy.
Hilts employs an H type pommel, tapered grip and type 6 guard. The scabbard is borrowed from my VA Templar. This sword seats comfortably in the scabbard.
Handling
Balance is tight, thanks to the aggressive fullering of the 12 inches of the blade forte. So point control remains excellent.
The character of the blade approaches 16th Century cut and thrust weapons in dimensions.
The large pommel provides little play for two hands, but the sword is at it's best when used with both hands.
Conclusions
The hex blade is a less common approach whose use varies in time and regions. Seems to show up more in eastern europe. Perhaps working with a six sided object takes more time and effort to work out properly than a diamond shape. In the Landgraf this effectively gets a sword that uses a broader band of thickness with a more compact blade to achieve similar performance as a diamond blade.
While this achieves similar results to the XVa and the balance is slightly backed off from the XVa the XVII feels like it has slightly more forward bias. Must be the fullering pushing the blade weight forward a bit.
Aesthetically, the appealing visual impact of the XVII is of a longer, leaner sword.
nice pics too !
