Windlass Rheinfelden and Hanwei Renaissance Side Sword
Mar 26, 2015 5:36:14 GMT
Post by Afoo on Mar 26, 2015 5:36:14 GMT
Hello.
So, recently Dave Kelly 's made a post about 17th century swords . In his post he talks about (among other things) the since discontinues Windlass Rheinfelden. Ever since seeing it, I have wanted something similar - something with side rings and a distinct renaissance flavour.
Since the Rheinfelden was only available from Irongate Armory from across the pond, I decided that getting one would be too expensive for me. As such, I set my sights on something similar, and ended up getting the Hanwei Side Sword from JGonzalez , which I posted about here.
Not long afterwards, I found a supplier which has an old Rheinfelden left in stock from years ago. It was a bit rusty with age, but managed to get it for $165 plus shipping from the states. Now that I have the two side by side, lets see how they measure up
Both swords side by side
From the stats and the pictures, it is evident that the Rheinfelden is significantly longer than the side sword - the side sword feels like an evolution of the arming sword with a fancier guard, whereas the Rheinfelden feels a bit more like a rapier. This difference goes beyond the length of the blades. From the states, we can see that the Rheinfelden is the lighter of the two swords, despite the longer blade. Part of this is due to the fact that the Side Sword has a HUGE pommel. However, I also believe that the side sword has a heftier blade. Much has been said about the under-built blade on the Hanwei. However, the numbers indicate that it is actually made of thicker stock than the Rheinfelden. Additionally, the side sword has a central fuller, whereas the Rheinfelden does not. This does two things: 1) it makes the blade on the side sword look wider than it actually is, giving it more visual impact and 2) it means that the geometry of the blade allowsit to contain more material. In order to accommodate the fuller, the side sword blade must run at its maximum thickness for a greater portion of the blade profile (see below), whereas the Rheinfelden's blade can slope inwards more gradually, as it does not have to be at its maximum thickness for as much of the time (if that makes sense?) The fuller on the Hanwei is very shallow, and mostly for show. It looks deeper because they polished it in order to enhance the contrast, but trust me, its not doing too much. Between these differences, the side sword feels more like a cutter, despite the closer PoB, whereas the Rheinfelden, with its longer, slimmer blade feels more suited to poking.
Both blades are relatively stiff - the Windlass is a *bit* floppier than the Hanwei (even when taking into account the extra length), but not excessively so. Given the difference in profile and thickness, this is perfectly acceptable and not unexpected
Moving on to the hilts - both swords feature lovely hoop and ring hilts. The Side Sword is more elegant, and features an inside bar guard. The rings and hoops on the Side Sword are larger and more open, whereas those on the Rheinfelden are more restrictive (as mentioned by Ulahn in his review). The Rheinfelden's furniture is made of much thicker stock, which makes it feel more sturdy. In contrast to this, the Hanwei's side rings look like they could almost be snapped off by a robust knock. Dave Kelly mentioned that he suspects the Rheinfelden's furniture to be of pot metal. However, the hilt on my example is magnetic. HOWEVER, the Side Sword's hilt is NOT magnetic, indicating that, if any of these swords can be accused of having pot metal furniture, its the Hanwei.
The Rheinfelden has larger grips, though the Hanwei's are not exactly lacking either. It should be noted that the pommel on the Hanwei is a bit more restrictive due to its huge side and bulbous shape. As such, you can do an open-handed grip on the Rheinfelden with ease. However, same cannot be said for the Hanwei, as the short grip and wide pommel get in the way. Yes, I know you are supposed to finger the ricasso on these swords, but there are times where that extra few inches of reach may come in handy.
One niggle about the Rheinfelden is that its side ring protrudes out a bit from the hilt. As such, your finger has to bend a bit out of the way to get to the ricasso. It can be a good thing or a bad thing - its good in that it gives you more stuff to hold on to (ie: more contact area) if you have long fingers. If you have smaller hands though, you may have trouble reaching around the bulky rings to get to the ricasso.
Scabbard-wise, nothing much to see here. Both have the usual plain black leather with steel chape and drag. Both have a thin plywood-like liner, and both hold the sword reasonably well. One curious thing is that the scabbard opening for the Rheinfelden is a bit larger than the blade. Odd, but does not effect sword retention or functionality.
Both swords do a good job representing their renaissance counterparts - they are fun to hold and handle, and are very comfortable in the hand. Despite the closer PoB on the Hanwei, I would characterize that as more of the cutter, while the Rheinfelden is the thruster in my eyes. At the end of the day though, they are both cut and thrust swords at heart. Yes, they are both slightly under-built relative to their historical brethren, but they still provide the correct look and feel,
If you can find one for cheap, I would consider getting one. With the Euro being as low as it is, may be a good time to start looking around at the Irongate offering, or raid some of the smaller vendors for leftover stock :P
So, recently Dave Kelly 's made a post about 17th century swords . In his post he talks about (among other things) the since discontinues Windlass Rheinfelden. Ever since seeing it, I have wanted something similar - something with side rings and a distinct renaissance flavour.
Since the Rheinfelden was only available from Irongate Armory from across the pond, I decided that getting one would be too expensive for me. As such, I set my sights on something similar, and ended up getting the Hanwei Side Sword from JGonzalez , which I posted about here.
Not long afterwards, I found a supplier which has an old Rheinfelden left in stock from years ago. It was a bit rusty with age, but managed to get it for $165 plus shipping from the states. Now that I have the two side by side, lets see how they measure up
Both swords side by side
From the stats and the pictures, it is evident that the Rheinfelden is significantly longer than the side sword - the side sword feels like an evolution of the arming sword with a fancier guard, whereas the Rheinfelden feels a bit more like a rapier. This difference goes beyond the length of the blades. From the states, we can see that the Rheinfelden is the lighter of the two swords, despite the longer blade. Part of this is due to the fact that the Side Sword has a HUGE pommel. However, I also believe that the side sword has a heftier blade. Much has been said about the under-built blade on the Hanwei. However, the numbers indicate that it is actually made of thicker stock than the Rheinfelden. Additionally, the side sword has a central fuller, whereas the Rheinfelden does not. This does two things: 1) it makes the blade on the side sword look wider than it actually is, giving it more visual impact and 2) it means that the geometry of the blade allowsit to contain more material. In order to accommodate the fuller, the side sword blade must run at its maximum thickness for a greater portion of the blade profile (see below), whereas the Rheinfelden's blade can slope inwards more gradually, as it does not have to be at its maximum thickness for as much of the time (if that makes sense?) The fuller on the Hanwei is very shallow, and mostly for show. It looks deeper because they polished it in order to enhance the contrast, but trust me, its not doing too much. Between these differences, the side sword feels more like a cutter, despite the closer PoB, whereas the Rheinfelden, with its longer, slimmer blade feels more suited to poking.
Both blades are relatively stiff - the Windlass is a *bit* floppier than the Hanwei (even when taking into account the extra length), but not excessively so. Given the difference in profile and thickness, this is perfectly acceptable and not unexpected
Moving on to the hilts - both swords feature lovely hoop and ring hilts. The Side Sword is more elegant, and features an inside bar guard. The rings and hoops on the Side Sword are larger and more open, whereas those on the Rheinfelden are more restrictive (as mentioned by Ulahn in his review). The Rheinfelden's furniture is made of much thicker stock, which makes it feel more sturdy. In contrast to this, the Hanwei's side rings look like they could almost be snapped off by a robust knock. Dave Kelly mentioned that he suspects the Rheinfelden's furniture to be of pot metal. However, the hilt on my example is magnetic. HOWEVER, the Side Sword's hilt is NOT magnetic, indicating that, if any of these swords can be accused of having pot metal furniture, its the Hanwei.
The Rheinfelden has larger grips, though the Hanwei's are not exactly lacking either. It should be noted that the pommel on the Hanwei is a bit more restrictive due to its huge side and bulbous shape. As such, you can do an open-handed grip on the Rheinfelden with ease. However, same cannot be said for the Hanwei, as the short grip and wide pommel get in the way. Yes, I know you are supposed to finger the ricasso on these swords, but there are times where that extra few inches of reach may come in handy.
One niggle about the Rheinfelden is that its side ring protrudes out a bit from the hilt. As such, your finger has to bend a bit out of the way to get to the ricasso. It can be a good thing or a bad thing - its good in that it gives you more stuff to hold on to (ie: more contact area) if you have long fingers. If you have smaller hands though, you may have trouble reaching around the bulky rings to get to the ricasso.
Scabbard-wise, nothing much to see here. Both have the usual plain black leather with steel chape and drag. Both have a thin plywood-like liner, and both hold the sword reasonably well. One curious thing is that the scabbard opening for the Rheinfelden is a bit larger than the blade. Odd, but does not effect sword retention or functionality.
Both swords do a good job representing their renaissance counterparts - they are fun to hold and handle, and are very comfortable in the hand. Despite the closer PoB on the Hanwei, I would characterize that as more of the cutter, while the Rheinfelden is the thruster in my eyes. At the end of the day though, they are both cut and thrust swords at heart. Yes, they are both slightly under-built relative to their historical brethren, but they still provide the correct look and feel,
If you can find one for cheap, I would consider getting one. With the Euro being as low as it is, may be a good time to start looking around at the Irongate offering, or raid some of the smaller vendors for leftover stock :P