Arms & Armor Town Guard Sword, Scabbard & Baldric Review
Aug 16, 2015 13:49:59 GMT
Post by psmith34 on Aug 16, 2015 13:49:59 GMT
Arms and Armor Town Guard Sword, Christian Fletcher Scabbard and Renaissance Leather Rapier Baldric Review.
Introduction
One of my favorite things to do is read about and see pictures of the new swords people get, so I thought it was only fair that I contribute.
I have been collecting swords for a couple of years and find myself being attracted to swords worn on a daily basis; arming swords, side swords and rapiers. From the moment I saw the Town Guard Sword I was attracted to its elegant hilt and robust cut and thrust blade.
Historical overview
The Arms and Armor Town Guard Sword is a replica of a sword made for the Munich Town Guard of around 1610 AD. The original from which the replica is based now resides in the Wallace Collection, London. There are however a number of similar such swords in collections around
the world.
The Town Guard Sword has a cut and thrust type blade with a complex swept hilt. The blade would be considered an Oakeshott type XV or XVIII. This sword shows the development of medieval arming sword to renaissance side sword. The sword has the same profile as say an Albion Poitiers but with slightly different proportions, the Poitiers being broader at the hilt but both tapering to an extremely acute point.
A further development of the side sword was the rapier however both co-existed throughout the renaissance. The long slender rapier was well suited for civilian use but more robust swords, such as this style of side sword along with many other styles, were more suited for military use. Matt Easton from scholagladiatoria discusses the development from arming sword to side sword and then rapier in an excellent YouTube video.
Full Disclosure
The sword was ordered from Arms and Armor though Kult of Athena and the full price was paid.
The scabbard was made by Christian Fletcher and was ordered though Kult of Athena for the full price.
The baldric was ordered from Renaissance Leather for the full price.
I have no association with any of the above except as a customer.
Statistics
Overall Length: 40 1/2'' Blade: 34''
Weight: 3 lb
Thickness: 6.6 mm - 2.1 mm
Width: 20.8 mm - 48 mm
Grip Length: 3 1/4"
Components
The Sword:
The Arms and Armor Town Guard Sword is a cut and thrust style blade paired with a swept hilt. The hilt starts with fore and rear finger rings coming from the quillion block. The outer guard consists of a side ring (small port) and a loop guard. The Inner guard (counter guard) consists of three branches, two from the rear and one from the fore which join to form a single branch, which then joins with a branch from the loop guard and the fore quillion to form the knuckle bow. The pommel is a scent stopper with a finial on the top. All the hilt components are extremely solid and well finished with no signs of welds where they are joined. The finish of all the hilt components is very smooth and has a sort of granular appearance which I assume must come from the casting process. The grip is wrapped with very attractive twisted wire.
The blade is an Oakeshott type XV or XVIII. The blade is extremely well executed with the center ridge running straight and true all the way to the tip. It has an apple seed edge which although not paper cutting sharp is okay.
The Scabbard:
The scabbard is a custom scabbard made by Christian Fletcher. It has a wood core with black leather covering. The matching chape and locket are made of stainless steel infused with copper. The quality of the workmanship is outstanding. It fits the blade like a glove.
The Baldric:
The leather baldric is a replica of a historical 8 buckle design shown in a painting by Theodoor Rombouts(1597-1637) and is made by Renaissance Leather . It is very comfortable to wear. The wide belt coming off the buckles curves into the small of the back and really supports the sword well. The leather is of good quality and is quite thick yet still supple. The construction of all the components is very solid.
Handling Characteristics
I have very limited experience regarding the handling of swords as I have never been involved in a sword related martial art, nor have I handled many swords. I will try and compare the Town Guard Sword to the Albion Poitiers as I know that this is considered by many to be a good example of a cut and thrust sword.
The Town Guard is about 0.5 pounds heavier than the Poitiers and you can feel this difference as soon as you pick it up, further the weight seems to be concentrated at the guard which is to be expected with all that extra steel. The Town Guard feels very lively in the thrust as does the Poitiers but somewhat sluggish when cutting compared to the Poitiers. When swinging the sword it gains a lot of momentum which takes some effort to reverse. But again, I must emphasize my lack of experience in knowing what to expect and how to handle different types of swords.
When gripping the sword it feels natural to loop a finger through the fore finger ring. Using a hammer grip feels very unnatural with this sword.
Conclusions
I have been very happy with this purchase. Everything about the sword, scabbard and baldric have exceeded my expectations. I love the aesthetics of the sword and scabbard, and the baldric really completes the package. Although it was quite expensive I would highly recommend this sword, scabbard and baldric.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my review.
Phil.
Introduction
One of my favorite things to do is read about and see pictures of the new swords people get, so I thought it was only fair that I contribute.
I have been collecting swords for a couple of years and find myself being attracted to swords worn on a daily basis; arming swords, side swords and rapiers. From the moment I saw the Town Guard Sword I was attracted to its elegant hilt and robust cut and thrust blade.
Historical overview
The Arms and Armor Town Guard Sword is a replica of a sword made for the Munich Town Guard of around 1610 AD. The original from which the replica is based now resides in the Wallace Collection, London. There are however a number of similar such swords in collections around
the world.
The Town Guard Sword has a cut and thrust type blade with a complex swept hilt. The blade would be considered an Oakeshott type XV or XVIII. This sword shows the development of medieval arming sword to renaissance side sword. The sword has the same profile as say an Albion Poitiers but with slightly different proportions, the Poitiers being broader at the hilt but both tapering to an extremely acute point.
A further development of the side sword was the rapier however both co-existed throughout the renaissance. The long slender rapier was well suited for civilian use but more robust swords, such as this style of side sword along with many other styles, were more suited for military use. Matt Easton from scholagladiatoria discusses the development from arming sword to side sword and then rapier in an excellent YouTube video.
Full Disclosure
The sword was ordered from Arms and Armor though Kult of Athena and the full price was paid.
The scabbard was made by Christian Fletcher and was ordered though Kult of Athena for the full price.
The baldric was ordered from Renaissance Leather for the full price.
I have no association with any of the above except as a customer.
Statistics
Overall Length: 40 1/2'' Blade: 34''
Weight: 3 lb
Thickness: 6.6 mm - 2.1 mm
Width: 20.8 mm - 48 mm
Grip Length: 3 1/4"
Components
The Sword:
The Arms and Armor Town Guard Sword is a cut and thrust style blade paired with a swept hilt. The hilt starts with fore and rear finger rings coming from the quillion block. The outer guard consists of a side ring (small port) and a loop guard. The Inner guard (counter guard) consists of three branches, two from the rear and one from the fore which join to form a single branch, which then joins with a branch from the loop guard and the fore quillion to form the knuckle bow. The pommel is a scent stopper with a finial on the top. All the hilt components are extremely solid and well finished with no signs of welds where they are joined. The finish of all the hilt components is very smooth and has a sort of granular appearance which I assume must come from the casting process. The grip is wrapped with very attractive twisted wire.
The blade is an Oakeshott type XV or XVIII. The blade is extremely well executed with the center ridge running straight and true all the way to the tip. It has an apple seed edge which although not paper cutting sharp is okay.
The Scabbard:
The scabbard is a custom scabbard made by Christian Fletcher. It has a wood core with black leather covering. The matching chape and locket are made of stainless steel infused with copper. The quality of the workmanship is outstanding. It fits the blade like a glove.
The Baldric:
The leather baldric is a replica of a historical 8 buckle design shown in a painting by Theodoor Rombouts(1597-1637) and is made by Renaissance Leather . It is very comfortable to wear. The wide belt coming off the buckles curves into the small of the back and really supports the sword well. The leather is of good quality and is quite thick yet still supple. The construction of all the components is very solid.
Handling Characteristics
I have very limited experience regarding the handling of swords as I have never been involved in a sword related martial art, nor have I handled many swords. I will try and compare the Town Guard Sword to the Albion Poitiers as I know that this is considered by many to be a good example of a cut and thrust sword.
The Town Guard is about 0.5 pounds heavier than the Poitiers and you can feel this difference as soon as you pick it up, further the weight seems to be concentrated at the guard which is to be expected with all that extra steel. The Town Guard feels very lively in the thrust as does the Poitiers but somewhat sluggish when cutting compared to the Poitiers. When swinging the sword it gains a lot of momentum which takes some effort to reverse. But again, I must emphasize my lack of experience in knowing what to expect and how to handle different types of swords.
When gripping the sword it feels natural to loop a finger through the fore finger ring. Using a hammer grip feels very unnatural with this sword.
Conclusions
I have been very happy with this purchase. Everything about the sword, scabbard and baldric have exceeded my expectations. I love the aesthetics of the sword and scabbard, and the baldric really completes the package. Although it was quite expensive I would highly recommend this sword, scabbard and baldric.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my review.
Phil.