Maldon Seax Review- Windlass Battlecry
Apr 16, 2016 21:23:06 GMT
Post by themagicalmark on Apr 16, 2016 21:23:06 GMT
This should be a short review, theres not a lot to say about this product because its pretty straightforward. However there are points to be made nonetheless.
Introduction:
Windlass launched a new line of swords this year (2016) Titled "Battlecry" these new weapons are centered around being tough and durable and fully functional in battle.
This caught my curiosity because Windlass is mostly considered to be a low end priced sword production company, while their products aren't bad they always have noticeable flaws or inconsistencies. However Windlass' advertising for this line promised real tough and durable weapons so i was interested to see how these hold up to that claim.
I went with the Seax because i was looking for a larger knife type weapon i could use for heavier practice as well as woods tool use. MRL sold these for a discounted introductory price so i went ahead and picked one up while they were cheaper.
Historical Overview:
Seax's were single edged knives used in northern Europe that had a wide range of different sizes and styles. They're commonly associated with Vikings. They're functionality was for close quarters combat as well as general utility. The Maldon Seax is not based off of any historical design but i believe it falls under the category of "Broad Seax" as it is both fairly long and wide.
Full Disclosure:
I have no firsthand experience handling a Windlass product but i am aware of their reputation and their common traits with their products.
I have no association with Windlass or Museum replicas, an i dont really have any reason to be biased in favor of this product.
I did receive this at the special introductory price $125 as opposed to the base price of $225.
Also this would be my third "sword" ive ever bought so my firsthand experience is limited but i know a good amount about arms and armor from reading material and our good friend, the internet.
As far as i know i'm the first to review anything from Battlecry. Im interested to see others impressions of this lineup, but its also worth mentioning that this is just a review for the Seax, its too early to tell if the pros and cons here are consistent with the rest of the Battlecry line.
Initial Impressions:
This comes packed in a standard MRL box with a black "Battlecry" box inside of that, it came secured with cardboard spacers, paper and thin packing foam. It has a a lot of grease to clean off the whole thing.
Initial unboxing impressions, this looked bigger than i thought, not necessarily a bad thing though. One thing that did surprise me was that the sheath was a step up from normal Windlass sheathes, although it has no wood core it actually fits the blade snugly and doesn't fall out easily. it also came with a dagger frog which wasn't advertised so that was a nice surprise too.
The blackened finish was about as good as id expect it to be. I know its not everyone preference, so if you're expecting not to like it, you wont.
Statistics:
Overall Length: 21-1/2"
Blade Length: 15-5/16"
Blade Width: 15/16"
Blade Thickness:
0-2/8"
Weight: 1 lb / 4 oz
Guard Length: 2"
Point of Balance: 1" from guard
Steel: 1065 carbon steel
Components:
Blade: I like the way this looks personally. The double fuller looks alright, i'm not sure if it has any functionality though. It has a very thick spine and its pretty rigid but it has a small amount of flex to it.
Handle: The handle is a glued down leather wrap. The handle might be a problem for some people, especially if you have small hands. The leather crossing is very grippy but it also makes for a fairly wide handle. Its not a problem for me but i can see people being bothered by it, if i had the choice i would just have a single layer of leather.
Crossguard: This is advertised as having sword styled handle furniture which i think looks fine but i would rather have it be a traditional Seax handle The guard in particular has a nice look to it. From what i found the handle is closest to a Peterson type W. One big drawback is the gaps between it and the blade, i'm not surprised they're there but its still a noticeable flaw. Obviously it doesn't really protect your hand either, but thats not really a negative given that this isn't technically a sword.
Pommel: I'm not a huge fan of its design, but it works. The peen is rough as shown in Windlass' product images so no big surprises there.
Sheath: The sheath is an average Windlass leather sheath, its functional and it holds the blade, the belt frog is a bonus though.
Handling:
As one might expect from any light sword or dagger, this handles really well, especially as a chopping type of weapon. This does good landing quick strikes. Its easily maneuverable and well balanced, when dealing with smaller weapons sometimes they can be too light, however this is neither too light or too heavy. It can be used for thrusting if one wanted to as well, but its not specifically designed for it.
Test Cutting:
I did a couple kinds of cutting tests over the past week since this comes pretty sharp right out of the box. Doing some basic water bottle cutting tests, it cut through them as easily as a sword would, albeit using different striking methods closer to that of a viking sword.
I also did some abuse tests against a dead tree and other pieces of wood, which yielded very good results. After a good round of abuse testing the blade suffered no edge damage or noticeable dulling, i was able to cut through water bottles just as easily afterwards. I also noticed that its easy to tell the construction is very solid as i was doing this, i didn't feel like i was loosening any parts and the leather grip still felt sturdy.
I went as far as to purposely use poor edge alignment or hit the flat of the blade against my wooden pell, still held up just as nicely.
Conclusion:
While the aesthetics are very hit or miss depending on your preferences. Id say in this case Windlass gave me what they advertised, a durable, functional weapon and its good at being just that.
Pros:
-Highly functional
-Good Handling.
-Comes sharp
-Good edge retention
-Sheath is above average, especially for Windlass
-Low maintenance given the finish
Cons:
-Blackened blade wont look good to everyone
-Beefy grip, not the best of you have small hands
-Rough peen
-Not based on any historical design
-fit and finish isn't the best / prominent guard gaps
-pommel came loose after a while
Bottom Line:
Id recommend this to anyone who wants something they can utilize for heavy use, or anyone just looking for a good functional Seax. This is definitely a usable weapon.
If you're looking for something fancy or historically accurate over functionality this probably isn't for you.
I'd say it the Battlecry products are consistent in quality across the board, these are a good bang for your buck in terms of usability.
**UPDATE**
I was doing some wood chopping with this and after a while I noticed some wiggle in the handle. It looks like the peen is starting to fail and its loosening up. This obviously changes my opinion of the product. I cant say for sure of every one of these will fail similarly but i'd take it into account.
Introduction:
Windlass launched a new line of swords this year (2016) Titled "Battlecry" these new weapons are centered around being tough and durable and fully functional in battle.
This caught my curiosity because Windlass is mostly considered to be a low end priced sword production company, while their products aren't bad they always have noticeable flaws or inconsistencies. However Windlass' advertising for this line promised real tough and durable weapons so i was interested to see how these hold up to that claim.
I went with the Seax because i was looking for a larger knife type weapon i could use for heavier practice as well as woods tool use. MRL sold these for a discounted introductory price so i went ahead and picked one up while they were cheaper.
Historical Overview:
Seax's were single edged knives used in northern Europe that had a wide range of different sizes and styles. They're commonly associated with Vikings. They're functionality was for close quarters combat as well as general utility. The Maldon Seax is not based off of any historical design but i believe it falls under the category of "Broad Seax" as it is both fairly long and wide.
Full Disclosure:
I have no firsthand experience handling a Windlass product but i am aware of their reputation and their common traits with their products.
I have no association with Windlass or Museum replicas, an i dont really have any reason to be biased in favor of this product.
I did receive this at the special introductory price $125 as opposed to the base price of $225.
Also this would be my third "sword" ive ever bought so my firsthand experience is limited but i know a good amount about arms and armor from reading material and our good friend, the internet.
As far as i know i'm the first to review anything from Battlecry. Im interested to see others impressions of this lineup, but its also worth mentioning that this is just a review for the Seax, its too early to tell if the pros and cons here are consistent with the rest of the Battlecry line.
Initial Impressions:
This comes packed in a standard MRL box with a black "Battlecry" box inside of that, it came secured with cardboard spacers, paper and thin packing foam. It has a a lot of grease to clean off the whole thing.
Initial unboxing impressions, this looked bigger than i thought, not necessarily a bad thing though. One thing that did surprise me was that the sheath was a step up from normal Windlass sheathes, although it has no wood core it actually fits the blade snugly and doesn't fall out easily. it also came with a dagger frog which wasn't advertised so that was a nice surprise too.
The blackened finish was about as good as id expect it to be. I know its not everyone preference, so if you're expecting not to like it, you wont.
Statistics:
Overall Length: 21-1/2"
Blade Length: 15-5/16"
Blade Width: 15/16"
Blade Thickness:
0-2/8"
Weight: 1 lb / 4 oz
Guard Length: 2"
Point of Balance: 1" from guard
Steel: 1065 carbon steel
Components:
Blade: I like the way this looks personally. The double fuller looks alright, i'm not sure if it has any functionality though. It has a very thick spine and its pretty rigid but it has a small amount of flex to it.
Handle: The handle is a glued down leather wrap. The handle might be a problem for some people, especially if you have small hands. The leather crossing is very grippy but it also makes for a fairly wide handle. Its not a problem for me but i can see people being bothered by it, if i had the choice i would just have a single layer of leather.
Crossguard: This is advertised as having sword styled handle furniture which i think looks fine but i would rather have it be a traditional Seax handle The guard in particular has a nice look to it. From what i found the handle is closest to a Peterson type W. One big drawback is the gaps between it and the blade, i'm not surprised they're there but its still a noticeable flaw. Obviously it doesn't really protect your hand either, but thats not really a negative given that this isn't technically a sword.
Pommel: I'm not a huge fan of its design, but it works. The peen is rough as shown in Windlass' product images so no big surprises there.
Sheath: The sheath is an average Windlass leather sheath, its functional and it holds the blade, the belt frog is a bonus though.
Handling:
As one might expect from any light sword or dagger, this handles really well, especially as a chopping type of weapon. This does good landing quick strikes. Its easily maneuverable and well balanced, when dealing with smaller weapons sometimes they can be too light, however this is neither too light or too heavy. It can be used for thrusting if one wanted to as well, but its not specifically designed for it.
Test Cutting:
I did a couple kinds of cutting tests over the past week since this comes pretty sharp right out of the box. Doing some basic water bottle cutting tests, it cut through them as easily as a sword would, albeit using different striking methods closer to that of a viking sword.
I also did some abuse tests against a dead tree and other pieces of wood, which yielded very good results. After a good round of abuse testing the blade suffered no edge damage or noticeable dulling, i was able to cut through water bottles just as easily afterwards. I also noticed that its easy to tell the construction is very solid as i was doing this, i didn't feel like i was loosening any parts and the leather grip still felt sturdy.
I went as far as to purposely use poor edge alignment or hit the flat of the blade against my wooden pell, still held up just as nicely.
Conclusion:
While the aesthetics are very hit or miss depending on your preferences. Id say in this case Windlass gave me what they advertised, a durable, functional weapon and its good at being just that.
Pros:
-Highly functional
-Good Handling.
-Comes sharp
-Good edge retention
-Sheath is above average, especially for Windlass
-Low maintenance given the finish
Cons:
-Blackened blade wont look good to everyone
-Beefy grip, not the best of you have small hands
-Rough peen
-Not based on any historical design
-fit and finish isn't the best / prominent guard gaps
-pommel came loose after a while
Bottom Line:
Id recommend this to anyone who wants something they can utilize for heavy use, or anyone just looking for a good functional Seax. This is definitely a usable weapon.
If you're looking for something fancy or historically accurate over functionality this probably isn't for you.
I'd say it the Battlecry products are consistent in quality across the board, these are a good bang for your buck in terms of usability.
**UPDATE**
I was doing some wood chopping with this and after a while I noticed some wiggle in the handle. It looks like the peen is starting to fail and its loosening up. This obviously changes my opinion of the product. I cant say for sure of every one of these will fail similarly but i'd take it into account.