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Post by Jordan Williams on May 14, 2016 2:33:12 GMT
 This sword seems to be Universal Swords of India's recreation of the P1827/47 Royal Navy Dress sword. The blade in and of itself is decently shaped, retaining a classical Wilkinson style blade that looks nice from ten feet away, and the etching on the blade is also executed quite well. The brass components of the hilt and the scabbard are very crudely made when compared to pictures of originals, with details being quite cruddy and very thick. The grip is a hard plastic, and very rigid and unforgiving on your hand when swinging the sword, or moving it from guard to guard. The fitting of the hilt components are quite poor, with large gaps between any parts that are separate pieces.  (There seems to be some cotton shoved inside it, a poor substitute for decent workmanship) No cut testing was done with this sword, as it was ordered unsharpened, and I reckon it would be more fun to "smash bottles with a piano" to quote Uhlan in his review of the Windlass Eglinton. The knuckle bow also suffers in regards to the original P1827, as it bows out considerably and is much more round than any antique knuckle bow would be, creating an obtuse round guard, rather than the attractive profiled guards that graced the originals. A closer inspection of the blade reveals that it is is quite thick at the base, and has practically zero taper, resulting in a terribly heavy blade that controls your hand, instead of the other way around. It fails to capture the precisely made, thin and sharply defined cut and thrust foibles of antiques, and instead creates a blobby, ovoid diamond section. While I wouldn't recommend this sword to anyone who wants a sabre for cutting, or as a representative of any amtique, I will say it would make an okay wallhanger, however when priced at 197.95 at KoA (now on sale for 147.00, and add 18 dollars to both for shipping) I would recommend just saving that money and finding an antique example, as that will make a better talking piece, hold it's value better, (probably even rising in value if you have it long enough) and will give you a better appreciation of the weapons carried in the past. It will also look miles better when cleaned up. DISCLAIMER AND ADDED INFORMATION When I originally bought this sword a site error had placed it's price at 97 dollars. In all honesty at that price I still wouldn't recommend it. When ordering from KoA I have not had much luck, having received 3 out of 4 swords from them with some loose part. This is not everyone's experience however, but I feel it should be kept in mind given how many problems are shown in this review. Here are more pictures         Tl;dr just buy any Windlass or Cold Steel, or better yet buy an antique that looks dirty, clean it up, and use that. |
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Post by Afoo on May 14, 2016 3:26:43 GMT
Not bad for the price. I wonder why its so much cheaper than the other Universal offerings.
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Post by Jordan Williams on May 14, 2016 4:05:38 GMT
Not bad for the price. I wonder why its so much cheaper than the other Universal offerings. It used to be 197, I think there was am error when they listed the munitions Grade one of these swords, it was the same price as it's being sold for now. I like it, it's just suuuuper clunky. |
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Post by Afoo on May 14, 2016 16:45:30 GMT
I just wish they would make a similar error with the 1897....:P
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Post by Jordan Williams on May 14, 2016 17:19:58 GMT
Or any of their British service swords with Sam Browne scabbards  |
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Post by William Swiger on May 15, 2016 10:40:30 GMT
Thanks for doing the review.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Dec 27, 2017 1:14:36 GMT
Edited with more concise details of what I was trying to convey.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2017 22:22:59 GMT
I hate to say it but ten feet away was way too close. While I have to admit there is a place in some collections for reproduction early modern swords but by the time one spends on a reproduction, a new set of values needs to be appraised. I bought one reproduction saber for cutting and that was it. Just one. I can see spending on more reproductions if I was indeed looking to add to wall decoration but I'll save my antiques for the wall hanger purposes, albeit I have cut with some of them. When I see prices for the reproductions meeting or exceeding what I spend on antiques, where do I find any real value then? I admire some of the reproductions as much as some of the antiques I browse and the money continues to go the antique direction, as much as I really want a Del Tin or Albion or...... I avoided this listing all day and would have been prepared to go to $700 and more but realized someone else really deserved a bargain. In the end sniped by some heavy hitter but truly an example of what is out there. No doubt the sniper was in my own general ballpark but you just never know. Save those bucks up and enjoy window shopping. www.ebay.com/itm/NON-REGULATION-SCHUYLER-HARTLEY-GRAHAM-M1850-STAFF-OFFICER-S-SWORD/122875174981?I'm cursed anyway, as I look at my current ebay watch list and the list is mostly watches. I really, really need more parts watches. Happy New Year |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2017 22:34:12 GMT
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Post by Jordan Williams on Dec 28, 2017 0:54:17 GMT
@edelweiss I had actually watched that 1850, I was counting on the M1860 selling so I could grab that, I've always liked the look of the non regulation 1850. Saw one in a museum this spring and very much fell in love with it.
Perhaps if he is ten feet away and running away farther? Lol
I agree on your thoughts of reproduction sabres. They're too highly priced given that you can usually get the originals for just a little more. Also, once you own an original or one close to the original reproductions don't cut it any longer. The only exception I'd make for this is for custom pieces closely following it, or perhaps swords where the antiques reach past 600. Really the only repros I would say are decent for the price are such as the Windlass 1840, being only 150 it's a fun wack around, Hanwei 1881, as Imperial Russian sword a are imo too valuable for me to cut with, or the EC 1803, same as the Imp. Russian.
With that said, I am in the process if paying off a Tdiamante reproduction of a U.S. 1850 based off of an original blade and hilt I sent him, however I plan on buying an original M1850 again as the last one broke in half, (I actually didn't abuse this one, basically shattered when I swung it) and the bottom half with the tang and was lost in transit.
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