Mortuary Sword Reproductions 2017
Nov 4, 2017 2:19:52 GMT
Post by Dave Kelly on Nov 4, 2017 2:19:52 GMT
Mortuary Sword Reproductions 2017
INTRODUCTION
This review has been prompted by the arrival of mortuary swords from Cold Steel and Windlass, released a couple of weeks apart. I have in my collection both the Hanwei Cromwell and the out of production Hanwei blackened English Mort. The Armor Class entry will be referenced from MyArmory.
BACKGROUND
L to R 1. German Haudegen 2. Windlass new Mort 3. Cold Steel new Mort 4. Hanwei English Mort 5. Hanwei Cromwell Mort 6. Windlass Egilton early Scots broadsword
The Mortuary sword is a British type sword of the genus of Basket hilts. The Basket hilt was not unique covering the hand. It was revolutionary because it did so and removed complex over the quillon grip, replacing it with a single line grip covered by the guard.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket-hilted_sword
The English Mortuary is considered a unique form evolved in the 1635-1670 period. The style was used at varying times by both Parliamentarian and Royal troops. Components varied by producer. The repros present three different blade types, valid for the period. The most prevalent is the backsword. The description is for blades with one edge thru the midshaft, one or more fullers and a foible with a double, diamond shaped blade. Secondly, the older broadsword. These blades are two edged and 1.5-2 inches in breadth. Rather than being a full blooded large blade, the notion of broadsword is more likened to, "bigger than a rapier blade". Last is the older elliptical blade, sometimes referred to as "almond shaped". Two edged and thickened in the midsection, these have proven to be effective cut and thrust vehicles still used in the 19th Century.
HISTORY
I luv history. Who needs TV. Just reruns of the storyline of the ages. In the run up to the strifes of the 17th Century it helps to know a little about the previous century. 16th Century was dominated by a spectacular cast of megomaniacal kings hell bent on making their states dominant in Europe. Henry VIII of England spent a fortune refashioning imperial power. Knocked down half of London to make a palace and government center for himself while arming and fortifying the whole country. That cost money. When the Catholic Church refused to annul his third marriage, because the aging, bilious and sterile king couldn't sire a male heir, Henry destroyed the Catholic Institutions and drained the assets for his own purposes. In the absence of a strong Church establishment the royal power suffered with the onset of Protestant asceticism. When Elizabeth I passed the kingdom wound up with Scottish, Catholic heirs to the throne and a rebellious Protestant Parliament. Segway to a Civil War start to the 17th Century: (PS: Also read up on Carlos V of Spain, Francis I of France and Gustavus Adolphus. All a hoot. Grew up with the myth of Gustav as a white knight entering the fray to save Protestantism from the reach of the Holy Roman Empire. Hell, Sweden was PAID to enter the war BY CATHOLIC FRANCE!) A Shame C V Wedgewood is so boring, the 30 Years War makes Game of Thrones look childish.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War
THE SWORDS
( The right hand column should read "Hanwei Mortuary". Practicals are not sharps. )
Hanwei Cromwell
DISCUSSION: Luxury model attributed to General Oliver Cromwell; worn during the Irish campaign. British antiquarians have doubts. The gold veneer is more probable from the Stewart restoration period and the claimants provenance is doubted.
The blade design is very dramatic. The sword is well tapered. The blade is hollow ground with with a single deep, narrow fuller, undercutting the back, from ricasso thru the midshaft. The foible is also spectacular; fashioned into a 9 in diamond shaped dagger blade. The 4 in grip is covered in manta ray. The less than 3 in PoB provides a comfortable, neutral feel from the 2.8 lbs sword ( Hanwei says 2.4).
This is a thrusting sword. You can cut off of midshaft but there isn't a lot of forward weight transfer to provide energy. Blade has taper and more than enough stiffness to pile drive a thrust thru a buff coat or skull.
COLD STEEL MORT
DISCUSSION As too often happens with CS, this Mort is consternated by myriad clashes of positive characteristics screwed by equally bad finishing decisions. The blade looks to be a double fullered broadsword, but it is a backsword with a spear point foible. The blade is adverted at 6mm, but is 4.5mm at best. The hilt has nice detailing, as does the scabbard. The usual langets are missing. Instead there is a cheap ass plastic restraint clip in the scabbard. Without the langets there is an over sized hole for the tang to pass: and for leakage to run under the grip. No leather washer is provided. Use some epoxy in the whole also.
The hilt also has a deep, long basket. This isn't bad for modern hands. You get a lot of flexibility as to how you hold the sword. Instead of choosing closed or handshake grips for cut or thrust, the larger hilt provides room for an open handed pronation to effect a straight thrust, as shown :
Although it is 2.5 lbs, the weight falls back on the hand. For the weight, this is an incredibly nimble sword. With some prevention maintenance and sharpening, this can be a fun sword (or you have already talked yourself out of ownership).
(PS: For those new to the trade. Cold Steel is NOT a forge or maker of swords. CS is a furbisher who contracts other forge's swords for sales under their label. Windlass and Dynasty forge are favorites.)
WINDLASS MORT
Couple of days after Cold Steel released their new Mort, Windlass sort of plopped this Mort on it's site. Not a lot of fanfare. Sort of fell out of the sky like a frozen turd from a pax jet passing by at 20,000 ft. 3.6 lbs for a Mort??? Yes!!! They really did that!!! I dig the herniated hilt too. Most of these hilts have a two inch space around the grip. More than enough even for my big hands. (Hell, lets go Texas on this mutha and make it 3!).
I really dig the itsie bitsie foible back blade too. ( Oh Shiva! I was sharpening thee wrong side! If I stop now, perhaps no wan will nootice. ) Wrong answer!!!!
There are some great Windlass swords. (There used to be more of them.) This one is a DOOH!
HANWEI ENGLISH MORTUARY
myarmoury.com/review_casi_mort.html
www.sword-buyers-guide.com/english-swords.html
This Hanwei is unfortunately no longer in production. Some of the old Paul Chen euros suffered from minimalism. (The rapiers were more like bizarrely hilted small swords.) This old Mort looks more like an infantry Walloon. Some folks didn't think this worthy of cutting, but check out Paul Southern's old review of how this fared with a little sharpening.)
If you have the good fortune to see one of these on sale, pick it up.
ARMOR CLASS Glasgow
myarmoury.com/review_ac_mort.html
SUMMARY
Think it's pretty clear that my favorite of the lot is the Hanwei Cromwell. The Cold Steel is probably a better choice if you want to cut. I worry a bit about the long term health of the CS, but wear is inevitable if you use any sword. There is no 600.00 ranged Mort's that I am aware of. To get a better quality sword you have to jump up to Arms and Armor customized work or more expensive private sword builders.
KoA is an obvious choice for the American market. Importing swords is getting trickier for most countries as taxes keep climbing.
Midway Sports (Chicago) sells Cold Steel swords. They have a lot of sales where they discount them. I think any sale above 200.00 has free shipping.
I haven't mentioned a British sword line I ran into: J Barnett(?) Don't know much about them. Relatively low priced for their market. Wonder if anyone has experience with these?
Thanx for looking.
INTRODUCTION
This review has been prompted by the arrival of mortuary swords from Cold Steel and Windlass, released a couple of weeks apart. I have in my collection both the Hanwei Cromwell and the out of production Hanwei blackened English Mort. The Armor Class entry will be referenced from MyArmory.
BACKGROUND
L to R 1. German Haudegen 2. Windlass new Mort 3. Cold Steel new Mort 4. Hanwei English Mort 5. Hanwei Cromwell Mort 6. Windlass Egilton early Scots broadsword
The Mortuary sword is a British type sword of the genus of Basket hilts. The Basket hilt was not unique covering the hand. It was revolutionary because it did so and removed complex over the quillon grip, replacing it with a single line grip covered by the guard.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket-hilted_sword
The English Mortuary is considered a unique form evolved in the 1635-1670 period. The style was used at varying times by both Parliamentarian and Royal troops. Components varied by producer. The repros present three different blade types, valid for the period. The most prevalent is the backsword. The description is for blades with one edge thru the midshaft, one or more fullers and a foible with a double, diamond shaped blade. Secondly, the older broadsword. These blades are two edged and 1.5-2 inches in breadth. Rather than being a full blooded large blade, the notion of broadsword is more likened to, "bigger than a rapier blade". Last is the older elliptical blade, sometimes referred to as "almond shaped". Two edged and thickened in the midsection, these have proven to be effective cut and thrust vehicles still used in the 19th Century.
HISTORY
I luv history. Who needs TV. Just reruns of the storyline of the ages. In the run up to the strifes of the 17th Century it helps to know a little about the previous century. 16th Century was dominated by a spectacular cast of megomaniacal kings hell bent on making their states dominant in Europe. Henry VIII of England spent a fortune refashioning imperial power. Knocked down half of London to make a palace and government center for himself while arming and fortifying the whole country. That cost money. When the Catholic Church refused to annul his third marriage, because the aging, bilious and sterile king couldn't sire a male heir, Henry destroyed the Catholic Institutions and drained the assets for his own purposes. In the absence of a strong Church establishment the royal power suffered with the onset of Protestant asceticism. When Elizabeth I passed the kingdom wound up with Scottish, Catholic heirs to the throne and a rebellious Protestant Parliament. Segway to a Civil War start to the 17th Century: (PS: Also read up on Carlos V of Spain, Francis I of France and Gustavus Adolphus. All a hoot. Grew up with the myth of Gustav as a white knight entering the fray to save Protestantism from the reach of the Holy Roman Empire. Hell, Sweden was PAID to enter the war BY CATHOLIC FRANCE!) A Shame C V Wedgewood is so boring, the 30 Years War makes Game of Thrones look childish.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War
THE SWORDS
( The right hand column should read "Hanwei Mortuary". Practicals are not sharps. )
Hanwei Cromwell
DISCUSSION: Luxury model attributed to General Oliver Cromwell; worn during the Irish campaign. British antiquarians have doubts. The gold veneer is more probable from the Stewart restoration period and the claimants provenance is doubted.
The blade design is very dramatic. The sword is well tapered. The blade is hollow ground with with a single deep, narrow fuller, undercutting the back, from ricasso thru the midshaft. The foible is also spectacular; fashioned into a 9 in diamond shaped dagger blade. The 4 in grip is covered in manta ray. The less than 3 in PoB provides a comfortable, neutral feel from the 2.8 lbs sword ( Hanwei says 2.4).
This is a thrusting sword. You can cut off of midshaft but there isn't a lot of forward weight transfer to provide energy. Blade has taper and more than enough stiffness to pile drive a thrust thru a buff coat or skull.
COLD STEEL MORT
DISCUSSION As too often happens with CS, this Mort is consternated by myriad clashes of positive characteristics screwed by equally bad finishing decisions. The blade looks to be a double fullered broadsword, but it is a backsword with a spear point foible. The blade is adverted at 6mm, but is 4.5mm at best. The hilt has nice detailing, as does the scabbard. The usual langets are missing. Instead there is a cheap ass plastic restraint clip in the scabbard. Without the langets there is an over sized hole for the tang to pass: and for leakage to run under the grip. No leather washer is provided. Use some epoxy in the whole also.
The hilt also has a deep, long basket. This isn't bad for modern hands. You get a lot of flexibility as to how you hold the sword. Instead of choosing closed or handshake grips for cut or thrust, the larger hilt provides room for an open handed pronation to effect a straight thrust, as shown :
Although it is 2.5 lbs, the weight falls back on the hand. For the weight, this is an incredibly nimble sword. With some prevention maintenance and sharpening, this can be a fun sword (or you have already talked yourself out of ownership).
(PS: For those new to the trade. Cold Steel is NOT a forge or maker of swords. CS is a furbisher who contracts other forge's swords for sales under their label. Windlass and Dynasty forge are favorites.)
WINDLASS MORT
Couple of days after Cold Steel released their new Mort, Windlass sort of plopped this Mort on it's site. Not a lot of fanfare. Sort of fell out of the sky like a frozen turd from a pax jet passing by at 20,000 ft. 3.6 lbs for a Mort??? Yes!!! They really did that!!! I dig the herniated hilt too. Most of these hilts have a two inch space around the grip. More than enough even for my big hands. (Hell, lets go Texas on this mutha and make it 3!).
I really dig the itsie bitsie foible back blade too. ( Oh Shiva! I was sharpening thee wrong side! If I stop now, perhaps no wan will nootice. ) Wrong answer!!!!
There are some great Windlass swords. (There used to be more of them.) This one is a DOOH!
HANWEI ENGLISH MORTUARY
myarmoury.com/review_casi_mort.html
www.sword-buyers-guide.com/english-swords.html
This Hanwei is unfortunately no longer in production. Some of the old Paul Chen euros suffered from minimalism. (The rapiers were more like bizarrely hilted small swords.) This old Mort looks more like an infantry Walloon. Some folks didn't think this worthy of cutting, but check out Paul Southern's old review of how this fared with a little sharpening.)
If you have the good fortune to see one of these on sale, pick it up.
ARMOR CLASS Glasgow
myarmoury.com/review_ac_mort.html
SUMMARY
Think it's pretty clear that my favorite of the lot is the Hanwei Cromwell. The Cold Steel is probably a better choice if you want to cut. I worry a bit about the long term health of the CS, but wear is inevitable if you use any sword. There is no 600.00 ranged Mort's that I am aware of. To get a better quality sword you have to jump up to Arms and Armor customized work or more expensive private sword builders.
KoA is an obvious choice for the American market. Importing swords is getting trickier for most countries as taxes keep climbing.
Midway Sports (Chicago) sells Cold Steel swords. They have a lot of sales where they discount them. I think any sale above 200.00 has free shipping.
I haven't mentioned a British sword line I ran into: J Barnett(?) Don't know much about them. Relatively low priced for their market. Wonder if anyone has experience with these?
Thanx for looking.