US 1906 Saber hunt
Feb 4, 2018 1:33:16 GMT
Post by wlewisiii on Feb 4, 2018 1:33:16 GMT
Hello all,
I've only fairly recently allowed the sword bug to have any reign over myself. A while back I began doing sword and buckler practice. While following up on that I discovered Matt Easton's scholagladiatoria videos and then this forum which relit my fascination with the US style of saber.
After reading Dave Kelly's thread on the various US sabers and thier reproductions and a careful glance at my bank account, I purchased a Windlass 1860 light saber bearing in mind it's various strengths and weaknesses and have begun using it and the O'Rourke 1873 manual as a solo practice as well. Being in the middle of nowhere (aka the northern part of Wisconsin) that's about as good as it gets.
However, I had noticed a couple of other threads where it was mentioned that Windlass also made a version of the 1906 saber that was much closer to the original than their 1860 saber. While scanning ebay for various bits for my hobbies, I noticed a gentleman selling a "1906 Military Cavalry United States Museum Replica Saber Sword" for only $70. While it says Made in India I see nothing about Windlass. Since this seems too cheap I tried to get some answers. The main answer that put me off in the end was that there are no markings on the blade - no made in India or, apparently, even the Ames stamps like are on the 1860. Sounds like this is one of those things that is more likely to make my current Windlass saber seem very high end, indeed.
So I presume this is not one of the Windlass blades at a price even I could scrounge (old single malt tastes, hard cider budget) and the search continues.
My main reason for posting this is more to say thank you all for the information to make a more informed purchase than the truly atrocious junk saber I bought when in high school decades ago. A loose hilt, dull blade, velvet covered scabbard (purple velvet & brass fittings) well, let's hope I've learned a bit since then.
Here's to learning more!
I've only fairly recently allowed the sword bug to have any reign over myself. A while back I began doing sword and buckler practice. While following up on that I discovered Matt Easton's scholagladiatoria videos and then this forum which relit my fascination with the US style of saber.
After reading Dave Kelly's thread on the various US sabers and thier reproductions and a careful glance at my bank account, I purchased a Windlass 1860 light saber bearing in mind it's various strengths and weaknesses and have begun using it and the O'Rourke 1873 manual as a solo practice as well. Being in the middle of nowhere (aka the northern part of Wisconsin) that's about as good as it gets.
However, I had noticed a couple of other threads where it was mentioned that Windlass also made a version of the 1906 saber that was much closer to the original than their 1860 saber. While scanning ebay for various bits for my hobbies, I noticed a gentleman selling a "1906 Military Cavalry United States Museum Replica Saber Sword" for only $70. While it says Made in India I see nothing about Windlass. Since this seems too cheap I tried to get some answers. The main answer that put me off in the end was that there are no markings on the blade - no made in India or, apparently, even the Ames stamps like are on the 1860. Sounds like this is one of those things that is more likely to make my current Windlass saber seem very high end, indeed.
So I presume this is not one of the Windlass blades at a price even I could scrounge (old single malt tastes, hard cider budget) and the search continues.
My main reason for posting this is more to say thank you all for the information to make a more informed purchase than the truly atrocious junk saber I bought when in high school decades ago. A loose hilt, dull blade, velvet covered scabbard (purple velvet & brass fittings) well, let's hope I've learned a bit since then.
Here's to learning more!