The Windlass Model 1906 Troopers Sabre
Oct 22, 2018 4:45:12 GMT
Post by Jordan Williams on Oct 22, 2018 4:45:12 GMT
History has been a chief history since I was a young lad. The 18th and 19th centuries history of conflict has been the most interesting to me, with the history of the military being most significant of these. Thus, my interest in swords and sword collecting stand mostly in swords that have been used in the various wars and rebellions since then. Being an American, of course swords used by Americans are very interesting to me. When I cannot acquire originals though, replicas must do, and when it comes that I am able to acquire a said replica quite cheaply I do so with glee. Thus, my experience with the Windlass Model 1906 Cavalry Sabre.
FIT AND FINISH
I have owned two of these, and both have been fairly consistent in quality and handling. Hereupon we shall touch on the quality of said swords. The swords took no sets in cutting, and no issues arose when flexed over the head in my usual fashion. I cannot make comment on how easy it is to sharpen them, as I did limited sharpening with the first one I owned and the second one was sharpened by ACC. The swords had one major flaw which detracted from accuracy in the regard of fit and finish, and that is that the leather of the grips was fairly easy to peel up due to the glue failing, and the guard had a square shape of steel under the washer. Presumably this is to act as an area of extra strength to stop the hard steel of the blade from slowly eating through the softer guard with use, but I can’t find it on antique examples. That said, it doesn’t take it much away from the image of the sword as a whole. The grip is also a small bit larger and fatter overall than extant originals, but the blade is also a bit pudgier than original blade, so it evens out and actually helps handling. The finish of the sword was very nice, and only one of mine (which was I think third hand?) was slightly loose. The guard and pommel cap are very well put together, just as well as my original 1860 which is essentially the older brass hilted brother of the 1906. The peen was extremely well done, and I find myself echoing Dave Kelly in his review where he makes the claim that it’s better than the original.
PROFILE
The Canadian duo has made me see replica swords in a different light. Thus, I have taken into account how much the new looks like the old, and I have to say on a stand next to my 1860 or hanging on the door next to the 1860 on the stand it looked right at home. I think this is due to the superb false aging, accurate profiling of the guard and grip, and the wonderful job Windlass did on the blade. Out of it’s scabbard, the blade looks very much the younger shinier brother to the older original 1860.
For display, I think this is Windlass’ best sabre. The guard and grips are accurate to the original shape (compare to the shrimp grip of the 1850 series, mongoloid - ism of the 1860 cavalry they make, and the scabbard is not oversized, not does it have a comically massive drag like others do. You will also find the scabbard fits the original quite well! The only bad thing is that on my original the ricasso is thicker than on the Windlass 1906, which made the fit tight. Which will work as a nice segue into our next category.
THE BLADE
It starts off nearly as thick as the original. To the eye there is no difference, but there must be like 1/10th of a millimeter here because as said above, the original was tight to the scabbard where the Windlass is somewhat less tight. Perhaps the difference comes from the width, and not the thickness though. It has a nice rounded back and even better deep fullers! Of course, the secondary fuller is puny and weak, but of course the same on the originals. The foible is nicely thinned out and reflects the original nicely but has perhaps 1 millimeter too much. As a whole, the blade is not as clearly defined as originals but overall not so bad. I like it very much and I think it was at the time the most accurate cheaply available sabre replica on the market, given how it compares to originals (I say this though partially in ignorance. I have never had what is often lauded as the best Indian made sabre, the Universal Princess of Wales, nor have I seen or held the sword it is based on. So, I make this statement in my own experience, which is limited).
HANDLING
Handling compared again to my 1860 was similar but sluggish. It was a good cutting sword, but fell behind in thrusting capabilities due to the nose heavy nature of the sword, and compared to the original it also suffered in overall dynamics due to the grip being fatter than the original, thus making it easier to come loose in the hand (but I have awfully tiny hands) when compared to the original grips. That said, it’s hard to convey it into text. It’s biased to the cut, but not like an outright cutting sword. Instead, it is the result of just too much weight in the foible. An angle grinder you say! 😉
OVERALL
Very much I want Windlass to bring this sword back! It’s a great beater if you want a good American sword and don’t want to risk hurting a nice antique or spend 600 dollars for one. They brought back a few nice medis, so why no love for the sabreurs among us?
PHOTOS
imgur.com/O5hkmXM
imgur.com/o18hCvU
imgur.com/7zphiwV
imgur.com/ZAYG7Ub
imgur.com/xeFEiGN
imgur.com/lnqz5BA
imgur.com/GPRqDYn
imgur.com/NWyKoY3
imgur.com/xo81Ett
imgur.com/1n1TFMy
imgur.com/kZdlLCr
imgur.com/ZPr1hfo
imgur.com/hsfwXFq
imgur.com/SG0Eadf
imgur.com/2wfwuVs
imgur.com/BG7c3y3
imgur.com/WP7V7ZT
imgur.com/bh8Jr5g
FIT AND FINISH
I have owned two of these, and both have been fairly consistent in quality and handling. Hereupon we shall touch on the quality of said swords. The swords took no sets in cutting, and no issues arose when flexed over the head in my usual fashion. I cannot make comment on how easy it is to sharpen them, as I did limited sharpening with the first one I owned and the second one was sharpened by ACC. The swords had one major flaw which detracted from accuracy in the regard of fit and finish, and that is that the leather of the grips was fairly easy to peel up due to the glue failing, and the guard had a square shape of steel under the washer. Presumably this is to act as an area of extra strength to stop the hard steel of the blade from slowly eating through the softer guard with use, but I can’t find it on antique examples. That said, it doesn’t take it much away from the image of the sword as a whole. The grip is also a small bit larger and fatter overall than extant originals, but the blade is also a bit pudgier than original blade, so it evens out and actually helps handling. The finish of the sword was very nice, and only one of mine (which was I think third hand?) was slightly loose. The guard and pommel cap are very well put together, just as well as my original 1860 which is essentially the older brass hilted brother of the 1906. The peen was extremely well done, and I find myself echoing Dave Kelly in his review where he makes the claim that it’s better than the original.
PROFILE
The Canadian duo has made me see replica swords in a different light. Thus, I have taken into account how much the new looks like the old, and I have to say on a stand next to my 1860 or hanging on the door next to the 1860 on the stand it looked right at home. I think this is due to the superb false aging, accurate profiling of the guard and grip, and the wonderful job Windlass did on the blade. Out of it’s scabbard, the blade looks very much the younger shinier brother to the older original 1860.
For display, I think this is Windlass’ best sabre. The guard and grips are accurate to the original shape (compare to the shrimp grip of the 1850 series, mongoloid - ism of the 1860 cavalry they make, and the scabbard is not oversized, not does it have a comically massive drag like others do. You will also find the scabbard fits the original quite well! The only bad thing is that on my original the ricasso is thicker than on the Windlass 1906, which made the fit tight. Which will work as a nice segue into our next category.
THE BLADE
It starts off nearly as thick as the original. To the eye there is no difference, but there must be like 1/10th of a millimeter here because as said above, the original was tight to the scabbard where the Windlass is somewhat less tight. Perhaps the difference comes from the width, and not the thickness though. It has a nice rounded back and even better deep fullers! Of course, the secondary fuller is puny and weak, but of course the same on the originals. The foible is nicely thinned out and reflects the original nicely but has perhaps 1 millimeter too much. As a whole, the blade is not as clearly defined as originals but overall not so bad. I like it very much and I think it was at the time the most accurate cheaply available sabre replica on the market, given how it compares to originals (I say this though partially in ignorance. I have never had what is often lauded as the best Indian made sabre, the Universal Princess of Wales, nor have I seen or held the sword it is based on. So, I make this statement in my own experience, which is limited).
HANDLING
Handling compared again to my 1860 was similar but sluggish. It was a good cutting sword, but fell behind in thrusting capabilities due to the nose heavy nature of the sword, and compared to the original it also suffered in overall dynamics due to the grip being fatter than the original, thus making it easier to come loose in the hand (but I have awfully tiny hands) when compared to the original grips. That said, it’s hard to convey it into text. It’s biased to the cut, but not like an outright cutting sword. Instead, it is the result of just too much weight in the foible. An angle grinder you say! 😉
OVERALL
Very much I want Windlass to bring this sword back! It’s a great beater if you want a good American sword and don’t want to risk hurting a nice antique or spend 600 dollars for one. They brought back a few nice medis, so why no love for the sabreurs among us?
PHOTOS
imgur.com/O5hkmXM
imgur.com/o18hCvU
imgur.com/7zphiwV
imgur.com/ZAYG7Ub
imgur.com/xeFEiGN
imgur.com/lnqz5BA
imgur.com/GPRqDYn
imgur.com/NWyKoY3
imgur.com/xo81Ett
imgur.com/1n1TFMy
imgur.com/kZdlLCr
imgur.com/ZPr1hfo
imgur.com/hsfwXFq
imgur.com/SG0Eadf
imgur.com/2wfwuVs
imgur.com/BG7c3y3
imgur.com/WP7V7ZT
imgur.com/bh8Jr5g