Del Tin Migration Era Sword; quick impressions
Feb 22, 2019 16:28:48 GMT
Post by WVfishguy on Feb 22, 2019 16:28:48 GMT
I’ve recently come into a little money, and I’ve been wanting a sword that was different, and a little more high-end than my beater Windlasses.
But I have nothing against Windlass swords. The last one I bought, The Windlass European Sword, has excellent fit and finish, is well balanced, and has the best peen I’ve seen.
I decided the Del Tin Migration Era Sword would look cool on my wall, so I ordered one from Kult of Athena. I liked the specs, and I don’t have anything even remotely like this, so I was really looking forward to receiving it. The sword can be seen here:
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT2070&name=Del+Tin+Migration+Era+Sword
The Del Tin Migration Era Sword was listed as “In Stock” when I purchased mine; after I bought one, it was denoted as “Usually Ships in 3-4 Months.” Apparently, I got the only one KOA had is stock. I’ve noticed several Del Tin swords have 3-4 month waiting periods. I’m way too impatient to wait that long.
This is not exactly a review, simply a “first impressions" descriptive piece. I have no relationship with either Del Tin nor Kult of Athena.
As usual, Kult of Athena delivered the sword quickly, and it was well secured and packaged.
The first thing I noticed was how light this sword is, especially for such a large weapon. The blade is 31-1/8 inches long and a little over 2 inches wide, yet it weighs only 2 lbs, 3.5 oz.
The sword does not come with a scabbard. Kult Of Athena sells them for around $500, but I’m not going to pay that much for a scabbard.
The Del Tin Migration Era Sword seems slightly blade heavy, but as I said, it is very light, and it is lively in the hand and easy to handle. There is a very slight distal taper, which can be seen. It doesn’t come close to my Hanwei Tinker Cawood Sword when it comes to balance, weight distribution or distal taper - but then again, I’ve never handled a sword that does.
I can only assume this sword is historically correct, since I’m not versed in weapons of this period. For those who know more about Migration Era swords, please do not hesitate to correct me.
The blade is not “whippy” in the least; it’s flexible yet quite stiff. The blade did not take a set when bent. It is made of chrome-vanadium steel, and seems to be very well tempered.
The stock Del Tin Migration Era Sword is unsharpened, so I took advantage of KOA’s sharpening service. When I got it, the sword was not dull, but I wouldn’t call it very sharp either. KOA’s sharpening service put a slight but perceptible secondary bevel on the blade’s edge. I feel KOA needs to put a little more effort in their sharpening service, (although at only $20, I can’t complain too much).
On the other hand, it was easy to touch up the blade with a few strokes from an AccuSharp. It will now slice paper, but not will not shave hair.
When struck, the long, wide blade has an audible, but not pronounced, ring. The wide, shallow and rather vague fuller runs almost the entire length of the blade. The wide fuller is reminiscent of those on my Windlass swords, but less defined.
The gap between blade and guard is very narrow, and is an excellent fit.
The fuller is well centered on the blade (on both sides), as is the pommel and guard.
Guard and pommel are both bronze, sandwiched with hard wood, not leather or plastic. Fittings and decorations are well defined, and sharply detailed, indicative of a good, lost wax casting process.
This attention to quality was a big reason I bought this sword, and I was not disappointed.
The grip is a single handed affair, similar to Viking-era swords, but slightly longer. I have large, ham-like hands, and the grip was a good fit for me. The wide pommel did not dig into my hand or wrist when wielding the sword with a hammer grip. High quality leather wrap covers the hard wood grip, and provides a good purchase and looks great.
I’ve not had the chance to do any cutting exercises with this sword. I would want to put a better edge on it before I would attempt cutting. but I’ll wager it cuts well with that wide, thin blade.
All in all, I like this sword even more than I thought I would. It’s nice piece of eye candy, handles very well, and is unique in my small collection; I now have European swords from the Migration and Viking eras, a Norman sword, early and late medieval swords, and a Renaissance sword.
Now I just need to build that display on the wall in my home office, and I’ll be set.
But I have nothing against Windlass swords. The last one I bought, The Windlass European Sword, has excellent fit and finish, is well balanced, and has the best peen I’ve seen.
I decided the Del Tin Migration Era Sword would look cool on my wall, so I ordered one from Kult of Athena. I liked the specs, and I don’t have anything even remotely like this, so I was really looking forward to receiving it. The sword can be seen here:
www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT2070&name=Del+Tin+Migration+Era+Sword
The Del Tin Migration Era Sword was listed as “In Stock” when I purchased mine; after I bought one, it was denoted as “Usually Ships in 3-4 Months.” Apparently, I got the only one KOA had is stock. I’ve noticed several Del Tin swords have 3-4 month waiting periods. I’m way too impatient to wait that long.
This is not exactly a review, simply a “first impressions" descriptive piece. I have no relationship with either Del Tin nor Kult of Athena.
As usual, Kult of Athena delivered the sword quickly, and it was well secured and packaged.
The first thing I noticed was how light this sword is, especially for such a large weapon. The blade is 31-1/8 inches long and a little over 2 inches wide, yet it weighs only 2 lbs, 3.5 oz.
The sword does not come with a scabbard. Kult Of Athena sells them for around $500, but I’m not going to pay that much for a scabbard.
The Del Tin Migration Era Sword seems slightly blade heavy, but as I said, it is very light, and it is lively in the hand and easy to handle. There is a very slight distal taper, which can be seen. It doesn’t come close to my Hanwei Tinker Cawood Sword when it comes to balance, weight distribution or distal taper - but then again, I’ve never handled a sword that does.
I can only assume this sword is historically correct, since I’m not versed in weapons of this period. For those who know more about Migration Era swords, please do not hesitate to correct me.
The blade is not “whippy” in the least; it’s flexible yet quite stiff. The blade did not take a set when bent. It is made of chrome-vanadium steel, and seems to be very well tempered.
The stock Del Tin Migration Era Sword is unsharpened, so I took advantage of KOA’s sharpening service. When I got it, the sword was not dull, but I wouldn’t call it very sharp either. KOA’s sharpening service put a slight but perceptible secondary bevel on the blade’s edge. I feel KOA needs to put a little more effort in their sharpening service, (although at only $20, I can’t complain too much).
On the other hand, it was easy to touch up the blade with a few strokes from an AccuSharp. It will now slice paper, but not will not shave hair.
When struck, the long, wide blade has an audible, but not pronounced, ring. The wide, shallow and rather vague fuller runs almost the entire length of the blade. The wide fuller is reminiscent of those on my Windlass swords, but less defined.
The gap between blade and guard is very narrow, and is an excellent fit.
The fuller is well centered on the blade (on both sides), as is the pommel and guard.
Guard and pommel are both bronze, sandwiched with hard wood, not leather or plastic. Fittings and decorations are well defined, and sharply detailed, indicative of a good, lost wax casting process.
This attention to quality was a big reason I bought this sword, and I was not disappointed.
The grip is a single handed affair, similar to Viking-era swords, but slightly longer. I have large, ham-like hands, and the grip was a good fit for me. The wide pommel did not dig into my hand or wrist when wielding the sword with a hammer grip. High quality leather wrap covers the hard wood grip, and provides a good purchase and looks great.
I’ve not had the chance to do any cutting exercises with this sword. I would want to put a better edge on it before I would attempt cutting. but I’ll wager it cuts well with that wide, thin blade.
All in all, I like this sword even more than I thought I would. It’s nice piece of eye candy, handles very well, and is unique in my small collection; I now have European swords from the Migration and Viking eras, a Norman sword, early and late medieval swords, and a Renaissance sword.
Now I just need to build that display on the wall in my home office, and I’ll be set.