Gen2 15th Century Scottish Single-Hander
Jul 15, 2008 23:49:23 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2008 23:49:23 GMT
First review, so go easy on me guys...
Anyway,...lets face it, I love going to any Highland Games event within a reasonable driving distance.
I also love swords.
What I wanted with this particular sword as one I could bring to the games that wasn't a claymore or a basket hilt broadsword.
As with most of battle-ready weaponry, I've always gone through Kult Of Athena. They ship promplty, give no hassle, and have the best prices, bar-none.
(KOA's image)
After staring at it for about a month on their website, and after reading some unfavorable reviews for this particular sword, I decided to give it a try anyway. It was just too sexy to ignore.
Three days after ordering it, I came home from work to find it boxed and sitting on my back porch.
I was too excited to document the process, so there's no pictures of what it looked like coming out.
Needless to say, the blade was covered in packing grease, and the scabbard was wrapped in foreign newspapers.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the scabbard I received was not the one in the picture above (which I wasn't too fond of), but one of Gen2's wooden, leather wrapped deals.
It also had two straps attached to the scabbard which would allow you to attach the sword to your belt. I tried it with a kilt and felt the sword was just too heavy to wear that way, so I removed those straps. They were nothing but cheap leather attached with some sort of glue. I could see them coming loose anyway.
There was also something else notable about the scabbard. It smelled like it had been crafted by a chain smoker. Someone who smokes might not notice it, but being a non-smoker, it was almost the first thing that I picked up on. And the smell is not so much on the scabbard as it is in the scabbard. Every time I drawn the sword the smell greets me.
No big deal, of course, but I thought I'd mention it.
Once the packing grease was wiped away I could see the blade had a nice shine to it. Like chrome on a new car. As a whole, the blade felt solid in my hand.
Pictures can only do so much, and as pleased as I thought I would be, I was surprised by how much and how quickly I liked this sword.
I gave it a couple flat whacks against some furniture just to see what it would do, and it vibrated a good deal. I didn't expect it to have so much play. I expected something more rigid like one of my buddy's Hanwei claymores.
A flex test showed it has LOTS more play than either of his claymores. Each time it snapped back to it's original form.
I natrually had to do some cutting tests next.
The factory edge is ok, but nothing special. A Dasani water bottle (filled) was easily split in twain.
A cardboard shipping tube was mutilated.
Decent, but I can get it sharper.
I also noted how easy this thing is to swing. It's not really a small sword, but you can whip it around fairly easily provided you have the arm strength. That is to say, some people might find thier arm gets tired quickly. This is supposed to be a one-hander, but quite honestly, it's borderline two-hand. In fact, I can scrunch my hands together and get them both on the grip and swing it fairly comfortably.
Checking out the hilt you can tell it's fitted nicely.
There's a riser on the bottom and top of the grip.
The pommel is larger than many I've seen. I actually like it. It turned me off at first, but I find it to be practical. It gives the sword better balance and aesthetically balances out the hilt.
Looks to be a solid peening. I refuse to buy threaded swords.
Over all, for 200 bucks, I'm terribly pleased.
I carried it with me to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games (www.gmhg.org) here in North Carolina over the weekend, and got stopped many a time by curious passerby's who wanted to paw it. Men, women, and children alike.
Is it historically accurate? Who knows? There aren't terribly many surviving examples. The one I have seen has a tear drop pommel on it.
What the handle looked like is anyone's guess, I suppose. In my mind, it was probably much like a miniature claymore.
The painter McIan has a picture of a "McIvor" with a similar sword in his belt:
www.the-clann.co.uk/book/additions/macivor.htm
Whether McIan ever actually saw the sword is something I don't know. I imagine he used took some artistic liberties with his paintings of highlanders.
As for some stats....
Blade Length: 33 in
Hilt Length: 10 in
POB: About 4 inches from the base of the guard.
SO..
Historical Accuracy: 3/5
Fit and Finish: 4/5
Handling: 4/5
Structural Integrity: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Overall about a 4/5.
I wish the scabbard didn't stink, and It might actually be better as a more rigid blade. But other than that, I have no complaint with this blade.
Anyway,...lets face it, I love going to any Highland Games event within a reasonable driving distance.
I also love swords.
What I wanted with this particular sword as one I could bring to the games that wasn't a claymore or a basket hilt broadsword.
As with most of battle-ready weaponry, I've always gone through Kult Of Athena. They ship promplty, give no hassle, and have the best prices, bar-none.
(KOA's image)
After staring at it for about a month on their website, and after reading some unfavorable reviews for this particular sword, I decided to give it a try anyway. It was just too sexy to ignore.
Three days after ordering it, I came home from work to find it boxed and sitting on my back porch.
I was too excited to document the process, so there's no pictures of what it looked like coming out.
Needless to say, the blade was covered in packing grease, and the scabbard was wrapped in foreign newspapers.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the scabbard I received was not the one in the picture above (which I wasn't too fond of), but one of Gen2's wooden, leather wrapped deals.
It also had two straps attached to the scabbard which would allow you to attach the sword to your belt. I tried it with a kilt and felt the sword was just too heavy to wear that way, so I removed those straps. They were nothing but cheap leather attached with some sort of glue. I could see them coming loose anyway.
There was also something else notable about the scabbard. It smelled like it had been crafted by a chain smoker. Someone who smokes might not notice it, but being a non-smoker, it was almost the first thing that I picked up on. And the smell is not so much on the scabbard as it is in the scabbard. Every time I drawn the sword the smell greets me.
No big deal, of course, but I thought I'd mention it.
Once the packing grease was wiped away I could see the blade had a nice shine to it. Like chrome on a new car. As a whole, the blade felt solid in my hand.
Pictures can only do so much, and as pleased as I thought I would be, I was surprised by how much and how quickly I liked this sword.
I gave it a couple flat whacks against some furniture just to see what it would do, and it vibrated a good deal. I didn't expect it to have so much play. I expected something more rigid like one of my buddy's Hanwei claymores.
A flex test showed it has LOTS more play than either of his claymores. Each time it snapped back to it's original form.
I natrually had to do some cutting tests next.
The factory edge is ok, but nothing special. A Dasani water bottle (filled) was easily split in twain.
A cardboard shipping tube was mutilated.
Decent, but I can get it sharper.
I also noted how easy this thing is to swing. It's not really a small sword, but you can whip it around fairly easily provided you have the arm strength. That is to say, some people might find thier arm gets tired quickly. This is supposed to be a one-hander, but quite honestly, it's borderline two-hand. In fact, I can scrunch my hands together and get them both on the grip and swing it fairly comfortably.
Checking out the hilt you can tell it's fitted nicely.
There's a riser on the bottom and top of the grip.
The pommel is larger than many I've seen. I actually like it. It turned me off at first, but I find it to be practical. It gives the sword better balance and aesthetically balances out the hilt.
Looks to be a solid peening. I refuse to buy threaded swords.
Over all, for 200 bucks, I'm terribly pleased.
I carried it with me to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games (www.gmhg.org) here in North Carolina over the weekend, and got stopped many a time by curious passerby's who wanted to paw it. Men, women, and children alike.
Is it historically accurate? Who knows? There aren't terribly many surviving examples. The one I have seen has a tear drop pommel on it.
What the handle looked like is anyone's guess, I suppose. In my mind, it was probably much like a miniature claymore.
The painter McIan has a picture of a "McIvor" with a similar sword in his belt:
www.the-clann.co.uk/book/additions/macivor.htm
Whether McIan ever actually saw the sword is something I don't know. I imagine he used took some artistic liberties with his paintings of highlanders.
As for some stats....
Blade Length: 33 in
Hilt Length: 10 in
POB: About 4 inches from the base of the guard.
SO..
Historical Accuracy: 3/5
Fit and Finish: 4/5
Handling: 4/5
Structural Integrity: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Overall about a 4/5.
I wish the scabbard didn't stink, and It might actually be better as a more rigid blade. But other than that, I have no complaint with this blade.