Universal Swords M1701 Denmark Norway Infantry Sword
Apr 3, 2019 23:43:46 GMT
Post by elbrittania39 on Apr 3, 2019 23:43:46 GMT
Introductions
Universal Swords are popularly regarded as being display pieces that you can sorta handle. They produce primarily 18th and 19th century swords that look alright at a glance, but don't hold up when compared to original examples. However, an exception to this is the Gavelins line. Commissioned by the now defunct Gavelins Arms, this collection of Swedish and Norwegian swords are unique in that they are highly accurate to the originals in terms of looks and stats. It's an ambitous project for a budget level Indian mass production company and we'll take a look on how well they did or didn't pull it off in this review. To see an example of a different sword in the Gavelins line compared to an original, check the link below.
Disclaimer
I purchased this sword myself from KOA without any incentives from the manufactorer or retailer. I payed full price plus sharpening and shipping for a total of $277 USD plus change.
Historical Overview
The M1701 comes from an extremley interesting and criminally understudied conflict known as The Great Northern War. The broad strokes of the war are that Sweden in the 1600s rose to be a major player in Europe, innovating massivley on how warfare was conducted. After the young King Charles the XII rose to the throne, Swedens neighbors saw an opprotunity to weaken a rival and a coalition composed of Russia, Denmark Norway, and Poland Lithuania declared war. To everyones suprise, the young king had an excellent propensity of warfare, quickly knocking Denmark Norway and Poland Lithuania out of the conflict before marching into Russia. Unfortunatley, we all know how marches deep into Russia turnout and Charles the XII managed to lose his damn near invincible army of veterans after a period of starvation and the climatic battle of Poltava. After some hijinks and sidetracks, Charles made it back to Sweden where he threw together a provisional army and tried to remount a coherent fight against the now reformed coalition. This last ditch effort ended when a sniper blew his head off during a seige of the Norwegian fortress of Fredricksten. The wars enduring impact was the diminishing of Sweden on the world stage, the rise of Russia as a legitimate player in European affairs, and the dominance of line Infantry for the next 150 years after Sweden proved their effectiveness.
The M1701 itself was a Denmark Norway infantry sword, and actually the very first sword to be mass produced in the country as part of its industrialization. The sword stayed in use for almost a century, eventually being cut down and used as a naval hangar instead of an infantry side arm. Below are pictures of a well preserved antique.
Stats
Weight: I dont have a sensitive enough scale, but about 2.5 pounds
Overall Length: 38 Inches
Blade Length: 32.5 Inches
PoB: 5 Inches
Steel: 1055
Thickness: ~5mm- ~2.5mm
Blade Width: 33mm
Components
Blade
The blade is really neat. Its a hexagonal cross section with a minor profile and moderate distal taper. The blade is stiff as a board and seems to have no favorite between cut and thrust. KOA did a poor job sharpening it, while they acheived a good edge, the bevel is very wavy and uneven on eachside. I kinda wished I had skipped the service as they really damaged the overall look of the sword. Oh well.
Guard
The guard consists of a dish with a knucklebow, rear quillon, and asymettrical ridges. In fact, the whole guard is asymmetrical with the dish coming out further on the ridged side than the smooth side. The grip is historically accurate, even using baked linseed oil instead of paint to get that blackened finish....yet here is where we get out problems. The guards black finish has already rubbed off in several places by the time I received it. While it may be a fragile finish (I know nothing about baked linseed oil) I really feel as though this is more indicative of poor quality control at KOA. Its hard for me to understand why they shipped out with these flaws. I get flaws are normal in this price point, but these scuffs are really pushing it.
Grip
The grip is lovely tight brass wire with two bolsters. My only comment on that since it is sized historically, it will appear very small to many modern consumers. If you have big hands this is probably not the sword for you.My hands are very small and even so they can just barely grip it with a thumb up grip.
Scabbard
A real winner. It is a woodcore wrapped in leather with a metal throat, boot, and hanging clip. It's really exemplery for a budget priced scabbard even if it doesn't look fancy.
Handling
This is not a feather weight epee, but a robust infantry cut and thrust sword. I like the way it handles but please dont expect a smallsword cause what you are getting will feel more like broadsword lite.
Closing Thoughts
This is a tough one to rate. I really like a lot of the components like the true hexblade and the woodcore scabbard, but the finish KOA sent it to me with is pretty bad. The blackened hilt is super scuffed up and the bevel is really wavy and dingy looking. While I still think I'd reccomend this sword over all, skip the sharpening and try to be clear with KOA that they need to look it over before it goes in the box. The historical accuracy and superior build by Universal Sword elevates this a lot from what you normally get from them at this same price point.