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Post by markus313 on Jun 17, 2019 16:18:30 GMT
Got my Cold Steel La Fontaine Sword of War today, ordered from Lamnia. Sword arrived well-packaged and in perfect condition. Seems well made in general, but the tang has a bit of lateral play in the grip. Should be ok for dry handling, would epoxy before heavier cutting. Fits the sheath with a bit of rattling, no biggie. Black finish seems hardwearing. The sword is a bit lighter than expected and feels very good in handling, also manageable in one hand. Sharp enough out of the box to satisfyingly cut 80 g copy paper from about halfway up the blade. Good enough for heavier targets. And a nice sharp solid tip. Very nice guard on this one and the grip is well shaped. Length of crossguard is 31 cm, width of the main right ring is 7 cm down to the grip, and 6,6 cm for the left side. Solid cut-n’-thrust blade with the right amount of flex to it. COP is rather close to the hilt, though. Don’t see that as a problem, yet – but have also not cut with it yet.
So I was looking for a big longsword with good hand protection that could still serve as a sidearm and got that with this one. Very happy. Plan to give it a small workout later and report on further impressions.
Stats attached to compare to my other currently owned longswords.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Jun 17, 2019 16:21:44 GMT
Cool!
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Post by libra on Jun 17, 2019 17:39:09 GMT
I'm surprised with the distal taper, to be honest. I have to admit that I ogled this sword, too. Not too impressed by the pommel shape, but that's a thing I could change to my own taste . BTW it's a threaded pommel, right? If so, I would be happy to see the tang .
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Post by markus313 on Jun 17, 2019 18:34:53 GMT
TBH, I’m just flat out too lazy to take it apart ATM. Will post pics/stats when I do so, of course. Also I’ve just put on my standard tennis grip tape. We can have a rough look at the tang from around 4:00 here:
Looks like a typical Windlass tang to me - not too bad, but not perfect, either, imo. Shoulders could be a bit more rounded, perhaps. Have put a few Windlass tangs like that to the test (pell and heavy bag) – never had a problem. However, with this one, you have a lot of weight pulling around at that spot...
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Post by Elrikk on Jun 17, 2019 18:51:54 GMT
It’s a beast...for the price you won’t be sorry.
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Post by markus313 on Jun 17, 2019 22:16:49 GMT
Now that I’ve played a bit more with it (dry handling only), I’d say can’t find anything wrong with it. On the contrary... It’s more nimble than expected, yet powerful and would be well suited for winding actions, due to the mass distribution, the stiffness, blade shape and excellent guard. Very responsive considering the weight and oversteers much less than the Windlass 15th Century longsword, for example. Lends itself well to typical longsword actions, easy to lay a thumb on the blade with those large rings and wide ricasso. Easy point control, yet powerful and brought up to speed quickly. Feels great in the half-sword grips and that crossguard and pommel are a force to be reckoned (my hip bone tends to agree). Takes some getting used to to that pommel, but I like it. Overall it lends itself a tad more towards the thrusting/stabbing side of things, still it offers some good amount of percussive force.
A nice, potent, versatile weapon. And man, does it look the part.
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Post by markus313 on Jun 17, 2019 22:17:16 GMT
It’s a beast...for the price you won’t be sorry. You're so right
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Post by 28shadow on Jun 17, 2019 22:20:49 GMT
Interesting. I haven't paid much attention to this piece in the past few years. I had it in my mind it would be a bit of a sluggish brute, but your opinions seem to sing a different tune.
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Post by markus313 on Jun 17, 2019 22:22:35 GMT
Interesting. I haven't paid much attention to this piece in the past few years. I had it in my mind it would be a bit of a sluggish brute, but your opinions seem to sing a different tune. Yes, it surprised me a bit in this regard.
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Post by markus313 on Jul 16, 2019 18:10:50 GMT
Managed to snap a short video...
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Jul 16, 2019 20:55:18 GMT
Thanks for your impressions, nice to read and watch.
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pgandy
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Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Jul 16, 2019 21:21:59 GMT
You make me want one, but to be honest it's too much sword for me. I have trouble with a cavalry sabre.
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Post by markus313 on Jul 17, 2019 9:35:42 GMT
Thanks for your impressions, nice to read and watch. Thank you, Jussi!
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Post by markus313 on Jul 17, 2019 9:37:44 GMT
You make me want one, but to be honest it's too much sword for me. I have trouble with a cavalry sabre. Oh, I think you’ll like your English Backsword then. Eager to get your thoughts on that. Any progress with the delivery?
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pgandy
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Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Jul 17, 2019 14:10:27 GMT
You make me want one, but to be honest it's too much sword for me. I have trouble with a cavalry sabre. Oh, I think you’ll like your English Backsword then. Eager to get your thoughts on that. Any progress with the delivery? Yes, it has arrived and I think I am going to really like. I’ve only handled it a little as I prefer to work on it first. This is from the first run when so many people were bad mouthing it and I can see why. I thought at the time that I could overcome the deficiencies and now I’ll have a chance prove it. The offer came in a timely manner as KoA had just received a new shipment that I had my eye on. My benefactor, he hasn’t given permission to use his name, dulled it for me and it passed customs with no problem. I’ve since sharpened it but it needs work supporting the blade. As near as I can tell there is only one point of support and that’s near the proximal end of the handle. It looks like an accident waiting to happen. I am going to take a different approach than I had originally intended to use so I am interested in the outcome. The materials are in customs now and I thought they would have cleared, perhaps today and I’ll receive tomorrow certainly by Friday I'm sure. I hope so because I’d like to make a weekend project of it.
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Post by markus313 on Jul 17, 2019 14:56:34 GMT
Oh, I think you’ll like your English Backsword then. Eager to get your thoughts on that. Any progress with the delivery? Yes, it has arrived and I think I am going to really like. I’ve only handled it a little as I prefer to work on it first. This is from the first run when so many people were bad mouthing it and I can see why. I thought at the time that I could overcome the deficiencies and now I’ll have a chance prove it. The offer came in a timely manner as KoA had just received a new shipment that I had my eye on. My benefactor, he hasn’t given permission to use his name, dulled it for me and it passed customs with no problem. I’ve since sharpened it but it needs work supporting the blade. As near as I can tell there is only one point of support and that’s near the proximal end of the handle. It looks like an accident waiting to happen. I am going to take a different approach than I had originally intended to use so I am interested in the outcome. The materials are in customs now and I thought they would have cleared, perhaps today and I’ll receive tomorrow certainly by Friday I'm sure. I hope so because I’d like to make a weekend project of it. Arrgh, that’s sad to hear. Though I know you’ll be able to work around and remedy those detriments. I just hope your blade is well-tempered. Looking forward to what you’ll come up with...
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