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Post by alientude on Apr 20, 2024 2:27:37 GMT
I very nearly bought the Viceroy that was at SoCal Swordfight. Lovely feeling sword that has grown on me the couple times I've picked it up. I expect to own one at some point.
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Post by blackngold on Apr 20, 2024 3:05:54 GMT
And KoA comes through again! My Viceroy showed up today, in just three days' time, door-to-door, securely packed and dead mint. Without a doubt, this is one of the more under-appreciated models in Albion's line-up. In a word, this thing is an absolute Beast. From the first moment that I picked it up, it gave the distinct impression of being The Earl's older brother, but on serious steroids, and then some. It's bigger, badder, heavier, beefier, wider, and quite a bit more imposing. It has gobs of blade presence as you move it around, yet still balances and handles quite similarly to the Earl, which now suddenly seems kinda scrawny in comparison. The Viceroy does everything with authority. There's an undeniable confidence that, no matter how shoddy or rushed your technique is with this bull-in-a-china-shop, whatever this blade actually connects with is going to be complete and utter toast. I'm looking forward to testing that theory this weekend. Oddly enough, switching to one hand, this chunky beast suddenly and surprisingly feels about as svelte, polite and refined as the Earl, thanks to the Viceroy's shorter blade and closer PoB. It even has very good to excellent pointability and control. The hollow ground blade is an absolute thing of beauty, and the grip is chunky, angular, and beautifully executed, with plenty of feedback for blade alignment. I'm really glad I didn't sleep on this KoA listing. I even think the light campaign brown grip suits the Viceroy's scrappy attitude nicely, keeping it from being too "bling" and more "business end". Looking forward to comparing its cutting abilities to the Earl's. Ugh, I'm envious-- I really liked this one! Having handled a Viceroy before, I can definitely say it handles beautifully, and is the one sword whose proportions strike me as outright "Kingly"! Congrats on the new acquisition! May it serve you well.
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Post by blackngold on Apr 20, 2024 3:08:00 GMT
By my count, that leaves:
(1) Norman with a Light Brown Grip, Satin fittings
(4) Oakeshott with satin fittings: - (1) Oxblood grip - (1) Light Brown grip - (1) Dark Brown grip - (1) Black grip
I never got to handle an Oakeshott, or its' sibling, the Chevalier, but I certainly find the hollow-ground, fullered blade fascinating!
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Post by toddstratton1 on Apr 20, 2024 3:14:58 GMT
I was slightly worried (especially going in blind without the opportunity you had to first handle it before buying) that the grip might be on the short side for my tastes, in light of the sword's beefy nature. It turns out that there's plenty of room on the grip thanks to the positioning and shape of that funky pommel. It's surprisingly comfortable. It also helps that the latter 40% of the grip is aggressively waisted enough that my grip is suitably constrained without being crowded in the least, and the wire wrap with studding is not even hard on my supporting hand. The blade is also balanced well enough that I don't feel the need to actually grasp the wide part of the pommel itself with my left hand. Pictures do not do this sword justice, or convey its true scale or handsome character very well at all. Everything about this weapon projects a resounding "bugger off", but it never has to raise its voice in the slightest to get the message across. I'd add that this is also one of the absolute sharpest blades I've ever received from Albion. It's very, very sharp, and evenly so. Attention to detail on this particular example's blade is excellent. Did you order yours with the half-wire wrap, or without? I do have a Brescia and a Landgraf on order that I won't be seeing for a very long time yet. Fortunately, KoA is hooking me up with some other big wins in the long down-time. Yeah I agree with you on those many points. Mine is without the wire wrap and a black grip. I got it before the price bumps went into effect. I just kind of preferred the look of the wrap without wire wrap. But now that wire wrap as an option is also pricer I wish I went with it too. Anyways yeah it's to me kind of like the feeling I have with my Albion Baron. A big powerful and beefy sword. With plenty of blade presence and blade authority. But it's a later blade design from centuries after the Albion Baron blade typology, so it has more complexity but also the handling is a bit better, while maintaining that same feeling of holding so much power in your hands. A lot of my favorite swords are the bigger and beefier ones. Maybe a residual connection to the old games and shows I watched growing up seeing main protagonists swinging and using giant swords haha. But I have a very diverse collection with also some very lightweight and slender swords too, that are far more thrust centric and nimble. Anyways yeah the Viceroy is one of their best cutting swords and it's won some hema cutting competitions as well, beating out the principe and others in the same competition as well. Its a very awesome sword all around.
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Post by darkcampaign on Apr 20, 2024 15:40:53 GMT
the Viceroy is one of their best cutting swords and it's won some hema cutting competitions as well, beating out the principe and others in the same competition as well. Its a very awesome sword all around. That's excellent news, great to hear it. You can tell immediately upon picking up the Viceroy that this sword has the balance and characteristics to be a truly formidable cutter in the right hands, and would be positively devastating on unarmed or lightly armed targets. You're absolutely right, it feels very much like a "great sword" but with a shorter blade and bastard sword handle. Thanks in part to the more advanced blade design of its later typology, it also handles and balances like a bastard sword despite that great sword heft. I actually find it reasonably do-able in one hand. I LOVE that certain small handful of Albion designs that are much more than the sum of their specs on paper, and leave you scratching your head after a cutting session. My Ljubljana, Oakeshott and Viceroy all display unmistakably-unique handling characteristics and a level of performance that is well beyond expectations and specifications. Speaking of remaining KoA offerings in stock, and that Oakeshott arming sword, I've used mine four times now, and am positively loving it. It's taken me a while to adapt to its unusual weight and balance, but now some of my other arming swords are almost bland and ponderous in comparison. The Oakeshott feels incredibly lively to me now, and I'm getting some fantastic cutting results with it. I'm also surprised how well I can feint and transition the blade around, and it feels far lighter and more responsive than other swords that are actually shorter and are nearly the same weight. The blade is incredible. Anyone that owns this sword and has familiarized themselves with its handling characteristics will know what I'm on about. I now understand why Albion was very close to making this one a Museum line piece. The Oakeshott is one of two Albions I've decided to dedicate as a primary go-to for practice, that I like so much I've grabbed another, in the interest of future-proofing my collection when it comes to swords I actively use enough to risk damaging. The Oakeshott is a thinner and more slight profile, with complex fullers, not a bruiser to go smashing through heavy armor with. As such, I'm respectful of the possible limits of its long-term durability. I went ahead and grabbed another off KoA this morning, this time with the black grip since I hardly have any swords with black leather. Having a backup, just like my Talhoffers, is fantastic peace of mind. Blackngold can scratch another one off the list, ha ha! Thanks KoA!!!!
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Post by blackngold on Apr 20, 2024 21:14:15 GMT
Out of curiosity-- is there a particular reason why KoA doesn't list the Archduke?
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Post by theneckrubmancer on Apr 20, 2024 22:03:56 GMT
By my count, that leaves: (1) Norman with a Light Brown Grip, Satin fittings (4) Oakeshott with satin fittings: - (1) Oxblood grip - (1) Light Brown grip - (1) Dark Brown grip - (1) Black grip I never got to handle an Oakeshott, or its' sibling, the Chevalier, but I certainly find the hollow-ground, fullered blade fascinating! It's crazy to me that there are this many Oakeshotts just sitting there. Like darkcampaign was saying above, it's unreal how well these swords handle. It's my favorite Albion arming sword that I've handled, and maybe even my favorite Albion period. If anyone reading this is on the fence, I can't recommend it highly enough.
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Post by darkcampaign on Apr 20, 2024 22:34:46 GMT
By my count, that leaves: (1) Norman with a Light Brown Grip, Satin fittings (4) Oakeshott with satin fittings: - (1) Oxblood grip - (1) Light Brown grip - (1) Dark Brown grip - (1) Black grip I never got to handle an Oakeshott, or its' sibling, the Chevalier, but I certainly find the hollow-ground, fullered blade fascinating! It's crazy to me that there are this many Oakeshotts just sitting there. Like darkcampaign was saying above, it's unreal how well these swords handle. It's my favorite Albion arming sword that I've handled, and maybe even my favorite Albion period. If anyone reading this is on the fence, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's baffling to me how KoA suddenly wound up with about SIX of these Oakeshott models (of just about every standard color of leather handle wrap available) out of the wild blue yonder, in the first place, considering Albion is about 24+ months out on their build list. This is a time-consuming blade to grind, and is not inexpensive. Was Albion just emptying out their storage attic, and stumbled onto a hoard of them? I suspect these particular swords may be sticking around a bit on KoA as a result of Albion's recent price hike, which has possibly pushed it slightly above some folks' comfort level for an arming sword, once you add tax and shipping into the equation. It is indeed two to three hundred beans more than several other popular Albion one-handed offerings. The sword is also more striking in person than its somewhat deceptively "vanilla" appearance in web pictures would suggest. Its beauty comes from close examination of its blade, and even a cursory handling of the sword. I have a significant number of Albions. It's good enough that after a few test drives and several cutting tests, I bought a second Oakeshott without hesitation. If I had to predict, I'd say the oxblood one will go next. Someone please grab it pronto, before I decide to hang it in my display between my red one and my black one! I only have two hands, after all....
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Post by blackngold on Apr 21, 2024 1:07:14 GMT
It's crazy to me that there are this many Oakeshotts just sitting there. Like darkcampaign was saying above, it's unreal how well these swords handle. It's my favorite Albion arming sword that I've handled, and maybe even my favorite Albion period. If anyone reading this is on the fence, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's baffling to me how KoA suddenly wound up with about SIX of these Oakeshott models (of just about every standard color of leather handle wrap available) out of the wild blue yonder, in the first place, considering Albion is about 24+ months out on their build list. This is a time-consuming blade to grind, and is not inexpensive. Was Albion just emptying out their storage attic, and stumbled onto a hoard of them? I suspect these particular swords may be sticking around a bit on KoA as a result of Albion's recent price hike, which has possibly pushed it slightly above some folks' comfort level for an arming sword, once you add tax and shipping into the equation. It is indeed two to three hundred beans more than several other popular Albion one-handed offerings. The sword is also more striking in person than its somewhat deceptively "vanilla" appearance in web pictures would suggest. Its beauty comes from close examination of its blade, and even a cursory handling of the sword. I have a significant number of Albions. It's good enough that after a few test drives and several cutting tests, I bought a second Oakeshott without hesitation. If I had to predict, I'd say the oxblood one will go next. Someone please grab it pronto, before I decide to hang it in my display between my red one and my black one! I only have two hands, after all.... I think it was theorized elsewhere that Albion crafts their products in batches, where each batch is either one particular model, or two closely-related models (example: Agincourt\Fiore\Ringeck\Talhoffer), which possibly also accounts for the inconsistent turnaround times. It's possible that KoA saw value in buying at least the majority of a batch, if not a whole batch.
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Post by toddstratton1 on Apr 21, 2024 1:44:26 GMT
Yeah to my knowledge KOA does their own orders as well or takes extra stock inventory and etc at different times. You'll notice quite a few times that they will get multiple versions of the same swords with different hilt and grip options. Just FYI for those who don't know though, KOA has high fees for taxes on each product. But albion direct doesn't charge added Tax. And albion direct orders or albion purchases at live event booths. Those two options can earn you an extra 7th free sword for every six purchased in a year, based off the total average price.
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Post by darkcampaign on Apr 21, 2024 12:58:55 GMT
Yeah, someone in the purchasing department over at KoA was really horny for the Oakeshott model when they placed that order a ways back. It must historically be a good seller for them, like the Talhoffer which they seem to re-stock in a few different grip colors quite often. If I had to guess, I bet just the names "Talhoffer" and "Oakeshott" themselves, being very popular industry terms, are themselves a bit of a marketing boost, coming up quite frequently in internet searches, and driving quite a bit of traffic to KoA's etail website, which probably helps generate sales of those specific models.
It would be very interesting to see Albion's sales numbers, not in terms of revenue but in terms of volume - i.e. how many of each different model of sword they sell to the public on an annual basis. That would reveal which ones are their best and worst sellers and most popular designs. It would also be great to know how many of each limited sword they have left in their stated allocations for each sword model.
For example, with that information, you could determine if the Crecy out-sells the Talhoffer three-to-one, or if the Prince outsells the Kingmaker two-to-one. Etc. etc. We might be surprised at some of that data.
And for the limited-allocation swords like the Poitiers (only 100 swords to be made) or the Oakeshott (only 500 to be made), it would be great to know how many of each have in fact already been produced in the last several years, and how many are left to be made in that allocation. I'd love to know if some of these sword models that have been long-time favorites are in danger of soon hitting their allocation limits, and becoming out-of-production. It might sway my purchasing choices.
Making some of this information available to the buying public would help to create some more urgency in the market, and help Albion capture more sales. But then again...that's a true two-edged-sword, here. With a 24 month backlog already, and not enough trained swordsmiths available out there, I guess they're already drowning in more sales than they can handle, and hardly need to market themselves right now....
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Post by fastfash779 on Apr 22, 2024 15:48:00 GMT
Yeah, someone in the purchasing department over at KoA was really horny for the Oakeshott model when they placed that order a ways back. It must historically be a good seller for them, like the Talhoffer which they seem to re-stock in a few different grip colors quite often. If I had to guess, I bet just the names "Talhoffer" and "Oakeshott" themselves, being very popular industry terms, are themselves a bit of a marketing boost, coming up quite frequently in internet searches, and driving quite a bit of traffic to KoA's etail website, which probably helps generate sales of those specific models. It would be very interesting to see Albion's sales numbers, not in terms of revenue but in terms of volume - i.e. how many of each different model of sword they sell to the public on an annual basis. That would reveal which ones are their best and worst sellers and most popular designs. It would also be great to know how many of each limited sword they have left in their stated allocations for each sword model. For example, with that information, you could determine if the Crecy out-sells the Talhoffer three-to-one, or if the Prince outsells the Kingmaker two-to-one. Etc. etc. We might be surprised at some of that data. And for the limited-allocation swords like the Poitiers (only 100 swords to be made) or the Oakeshott (ony 500 to be made), it would be great to know how many of each have in fact already been produced in the last several years, and how many are left to be made in that allocation. I'd love to know if some of these sword models that have been long-time favorites are in danger of soon hitting their allocation limits, and becoming out-of-production. It might sway my purchasing choices. Making some of this information available to the buying public would help to create some more urgency in the market, and help Albion capture more sales. But then again...that's a true two-edged-sword, here. With a 24 month backlog already, and not enough trained swordsmiths available out there, I guess they're already drowning in more sales than they can handle, and hardly need to market themselves right now.... Doesn’t seem like the limited runs of 100, 500, 1000, etc are actually true. If it was true you would know what number you have. And I’m pretty sure I’ve read here that people have called up Albion and found out there is no actual count. I could definitely be wrong so don’t quote me. Would like some actual insight if someone has it
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Post by toddstratton1 on Apr 22, 2024 16:02:32 GMT
Yeah, someone in the purchasing department over at KoA was really horny for the Oakeshott model when they placed that order a ways back. It must historically be a good seller for them, like the Talhoffer which they seem to re-stock in a few different grip colors quite often. If I had to guess, I bet just the names "Talhoffer" and "Oakeshott" themselves, being very popular industry terms, are themselves a bit of a marketing boost, coming up quite frequently in internet searches, and driving quite a bit of traffic to KoA's etail website, which probably helps generate sales of those specific models. It would be very interesting to see Albion's sales numbers, not in terms of revenue but in terms of volume - i.e. how many of each different model of sword they sell to the public on an annual basis. That would reveal which ones are their best and worst sellers and most popular designs. It would also be great to know how many of each limited sword they have left in their stated allocations for each sword model. For example, with that information, you could determine if the Crecy out-sells the Talhoffer three-to-one, or if the Prince outsells the Kingmaker two-to-one. Etc. etc. We might be surprised at some of that data. And for the limited-allocation swords like the Poitiers (only 100 swords to be made) or the Oakeshott (ony 500 to be made), it would be great to know how many of each have in fact already been produced in the last several years, and how many are left to be made in that allocation. I'd love to know if some of these sword models that have been long-time favorites are in danger of soon hitting their allocation limits, and becoming out-of-production. It might sway my purchasing choices. Making some of this information available to the buying public would help to create some more urgency in the market, and help Albion capture more sales. But then again...that's a true two-edged-sword, here. With a 24 month backlog already, and not enough trained swordsmiths available out there, I guess they're already drowning in more sales than they can handle, and hardly need to market themselves right now.... Doesn’t seem like the limited runs of 100, 500, 1000, etc are actually true. If it was true you would know what number you have. And I’m pretty sure I’ve read here that people have called up Albion and found out there is no actual count. I could definitely be wrong so don’t quote me. Would like some actual insight if someone has it They don't keep a hard number on every sword that is produced to known the individual number. But they are all limited productions based on the number that is stated. There is already quite a few swords that have been discontinued because they reached the cap of their production count. A few viking swords, the gallowglass and Knecht, and soon enough I heard that the knight, Crecy, and the Dane are all running very close to the end of their production. At which point you can only find it second hand after. That's just the three I am aware of.
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Post by eastman on Apr 22, 2024 19:26:17 GMT
They know the number that have been produced, but they don't share the exact production info with the public. They will give a warning that a model is close to the end of the run.
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Post by blackngold on Apr 23, 2024 0:23:42 GMT
Doesn’t seem like the limited runs of 100, 500, 1000, etc are actually true. If it was true you would know what number you have. And I’m pretty sure I’ve read here that people have called up Albion and found out there is no actual count. I could definitely be wrong so don’t quote me. Would like some actual insight if someone has it They don't keep a hard number on every sword that is produced to known the individual number. But they are all limited productions based on the number that is stated. There is already quite a few swords that have been discontinued because they reached the cap of their production count. A few viking swords, the gallowglass and Knecht, and soon enough I heard that the knight, Crecy, and the Dane are all running very close to the end of their production. At which point you can only find it second hand after. That's just the three I am aware of. Indeed, a number of models have hit their quota in the past 20+ years: - The Gotland - The Vinland - The Clontarf - The Valkyria - The Chieftain - The Gallowglass - The Knecht There was a grossemesser before the Soldat, but I don't remember if that one hit its' limit, or if it was discontinued for other reasons. There was also a Pompei pattern gladius with a reinforced tip-- I think it was called The Trajan?-- whose ultimate fate is also not known to me.
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Post by toddstratton1 on Apr 23, 2024 0:25:53 GMT
The chieftain interestingly was cut early because the quillons were such a pain in the ass to recreate on every model. So it got stopped for production pretty briefly after release, I think there was supposed to be 1k for production. Everything else was at the end of their natural limit to my understanding.
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Post by blackngold on Apr 23, 2024 12:27:23 GMT
The chieftain interestingly was cut early because the quillons were such a pain in the ass to recreate on every model. So it got stopped for production pretty briefly after release, I think there was supposed to be 1k for production. Everything else was at the end of their natural limit to my understanding. I could be misremembering, but I had it in my mind that the production limit for the Chieftain (for those who never saw it, the Chieftain was a Duke blade mounted in a Claymore hilt, and was initially released around the same time as the Laird and Caithness) was only 100, which is why I didn't think twice about its' short life on the website, as Claymores were really popular in the early 2000's. You could be right, though, as a number of models "misfired", seemingly due to details of Peter's handiwork that don't translate well to a production process. Some never even got off the ground at all, like the hand-and-a-half Type XIX Reitschwerts (Hauptmann, Markgraff), and the Spatha with an octagonal cross-section (Alaris). Referencing my previous post, I finally remembered that the first Grossemesser model was called "The Meister" and when I visited Albion, I think I do remember Mike mentioning to me that they were having difficulty with production of the hilt, so that one may have gotten axed before it hit its' quota as well.
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Post by alientude on Apr 23, 2024 13:01:44 GMT
Yeah, the Chieftain was originally planned for 1,000.
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Post by blackngold on Apr 23, 2024 15:35:22 GMT
Yeah, the Chieftain was originally planned for 1,000.
Thanks for the correction. Definitely reinforces the point made earlier that this model was one of Albion's rare "misfires". Some designs simply don't lend themselves well to production techniques geared toward the output quantity Albion is trying for, with the precision and consistency that they built their reputation on. Also, thanks for posting the old web page-- that was a mini stroll down memory lane!
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Post by alientude on Apr 23, 2024 15:50:28 GMT
Fun fact - there's multiple versions of Albion's old sites all archived at the Internet Archive. Great for looking up details about discontinued models!
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