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Post by markus313 on Nov 17, 2019 19:56:25 GMT
Thanks to a favorable review by Dave Kelly, I went on to acquire a Windlass Sword of the Thirty Years War. I’d call this a sidesword, and while these in general aren’t my favorite style of swords, I really like this piece – even more than my Rheinfelden, which I’ve gabbled a bit about here:
It has a heavier blade than the Rheinfelden, and also a heavier pommel, and while the blade is moved just a tad less quickly, this makes for more presence and "snap" during a cut. I’m also a big fan of the long quillons, which serve to control resp. protect in many positions. The bars on the inside of the guard may be a bit too thin to reliably stop full-on blows to the inside. But this is not to be expected to happen too often with the style of fencing this sword was designed for – a blade sliding down towards the hand in a bind may occur more frequently. The grip is rather round, perhaps that could lead to bad edge alignment and the blade turning during cutting. The grip’s cross-section could easily be changed to more oval with a file if one was tempted to do so (I think Dave had his grip redone – don’t know if he changed the grip shape, too). The blade flexes nicely and is not too whippy. A very fun to handle sword, all in all very nice at the price point. Definitely recommended.
Some other renaissance repros for comparison, pics show both sides of the swords. Sorry for the bad quality, there's no light to be found anywhere.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Nov 17, 2019 20:16:55 GMT
Thanks for the report. Contrary to you Dave Kelly’s review turned me off. I’m going by memory and that was a few years back. Either KoA sold their last one before I ordered and I was glad that I hadn’t or didn’t order because of the review and sold out shortly afterwards. The time frame was very close. The issues that Kelly pointed out now no longer bother me as I can overcome them. I had forgotten about the round grip. I was new to swords at the time. I’ve had my eye out for one and did find a source in Europe but didn’t want to pay the extra. I hope Windlass reintroduces that one. Thanks for the update.
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Post by markus313 on Nov 17, 2019 20:24:50 GMT
Well I thought if the thin inside bars would start to bother me (they do not hinder me "fingering" the quillon, although that’s not my style anyways), I could choose to remove them altogether, and end up with a flat inside like on the Rheinfelden, which can be worn close to the hips. I feel another virtue of the WSotTYW’s long quillons is that they help to tare the blade’s alignment during a strike. Overall, it's a very nicely designed and well executed sword.
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pgandy
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Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Nov 17, 2019 21:09:33 GMT
I have two swords, both German copies, with long quillons and love them. The long quillons are what attracts me to that sword.
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Post by markus313 on Nov 17, 2019 21:11:39 GMT
The long quillons are what attracts me to that sword. Same here. I could have wished for a broader blade, but it would still give a respectable cut.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Nov 17, 2019 21:21:32 GMT
Nice wra..., ah, swords, all of them!
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Post by Dave Kelly on Nov 17, 2019 22:10:05 GMT
Thanks to a favorable review by Dave Kelly, I went on to acquire a Windlass Sword of the Thirty Years War. I’d call this a sidesword, and while these in general aren’t my favorite style of swords, I really like this piece – even more than my Rheinfelden, which I’ve gabbled a bit about here:
It has a heavier blade than the Rheinfelden, and also a heavier pommel, and while the blade is moved just a tad less quickly, this makes for more presence and "snap" during a cut. I’m also a big fan of the long quillons, which serve to control resp. protect in many positions. The bars on the inside of the guard may be a bit too thin to reliably stop full-on blows to the inside. But this is not to be expected to happen too often with the style of fencing this sword was designed for – a blade sliding down towards the hand in a bind may occur more frequently. The grip is rather round, perhaps that could lead to bad edge alignment and the blade turning during cutting. The grip’s cross-section could easily be changed to more oval with a file if one was tempted to do so (I think Dave had his grip redone – don’t know if he changed the grip shape, too). The blade flexes nicely and is not too whippy. A very fun to handle sword, all in all very nice at the price point. Definitely recommended.
Some other renaissance repros for comparison, pics show both sides of the swords. Sorry for the bad quality, there's no light to be found anywhere. Liked it enough to have Sonny Suttles customize it...
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Post by pellius on Nov 17, 2019 23:37:24 GMT
Interesting sword. Thank you for sharing your impressions.
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Post by leviathansteak on Nov 18, 2019 0:46:02 GMT
Would love to pick up one of these. Are they still in production?
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pgandy
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Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Nov 18, 2019 0:51:48 GMT
Liked it enough to have Sonny Suttles customize it... That looks much better. I'm waiting for another run.
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christain
Member
It's the steel on the inside that counts.
Posts: 2,835
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Post by christain on Nov 18, 2019 0:54:14 GMT
I'd be up for one too!
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Post by markus313 on Nov 20, 2019 19:21:26 GMT
Liked it enough to have Sonny Suttles customize it... Beautiful!!!
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