Recent Albion Swords I have Bought

While I agree with most of your points I think calling him "too poor to afford an albion" was a bit too much ad hominem, we are all fellow sword enthusiasts that's why we are here

While that comment may well have been a bit much, being a "fellow sword enthusiast"  is not a defense against making foolish claims and statements...Having read a majority of his posts over the last month in totality, it is not an unreasonable assumption. 

The fact is that he was trying to "trade for a Albion or other high end sword" in a posting in the classifieds just last week (since deleted)  and then comes up with his comment in this thread... 

Personally I dont care what anyone says about any product in this forum or anywhere else. I do expect constancy in in opinion or it is fair game to call someone out on it.

Sorry if holding his feet to the fire offends anyone. He has already been given a pass on his defense of swords without distal taper and their cutting ability..... lol 

I apologize if I hurt his feelings..............

I bought many Albions this year (5 from KOA, 2 from forum members). Some of them have asymmetrical crossguard. For me, its the most common problem with albion. Older albions i bought since 2012 also have this problem.

Now, is it really a problem or is it something normal, considering the crossguards are hand finished, i guess its subjective. Mike from albion once told me that even the orignal mold they use are not perfect.

blades are well finished though, did not have problems on that side.

This is going to be a rather long post so bare with me and I’ll try to give my take on them. I’m going to dissect what I said first then what “sirnewport” stated in response to me, and finally state what I think about the topic.

Here is what I said originally: Albion’s are so overpriced and overrated. There literally nothing but milled stock 6150 steel, that is then ground to shape, tempered, and polished, with cast fittings. There made with quality material and craftsmanship, but there is no time actually put into them. There good swords compared to everything else, but definitely not the best by far.

First, they are overpriced in the sense that you can make one (given the equipment and a hourly pay of say, $20, for probably $500-600). So yes they are overpriced By the sword itself. Realistically though you would have to add a hundred or two (obviously dependent on what model) because it’s a larger business not a sole person. But your still paying a premium, so yes I was correct. As for when I said overrated, I meant in comparison to everything else. What I mean by that is people love to talk about Albion’s but you never (in comparison) hear of Lockwood swords or the higher end valiant armory ones, etc. Additionally, because there pretty much the same as their competition in their price range, if not worse, but yet their the hot topic, so yes I was correct again. Everything I stated about albion swords was true. When I said there not the best by far, I was also correct. I never said the swords were bad swords, I said essentially that I prefer higher end swords, as in me making a preference. So nothing I said was wrong.
Now for a dissection of the “replies” I received from this member. Here is what “sirnewport” said:

“Albion’s are so overpriced and overrated. There They're literally nothing but milled stock 6150 steel, that is then ground to shape, tempered, and polished, with cast fittings. There They are made with quality material and craftsmanship, but there is no time actually put into them. There They are good swords compared to everything else, but definitely not the best by far.
Ok, Ill bite... what swords DO YOU OWN and why are they better than Albions offerings? Oh wait.. just did a little research, you are "user1576" who buys Piece of crap iron bar swords, over values them and tries to trade them for, how did you phrase it.... "Albions or other high end swords"... LMAO



If Albions were truly over priced, there would not be a 1-2 year wait to get one...but of course you dont know that because economics is not your strong suit either. Clearly the collective wisdom of the sword community, putting their money where their mouths are (unlike YOU ) feel that Albions are well worth the money.



You know nothing about sword design/construction or you wouldn't have commissioned and own the 7.5 lb long sword you have been trying to sell and no body wants to buy. Coming into this thread to crap on Albion swords coming from where you are is a pathetic cry for help....



You dont like Albion's because you cant afford them...

The member "formerly known as user1576" is correct in his understanding of Albions production methods...and yes they are production swords and that is how they need to be made to mass produce them at a reasonable price point. If you want well made and designed custom swords you are elevating the price point well over $2000 in my opinion. The member "formerly known as user1576" is also correct that Albions are certainly not "the best" but for what they are, they are damn good, as the demand for them at their price point and their excellent retention of value in the secondary market attest to.

You are right.. some of the lower price point production swords have turned out well but for the most part, the lower price point swords are selling appearance not performance or historical accuracy and most everyone knows that by now.

While that comment may well have been a bit much, being a "fellow sword enthusiast" is not a defense against making foolish claims and statements...Having read a majority of his posts over the last month in totality, it is not an unreasonable assumption.

The fact is that he was trying to "trade for a Albion or other high end sword" in a posting in the classifieds just last week (since deleted) and then comes up with his comment in this thread...

Personally I dont care what anyone says about any product in this forum or anywhere else. I do expect constancy in in opinion or it is fair game to call someone out on it.

Sorry if holding his feet to the fire offends anyone. He has already been given a pass on his defense of swords without distal taper and their cutting ability..... lol


I apologize if I hurt his feelings..............”


Ok, so first to start off, you said that I used the wrong version of “there” when I was explaining my points. I did not, “there” means essentially calling attention to a specific thing or set of things. “They are” or “They’re” means in reference only to a specific set of people. So I was correct. If you would like to know more please go study your nearest dictionary, or simply type in “there define or they are define” in a google browser. I will ignore your clear ad hominem attack and continue on, you stated that I buy “Piece of crap iron bar swords”, which is interesting considering you don’t know what I buy (unless your stalking me), nor is there a such thing as an “iron bar sword”. Which is also in itself interesting since you boasted you own all these swords yet you don’t seem to know 1075 high carbon steel is steel not iron. Not to mention if grammar is such a big thing to you than why did you capitalize “Piece” when the word itself is not important in the sentence? To move on, you stated that I trade for “Albions or other high end swords”, which is a complete lie, since I don’t trade for Albion’s nor have I ever, nor is a sword by Albion a high end sword. Additionally, wait times mean good sales, not good products (not that they aren’t). I’m not sure how you know wether or not economics is my strong suit since you don’t know me, again another case of dishonesty. You stated I don’t put my money were my mouth is, which I am not sure what you mean by that, since I haven’t had to prove anything since I been on this forum. You stated I don’t know sword construction, but again, you don’t know me, so how could you possibly know that. I have stated multiple times the sword you keep referencing was meant for a very specific purpose. I knew it would be difficult to sell because of that, but I was still willing to do that because that’s what I liked. You stated that I came from “where you are”, whatever that means, and it was a “pathetic cry for help”; And I am not sure what I would be pathetically crying about. What was also stated was essentially that I was “crapping” on specifically Albion swords because “ you cant afford them”. Which is curious, since the sword you keep referencing cost more than any Albion sword in production (excluding the very expensive museum swords). Furthermore, you stated that to make a well designed sword you are going to go well over two thousand. Which is false, you can get well designed custom swords right at two thousand but there probably not going to be name brands, but it is obviously dependent on the sword. Which is a reference to a false claim this member made himself (assuming the member is a he), stating that essentially I say Albion swords are bad. Again, I never said anything remotely to that, I said they were good swords, but not the best; Or in other words, I personally prefer a better sword, not that Albion swords are bad. To move on more, this “sirnewport” stated that I made “foolish claims and statements“, and that I have had a history of doing that, which is a lie. You may disagree with my opinions, but I have never said anything false, nor unreasonable (that wasn’t a clear joke). What was stated again was that I was trying to trade for Albion or another high end sword, which is again, not true. I previously tried to trade for a christen fletcher shield maiden, a higher end euro style sword, or a higher end katana. I never, according to memory, stated Albion. And even if I did there would be nothing wrong with that, I personally like Albion’s, they are good swords (comparably), I never said they were bad. I stated essentially in comparison, to what is out there, to what is obtainable, I would prefer something higher end. Additionally, I never meant weight or less taper means better cutting ability. What I meant was when there is more force behind a strike your going to cause more damage when cutting, not cut better necessarily. It’s the same principle behind the weight put into a fire axe, more weight equals more damage to the target, generally speaking, not a better cut. Lastly, what was stated was an apology if “my feelings were hurt”, which isn’t a lot considering all that was said, but I will accept it.


To close off I think it is important to have these conversations so that things are kept clear and honest. Because if things keep going the way they are there won’t be a community, (cutting the politics out). And I type the way I speak, because that’s how I like to type.

Please do not respond to this, keep the comments on track with the thread topic, I stated this for the above reasons, and to put it back on track, sorry for the derailment.

To be on topic, that’s what I keep hearing about Albion’s lately. The problem is that once the quality standard in a company is broken it’s hard to go back too it, and even harder when in the situation they are in.

look dude u wrote alot, but really i think mods should just close this thread to stop it becoming a flame fest, everyone has their own opinions on albions and thats ok, i just wanna say tho i personally consider anything over 800 dollars "high end" because thats alot of money and thus albion is high end for me anyways

Adrian Jordan

I recently bought a Kingmaker through KOA and it is flawless. I’m interested in the cause of these marks.

And lol... Albions not high-end swords.... takes all kinds, I guess.

Sorry, but......

- it costs much more than $600 to produce a sword of quality.

- Most high end swordsmiths I know would love to make $20 an hour.

- A CNC blank and a blank forged from a bloom or anything else are essentially the same. At the end you get a steel bar that resembles a sword. No edge geometry, just a basic shape. It's the grinding and finish work that go in to it, upwards of 50 hours worth, that make it a sword. 

- What was that again? $20 an hour? That's $1000 in labor at your estimate using reality as a guide. Factor in electric bills, medical insurance, a 401k (lol), workers comp, employee taxes, and much more. 

You've shown that you absolutely don't know what your talking about regarding sword manufacturing. If you'd like to believe you're right, well whatever floats your boat, but reality is your wrong and should probably do some research beyond steel prices and how long you think it would take you to make a sword, considering you probably cant actually make one.