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Post by bradtheblue on Feb 5, 2020 21:26:01 GMT
Hey, I’m new to the whole sword and blades community. I was looking at Windlass especially the seaxs as they seem like a budget path into the hobby. I was looking at Maldon Seax and the Merovingian Seax. If anyone has any experience in these blades or knows the reputation for windlass, I would greatly appreciate any information.
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Feb 5, 2020 22:10:54 GMT
They are very much not historically correct.
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Post by demonskull on Feb 5, 2020 22:20:29 GMT
I don't have either of these seaxs. I own quite a few Windlass blades, so I can talk to the quality of Windlass blades in general. Windlass products are a good entry (into the hobby) level blades. Each is hand forged in India by a large group of smiths. These smiths run the gamut from fair to excellent. Unfortunately there is no way to tell which smith you're likely to get.
Typically the blades are hardened decently. The sword designs can be real winners to some losers with most falling somewhere in between. One of the biggest complaint is a lack of distal taper on the swords and some complaints on fit and finish. There are very few issues with structural integrity.
There doesn't appear to be a review on either of these here. You can read a number of other reviews on Windlass products in both the Sword Review and Other Weapons and Armor Review Sub-forum.
Welcome to the Forum and if you do decide to purchase through Museum Replicas, as a Forum Member, you can take advantage of the promo code SBGVIP which will give you a 10% discount on everything you purchase from them.
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pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
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Post by pgandy on Feb 5, 2020 22:59:00 GMT
Welcome. I don't have either of those but several knives and swords by Windlass. In fact I own more Windlasses than any other single manufacturer. They offer a good product for the price.
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reptaronice1
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Tell Me... Friend... When Did Saruman The Wise Abandon Reason For Madness?!
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Post by reptaronice1 on Feb 6, 2020 1:38:01 GMT
Windlass is a good brand
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Post by MOK on Feb 6, 2020 5:55:41 GMT
Well, Windlass has many very good products like the Arbedo, the Type XIV, most of their bowie knives and so on, but that's mainly because they have many, many, MANY products; most are acceptable for their price, some are downright bad. Some of the good ones are both functional and within historical parameters, most are just one or the other. You have to research the specific item you're considering, the brand as a whole has no consistency apart from using decent steel. But, as long as you take care to know exactly what you're buying, I'd say they're one of the best entry level companies and also offer good, affordable bases for customization for the more experienced hobbyist.
The Battlecry line is well liked as very functional and mostly historically plausible swords, but the Maldon in particular is a historically inspired fantasy design, not an actual historical seax. If you're just looking for a short sword or long knife in general, I'm sure you'd be happy with it. The Merovingian (AKA Viking Seax) is very much a similar kind of deal: both combine a somewhat miniaturized but elongated sword hilt with a slightly simplistic seax blade, a popular combination in the reproduction market but rarely if ever found in history (at least in this form; there are seaxes with sword-like furniture, and swords with seax-like blades, but neither look very much like this).
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Post by Barahir on Feb 6, 2020 13:28:45 GMT
I have many Windlass swords/knives/axes.
Like it was said before, they offering many kind of great model and quality can be a problem sometimes :(
I have both Maldon and Merovingian Seax.
My Merovingian Seax failed the quality control. It came to me with loose piece on the hilt and the tang was off with the blade... making a hilt/Blade not straight. Other wise its a great weapon to play with. The studs on the grip are more comfortable than what I tought. Look like the pommel is made of some kind of plastic or very light metal. It looks plastic to me. I dont like it. The blade is very shinny... (!)
My Maldon Seax came in perfect shape. Its a big seax with a sword grip :) Very comfortable. I love the ''battle used'' patina.
My choice between both still the Maldon.
You can watch John Clemmens perform with the Maldon here.
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pgandy
Moderator
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Post by pgandy on Feb 6, 2020 16:15:59 GMT
Windlass’ QC at times leaves something to be desired. I’ve been lucky and have had no issues, and I think the number of people who have is small in relation to the amount sold. However, if you should receive one that is substandard a reputable vendor such as Kult of Athena or Museum Replicas will stand behind what they sell. An ebay vendor can be iffy. Amazon has a good reputation I hear. They do like to put a mirror finish on their white blades that I don't like and is easily taken care of.
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Post by MOK on Feb 6, 2020 17:37:07 GMT
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Post by Barahir on Feb 6, 2020 17:51:30 GMT
Yes the same seax. Im not a expert but it looks plastic to me lol It feels cheap. Go for the Maldon and buy also the matching sword to go with lol
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Post by MOK on Feb 6, 2020 18:11:29 GMT
I'm asking because if it really seems like plastic, it could be brass-plated zinc alloy (AKA white metal or pot metal), and I'd be really disappointed to see Windlass using that on a functional piece. Of course, it could also be real but hollow brass (most pommels of this type were hollow, historically).
I have to agree, though, polished brass always looks cheap and tacky to me. So much more attractive with the nice aged patina it develops from lots of handling...
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 6, 2020 18:48:36 GMT
Only windlass piece I have is their long-discontinued "Viking Dirk," and I'm not sure what the fittings are made of (I assume brass or something brass-plated) but it really, really looks like plastic.
I also remember thinking the Hanwei shashka grip looked and felt like plastic, but was just very thick lacquer on wood.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Feb 6, 2020 20:12:14 GMT
I mean it's not really a seax, more of a fantasy knife with viking influences.
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Post by randomnobody on Feb 6, 2020 20:24:32 GMT
I mean it's not really a seax, more of a fantasy knife with viking influences. So is my dirk.
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Jash
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Post by Jash on Feb 6, 2020 23:12:47 GMT
I have the Merovingian Seax. Bought it on sale about 12-15 years ago lol. Honestly, I bought it for the looks - it was marketed as a "Dark Age Seax" so had a Viking inspired blingy look to it. Overall, it's a nice piece for the price. My few issues would be:
- Blade edge is on the thinner side, so mine is warped. - The pommel is screwed to the tang, so it's great to tighten up and fix any looseness, but then the pommel is off center. - The highly polished brass "bling", in person, actually makes it look a little cheap (or maybe my tastes have changed in 15 years lol).
On the plus side: - My handle has a more reddish hue to it, making it look classier than the current pictures. - I took the pommel off (5 min ago). It is brass, or at least brass plated metal. Either way, it has some good weight to it.
The quality issues could just have been my piece. It's currently sitting next to my Windlass Roman Pugio - which is in the same price range but is flawless...
Hope that helps!
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Post by warriorpoet on Feb 7, 2020 0:20:33 GMT
If they still make the runic long seax I heartily recommend. I love mine.
Todd cutler makes a good affordable seax if you need more historical accuracy. KoA sells his stuff I believe.
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