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Post by Nujukamma on May 2, 2020 1:39:26 GMT
So I picked up a almost unused windlass 15th century longsword on LetGo for $70 bucks. Based on the reviews I didnt have the greatest expectations. I have to say after some initial impressions, I think I lucked out.
Now I want to be clear, Im relatively new to sword ownership, and I have a fraction of the experience and knowledge of most of the members here. My opinion may be lacking some crucial details that I lack the wherewithall to notice.
My only real complaint with it, is the handle is a hair too small for my mamoth palms. In order to effectively grip the hilt, my lower hand has to either grip a fair amount of pommel, or butt right up against my dominant hand. I intend to rehilt the sword soon to remedy this. I admit im not a huge fan of the wire wrap either, but I prefer the feel of leather in general. Ive seen pictures of the wire hilt being tied off sloppy, but that wasnt the case for me. Fitings all were tight, and I did not experiance any rattling while test cutting.
Common Windlass problems were still present. The scabbard was a little loose. And the leather wrap is lacking a little finnesse (again something I will remedy in the future when i redo the hilt.) It still has the v grind rather than a true appleseed edge. (I intend to fix that too with some time on the belt grinder)
HOWEVER, I was pleasantly pleasantly surprised to find that the blade was NO WHERE as whippy as I had heard it could be. Whatever plagued this particular model, seems to have skipped mine. Ive been warned to double check that it was a true windlass, but the stamp is there and the tang is solid. My blade sailed through milk jugs and some half inch sticks relatively effortlessly.
For $70 bucks I couldnt be happier!
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 2, 2020 2:05:25 GMT
For $70 you got a bargain.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2020 4:21:19 GMT
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AndiTheBarvarian
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on May 2, 2020 5:15:53 GMT
Yup, it's a good sword and not whippy like it was said in an early review. Big hands too, grip band helped.
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Post by tancred on May 2, 2020 5:24:15 GMT
Yeah, $70 is a great price. I've owned one for a long time, and I enjoy it. The blade on mine isn't whippy, either. Love the wire wrap lower half of the hilt. Congrats on your new sword.
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Post by MOK on May 2, 2020 10:05:14 GMT
This is one Windlass's more popular Medieval swords, IME. Perfectly fine for what it is - and at $70 an absolute steal.
The pommel seems like the perfect shape to grip in your palm, BTW, with just the thumb and index finger on the grip proper...
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Post by Nujukamma on May 2, 2020 13:20:12 GMT
I had read gripping the pommel was a no no. There isnt really a HEMA group around where I live to talk to, so ive been relying on google.
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Post by William Swiger on May 2, 2020 14:31:11 GMT
One thing I have noticed over the years is the same model is not uniform with every sword. I have had more than one of a certain model and the blades were different. One might be overly flexible while the other was stiff.
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Post by MOK on May 2, 2020 15:11:47 GMT
I had read gripping the pommel was a no no. There isnt really a HEMA group around where I live to talk to, so ive been relying on google. It depends a whole lot. Some treatises discourage it, some say nothing, some feature illustrations of the masters doing it. Much depends on what kind of swords the text assumes are used. In practice it's just a matter of finding the best way to grip the particular sword you happen to have with the hands and arms you happen to have, not a hard and fast one-grip-fits-all solution.
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AndiTheBarvarian
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on May 2, 2020 15:35:33 GMT
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 2, 2020 16:48:56 GMT
I don’t have that model but Windlass’ German Bastard Sword with a different shaped pommel. At first I tried gripping it with both hands on the grip. But found by gripping the pommel, with my strong hand on the grip worked much better for that sword. Don’t be misled by the previous sentence, I use the left arm to power the sword and the right to guide it, much like a katana. Original grip Left hand gripping the pommel Present two hand grip
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Post by Nujukamma on May 10, 2020 21:00:19 GMT
I actually found using my finger on the ricasso through the ring helped a lot too. Ive heard conflicting reports on that being effective as well though.
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AndiTheBarvarian
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on May 10, 2020 21:09:24 GMT
It increases the leverage but in a fight it can reduce the number of your fingers.
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Post by demented on May 11, 2020 18:37:33 GMT
I had read gripping the pommel was a no no. There isnt really a HEMA group around where I live to talk to, so ive been relying on google. Depends on the sources. Meyer grips the pommel sometimes wiktenauer.com/wiki/Joachim_Meyer#SwordSo does Fiore at times wiktenauer.com/wiki/Fiore_de%27i_Liberi#Sword_in_Two_HandsI think some Bolognese masters pomnel grip at times too. In general its not preferred though but like everything else it depends on the situation. I prefer to throw pommels so I no longer grip them,ymmv.
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Post by demented on May 11, 2020 18:38:38 GMT
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Post by rjodorizzi on May 29, 2020 17:23:07 GMT
One of my favorites and I have had it forever. It's been through hell and held up great. Still one of the more fun ones to swing around. Bought it back in the early 2010-ish for like $100 sale deal!
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