Deepeeka Mainz-Wederath Gladius
May 16, 2020 17:35:23 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 16, 2020 17:35:23 GMT
I have always wanted to own a quality replica of a Roman gladius. I do not have the funds or the patience to buy an Albion. I considered saving up for a Del Tin, which appear to be quite nice, but the price is still a bit outside of my range. Recently, I read several reviews praising Deepeeka's replicas of swords from the ancient world, the gladius among them. One of our forumites wrote a positive review of the Fulham gladius, so I thought I might take a chance and order a gladius made by Deepeeka. Ultimately, I am happy to report that I am pleasantly surprised by what I received.
I bought the Mainz-Wederath gladius by Deepeeka from KOA for $114.95. I ordered it last week and it arrived this week. Here is the listing: www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=AH3311E&name=Mainz%2DWederath+Gladius
Measurements:
Blade length: 20 in.
Grip length: 4 in.
Overall length: 27.5 in.
Blade width: 2 in.
Blade thickness: 4.6mm at the base, approx. 4mm throughout, 2.5mm at the tip. Little distal taper.
Weight: 1.6 lb (740g)
POB: 4 in. from the guard.
The steel is EN45 carbon steel, which I understand is similar to 9260 spring steel. It's essentially a relatively high carbon steel with a high silicon and manganese content, which provides a nice springy quality and helps prevent corrosion. The quality of the steel here is pretty good. What about the heat treatment? The answer is I don't know. I have not put this blade through its paces and I honestly don't want to. The blade came unsharpened because I wanted to do it myself. I did it myself before writing this review and it turned out quite good. There is a slight secondary edge bevel, but I don't care. It takes a nice edge and that's all that matters.
The hilt components are comprised of a carved bone grip, a carved wood guard, and an orbital wood pommel. Romans appeared to LOVE skinny, round, carved bone grips. It feels comfortable in the hand, it's smooth, and it looks attractive. I do have some concerns over the material being hollow because the channel is wider than the tang. One would assume this could cause some problems from a functional perspective, but I believe the construction method used on most historical examples is sturdy enough to overcome any inherent weaknesses of the bone itself. So long as all of the hilt components have a good compression fit and the pommel and hilt are nice and tight, there shouldn't be a problem, yes? I would REALLY love to know if Roman craftsmen used pitch, resin, or glue during the assembly. Perhaps one could fill the hollow channel with pitch to fill in the recess. I am unsure if there are traces of pitch on surviving historical examples, but it's a mystery I would love to have solved.
This is an example of the construction method for most gladii. Note that the tangs are rather skinny, the orbital pommel and/or the hilt are recessed to accommodate the grip (this must provide extra security), the grips are round and carved (some are octagonal), and brass or copper alloy washers and pommel caps are used to secure all the components. Another interesting feature is that some of the hilts are made of three composite materials: the wood guard, a wood washer, and a metal washer. This is a really fascinating assortment of mostly organic materials.
Here is a great example of some surviving hilt components. It is VERY rare that these organic materials should survive this long. We have so few examples to examine, so these are incredibly valuable. Note how the bone grips are quite hollow and the hilt components are recessed.
This is the sword I received. The color of the leather scabbard wrap is more vibrant than what was advertised on KOA, but I quite like it. I imagine there are some variances anyway. The wood components were originally undyed, but coated with a golden lacquer, which I intensely dislike. I removed the components, removed the lacquer, dyed the wood a dark brown using a water based dye stain, and then treated the wood with a nice combination of orange oil and beeswax. I am delighted with the result. The grip had some nasty glue along the hilt components. I removed this too. I am unsure what species the hardwood is although I am guessing either white ash or red oak. Anyone who tells you they can accurately tell the difference once the wood has become commercial lumber is full of it. It's very difficult to differentiate between certain wood species once it becomes lumber. Whether this is ash or oak is a moot point: the wood is in good condition, the carving is well done and it has good structural integrity.
The brass washer on the hilt is recessed (as it should be) and is assembled well enough, although it was covered with an UGLY and CHEAP black felt washer (that wreaked of oil) to conceal that the brass is not completely flush with the blade underneath. This is only a cosmetic issue and I don't care that much. I removed the felt and replaced it with undyed suede. I think it looks much better. Is this historical? Who cares? You cannot prove leather washers weren't used, nor can you prove they were not used, because the leather wouldn't survive two millennia. What ticks me off just a wee bit is that I have seen photos of this same sword where the brass washer IS flush with the blade. The notion that some customers get a marginally nicer hilt component than I do for the same price, that's a little irritating. Note that there is no maker's mark on the blade, i.e. it does not say "Deepeeka" or "Made in India." I really like this. Is anyone else annoyed by the presence of a maker's mark on a replica? The Albion mark is at the very least attractive looking and rather inconspicuous to my eyes. "Made in India" is a statement of fact. It's not a brand, nor is it artistic. It just feels superfluous and unnecessary to me. It just is what it is. Yeah, it was made in India. I get it. The fact that they etch "Made in India" deeply into the blade so that it is a pain in the butt to remove really gets on my nerves. Does anyone else have similar feelings about maker's marks or am I just a nutcase?
The brass pommel cap is simple and does its job. Original gladii were not threaded, but this is another moot point for me. If I really gave a crap, I could peen the pommel onto the brass cap. I am actually grateful this wasn't peened because if it had I would not have been able to remove all the components and customize them to my liking. As it stands, I really don't mind making these slight customizations. In fact, I rather enjoy doing it.
The blade itself is straight, the ridge line is a LITTLE wavy, but it's not that big of a deal. The finish is what I would call a satin finish (about 320 grit). I scuffed it up a bit when I sharpened the blade. Some steel wool and a little elbow grease will solve this problem. However, there are some scuffs along the ridge because the brass covering over the scabbard is rather tight. I have subsequently filed down the opening of the scabbard to loosen it up a bit.
Here is the tip:
The blade has some slight quirks. First, there is a slight twist in the blade. You cannot see it with the naked eye. You have to really stare at the sword from a few angles in order to spot it, but I don't believe it will impact its performance in any way. It just appears to be cosmetic. This is a hand made object, it's not perfect, and I really don't mind considering how little I paid for this. Oddly, a historical sword like this would cost more for its materials than its labor. Conversely, the materials are inexpensive today, but the labor is pricey. Deepeeka obviously can afford to sell items like this rather cheaply not because the materials are of inferior quality. On the contrary, the materials used to make this sword are not unlike the materials used to make historical gladii. In fact, the materials are quite good in terms of quality. The reason they can sell these items so cheaply is because there is not much labor involved in making them. The fit and finish of the Del Tin replicas are undoubtedly better because they put more time into making each component and to ensure there is quality control. Conversely, Deepeeka mass produces these things and aims to sell them quickly because of how inexpensive they are. Ultimately, the quality of what I received is NOT THAT BAD. If they had spent a few more hours making each of the components marginally improved, the value of the sword would be much higher and would compare favorably to the Del Tin replicas. Also, the Del Tin replicas do not include scabbards. This is not a moot point for me: I WANT SCABBARDS. As it stands, I did all of this additional work myself and it took me only a few hours, but time is money, and Deepeeka does not want to spend three more hours making one of these in order to pay for the additional labor. So, you get what you pay for.
Some of you are undoubtedly wondering what this sword looks like if I were to "pop open the hood." Well, there lies the rub. The inherent weakness of this sword is the tang and the uncertain heat treatment. The tang is rather skinny. This is not a problem. Many historical gladii blades had really skinny tangs. The problem with the tang is that the shoulders have right angles. This can create stress points where the tang can snap under lateral forces, i.e. strikes. If I were to thrust with this blade over and over again, it would put less pressure on those stress points compared to chops, slashes, and cuts, but given the uncertainty of the heat treatment of this blade (especially where it meets the tang) and the construction of the tang itself I would probably refrain from using this other than for light cutting practice. Deepeeka really ought to stop doing this simply for the sake of quality control and safety.
So, to wrap things up, does the weakness of the tang diminish the overall value of this sword? From a functional and safety perspective? Oh yes. However, I don't intend to use this sword for that purpose. As a replica of a historical sword, this is quite excellent, especially for the price point. I would be happy to wear this blade as a reenactor and I would be happy to bring this sword into a classroom to use as an example. This sword replica is well researched and all my concerns over cosmetics are minor. One cosmetic concern I did not mention is that the brass on the scabbard is covered in lacquer. I would like to tell all manufacturers the following: STOP IT! It makes the brass look cheap, it eventually flakes off, and I HATE IT! It's one of my biggest pet peeves. Stop using chemicals to treat the wood and metal.