Albion The Vigil Sword Review
Jan 3, 2021 5:00:21 GMT
Post by Arthur Dayne on Jan 3, 2021 5:00:21 GMT
When I first saw The Vigil Sword on Albion's old website www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-medieval-vigil-x.htm
"Wow look at those double fullers, that's unique. How come the blade looks so wide? Why does it look so wide at the guard? What's the deal with the hilt? Looks kind of tiny with that blade, no peen block at all? Whatever, I want that."
I was really impressed by how it looked in person. Check out them double fullers! The blade presence was overwhelming for a single hander and compared to the Albion Knight sword, I could tell without handling it that the Vigil favored Cutting and Slicing. Blade has a subtle flare at the guard. The Blade Profile was broad and mostly parallel and doesn't taper to a narrow point. It has a wide tip as you can see in the pictures.
My specs were pretty much the same as the Albion listed ones except for the blade length, mines was 31 3/4"
Specifications
Overall length: 37.9 (96 cm)
Blade length: 32" (81 cm)
31 3/4"
Blade width: 2.37" (6 cm)
CoB: 4.33" (11 cm)
CoP: 22" (56.8 cm)
Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz (1.14 Kg) 2 lbs 8.6 oz
Distal Taper: 4.5mm at Guard, 1.6mm 1 inch near tip.
How's the Handling & Performance? What's the deal with double fuller blade?
The Vigil's Point of Balance of 4.33" makes the sword feel really swift and agile in hand despite the broad blade presence.
It's difficult to describe in words because the wider blade makes you think it should weigh more and move slower but instead it glides through the air when swung and when you stop it abruptly you can feel the inertia and see the flex of the blade. More so than say the Albion Knight which is stiffer.
It's a subtle feeling, at least to me, but I get the impression that The Vigil wants to continue on with the cut even when stopped.
The Vigil's more flexible Type X blade geometry, wider & slightly thinner profile, probably has something to do with this but it's overall stiff enough to stay straight when stationary and in motion, the flex not showing until you swing hard or cut into something.
Flex is not easy to communicate on the internet without reference points for some basis of comparison since it's relative to other swords. Ideally, handling this in person and seeing for yourself is best but isn't feasible for most people.
At the top is the Albion Poitiers Type XV blade which is really stiff & always seems to be erect- dedicated thruster.
Next up is the Albion Knight Type XII blade which is cut & thrust all purpose, stiff enough for hard poking but still favors the cut.
Finally the Albion Vigil which is just stiff enough to poke things but really shines when cutting. You can flex it with less effort than the Albion Knight.
The Vigil seems better suited towards softer targets that require a keener edge to bite into. Like have you ever gotten frustrated with batting water bottles or leaving jagged cuts into them? Smacked & jagged a tatami mat with bits hanging instead of cleanly cutting through it? Well The Vigil absolutely bites into and wants to cut through all that completely.
It DOES have a keener edge compared to the Knight and more acute. I'd classify the Albion factory edge as Very Sharp and nearing production Katana levels of sharpness.
As you can see from the way the light and shadows curve, there's a smoother transition to edge that isn't obtuse. That's because the blade is wider and thins out more gradually to the cutting edge, allowing it to be sharper. At the same time, there's just enough apple seed geometry & enough meat to help reinforce it against roll or chips on some botched cuts/bad edge alignment.
The cutting edge is still thinner than the Albion Knight's and won't be as robust on half ass cuts or abuse. It's best to make sure you got proper edge alignment and not intentionally smack the wide thinner blade against targets.
The blade tip & edge is reinforced as best it could while keeping the wide thin cutting profile. It'll survive some abuse for sure.
Now initially I wasn't too thrilled about the blade being more delicate vs the Albion Knight and it took me a while to get use to this. It wasn't buyer's remorse or anything, just kind of taken back by it. The pictures and descriptions on Albion's website were nice and there was email but again, this minutiae is difficult to communicate. For me it was a case of: Buy and Find Out.
Anyway I say The Vigil is a Soft/Medium Target Destroyer. You can slice, draw cut, do fancy trick cuts, all sorts of cuts and it will utterly amputate, glide through without much resistance. It is an exceptional performance power cutter.
Against harder targets like tree branches & hardwood, turkey & pork bone (yeah I know someone is going to eventually try it) I don't personally recommend it unless your edge alignment is spot on because the finer edge seems meant for yielding, unarmored or lightly armored targets. It can take a few hard hits no problem, I just don't think it was meant to be chopped/hacked into hardwood or really unyielding targets constantly. Thankfully the Blade Geometry, 6150 steel and heat treat is so good.
Fit & Finish, What about that Hilt?
The leather grip is interesting. Instead of thin cord wrap texture, you get these pronounced wrap ridges that work but took some getting use to. Feels pretty good in the hand and helps to keep the sword from flying out. The leather is thick, top quality, sturdy, everything I expect from Albion. Also darkens with use, was much more Oxblood looking when it was new.
The Guard & Pommel feel smooth to the touch. The Guard is mostly circular curved with minimal flat surfaces like no gaps at all save for spaces for the double fullers. Pommel doesn't have a peen block sadly and I really wish it came with one. The peen is visible but smoothly shaped.
Guard & Pommel as you can see are aligned perfectly. Absolutely solid construction.
Recommended for your purchase?
I think if you like the aesthetics of The Vigil and want a beautiful high performance masterpiece of a Type X dedicated cutting sword then you will really enjoy owning this.
I mentioned it earlier but this is primarily a Soft/Medium Target Destroyer that will glide through most sensible targets with ease and can occasionally handle hard targets like tree branches, hardwood and yes even some bone like targets without edge damage. It can poke into most sensible cutting test mediums too but you'll notice the flex.
With The Vigil you have to pay more attention to proper edge alignment and not half ass your cuts or smack the flat of the blade full force. It can forgive some mistakes but if you want a sword that can handle constant abuse this isn't it.
Something to keep in mind to avoid disappointment and maximize enjoyment.
"Wow look at those double fullers, that's unique. How come the blade looks so wide? Why does it look so wide at the guard? What's the deal with the hilt? Looks kind of tiny with that blade, no peen block at all? Whatever, I want that."
I was really impressed by how it looked in person. Check out them double fullers! The blade presence was overwhelming for a single hander and compared to the Albion Knight sword, I could tell without handling it that the Vigil favored Cutting and Slicing. Blade has a subtle flare at the guard. The Blade Profile was broad and mostly parallel and doesn't taper to a narrow point. It has a wide tip as you can see in the pictures.
My specs were pretty much the same as the Albion listed ones except for the blade length, mines was 31 3/4"
Specifications
Overall length: 37.9 (96 cm)
Blade length: 32" (81 cm)
31 3/4"
Blade width: 2.37" (6 cm)
CoB: 4.33" (11 cm)
CoP: 22" (56.8 cm)
Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz (1.14 Kg) 2 lbs 8.6 oz
Distal Taper: 4.5mm at Guard, 1.6mm 1 inch near tip.
How's the Handling & Performance? What's the deal with double fuller blade?
The Vigil's Point of Balance of 4.33" makes the sword feel really swift and agile in hand despite the broad blade presence.
It's difficult to describe in words because the wider blade makes you think it should weigh more and move slower but instead it glides through the air when swung and when you stop it abruptly you can feel the inertia and see the flex of the blade. More so than say the Albion Knight which is stiffer.
It's a subtle feeling, at least to me, but I get the impression that The Vigil wants to continue on with the cut even when stopped.
The Vigil's more flexible Type X blade geometry, wider & slightly thinner profile, probably has something to do with this but it's overall stiff enough to stay straight when stationary and in motion, the flex not showing until you swing hard or cut into something.
Flex is not easy to communicate on the internet without reference points for some basis of comparison since it's relative to other swords. Ideally, handling this in person and seeing for yourself is best but isn't feasible for most people.
At the top is the Albion Poitiers Type XV blade which is really stiff & always seems to be erect- dedicated thruster.
Next up is the Albion Knight Type XII blade which is cut & thrust all purpose, stiff enough for hard poking but still favors the cut.
Finally the Albion Vigil which is just stiff enough to poke things but really shines when cutting. You can flex it with less effort than the Albion Knight.
The Vigil seems better suited towards softer targets that require a keener edge to bite into. Like have you ever gotten frustrated with batting water bottles or leaving jagged cuts into them? Smacked & jagged a tatami mat with bits hanging instead of cleanly cutting through it? Well The Vigil absolutely bites into and wants to cut through all that completely.
It DOES have a keener edge compared to the Knight and more acute. I'd classify the Albion factory edge as Very Sharp and nearing production Katana levels of sharpness.
As you can see from the way the light and shadows curve, there's a smoother transition to edge that isn't obtuse. That's because the blade is wider and thins out more gradually to the cutting edge, allowing it to be sharper. At the same time, there's just enough apple seed geometry & enough meat to help reinforce it against roll or chips on some botched cuts/bad edge alignment.
The cutting edge is still thinner than the Albion Knight's and won't be as robust on half ass cuts or abuse. It's best to make sure you got proper edge alignment and not intentionally smack the wide thinner blade against targets.
The blade tip & edge is reinforced as best it could while keeping the wide thin cutting profile. It'll survive some abuse for sure.
Now initially I wasn't too thrilled about the blade being more delicate vs the Albion Knight and it took me a while to get use to this. It wasn't buyer's remorse or anything, just kind of taken back by it. The pictures and descriptions on Albion's website were nice and there was email but again, this minutiae is difficult to communicate. For me it was a case of: Buy and Find Out.
Anyway I say The Vigil is a Soft/Medium Target Destroyer. You can slice, draw cut, do fancy trick cuts, all sorts of cuts and it will utterly amputate, glide through without much resistance. It is an exceptional performance power cutter.
Against harder targets like tree branches & hardwood, turkey & pork bone (yeah I know someone is going to eventually try it) I don't personally recommend it unless your edge alignment is spot on because the finer edge seems meant for yielding, unarmored or lightly armored targets. It can take a few hard hits no problem, I just don't think it was meant to be chopped/hacked into hardwood or really unyielding targets constantly. Thankfully the Blade Geometry, 6150 steel and heat treat is so good.
Fit & Finish, What about that Hilt?
The leather grip is interesting. Instead of thin cord wrap texture, you get these pronounced wrap ridges that work but took some getting use to. Feels pretty good in the hand and helps to keep the sword from flying out. The leather is thick, top quality, sturdy, everything I expect from Albion. Also darkens with use, was much more Oxblood looking when it was new.
The Guard & Pommel feel smooth to the touch. The Guard is mostly circular curved with minimal flat surfaces like no gaps at all save for spaces for the double fullers. Pommel doesn't have a peen block sadly and I really wish it came with one. The peen is visible but smoothly shaped.
Guard & Pommel as you can see are aligned perfectly. Absolutely solid construction.
Recommended for your purchase?
I think if you like the aesthetics of The Vigil and want a beautiful high performance masterpiece of a Type X dedicated cutting sword then you will really enjoy owning this.
I mentioned it earlier but this is primarily a Soft/Medium Target Destroyer that will glide through most sensible targets with ease and can occasionally handle hard targets like tree branches, hardwood and yes even some bone like targets without edge damage. It can poke into most sensible cutting test mediums too but you'll notice the flex.
With The Vigil you have to pay more attention to proper edge alignment and not half ass your cuts or smack the flat of the blade full force. It can forgive some mistakes but if you want a sword that can handle constant abuse this isn't it.
Something to keep in mind to avoid disappointment and maximize enjoyment.