V.A. Custom Tuned ATrim Practical Arming Sword
Sept 24, 2008 20:46:03 GMT
Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Sept 24, 2008 20:46:03 GMT
Review of the Valiant Armory Custom Tuned ATrim Practical Arming Sword by Tom Kinder of Goose Creek, SC, USA
We are all familiar with the Valiant Armory/Angus Trim Practical line of swords. as reviewed by Shooter Mike these swords while very good did vary noticeably from sword to sword. as the story goes many of these came in overweight from the forge in China and instead of either selling them and having unsatisfied customers or scrapping them and taking a huge loss Angus Trim took them in and reground them to his standards. so what started out as the factory seconds, kind of a "V.A. Flop" sword was transformed into a really well made, finely tuned sword for only a little bit more than the regular model. when I decided that my last single hand sword just did not satisfy me I started doing some research focusing on Albion's Next Gen line and Atrim's Maker's Mark series. not too far into this investigation I found out that there were still some of these available and they were supposed to be the very best cutting sub $300 sword currently on market. I was sold.
I ordered from Kult of Athena for $261.68 including shipping. Three days later I logged on to check the tracking info on my new sword and the status that came up was "delivered." DELIVERED? I was sitting in my livingroom about 12 feet from the door and I didn't have it and I hadn't seen the deliveryman. Delivered? ha! I was just about to call and find out what was up but figured I should take a quick look outside just so I could say I had looked for it. guess what, there was a large, white, rectangular package that had been left for me by some sort of delivery ninja. it was delivered! I guess Kult of Athena uses the same delivery service as Bugs Bunny. AWESOME! Packaging was great, but I'm not going to go into it since KoA is well known and respected.
I'm gonna keep this quick since these are well known. the fittings were plain but nicely done. the scabbard fit rather tighter than I liked but it has loosened up a bit (it's still snug) the finish was a nice even satin all up and down the blade which had a very nice flatened hexagon cross-section with a crisp straight fuller and a sweet apple-seed shaped edge sloping smoothly from fuller to edge. no secondary bevel and the whole blade was extremely sharp along every inch. there were absolutely no waves or wobbles along the blade and the blade was perfectly straight. the fuller did wander of to one side a TINY bit near the tip but you really had to be looking closely to see it. in fact it is so small it's almost like an illusion that vanishes once in a while. it is unphotographable.
The hilt was nothing to jump up and down about, but it was simple, and functional. no frills, a little "machiney" looking especially the pommel. I have no complaints, I like simple and I can deal with "machiney."
As soon as I picked it up and swung it the first time I knew I had made a good choice. while it had a noticeably forward balance with lots of blade presence, it also was very lively and not heavy at all. If the grip had been half an inch shorter it would have fit my hand like a glove. as it is it still feel great.
The Scabbard is plain and simple but nice. the tip has some loose sewing that has unraveled a bit but other wise it is a nice and solid stitched leather over wood core scabbard I like it.
STATS:
Weight - 2 lbs 10 oz / 3 lbs 0 oz with scabbard.
POB - 6 1/4" from cross-guard
COP - 10" from the point or 21 1/2" from the Cross-guard
Blade length - 31 1/2"
Grip length - 4 1/2"
Cross-guard length 8 3/8" across
over-all length - 38"
Fuller length - 22 1/4" ( I like this because the end of the fuller is a great landmark for the COP)
I find it very interesting that the Cheness Kaze weighs the same (my Kaze is one OUNCE lighter than this sword). the Kaze's POB is almost in exactly the same place. BUT the Atrim has a longer blade by about 3 inches and a much shorter hilt. they both have a thick appleseed shap to their cutting surfaces, and while they react very differently in the hand and are entirely different animals I'd say they have a very similar cutting ability. but don't take my word for watch me cut tatami with them.
COMPARISON CHOPPING (yeah I stole this line, so-what):
Single Tatami:
V.A. AT303s
VERSUS
Cheness Kaze
Double Tatami:
Atrim
Yup cuts like a katana. there's no doubt about it this sword cuts great.
it does light targets too:
So in the end where are we? Let's see what the judges have to say:
Historical Accuracy: 3/5 (it doesn't quite fit into any Oakeshott type and it has pretty obviously machined parts)
Fit and Finish: 4.5/5 (no complaints I just can't give a 5 to such a Plain-Jane even though I like that look.)
Handling: 5/5 this thing is a DREAM to swing!
Structural Integrity: 4/5 (loses a point for the threaded tang even though it has never been a problem and has stayed nice and tight during my cutting.
Value for Money: 6/5 (ARE YOU KIDDING? this is almost on par with ATrim's Maker's Mark line for a measly $261 delivered)
OVERALL: 4.75/5 QUICK GET OVER TO KoA AND BUY ONE! I completely believe this is the best performing arming sword in the Sub $300 price range.
We are all familiar with the Valiant Armory/Angus Trim Practical line of swords. as reviewed by Shooter Mike these swords while very good did vary noticeably from sword to sword. as the story goes many of these came in overweight from the forge in China and instead of either selling them and having unsatisfied customers or scrapping them and taking a huge loss Angus Trim took them in and reground them to his standards. so what started out as the factory seconds, kind of a "V.A. Flop" sword was transformed into a really well made, finely tuned sword for only a little bit more than the regular model. when I decided that my last single hand sword just did not satisfy me I started doing some research focusing on Albion's Next Gen line and Atrim's Maker's Mark series. not too far into this investigation I found out that there were still some of these available and they were supposed to be the very best cutting sub $300 sword currently on market. I was sold.
I ordered from Kult of Athena for $261.68 including shipping. Three days later I logged on to check the tracking info on my new sword and the status that came up was "delivered." DELIVERED? I was sitting in my livingroom about 12 feet from the door and I didn't have it and I hadn't seen the deliveryman. Delivered? ha! I was just about to call and find out what was up but figured I should take a quick look outside just so I could say I had looked for it. guess what, there was a large, white, rectangular package that had been left for me by some sort of delivery ninja. it was delivered! I guess Kult of Athena uses the same delivery service as Bugs Bunny. AWESOME! Packaging was great, but I'm not going to go into it since KoA is well known and respected.
I'm gonna keep this quick since these are well known. the fittings were plain but nicely done. the scabbard fit rather tighter than I liked but it has loosened up a bit (it's still snug) the finish was a nice even satin all up and down the blade which had a very nice flatened hexagon cross-section with a crisp straight fuller and a sweet apple-seed shaped edge sloping smoothly from fuller to edge. no secondary bevel and the whole blade was extremely sharp along every inch. there were absolutely no waves or wobbles along the blade and the blade was perfectly straight. the fuller did wander of to one side a TINY bit near the tip but you really had to be looking closely to see it. in fact it is so small it's almost like an illusion that vanishes once in a while. it is unphotographable.
The hilt was nothing to jump up and down about, but it was simple, and functional. no frills, a little "machiney" looking especially the pommel. I have no complaints, I like simple and I can deal with "machiney."
As soon as I picked it up and swung it the first time I knew I had made a good choice. while it had a noticeably forward balance with lots of blade presence, it also was very lively and not heavy at all. If the grip had been half an inch shorter it would have fit my hand like a glove. as it is it still feel great.
The Scabbard is plain and simple but nice. the tip has some loose sewing that has unraveled a bit but other wise it is a nice and solid stitched leather over wood core scabbard I like it.
STATS:
Weight - 2 lbs 10 oz / 3 lbs 0 oz with scabbard.
POB - 6 1/4" from cross-guard
COP - 10" from the point or 21 1/2" from the Cross-guard
Blade length - 31 1/2"
Grip length - 4 1/2"
Cross-guard length 8 3/8" across
over-all length - 38"
Fuller length - 22 1/4" ( I like this because the end of the fuller is a great landmark for the COP)
I find it very interesting that the Cheness Kaze weighs the same (my Kaze is one OUNCE lighter than this sword). the Kaze's POB is almost in exactly the same place. BUT the Atrim has a longer blade by about 3 inches and a much shorter hilt. they both have a thick appleseed shap to their cutting surfaces, and while they react very differently in the hand and are entirely different animals I'd say they have a very similar cutting ability. but don't take my word for watch me cut tatami with them.
COMPARISON CHOPPING (yeah I stole this line, so-what):
Single Tatami:
V.A. AT303s
VERSUS
Cheness Kaze
Double Tatami:
Atrim
Yup cuts like a katana. there's no doubt about it this sword cuts great.
it does light targets too:
So in the end where are we? Let's see what the judges have to say:
Historical Accuracy: 3/5 (it doesn't quite fit into any Oakeshott type and it has pretty obviously machined parts)
Fit and Finish: 4.5/5 (no complaints I just can't give a 5 to such a Plain-Jane even though I like that look.)
Handling: 5/5 this thing is a DREAM to swing!
Structural Integrity: 4/5 (loses a point for the threaded tang even though it has never been a problem and has stayed nice and tight during my cutting.
Value for Money: 6/5 (ARE YOU KIDDING? this is almost on par with ATrim's Maker's Mark line for a measly $261 delivered)
OVERALL: 4.75/5 QUICK GET OVER TO KoA AND BUY ONE! I completely believe this is the best performing arming sword in the Sub $300 price range.