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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 1, 2022 19:44:22 GMT
Fantasy Friday! Shipped along with the Atrim XVIa.4 is a Valiant Armoury Long Leaf-bladed Sword, with a fishtail pommel, an antiqued aqua green waisted grip, and an upswept crossguard. The aesthetics of this sword is incredibly sexy to me, so I got it primarily for my wife, especially when it's so light and nimble, and having a blade not too long for a lady. Leaf-shaped blades are common during the Bronze Age in Europe but have never been found on medieval swords, therefore the leaf-blade with a diamond cross section and a long fuller classifies this as a fantasy sword when it has a 15th century style hilt. Full review will be released after my wife and I do some extensive cutting and evaluation of this sword! Stats: weight: 1214g (2 lbs 10.8 oz) blade length: 29.5" overall length: 41.2" point of balance: 3.25" distal taper: 5.4mm at the base 4mm at midway 3.8mm at fuller's end 3mm at 2" from the tip profile taper: 51.2mm at the base 37.6mm at the waist of the blade 45mm at the point of percussion 16.2mm at 2" from the tip             |
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 1, 2022 22:38:29 GMT
Fixed the photo links, somehow they were private on Google Photos so nobody but me could see them🤣
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2022 22:50:18 GMT
I have a custom leaf blade in the works at the moment. Glad to see another forumite favors the leaf blade. It's never ceased to mystify me why this shape didn't persist.
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 2, 2022 0:27:02 GMT
I have a custom leaf blade in the works at the moment. Glad to see another forumite favors the leaf blade. It's never ceased to mystify me why this shape didn't persist. I'm very drawn to leaf-shaped blades as well. The aesthetic of the extra curvatures--almost waisted shape just makes it that much more attractive. I think it went out of fashion in Migration-era and later medieval times because sword blades got longer, and it's quite difficult for the technology of the time to execute that recurve or swell on the upper portion of the blade as it gets longer. Medieval sword blades are sometimes twice or more the length of Bronze Age ones. Another thing is as the profile gets broader on the upper portion, this pretty much demands pretty steep distal taper--it was definitely doable as you see on some type 1 or cleaver falchions like the Cluny one, the blade swells in width and gets a lot thinner as it approaches the tip, but doing it on a double-edged blade is considerable harder. |
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 2, 2022 0:27:59 GMT
I have a custom leaf blade in the works at the moment. Glad to see another forumite favors the leaf blade. It's never ceased to mystify my why this shape didn't persist.Because it isn't as sexy as the thorn aesthetic. No but seriously, nice acquisition Brother Kane. How about a leaf-shaped blade WITH thorns on it?!  |
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Post by skelley on Apr 2, 2022 1:55:05 GMT
Because it isn't as sexy as the thorn aesthetic. No but seriously, nice acquisition Brother Kane. How about a leaf-shaped blade WITH thorns on it?! I'm not much into ancient swords buts that's pretty dope. Do you know what culture that's from? |
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 2, 2022 2:00:15 GMT
How about a leaf-shaped blade WITH thorns on it?! I'm not much into ancient swords buts that's pretty dope. Do you know what culture that's from? That's an artist rendition of the Kusanagi sword as one of the three items in the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Nobody alive has seen it as it's only carried within a box at inauguration ceremonies for the Japanese Heavenly Emperors, and it was said to bring evil omen to whoever sees it with their own eyes. The rendition is based on ancient text describing it as a Chinese style bronze short sword with a missing tip and a prominent central ridge and some small spikes (or thorns as the Levin Lance would love them) on the lower portion of the blade. |
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Post by skelley on Apr 2, 2022 2:07:57 GMT
Thanks for the info, I knew about the royal regalia and its purpose but never saw a drawing of it before. Definitely wouldn't of put it as Chinese either. I was thinking like Mycenaean or something. Thanks again freind!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2022 15:33:49 GMT
I have a custom leaf blade in the works at the moment. Glad to see another forumite favors the leaf blade. It's never ceased to mystify me why this shape didn't persist. I'm very drawn to leaf-shaped blades as well. The aesthetic of the extra curvatures--almost waisted shape just makes it that much more attractive. I think it went out of fashion in Migration-era and later medieval times because sword blades got longer, and it's quite difficult for the technology of the time to execute that recurve or swell on the upper portion of the blade as it gets longer. Medieval sword blades are sometimes twice or more the length of Bronze Age ones. Another thing is as the profile gets broader on the upper portion, this pretty much demands pretty steep distal taper--it was definitely doable as you see on some type 1 or cleaver falchions like the Cluny one, the blade swells in width and gets a lot thinner as it approaches the tip, but doing it on a double-edged blade is considerable harder. I just finished grinding a 28 inch long leaf blade, and I can attest to the level of difficulty when it comes to grinding distal taper. It's hollow ground, so one wants the cutting edge to be quite thin, especially where the blade swells, but you don't want the last few inches to taper much at all in order to keep the acute tip strong. My blade has distal taper, but then it thickens up in the last 3 inches or so. Do we call that proximal taper? |
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 2, 2022 21:41:09 GMT
I'm very drawn to leaf-shaped blades as well. The aesthetic of the extra curvatures--almost waisted shape just makes it that much more attractive. I think it went out of fashion in Migration-era and later medieval times because sword blades got longer, and it's quite difficult for the technology of the time to execute that recurve or swell on the upper portion of the blade as it gets longer. Medieval sword blades are sometimes twice or more the length of Bronze Age ones. Another thing is as the profile gets broader on the upper portion, this pretty much demands pretty steep distal taper--it was definitely doable as you see on some type 1 or cleaver falchions like the Cluny one, the blade swells in width and gets a lot thinner as it approaches the tip, but doing it on a double-edged blade is considerable harder. I just finished grinding a 28 inch long leaf blade, and I can attest to the level of difficulty when it comes to grinding distal taper. It's hollow ground, so one wants the cutting edge to be quite thin, especially where the blade swells, but you don't want the last few inches to taper much at all in order to keep the acute tip strong. My blade has distal taper, but then it thickens up in the last 3 inches or so. Do we call that proximal taper? Wow! Impressive work! Where did you get the 28" raw leaf blade? Is it from Albion? Oh BTW the blade thickening up just below the tip is historical, typically referred to as a reinforced tip to add rigidity and durability to the tip for reliable thrusting. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2022 23:03:26 GMT
I got it from Albion, it's a Jody Samson model. I'm planning on documenting it here on the forum quite soon.
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 3, 2022 20:39:26 GMT
I got it from Albion, it's a Jody Samson model. I'm planning on documenting it here on the forum quite soon. Looking forward to it! |
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Post by ggower on Apr 4, 2022 6:28:27 GMT
Beautiful sword. I have one as well even though I generally don't care for fantasy swords. This one really hits the spot though. Nice score.
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Post by pvsampson on Apr 4, 2022 7:29:29 GMT
I got it from Albion, it's a Jody Samson model. I'm planning on documenting it here on the forum quite soon. You reground a Samson blade? With the reputation of his blades I thought that would have been akin to grinding a Masamune. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2022 11:17:20 GMT
I got it from Albion, it's a Jody Samson model. I'm planning on documenting it here on the forum quite soon. You reground a Samson blade? With the reputation of his blades I thought that would have been akin to grinding a Masamune. It was sold as an unfinished bare blade. It was never ground. I just finished the work. |
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 4, 2022 18:04:35 GMT
You reground a Samson blade? With the reputation of his blades I thought that would have been akin to grinding a Masamune. It was sold as an unfinished bare blade. It was never ground. I just finished the work. Were the bevels milled in when they sold it? Or did you have to grind the bevels entirely yourself? How about the distal taper? Looking forward to seeing your post with more details. |
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 4, 2022 18:14:30 GMT
Beautiful sword. I have one as well even though I generally don't care for fantasy swords. This one really hits the spot though. Nice score. Thank you! Some of the models at VA are definitely "fantasy swords" done right. I also have their Warden of the North sword--basically a type longer XIIIa blade with hilt components inspired by Ned's sword from Game of Thrones. The prototype has a blade made by Angus Trim, who always has a healthy working relationship with VA. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2022 18:15:47 GMT
It was sold as an unfinished bare blade. It was never ground. I just finished the work. Were the bevels milled in when they sold it? Or did you have to grind the bevels entirely yourself? How about the distal taper? Looking forward to seeing your post with more details. I have some images in the thread I just created in the Sword Customization forum. The central ridge was defined and the edges were about the thickness of a dime (1.6mm). The grinding work wasn't a big deal, but I had to take great care due to my inexperience. The polishing work, on the other hand, let's just say I had a few breakdowns. I'll document that work shortly. |
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Post by ggower on Apr 4, 2022 19:52:59 GMT
Definitely! I was chatting with you about your Long Leaf on FB the other day. Really nice find on AoC. That Warden is another amazingly cool piece. I'd love a beast of a two hander like that - congrats! You might try the Irish Ring Medieval Longsword if you get a chance. That's my favorite VA sword at the moment. Attachments:
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Post by Kane Shen on Apr 4, 2022 21:59:53 GMT
Definitely! I was chatting with you about your Long Leaf on FB the other day. Really nice find on AoC. That Warden is another amazingly cool piece. I'd love a beast of a two hander like that - congrats! You might try the Irish Ring Medieval Longsword if you get a chance. That's my favorite VA sword at the moment. Looks fantastic. Irish ring pommel swords have always fascinated us! VA has released a new model of leaf-bladed longsword with a 36” blade length, and the Irish ring pommel as well as the crossguard found on the Warden of the North.  |
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