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Post by Kane Shen on Jul 15, 2022 17:44:57 GMT
A beast while a beauty! I am utterly impressed by the performance of this 100% traditionally made fantasy falchion designed by Brother Nathaniel and realized by Purna Darnal in the rib-cutting tests. One slash in fencing style with this falchion cut through 6 ribs under thick clothing as if there was nothing there.
This falchion takes heavy inspiration from late medieval and early Renaissance falchions with singular clip points and incorporates some fantasy elements of the writhen-hilt design inspired by an 15th century longsword at Royal Armouries, but also adding a D-guard, which is uncommon on period falchions, although extensive hand protection such as knuckle bows are found on many--I have not seen a completely close-up example. The hilt is further decorated with Brother Nathaniel's signature design of sculpted rose buds on the quillons and the pommel as an extension of the twisted-branch motif.
One elephant in the room is its weight/size ratio. Coming in at 2.9 lbs (1330g) with a 25.6" blade and 32.2" overall, it's quite a hefty beast. It is by no means overweight as period examples have a broad spectrum on weight/size ratio. One extreme example is the "Medici Falchion" housed at the Wallace Collection weighing 3.7 lbs with 24.3" blade, while on the other end of the spectrum, the Thorpe Falchion at Norwich castle and the Italian storta at the Met both weigh just a bit over 2 lbs with over 30-inch-long blades, not to mention the Wakefield Hangers that weigh even less.
So its weight is definitely above average and you constantly feel its heft. However, the excellent distal taper helps a lot with the handling. Its thickness is tapered from 8mm at the base, to 5.1mm at midpoint, and 3mm at 1.5" from the tip, and the clip point is moved further back comparing to most 15/16th century falchions of this type, in order to start narrowing out earlier to help with the mass distribution. At the base it's 48.3mm wide, and tapers upward to 56mm at the clip point 13" from the base, but starts to narrow down from there, although certain width is still maintained near the tip, due to the subtle forward curve on the edge. It also features a 13" long false edge with stout edge bevel but also razor sharp. The primary bevel is a full flat ground from the spine to the hair-popping edge.
The entire sword was completely hand-forged and hand-crafted from scratch to finish using medieval level of technology exclusively in lieu of any modern machinery. Not only was it pounded out by hammer, but also ground by hand-powered wheel, polished and sharpened with stones only. It's very impressive that the surface on the blade are very flat with minimal rippling. The amount of labor put into the production of this piece is astonishing.
The hilt components are also hand carved brass and wood pieces, soundly put together with a hot peen at the end of the pommel. All the edges are chamfered well. There's no hot spot anywhere on the hilt and the geometry of the grip is quite ergonomic.
In the lore of this piece, it was used along with a shield by an elite operative well-versed in the knightly arts to decapitate a wyrm. But it also moves quickly despite its heft and can cut light targets effortlessly too, as demonstrated in my test cutting.
It comes with a wood-core scabbard secured by brass chape and locket with sculpted foliate decorations, and the retention is fantastic.
Needless to say, this is a phenomenal piece.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 19:15:28 GMT
Dope review man, I'm jelly you got to handle it. Beauitful sword and fantastically written review
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Post by Kane Shen on Jul 15, 2022 20:30:36 GMT
Dope review man, I'm jelly you got to handle it. Beauitful sword and fantastically written review Thank you very much and yes Brother Nate is exceedingly generous to ship it to me to let me handle and test it first. Quite an experience!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 22:42:26 GMT
It's the perfect synthesis between Nate's design and Purna's craft. It's a really extraordinary sword, and I am so pleased Purna was able to make it this way. I know it was a labor of love.
I am so pleased with your review. You did a masterful job testing the blade out. I was not surprised it cut so well because it had the makings of a fearsome cutting sword. It's still awesome to see the results in action.
I think your observations about the weight distribution are spot on. Historically, this would be on the high end of the spectrum in terms of weight, but not an outlier.
This sword is pure magic. My favorite design element is the tulip motif. Purna executed those so well!
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Post by Kane Shen on Jul 15, 2022 22:50:51 GMT
It's the perfect synthesis between Nate's design and Purna's craft. It's a really extraordinary sword, and I am so pleased Purna was able to make it this way. I know it was a labor of love. I am so pleased with your review. You did a masterful job testing the blade out. I was not surprised it cut so well because it had the makings of a fearsome cutting sword. It's still awesome to see the results in action. I think your observations about the weight distribution are spot on. Historically, this would be on the high end of the spectrum in terms of weight, but not an outlier. This sword is pure magic. My favorite design element is the tulip motif. Purna executed those so well! Thanks, buddy! You are spot on that we shouldn't have been surprised by its performance. It pretty much cut and thrusted exactly as I expected. Still, seeing the results impressed and pleased me! We planned to do some tatami cutting on both newer ones and aged tough ones, but my go-to HEMA club is running out of mats due to the supply-chain issues. We then mused about why we should bother with pricier analogs when perfectly good flesh and bone can be had for less. Having it wrapping around a tree is also closer to Brother Nathaniel's vision of the falchion being used around the serpentine wyrm. I have to be honest that before the sword reached me, I wasn't too sure how it was gonna handle, but upon handling it, I was convinced that Purna once again nailed it, especially considered the context of 100% traditionally made with medieval technology.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 22:54:56 GMT
I learned a lot from this build, specifically the use of historic abrasives and metal shaving tools. The final finish of the blade is pretty remarkable. I have always loved hand made objects due to what some people call "flaws" or "errors," but they are really just the result of human hands. That human touch makes the finished piece so special. I think he literally put blood, sweat, and tears into it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2022 22:56:26 GMT
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Post by Kane Shen on Jul 16, 2022 0:41:21 GMT
I learned a lot from this build, specifically the use of historic abrasives and metal shaving tools. The final finish of the blade is pretty remarkable. I have always loved hand made objects due to what some people call "flaws" or "errors," but they are really just the result of human hands. That human touch makes the finished piece so special. I think he literally put blood, sweat, and tears into it. My thoughts exactly! And totally agree, when I saw Purna's WIP videos, they instantly reminded me of some of the illustration from medieval manuscripts that A&A essay linked. It's quite extraordinary.
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Post by Kane Shen on Jul 16, 2022 5:52:10 GMT
Another Certified Hood Classic From Brother Kane! All credit goes to my best supplyiaa!
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