Windlass blackened Italian Hand-And-A-Half/Bastard sword
Aug 21, 2023 20:16:32 GMT
Post by mrstabby on Aug 21, 2023 20:16:32 GMT
I wanted a hand-and-a-half or/and a long sword and really liked how this looked, but there are zero reviews of it out there. So I have been pondering buying it for years now.
_
Measurements:
measured -- internet
Total length 105,3cm/41,5" -- 106cm/41,7"
Blade length 85,6cm/33,7" -- 86cm/33,9"
Grip (leather) 12cm/4,7" -- 12cm/4,7"
PoB 13,5cm/5,3" -- 12cm/4,7"
CoP 26cm/10,2" -- 25cm/19,8"
Thickness at tip 3,8mm -- 3,8mm
It is peened, with what seems a steel spacer between the aluminium bronze and the peened tang. Every info says it is peened, it looked peened, but the ring is a nut. Very hard to grip, I am going to exchange it with something else.
The blade is, I don't know how to cathegorize it, it has flex, it is pretty springy but when you hit the pommel it stops vibrating quicker than my Gale Wind Jian. Holding it with the flat parallel to earth there is a 4-5mm arc visible, so the tip falls off 1cm/0,4". Hanging a 410g/0,9# weight from the tip, it droops an additional 4cm/1,6"@85cm/33,5", The Gale wind does 2,5cm/1"@77cm/30,3" and the Windlass XIV 1,5cm/0,6"@66cm/26". Hitting the pommel the tip moves 5cm/2" side-to-side, Gale Wind goes a little less far (3,5cm maybe?), but it is harder to see because the oscillations are much quicker.
I really can't say, if this is good or bad, but you can definately feel it flex when you move it quickly enough sideways.
It fits the definitions for a bastard/hand-and-a-half sword pretty good. It is light enough to be used with one hand, a stronger, more fit person certainly will be able to, but it really flies when you add the second hand.
I really like, that it is blued, so it won't rust as easily. Also I like the look, others do not.
You can see hammer marks and unevenness along the whole blade, like on all my Windlass swords. The edge itself is straight. I don't mind the hammer marks, others do.
It feels pretty good in my opinion, not too heavy, not too flimsy. As I said though, I do not own any longer swords, this is my first. (I like one handed swords better, but my collection just needed this one.)
I have been switching between buying the Roven and this sword, but the Roven is a bit too big and here we are now.
Price is ~270€ (8/2023) and from what I have read it is some european special edition not sold in the US.
EDIT: It's a Windlass Marto collab
It's an italian style bastard sword with a scent stopper pommel, type XVIa according to windlass (can anyone tell me if this is correct, I am not 100% sure about the oakeshott type). The blade is blackened, as are the fittings on the sheath. The pommel and the cross guard are painted. The paint is hard, pretty thick and does feel robust. The metal underneath isn't magnetic, so it's probably aluminium I thought it was aluminium, because it looked silver underneath the paint, though it surely is brass or bronze.
I think it just looked silver in the midday sun. The sheath is the typical windlass leather sheath, but it's thicker than my others. At the mouth it doesn't sit perfectly flush for some reason, and it has a few millimeters play either side. Looks like the sheath belongs to a broader sword somehow.
It came in a cardboard box with foam holders, pretty secure compared to other Windlass swords, which came only in a cardboard sleeve.
Unfortunately for me someone at the shop who sharpened it put it in the sheath not back into it's oiled plastic bag so I have rust on the blade where the sheath made contact.
Measurements:
measured -- internet
Total length 105,3cm/41,5" -- 106cm/41,7"
Blade length 85,6cm/33,7" -- 86cm/33,9"
Grip (leather) 12cm/4,7" -- 12cm/4,7"
Grip incl. pommel 19,7cm/7,8" -- 21cm/8,3"
Grip diameter 2,5cm/1" by 3,5cm/1,38"
Weight 1262g/2,8# -- depends on sourde, between 1170g/2,6# and 1300g/2,9#PoB 13,5cm/5,3" -- 12cm/4,7"
CoP 26cm/10,2" -- 25cm/19,8"
Width at guard 42,5mm -- 43mm
Width at tip 39mm -- 31mm
Thickness at guard 4,44mm -- 4,1mmThickness at tip 3,8mm -- 3,8mm
Pommel Nut -- Peened
It feels pretty nice, the grip is perfect for me (9,5cm/3,7" palm size) and the pommel just feels like a normal part of the grip. You can't use a finger-over-guard-grip with it because even the unsharpened portions of the blade will take off your skin.
The seam in the leather feels pretty soft already, but there is a loose thread which I need to secure.
Everything feels tight, though there is a clanking when the blade moves sideways (It was a piece of glue rattling around). I might put something in the cutout in the cross guard, putting a wooden toothpick in there stops the clanking. Either just a wooden shim or some epoxy to stop the blade from contacting the guard.
I really can't say, if this is good or bad, but you can definately feel it flex when you move it quickly enough sideways.
It fits the definitions for a bastard/hand-and-a-half sword pretty good. It is light enough to be used with one hand, a stronger, more fit person certainly will be able to, but it really flies when you add the second hand.
I won't be able to cutting with it for now, since I have to first sharpen it (does not cut paper but it has an edge, though it normally does come dull with an 1mm edge) and my arm isn't OK. When I am able to test it I will add it in an additional post. The grind on it now is pretty rough and obtuse, but with a bit of grinding I bet it will make a great cutter.
The good:I really like, that it is blued, so it won't rust as easily. Also I like the look, others do not.
You can see hammer marks and unevenness along the whole blade, like on all my Windlass swords. The edge itself is straight. I don't mind the hammer marks, others do.
It feels pretty good in my opinion, not too heavy, not too flimsy. As I said though, I do not own any longer swords, this is my first. (I like one handed swords better, but my collection just needed this one.)
The Bad:
I am unsure about the aluminium bronze fittings. The pommel is OK but a guard is for sure a bad choice if you plan to use it in HEMA or something, but the blade is too sharp for that even when it isn't sharpened.
EDIT: looking at it closer, I think the whole thing, cross, grip and pommel might be one piece. EDIT2: It isn't, the leather is just glued to pommel and guard..
I don't like the cavity in the crossguard and the clanking sound it produces as is. Some fixing needed. EDIT: it was a loose piece of glue I heard rattling between grip, guard and blade.The ugly:
The rust isn't Windlass' fault since somebody put the sword in the sheath for storage instead the plastic bag.If it had at least a steel crossguard I'd recommend it without a doubt, as it is I am ambivalent and can't really say. I am pretty sure it is going to be a mean cutter and it looks very nice, like the big brother of the Cold Steel MAA Arming Sword.
EDIT: After disassembling it I am more confident in it. As long as everything is tight, it's a sturdy enough sword for cutting.
Backyard cutting: Very probable
Hema: No, too sharp (the blunt edge is 0,5-1mm)
LARPING or wallhanging: Yes, it looks magnificent.
I want to know, do you think an aluminium crossguard might break when I use it to cut bottlles and stuff? How about bronze?
Update.
I got it open and disassembled.
There was a slight rattle inside the grip. After opening a small piece of grey epoxy fell out, probably stuck in a small void. The grip felt weird because all parts were glued onto the leather and this gave a weird spongyness to the loose grip assembly.
Everything else looks good in my opinion.
Even the shoulders of the blade were rounded out with a file and not straight 90° angles.
I will fill it up with some more epoxy and reassemble it, fit was good, not perfect.
Thread pitch is 5/16"-18 BTW
I got it open and disassembled.
There was a slight rattle inside the grip. After opening a small piece of grey epoxy fell out, probably stuck in a small void. The grip felt weird because all parts were glued onto the leather and this gave a weird spongyness to the loose grip assembly.
Everything else looks good in my opinion.
Even the shoulders of the blade were rounded out with a file and not straight 90° angles.
I will fill it up with some more epoxy and reassemble it, fit was good, not perfect.
Thread pitch is 5/16"-18 BTW