Petersen Type H Viking Sword by Greatness Steel Handicraft
Jan 6, 2024 14:16:53 GMT
Post by Barahir on Jan 6, 2024 14:16:53 GMT
To see this sword in images, its here :
THE PETERSEN TYPE H VIKING SWORD FROM GREATNESS STEEL HANDICRAFT IN INDIA
THE PETERSEN TYPE H VIKING SWORD FROM GREATNESS STEEL HANDICRAFT IN INDIA
Introduction
A 47-year-old Canadian, I have been collecting swords since 2003. I own all sorts of weapons… ranging from movie replicas, historical replicas, fantasy weapons and a mix of all of these at the same time! I am by no means a weapons expert, nor a historian, nor a time traveler who thinks I know everything (sword snob). I'm just a fan who likes to add shiny steel items to his armory. You may also know me, my name is Philippe Goulet (yes the Viking swords addict) and I often post photos on the SBG Facebook group. I am not used to making very elaborate reviews, but I am launching here to present this magnificent sword which had piqued my curiosity. Here is the Type H Viking Sword from Greatness Steel Handicrafts
Full Disclosure
This is my very my first Greatness Steel Handicrafts sword. In fact, I discover at the same time as you this new sword manufacturer which seems very promising to me. Knowing my great interest in swords in general, they reached me and offered to send me this sword so that I could also review it. We concluded that I would do an honest review. I was not asked anything specific. I therefore have no affiliation with them and I am in no way an expert in weapons, as mentioned in my introduction. So, let's start.
Manufacturer Overview
Greatness Steel Handicrafts is an independent forge located in the Derahdun region of India. Region known for its highly talented blacksmiths. They forge blades from Indian EN45 hardened steel.
Islam Abbasi, owner of the company, has 34 years of experience in blade and knife forging. He started in this industry at the age of 20. He learned his job from his uncles and working for companies as labourer such as India Craft Emporium and Windlass Steelcrafts. Eventually, Islam started his own small factory with only 2-3 employees, initially serving only Indian retailers. Today, at 54, he still works as a labourer but in his own company.
So for a long time they only forged blades. Looking to the future, they are now embarking on crafting complete swords, complete with their own scabbard.
Historical Overview
Owning several Norse type swords myself, Viking period (or whatever name the Viking Sword Police give them), I have already a very similar Type H model sword made by Erik Steelcrafts (from India too) for Balaur Arms and now for Honshu/United Cutlery. I was curious to compare Greatness Steel Handicrafts version with mine. It is a fairly simple type of sword, but worthy of a warrior. It should be noted that Del Tin (Italy) and also Albion (United-States), Deepeeka (India) made also similar swords. This reproduction by Greatness Steel Handicrafts is therefore not really different from the others in terms of design. It is also not a museum specific replica. It is a most refined assembly of several Viking sword features. The 30 inch blade is nearly 55 mm wide with fuller. The blade is wider at the guard and narrows towards its upswept point. These swords were terrific cutting swords with a useful sharp point.
This sword produced by Greatness Steel Handicrafts is one of the very first complete model they are offering to retailers. Basicly, its their prototype.I look forward to examining in more details the various components as well as the craftsmanship. To see the photoshoot of this sword, follow the link at end of this review. With that, let's get started.
Initial Impressions
I received this sword in a box and it was tight and protected by several layers of transparent film (which is always tedious to remove!). There was no movement in the box. On the other hand, there was no trace of oil or grease to protect it from rusting. Fortunately, all parts were still shiny. I discussed this with them to avoid future problems with blades that might have been left in retailers warehouses for a few months. They are very open to any good suggestions that could help them improve.
I am at first sight impressed with the quality of this sword. I was roughly expecting to find something similar to Deepeeka. It seems to be, and maybe even a little more refined. It look more refined than my Deepeeka version of same sword as well (called Hersir sword for years and now discontinued). Everything seems fine at first sight and no major flaws jump out at me at first glance. I was excited to see the quality of the blade especially because they are usually the specialty of Greatness Steel Handicraft. The craftmanship seems to live up to my expectations. So let's start the deserved analysis of this beautiful sword.
Actual Statistics
Blade Length : 30’’
Overall Length : 37 1/4’’
Handle: 7 1/4’’
Grip Length : 4’’
Weight : 3.05 lb
Edge : Unsharpened thick Blade
Pommel : 2 pieces - Riveted and Peened
Width : 55mm
Distal Taper : (Thicker Side – back of the edge ) 5.1 mm – 4.6 mm – 4.4 mm
P.O.B.: ’’ Below hilt
Blade Material : EN45 Carbon Steel Blade from India
COMPONENTS
The Hilt
Petersen Type H is the most prominent hilt type found on swords from the Viking Age and spans a time period from late 8th Century to late 10th Century. As mentioned before, the hilt is very beautiful and refined. It is solid, peened (2 parts riveted and peened) without almost any scratches. Quite comfortable too I must say. The leather is not too hard and there is just enough room for one hand. The lines are smooth, and the copper wire is very pretty.
The Blade
The blade is a Type X, according to the Oakeshott Typology. The blade is made of Indian EN45 carbon steel. Similar to 9260 spring steel, well-tempered EN45 is flexible and shock resistant. With a composition similar to 9260 this spring steel exhibits similarly impressive flexing characteristics due to its substantial addition of silicon. So, EN45 carbon steel is good because when it is properly heat treated it becomes resilient. It is quite tough and can keep its edge fairly well. Since I'm not a metallurgy expert, I can't verify if this is really what Greatness Steel Handicraft used in their India forge. It sports a high level of resistance to fatigue, has high ductility, and has good spring qualities useful for applications where flexibility is desired. In order to lighten and help a blade perform, it is often said that there must be a distal taper. Distal tapering refers to a blade's cross-section thinning from its base to its tip. I measured using a caliper and indeed, there is indeed a distal taper on this blade, a small one but its there. Already better than old Deepeeka swords (but I know they are working to fix this issue). The thickest part of the blade (the back of the single edge) is 5.1mm at the guard, reaches 4.6mm in the middle and ends at 4.4mm near the tip. The blade of this sword comes unsharpened from the manufacturer. But they look forward to sharpen their blades for future clients.
There is no visible wave in the blade, no forging mark, and it is fully straight. Not so many minor traces of grinding. The finish is on the mirror side. Just perfect like that. there is a fuller (well centered) running from guard to 23 1/2’’ from the tip. Unfortunately, I find that the fuller is too narrow and should have been wider. The representation of this blade would have been more historically correct and above all the sword would be less heavy. However, this error does not detract from the quality of craftmanship that I expected. Really nice looking finish overall. The length of the blade is 30'', point of balance at 5'' below hilt and *center of percussion is 11'' from the tip. It’s definitely a blade, yes thick, but solid!
* Center of Percussion: the point where a perpendicular impact to the blade will produce rotational and translational forces that will cancel out at some other point of interest, causing the blade to pivot about that point. Usually this other point of interest is taken to be the location of the hand on the sword
When you play with the sword a bit, you find the blade a bit sturdy, considering the thickness of this blade, its normal. The tang is quite a good size to ensure a solid and safe sword. I have not disassembled the sword but images taken during its construction have been provided to me. I include these images in my “photoshoot” video. When hitting the blade on the flat against my knee, I don't hear any rattling at all. The sword is solidly built. There is also a relatively good flex to this blade considering the thickness, I bent it in both directions and it went back to true. The tip is perfect and pointy, nothing bent. The blade is about 55mm wide at the guard. I like wide blades but it's a personal taste and not necessarily always historically correct on all Scandinavian / Vikings models.There is no manufacturer mark on the blade. I am not against manufacturers putting their mark. I think it gives character to the sword. But sometimes this choice falls to retailers who prefer to keep the origin of their blade secret.
The Handle (Pommel/Grip)
The hilt is not one of the components that attracted me the most when I first saw this sword. There is nothing really special. A beauty in its simplicity. Petersen Type H is the most prominent hilt type found on swords from the Viking Age and spans a time period from late 8th Century to late 10th Century.
Well, the pommel is type H, either triangular, riveted and peened. Which is historically correct. I have heard that only certain manufacturers in India are capable of making this kind of pommel... but I see that Greatness Steel Handicrafts also have the talent for it. The guard is straight, relatively small with short quillons. The guard is well centered with the blade (better than the Erik Steelcrafts version I received). The quillons are the same length. Between the two parts of the pommel there is a beautiful decorative copper wire which is well made.
The grip is rocket shaped (wider towards the guard and shorter towards the pommel) which usually gives a good grip. The grip is rather flat too, so the sword won't tend to roll in the hand because the grip is too round. The length of the grip is 4'', just perfect for our today’s big hands in my opinion. It is comfortable.
The hilt fit nicely to the blade with not much gap. Higher priced swords don’t either, so this is better than I would have thought. The leather finish is very well done, too. the core is made of wood (but I don’t know which one), leather wrapped and cord wrapped. Everything is tight and well decorated with a riser in the middle. The seams of the leather are hard to noticeable.
The Scabbard
Unlike Erik Steelcrafts who offer cheap scabbards that are not made by them, Greatness Steel Handicrafts went ahead and made their own scabbard. It's very well done. However, nothing flashy to stand out from the rest. It is a solid scabbard made of wood and covered with real leather. There is also a belt wrapped around it and me and my personal tastes liked that! They added a piece of metal to the top of the scabbard to embellish it (and the wrong color too!). I had to remove it because the sword no longer fit in the scaccard. This part made the slot too tight. Now everything worked perfectly. It was a mistake they made but one they will not repeat again. So this scabbard is simple but it gets the job done. It looks a lot like what the others do. What sets it apart a little is that they made a straight top, instead of doing the traditional rain flap slot of “one scabbard to fit them all”. I like that. In short, a scabbard that gets the job done. Don't forget, not all manufacturers offer a scabbard with their swords.
Handling
Honestly, I did not do any cutting or strength test with this sword. I know that many collectors like to see water bottles waltzing into pieces in the air, but it is often only the sharpening of the blade that we analyze in these cases in my opinion, which can be very different from blade to blade for the same model. Also, I treat my swords like oeuvre d’art, and I don't see the point in testing for destruction. There are other ways to analyze the handling of swords than trying to destroy them. That's my personal opinion.
Now concerning the Greatness Steel Handicrafts Type H Viking Sword, as we saw earlier in the review, despite the relatively heavy weight (3.05 lb), I find it doesn't handle very bad at all. The way the handle is made, is comfortable and I have enough room for my hand. The blade is still sturdy and not whippy. I don't find that the sword feels unbalanced. Anyway I couldn't do any test cuts because I received this blunt sword. It is also to be believed that all swords forged in India are sold dull, as Greatness Steel Handicrafts will offer some factory sharpened models, they just need to get the right papers for it. I also hit a few dead trees and the blade did not break or damage (as seen with one of my swords from another Indian manufacturer on the SBG Facebook page). Nevertheless, overall, I enjoy wielding this popular, simply but cool design sword.
Conclusions
Overall, I love this sword. The Quality/Control is better than I would have imagined even if I had no expectation (Ha ha !). Still, it's a very nice model for budget sword collectors.
This sword is not yet available from any retailer because it was a prototype. I am the lucky one who was offered to analyze it. Greatness Steel Handicrafts are open to speaking with any retailer who would like to place an order for their store or simply send their own designs if they are looking for someone to do business with. Greatness Steel Handicrafts seem very honest and it was a pleasure to work with them. Some makers are talented, make good swords, but are also good at irritating customers (I won't name names here... ahem!). This is not the case for Greatness Handicrafts so far. Really friendly and close to the customers. They learn and do it the right way.
You can contact them on facebook at Greatness Steel Handicraft or just email them at greatnesssteelhandicraft@gmail.com
Do I recommend this sword or this Manufacturer? Yes, without any hesitation. For the quality of the craftsmanship, the materials, the relative historical representation. And you will have for your port a quality scabbard for the accompanied. Nothing too flashy with this sword. Simplicity at its best. A sword worthy of a Viking warrior. A plus for the viking in you who wants to go on a raid or integrate a shields wall! Because nothing is perfect in this world, I give a nice 4 stars out of 5 for the Type H Viking Sword by Greatness Steel Handicrafts.
To see this sword in images, its here :