ATrim Maker's Mark Type XVIa
Jan 14, 2009 2:50:27 GMT
Post by ShooterMike on Jan 14, 2009 2:50:27 GMT
ATrim Maker's Mark Type XVIa
I'm happy to say, I have the distinct pleasure of getting to own Gus Trim's first production Maker's Mark Type XVIa sword. He'd had been telling me about his plans for this design since sometime last fall. So far, the Maker's Mark line has been full of Type XIIs, XIIIs and XIVs...cutters with some thrusting ability. But nothing from the truly thrusting era. So I guess he was ready to move forward a bit in time. Since I am a big fan of the Albion Next Gen Crecy he said he thought I'd like his new Type XVIa very well. On his recommendation, I agreed to take the first one sight unseen.
The specs are:
Blade:
33" in length. A bit over 2" wide at the guard, slight taper for the first 21", then concave tapered "belly" to an acute "awl-like" tip. The portion of the blade from the fuller termination to the tip shows a very pronounced flattened diamond cross section. The blade is very rigid.
Grip:
8" (also available with 7") Comes standard with three risers.
Pommel:
Type H-I hybrid....mostly H. This is the same style pommel used on the Valiant Armoury ATrim Practical series sharp swords. Uses the ATrim-standard Allen head tubular nut, recessed into the rear of the pommel.
Guard:
Style 6, 8.5" long with a slight cusp at the center of the blade.
Fuller:
Beginning about 1/2" wide at the tang, it gradually reduces width until it tapers to a point about 14" from the tip.
Unfortunately, upon arrival it was apparent that the shipping box had been greatly abused by FedEx. The first 1/4" of the tip was completely demolished. Other than that, the sword was unblemished. (Unfortunately, the other sword in the package was badly bent and twisted, looking like it had been placed over two logs and stepped on by a large cow )
I decided to fix the tip myself, so what you see here is the repaired tip, minus 1/4" overall. This picture also shows the termination of the tapering fuller and flattened diamond cross section pretty well.
I asked to receive this sword with no leather on the grip, as I planned on a slightly different color and riser setup. Here are a couple of photos of the completed grip, with a good view of the pommel and nut arrangement.
I have not had an opportunity to do any cutting, or even any drills with this sword yet. But it handles well in the confines of my living room and porch. It seems to have good power, but in a quite compact package. Handling with two hands, it seems fast and flashes from point to point. With one hand, it is a little slow when gripped with the hand touching the guard. But with the hand placed with the central risers centered in the palm it begins to handle more like a powerful single hander. One thing I am considering is sending it back to Gus to reduce the grip length to 7" to make it more of a true "bastard" sword. But I want to do some cutting and other testing with it first, before making up my mind.
This looks like it's going to be a winner for Gus Trim and Christian Fletcher. I hope they sell a bunch of this sword. I think it fills an often neglected niche in the current reproduction sword market.
I'm happy to say, I have the distinct pleasure of getting to own Gus Trim's first production Maker's Mark Type XVIa sword. He'd had been telling me about his plans for this design since sometime last fall. So far, the Maker's Mark line has been full of Type XIIs, XIIIs and XIVs...cutters with some thrusting ability. But nothing from the truly thrusting era. So I guess he was ready to move forward a bit in time. Since I am a big fan of the Albion Next Gen Crecy he said he thought I'd like his new Type XVIa very well. On his recommendation, I agreed to take the first one sight unseen.
The specs are:
Blade:
33" in length. A bit over 2" wide at the guard, slight taper for the first 21", then concave tapered "belly" to an acute "awl-like" tip. The portion of the blade from the fuller termination to the tip shows a very pronounced flattened diamond cross section. The blade is very rigid.
Grip:
8" (also available with 7") Comes standard with three risers.
Pommel:
Type H-I hybrid....mostly H. This is the same style pommel used on the Valiant Armoury ATrim Practical series sharp swords. Uses the ATrim-standard Allen head tubular nut, recessed into the rear of the pommel.
Guard:
Style 6, 8.5" long with a slight cusp at the center of the blade.
Fuller:
Beginning about 1/2" wide at the tang, it gradually reduces width until it tapers to a point about 14" from the tip.
Unfortunately, upon arrival it was apparent that the shipping box had been greatly abused by FedEx. The first 1/4" of the tip was completely demolished. Other than that, the sword was unblemished. (Unfortunately, the other sword in the package was badly bent and twisted, looking like it had been placed over two logs and stepped on by a large cow )
I decided to fix the tip myself, so what you see here is the repaired tip, minus 1/4" overall. This picture also shows the termination of the tapering fuller and flattened diamond cross section pretty well.
I asked to receive this sword with no leather on the grip, as I planned on a slightly different color and riser setup. Here are a couple of photos of the completed grip, with a good view of the pommel and nut arrangement.
I have not had an opportunity to do any cutting, or even any drills with this sword yet. But it handles well in the confines of my living room and porch. It seems to have good power, but in a quite compact package. Handling with two hands, it seems fast and flashes from point to point. With one hand, it is a little slow when gripped with the hand touching the guard. But with the hand placed with the central risers centered in the palm it begins to handle more like a powerful single hander. One thing I am considering is sending it back to Gus to reduce the grip length to 7" to make it more of a true "bastard" sword. But I want to do some cutting and other testing with it first, before making up my mind.
This looks like it's going to be a winner for Gus Trim and Christian Fletcher. I hope they sell a bunch of this sword. I think it fills an often neglected niche in the current reproduction sword market.