Swords Reviews - Reviews of my Sword Collection

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The dark ANNIHILATOR
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Post by The dark ANNIHILATOR » Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:29 am

Swords Review
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For some basic information about Sword steels, go here.

Medieval Combat Sword
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Made by: Darksword Armory
Retail Price: $175 US
Blade: none-sharp 1050 carbon steel Tempered to a Rockwell of 50, full tang
Meant for: Battle Re-enactment

Historically, this highly maneuverable sword was used between 1000 until 1250. Slight variations were also used by the Vikings during the late 900's and variations to the pommel were also found during the late 1200's. The original sword can be found on p. 63 of David Edge's "Medieval Knight".
As armor became more and more complex these swords emerged to counter the protective plating of the Armored knight. Given the sword's ability to penetrate plated armor, sword makers began producing similar narrow bladed weapons. As time progressed, this model was recognized as one of the most damaging European sword. The bulk of the weight of this combat sword is placed at the pommel, which provides a superbly fine balance. The sword is made with a 3/4 length fuller and graceful, downward curved steel cross-guard.
Total length: 41"
Blade length: 33.5"
Blade width at base: 1.8"
Weight: 2 lbs 10 oz.

This is a fairly good combat sword which I got for a good deal with shealth for $120 US. The blade has been forged fairly well being shock resistant, and its historically accurate in its look. The blade is not sharp since its meant for live steel battle.(Oddly enough the tip is still pointy.) The company Darksword Armoury took the measurement and look from actual museum pieces. The company also produces swords for museums (before and after thing) and some TV series and movies aswell.
Being a one handed sword, it is expected to be quick, but with a 33 inch blade, its still astounding. One of the downside of the sword is the fact that it has to polished now and then to avoid stain build up. This sword is ideal for battle contests in Renaissance fairs because of its nice balance, maneuverability and historical accuracy.

Conan Barbarian Atlantean sword
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Made by: Darksword Armory
Retail Price: Was $250 US, but no longer made
Blade: none-sharp 1060 carbon steel tempered Rockwell of 53, full tang
Meant for: Battle re-enactment

This sword being a fantasy sword, it has no scientifically historical background. But according to the people who designed the sword for the Conan movie, they mixed history with fantasy. Same like the writers did when creating the script. Historically elements in the Conan movie would be the Germanic elements of Conan’s tribe. The swords have runes inscriptions and the term Valhalla was mentioned by Arnold. Also there are elements of the Huns, when Conan traveled to the eastern steppes to learn new things as a gladiator. Also, the snake religion of Seth and its cannibal custom was also taken from some historical sources according to the director. But I’m not so sure about that, since Seth was an Egyptian god. And Egyptians didn’t do cannibalism. Unless there were 2 Seths. Other than that, the story is fantasy. The movie has 2 main swords. The shape of the father’s master sword is celtic, but it has been modified and made longer. The Conan Atlantean sword has handle elements from a Viking sword. Also, it has a middle handle for close combat, which is an element from the Scottish Wallace sword. But both elements have been modified and extremely elaborated with an incredible ornate decoration.
The Time frame of Conan the barbarian is somewhere around 500 B.C to 600 A.D. It seems to fit most with the Celtic and Germanic cultural elements. Even though it mentions that it plays around the time where the ocean drank Atlantis, according to Plato Atlantis sank 10000 years before plate, which is defiantly not the iron age.

Now having said that, in actual history swords in Europe were not longer than 30”. Even Celtic swords were roman gladius size. Also, only important members in a tribe were able to own a sword. The rest would use an axe or a spear for battle. Long swords turned up generally around 400 A.D by some north german tribes, while before that it was only special swords for horse ride or chariot swords that were longer than the gladius in length. That’s includes Rome, Greece and western Europe.
So yeah, while the Conan Atlatean sword has some historical features, its for the most part fantasy. But that uncanny fantasy element is something I like about the fictional barbarian world.

Total length: 41”
Handle Length: 10”
Blade width at base: 2.5”
Weight: around 7 lbs

I really like this sword. I bought it second hand from a costumer of darksword armory for $170. I don’t remember if this sword was a custom build sword, or if it was a discontinued series. But not just even is the blade wider than the official Marto(Inox steel) or Albion Conan Replica, the blade is also not as hard and more shock resistant than the 1075 steel version of the Albion replica. On the other hand, while the Albion version is more fancier, and about $500 more expensive, its to precious for combat, while the dark sword Armory version was purely meant for live steel action. And that’s the most surprising. With 7 pounds, its still fairly good balanced. Most of the weight is the elaborate brass decoration, and not the blade. Also, the middle handle makes the blade very quick and maneuverable in close combat. But don’t be mistaken, its still heavy. While the weight has an element of crushing ability, you will strain your muscles if you are not used swinging it. The only problem is, that the blade stains if not polished now and then, and it does not have the artistic runic inscription of the movie version. But still, this blade is extremely durable and forged well. It can easily damage a softer or harder blade with its 2.5 wide blade. If you go to a Renaissance fair that is not very picky about historical flaws, this words is a very good choice. There are many barbarian battle swords out there, but next to the 5160 Barbarian swords at barbarianswords.com, this sword is the best barbarian battle sword to buy. If darksword armory would still sell it.

Sword of Light
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Made By:?
Retail Price: $49.99
Blade: semi-sharp 440c or 420c stainless steel Rockwell? , rat tail tang
Meant for: Wall hanger

It’s a fantasy sword, so its similar to my Barbarian history rant above. Its just not the Conan universe, but some other Barbarian fantasy universe.

Total length: 39”
Handle Length: 6”
Blade width: 2.1
Weight: 5.1 pounds

First off, this is not the $150 wall hanger from United Cuttlery, but a cheaper version from Pakistan. Nevertheless, the design is still very nice. The barbarian fantasy shape reminds me of the 80s He-Man cartoon. Also, it makes a very nice wall hanger. I payed $20 for it on eBay. So it was still a alright deal. Unfortunately it does not have the runic inscriptions on the blade like the United Cutlery version. Balance whise, while you can still swing it around, its very blade heavy, and heavy party of the sword is the blade. The sword is 440c or 420c stainless steel and rat tail tan, so don’t even think about clashing it with another sword. Either the sword will snap at the handle or at the blade. Either way, you can get hurt. But obviously, if someone is clashing a semi-sharp sword against another sword, he/she doesn’t care about someone getting hurt.
Anyways, this sword is still a nice decoration piece.


Roman Gladius
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Made By: ?
Retail Price: $124.99 US
Blade: non-sharp 1050 or 1060 carbon steel Rockwell?, Full tang
Meant for: Battle Re-enactment

This type of Roman Gladius is the “Mainz Gladius”, which was mainly used around 100-10 BCE. Around 75 CE the Pompey Gladius was comon, which had a shorter point and was non-bee wasted. The Romans being pragmatic and engineers, the Mainz Gladius was designed very well, to have an edge over other sword styles. It was fairly light, good in cutting and very good in piercing thick armor. This was the sword that conquered most of the ancient known world.

Total length: 27”
Handle Length: 6”
Blade width: 2.1
Weight: 1.5 pounds

Of all the swords I have, this is the one I like to swing around the most. With only 1.5 pounds, it has a very nice balance. The blade seems extremely durable and shock resistant. The design seems like a Legionary sword, since Generals or cavalry were on horse back and their swords are a few inches longer and sometimes more elaborate. The blade is fairly wide, and for someone who understands “closing the gap” stepping concepts, one could successfully face a longer sword in a battle re-enactment. I was able to get this sword for $64 US. So this was a fairly nice deal.




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Post by The dark ANNIHILATOR » Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:30 am

Practical “Fantasy” Katana Plus or Practical Pro Katana
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Made By: Paul Chen - Hanwei
Retail Price: $399.99
Blade: sharp 1095 carbon steel differentially tempered Rockwell Edge 60, Back 40; full tang
Meant for: cutting exercises

From a historical standpoint, this is a economical version of the swords used by the Samurai warrior class, which are the Japanese version of the European knight. (Version indeed, since socio-politically they have similarities.) This swords has historical similarities to the sword used by the Samurai Miyamoto Musashi who lived 1584- 1645. He himself was a tall man, which resulted in having a longer blade and longer handle. This design was broadly adapted by many katanas, including the Practical Katana Pro.
As for another historical element, the design of this sword is taken directly from the Matrix Reloaded movie. Every little detail. That is why it is also called Practical “Fantasy” Katana Plus.

BLADE LENGTH: 29-1/2”
HANDLE LENGTH: 14-1/2”
Blade width: 1.2”
WEIGHT: 3.1

If you ever wondered what happened to my 2 MXLs, they got got converted into money, which was converted into this sword.To me, artistically this is one of the best looking katana swords on the market. The only one I consider even more awesome looking is the Golden Oriole Katana for its Hand guard(Tsuba) art design. The Practical Katana Pro has fancy inlays in the handle and shiny almost diamond looking blade. The differentially forged and fired blade is 1095 high carbon steel and the long 14.5" handle is wrapped in ray-skin when covered with black leather in the traditional pattern. The full tang is secured to the handle with two menkugi pins. It’s a good thing to that its differentially tempered, since otherwise it would be in danger of being brittle. Hanwei produced 3 Practical katanas. The Practical katana series promotes to have blades of similar quality like their $700-$1200 models, but the fittings are less expensive, resulting in an economical price. Compared to the other practical Katanas like the Practical katana and Practical katana Plus, The Practical Katana Pro has a longer and thicker blade and a longer handle. The longer handle gives more control and more power while slashing. The balance is also very nice due to the longer handle. Not much blade heaviness. The blade is razor sharp, which forces me to slow down my past time of swinging around swords for amusement a little bit. I have not cut with it yet, and don’t intend to. I’m not a Iaido practitioner, just a Highlander fan. Among the Katanas out there in the market, this is defiantly not the best katana out there. But for cutting exercises, its definite moderate quality, due to the balance and powerful handling. I defiantly recommend this sword for anyone who does not want to spend to much for a Katana, but does not want to buy a sub-standard katana either.



Carbon Katana sword
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Made By: ?
Retail Price: $49.99
Blade: semi-sharp 1050 carbon steel Rockwell ?, possibly rat tail tang
Meant for: Iaido forms, wall hanger

It’s a broad modern interpretation of a Samurai sword.

Total length: 38”
Handle Length: 10”
Blade width at base: 1.2”
Weight: 1.6 lbs

The blade is hand forged, but its uncertain if its full tang or not. It’s a little bit more elaborate than the $9.99 carbon swords on eBay. But its still a fairly good looking swords. Better looking than the Stainless steel Katana wall hangers on your local sword store. The sword is extremely light, making is ideal for Iaido forms. All in all, if you want to have a sword to play around, and really are short on cash, this sword is a good choice.


Dark Iaido Carbon Katana sword
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Made By: ?
Retail Price: $129.99
Blade: semi-sharp 1050 carbon steel Rockwell ?, possibly full tang
Meant for: Iaido forms, wall hanger

It’s a broad modern interpretation of a Samurai sword.
Total length: 38”
Handle Length: 10”
Blade width at base: 1.2”
Weight: 1.4 lbs

The sword is mean for Iaido forms. Its one of the less expensive Iaido sword models out there. But its still very ice looking. Instead of using some light alloy, which most iaido swords use, the Dark Carbon Katana uses darkened 1050 carbon steel. It possibly is full tang, since most Iaido swords are. It has dragon inlays in the handle, and the hand guard(Tsuba) has a dragon image also. It’s a fairly nice looking and incredibly light sword. Sometimes ebay has the normal bladed version for $39.99, so its not a bad idea to buy it.




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Post by Veteran » Sun Aug 22, 2004 4:09 pm

Nice, DA. I particularly like the Roman Gladius. It's easily identified as roman/greek by the guard and blade.

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Post by Nick » Sun Aug 22, 2004 4:25 pm

DA, if someone tried to rob your house they'd get a nasty shock.:;): :laugh:

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Post by The dark ANNIHILATOR » Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:13 am

Veteran wrote:Nice, DA. I particularly like the Roman Gladius. It's easily identified as roman/greek by the guard and blade.

The Gladius has an ingenious design. Extremly durable with its shorter 2.5 blade. The majority of medieval swords are 2 inches whide at the most. The longer the sword, the narrower the blade sometimes. So a gladius could take the stress of a clash against a knightsword for example. Many Claymores and Wallace swords have 2.5 inch blades, so its always good to clash the gladius near the base in case of a re-inactment battle, since according to the Laws of physics, its where there is less force in a clash


Most greek swords like the Hoplite sword had a leaf like shape, similar to a celtic sword.




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Post by Forceuser » Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:32 am

That Dark Iaido Carbon Katana sword looks sweet. If got a sword I would definately get one like that.
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Post by The dark ANNIHILATOR » Fri Aug 27, 2004 2:44 am

Forceuser wrote:That Dark Iaido Carbon Katana sword looks sweet. If got a sword I would definately get one like that.

They got custom build Iaido swords here, according to the hight of a person. Not to mnetion they are even lighter than the dark Katana. The blade is semi-sharp too.

EDIT: But for that price one can get a cutting Katana.




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Post by Forceuser » Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:04 am

That's a bit expensive especially with shipping to the UK. I'd need their longest blade too as I'm just over 6'.

Did you know that in the UK now, carrying anything with a blade over 3" in public without a reason (ie a big knife for fishing) carries a jail sentence (as does carrying a gun).
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Post by Adrian » Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:56 am

Well, that's stupid of them. I'm vaguely reminded of the old English law (as in Dark Ages old) saying peasants couldn't possess swords and bows.

Adrian
“To achieve a World Government it is necessary to remove from their minds their individualism, their loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism and religious dogma.”…..Brock Adams, Director, United Nations Health Organisation.

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Post by Forceuser » Fri Aug 27, 2004 2:10 pm

Adrian wrote:Well, that's stupid of them. I'm vaguely reminded of the old English law (as in Dark Ages old) saying peasants couldn't possess swords and bows.
Is it stupid? Would you really be walking around normally with a sword? I mean if you are then you have a serious problem. (Hmmm, this reminds me of a story I read in my local paper. A guy got his phone stolen in a nigthclub and he wasn't very happy. He told the bouncer he was going home to get his sword. A little while later, a cabbie saw the guy walking along the street with a sword. He disarmed him (Well I don't know how sensible that was considering the cabbie was unarmed and the guy had a sword) and called the police. Apparently he waited calmly for the police to arrest him. He was found with a two and a half foot long sword, a hunting knife and a replica gun!)
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Post by Adrian » Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:22 pm

Forceuser wrote:
Adrian wrote:Well, that's stupid of them. I'm vaguely reminded of the old English law (as in Dark Ages old) saying peasants couldn't possess swords and bows.

Is it stupid? Would you really be walking around normally with a sword? I mean if you are then you have a serious problem. (Hmmm, this reminds me of a story I read in my local paper. A guy got his phone stolen in a nigthclub and he wasn't very happy. He told the bouncer he was going home to get his sword. A little while later, a cabbie saw the guy walking along the street with a sword. He disarmed him (Well I don't know how sensible that was considering the cabbie was unarmed and the guy had a sword) and called the police. Apparently he waited calmly for the police to arrest him. He was found with a two and a half foot long sword, a hunting knife and a replica gun!)

If I had one I'd carry a boot knife, those usually have blades longer than 3". I'd carry a gun if it weren't for the asinine victim-disarmament laws. I've carried various knives in the past, a butterfly with a 4 inch blade (I guess its the clink for me, that danged extra inch), my switchblade which exceeds 3 inches, heck, my brother carries a paratrooper folder that's got a 6+ inch blade. Are we any more dangerous because the blades are longer? That's just absurd regulation right there.

Adrian




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Post by Forceuser » Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:35 pm

A lot of people carry penknifes. The majority of which have blades shorter than 3". Anything above that you just don't need unless you're doing, say fishing, but you have a reason then so it's OK.
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Post by Adrian » Fri Aug 27, 2004 4:00 pm

"Just don't need" is the part of that I have a problem with. Are you saying I don't need to carry my butterfly knife? My brother doesn't need his paratrooper? Given the fact that neither of us, in a combined 33 years of existence (granted, we're only seperated by 1 1/2 years, but I'm counting the years of our lives seperately) have never done physical harm to another person, does it really make sense that we should should be prevented from carrying 4 inch knives and not three inch knives? That we should be arrested if found to be carrying them outside the house?

By the way, you think the criminals obey these laws? Last time I checked, since '96 when the UK started enacting its victim disarmament laws(ok they already had a ton to start with, but in '96 they really got going), nearly a quarter of its inhabitants per year have been victims of crime, and their (your?) hot-burglary rate is something like 60% of all burglaries, compared with the US's rate of a little over 10%.

Adrian
“To achieve a World Government it is necessary to remove from their minds their individualism, their loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism and religious dogma.”…..Brock Adams, Director, United Nations Health Organisation.

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Post by The dark ANNIHILATOR » Fri Aug 27, 2004 5:23 pm

Ehem... knifes start to move away from the Sword Topic. We can still talk about Laws, but just insert "Sword" instead of knifes.

As for here is Canada, you can carry any approved weapon around, aslong it is visible for everyone. So I could walk around with the Practical Katana Pro, aslong everyone can see that I carry it. Its starts to become illegal if I hide the sword in my trenchcoat Highlander style. Same with guns. By the way, some of the non aproved weapons are knifes that can be opened with 1 hand(Switchblades and Balisong Butterfly Knifes) , and nunchacos.
Why nunchacus I do not know.
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Post by Forceuser » Sat Aug 28, 2004 4:14 am

Sword sticks are illegal here. BTW I'd just like to point out that in England there are just under 300 gun murders every year. In America there are over 11,000 a year.
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Post by Adrian » Sat Aug 28, 2004 11:15 am

Forceuser wrote:Sword sticks are illegal here. BTW I'd just like to point out that in England there are just under 300 gun murders every year. In America there are over 11,000 a year.

Uh, no. 11,000 is the total number of fatalities and injuries involving firearms. Big difference between 11,000 fatalities and injuries and 11,000 homicides. They get the 11,000 number by adding in all the accidents, suicides, criminals duking it out with criminals, AND homicides. That's not 11,000 home invasions/murders. And according to the 2000 Crime Victims Survey, published by the Dutch Ministry of Justice (a very well respected group) the UK ranks AHEAD of the US (which came in 8th) in number of citizens who are victims of violent crime. Australia ranked the highest, and they have some of the most onerous victim disarmament laws on the planet. It should be noted that the British government refused to publish these findings in their country.

EDIT:By the way, there are between 75,000 and 2.5 million legal, defensive gun uses in the United States every year. That's 11,000 or so illegal or accidental shootings compared with at the very least 75,000 legal, life (or property) saving uses. Even IF all of those 11,000 deaths (we'll convert the injuries to deaths just for effect) were ALL homicides, while that'd be tragic, it'd still be outweighed by the (at the very least) 75,000 legal, defensive uses. Just out of curiousity, how many defensive gun uses are there in the UK? Any?

EDIT2:It just occurred to me that we're messing up DA's sword thread. If you want to continue this discussion/debate, would you like to continue it in a new thread?

Adrian




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Post by The dark ANNIHILATOR » Sat Aug 28, 2004 4:53 pm

From what I read, ceremonial swords are now banned in Australia. In other words they banned the cheap 440 steel. And they have a fairly high crime rate.

Forceuser, Adrian, while you both raise good points, you boths also seem to miss the root of the problem when adressing crime. While gun laws have some effect on crime, guns are only the means to an end. The primary casue/rise/decine of crime lies on economic conditions.
If you go to a rich neighbourhood or a very poor neighbourhood at night regardless what gun law is passed, the outcome will always be the same. Because the economic spectrum they are in remained the same. My point is, that people all are hybred-productions of their environment. If they don't live in a poor economic surounding that causes crime, a gun is not needed.




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Post by Adrian » Sat Aug 28, 2004 6:27 pm

So I don't continue to further screw up your sword review thread, I'm gonna copy your response, and make a new thread.

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