An excellent concise review. I agree with your assessment and I am sorry to hear that the usage of this sword caused some injury. It shows the weight distribution of this sword is really problematic. When I receive the sword I can do some precise measurements. I suspect the distal taper is quite lacking on the blade, which causes the mass of the blade is distributed in an ahistorical and dysfunctional way. I have used lots of heavy swords including my Albion Principe (1761 grams), Albion Baron (1801 grams), Albion Maximilian (2388 grams), VA Warden of the North (1814 grams), Albion Viceroy (1632 grams), not to mention some massive two-handed swords that's over 3000 grams. Never did I ever feel I wasn't in total control, although indeed it wouldn't be easy to do multiple cuts in quick succession with those truly big ones. I do think the mass distribution plays the biggest role in this. Hope you recover soon. Back injuries can be very nasty and persist for years if you don't let them fully heal. Take care, my friend!
Thanks, man. Feeling better already, though that nerve pinch was awful and reinforced my bad mood regarding this sword. I purposely avoided talking about the weight distribution because I don't know enough to offer an educated opinion in this case. Can tell you it does have some distal taper, and the balance _seems_ fine - until swung, when it becomes difficult to manage. A lot of that could be my fault, just not being used to anything this heavy, and expecting it to be faster with greater ease of control. Alex has mentioned nothing about returning the sword to them, so I believe it's yours to keep. I hope so, because the reprofiling was a chore, and I'd want it to go to a home where it could be appreciated for a long time. Actually had lots of difficulty bringing it up to full sharp, despite the hard and abrasion resistant temper. Still could be a lot sharper, but something is better than nothing. Thanks again for the good word and hope you enjoy this piece. (btw, I had covid recently, so the sword is currently in quarantine until a couple weeks pass, at which point I will ship it then)
@@KF1 Glad to see the injury was relatively short-termed, although always be absolutely sure you have fully recovered before returning to the gym or dojo (backyard). The recovery process can be deceptive, I have many painful lessons about it. This profile (silhouette, rather than the edge geometry) of the blade requires a lot of distal taper. It is similar to a type XIIa like the Albion Baron although they have different cross sections, the Baron tapers from 6.2mm quickly to 3.7mm at the midpoint, and down to 2.4mm near the tip. Because there's not a lot of narrowing, and the blade is relatively long--comparing to a katana that you are more familiar with, it needs to make the majority of the mass is at the lower half, especially near the guard. At the point of percussion, it should be thin to carry less mass and have the cross section that induce less resistance when passing through targets.
@@FortuneFavoursTheBold Thank you for the specs, much appreciated. I recently commissioned a custom longsword from them, made to be lightweight with 6mm to 2.5mm distal and specific length/width/weight. You mentioned that profile taper plays a huge role in blade resonance, so I'm incorporating that into the design with a 4-5cm base. Goal is 1280g and built for cutting.
Yeah gotta agree with Kane here for sure something is up with the balance of this sword. Good looking sword though, it's flashy. I like the metal band in the grip and the twisted crossguard is pretty sweet. Looks like a nice scabbard comes with too, which is nice. Scores high visually for sure. You should try out my HT greatsword of war, it's very similar but I can swing it really hard, fast, back and forth and it hasn't hurt me yet. I'm a similar size and weight to you, so it must have something to with the weight distribution. I don't know the exact weight of my HT gsow but it's listed a 3lbs 14oz if memory serves. It came sharpish, hanwei sharpish. So not sharp lol but it still got great cut outta the box. My HT gsow does a similar weird resonance thing too lol sometimes I'm just swinging it around and outta no where it's like *boing*! Like it hit something but it didn't. I was chalking it up to the hilt construction beening a hex nut instead of peened. But now I'm not sure lol Great video dude thanks for sharing 🤘💀 oh and the doubles were awesome dude! Very impressed you could hit doubles with that thing! Get well soon brother
Just got this and it's amazing. Mines balance was 1" from guard. And my edge was bottle poppin sharp. The Chinese forges are real hit or miss. Depending on who is working on the piece and time of day you get different all around pieces.
Interesting watch and good review. I was impressed that you were still able to move that big ass heavy dull sword to execute any kind of double. Awesome!
What will help a lot with the heavier swords is gripping lower, physically on the pommel, with your off hand. That way you lengthen the lever you have to move around the same amount of weight. You can see this technique in Joachim Meyer's treatises of the 1500s. Good review, glad to see more coverage of their stuff.
@@flamezombie1 Thought about this some more. Actually no free lunch in physics. Increased leverage of a wide grip is both slower and less structurally sound, with more strain on the lead arm because the bottom arm can't offer as much to control the total mass. That's my dominant hand on the bottom, and it helps a lot to use this grip. Can generally do okay. Also, this particular pommel is huge, there's no gripping there. Lots of factors involved
@@KF1 Oh that's odd. I can't say I've heard of many people using that grip before. Large pommel is a problem with those earlier swords until about the 14th century. Your lead arm is definitely doing all of the controlling with the wide grip though, rear hand is just there to deliver power through the lever. That style of grip helps me a lot with zweihander and other big swords, but we're all built differently.
@@KF1 Yeah, I'm a HEMA instructor and notice that that's something that takes a long time to perfect. I bet part of the difference in cutting and sparring is that the force doesn't have to be controlled by your lead arm when you hit the other guy or his sword. Just enough to not injure them.
Great review kingfisher, definitely way to heavy,even a nodachi is just under 3lb. Hopefully they can work that out, without loosing any of its looks and feel.
Thanks. Was really hard for me to use, though I think if someone was like 6' tall and and 200lbs, it might be alright for them. The design is pretty cool, tho
Very well done review Fisher, I'm not a euro guy but this review made me feel like I knew what you were talking about. Bummer about the sharpness and weight, glad the fit and finish was good though.
@KF1 I'm a huge fan of 65MN. It's what most of my DK blades are made from, and they all took a razor sharp edge and held it. Can't wait to see what you cook.up brother
Well... Heavy longsword. Right in my wheelhouse, brother. My next buy will be a katana, but it's fuel for thought since I have an idea of what I want in my next long/bastard sword. Hitting those doubles with that heavy a sword is no mean feat! Great review and cutting, Kingfisher!!!⚔
Cheers, those doubles were tough to land. You seem to do alright with the heavy longswords, but for me it feels really foreign. Thanks for the good word and happy cutting, man!
Cheers. Yeah, this is the 2nd longsword I've seen from them that was off by 100g or more. Def worth paying more attention to before they send them out.
Always impressed by your review quality KF! great job 👍 & I feel the same at anything close to 3 pounds+ actually hurt my shoulder / wrists from using my hanwei raptor shinogi to often 🥴 specs say 2.11 if I remember but think it's even more & takes a toll stopping and starting after awhile, well done getting clean doubles like that on something even heavier🙌
Thanks. Those doubles were hard to do. Yeah, my wrists and shoulders also got shook up by this, especially before sharpening. Would be a cool design if dialed in a bit more.
They must have some consistency issues, I bought one of their budget longswords, which came paper cutting sharp out of the box and right under 3lbs. Shame I was thinking about getting one of their polish sabers.
An excellent concise review. I agree with your assessment and I am sorry to hear that the usage of this sword caused some injury. It shows the weight distribution of this sword is really problematic. When I receive the sword I can do some precise measurements. I suspect the distal taper is quite lacking on the blade, which causes the mass of the blade is distributed in an ahistorical and dysfunctional way. I have used lots of heavy swords including my Albion Principe (1761 grams), Albion Baron (1801 grams), Albion Maximilian (2388 grams), VA Warden of the North (1814 grams), Albion Viceroy (1632 grams), not to mention some massive two-handed swords that's over 3000 grams. Never did I ever feel I wasn't in total control, although indeed it wouldn't be easy to do multiple cuts in quick succession with those truly big ones. I do think the mass distribution plays the biggest role in this.
Hope you recover soon. Back injuries can be very nasty and persist for years if you don't let them fully heal. Take care, my friend!
Thanks, man. Feeling better already, though that nerve pinch was awful and reinforced my bad mood regarding this sword.
I purposely avoided talking about the weight distribution because I don't know enough to offer an educated opinion in this case.
Can tell you it does have some distal taper, and the balance _seems_ fine - until swung, when it becomes difficult to manage. A lot of that could be my fault, just not being used to anything this heavy, and expecting it to be faster with greater ease of control.
Alex has mentioned nothing about returning the sword to them, so I believe it's yours to keep. I hope so, because the reprofiling was a chore, and I'd want it to go to a home where it could be appreciated for a long time.
Actually had lots of difficulty bringing it up to full sharp, despite the hard and abrasion resistant temper. Still could be a lot sharper, but something is better than nothing.
Thanks again for the good word and hope you enjoy this piece.
(btw, I had covid recently, so the sword is currently in quarantine until a couple weeks pass, at which point I will ship it then)
@@KF1 Glad to see the injury was relatively short-termed, although always be absolutely sure you have fully recovered before returning to the gym or dojo (backyard). The recovery process can be deceptive, I have many painful lessons about it.
This profile (silhouette, rather than the edge geometry) of the blade requires a lot of distal taper. It is similar to a type XIIa like the Albion Baron although they have different cross sections, the Baron tapers from 6.2mm quickly to 3.7mm at the midpoint, and down to 2.4mm near the tip. Because there's not a lot of narrowing, and the blade is relatively long--comparing to a katana that you are more familiar with, it needs to make the majority of the mass is at the lower half, especially near the guard. At the point of percussion, it should be thin to carry less mass and have the cross section that induce less resistance when passing through targets.
@@FortuneFavoursTheBold Thank you for the specs, much appreciated. I recently commissioned a custom longsword from them, made to be lightweight with 6mm to 2.5mm distal and specific length/width/weight. You mentioned that profile taper plays a huge role in blade resonance, so I'm incorporating that into the design with a 4-5cm base. Goal is 1280g and built for cutting.
Yeah gotta agree with Kane here for sure something is up with the balance of this sword. Good looking sword though, it's flashy. I like the metal band in the grip and the twisted crossguard is pretty sweet. Looks like a nice scabbard comes with too, which is nice. Scores high visually for sure.
You should try out my HT greatsword of war, it's very similar but I can swing it really hard, fast, back and forth and it hasn't hurt me yet. I'm a similar size and weight to you, so it must have something to with the weight distribution. I don't know the exact weight of my HT gsow but it's listed a 3lbs 14oz if memory serves. It came sharpish, hanwei sharpish. So not sharp lol but it still got great cut outta the box.
My HT gsow does a similar weird resonance thing too lol sometimes I'm just swinging it around and outta no where it's like *boing*! Like it hit something but it didn't. I was chalking it up to the hilt construction beening a hex nut instead of peened. But now I'm not sure lol
Great video dude thanks for sharing 🤘💀 oh and the doubles were awesome dude! Very impressed you could hit doubles with that thing!
Get well soon brother
Great review!, now I have a great idea of what this sword is about, awesome cuts!, great job!
Thanks! That's great to hear. This was difficult to review and tried to just approach it fairly as it is.
Fantastic and informative review!
Thanks, man! Appreciate that
Just got this and it's amazing. Mines balance was 1" from guard. And my edge was bottle poppin sharp. The Chinese forges are real hit or miss. Depending on who is working on the piece and time of day you get different all around pieces.
Right on. That's wicked you got a good one
Interesting watch and good review. I was impressed that you were still able to move that big ass heavy dull sword to execute any kind of double. Awesome!
Thanks, man!
Really nice detail in this
@@Katana-Karl Thanks, man. Was a fun sword to check out. Thanks for stoppin by!
What will help a lot with the heavier swords is gripping lower, physically on the pommel, with your off hand. That way you lengthen the lever you have to move around the same amount of weight. You can see this technique in Joachim Meyer's treatises of the 1500s.
Good review, glad to see more coverage of their stuff.
@@flamezombie1 Thanks. Fair point. It's not my offhand, tho.
@@flamezombie1 Thought about this some more. Actually no free lunch in physics. Increased leverage of a wide grip is both slower and less structurally sound, with more strain on the lead arm because the bottom arm can't offer as much to control the total mass. That's my dominant hand on the bottom, and it helps a lot to use this grip. Can generally do okay. Also, this particular pommel is huge, there's no gripping there. Lots of factors involved
@@KF1 Oh that's odd. I can't say I've heard of many people using that grip before. Large pommel is a problem with those earlier swords until about the 14th century. Your lead arm is definitely doing all of the controlling with the wide grip though, rear hand is just there to deliver power through the lever. That style of grip helps me a lot with zweihander and other big swords, but we're all built differently.
@@flamezombie1 The leverage is imo the least understood aspect of cutting.
@@KF1 Yeah, I'm a HEMA instructor and notice that that's something that takes a long time to perfect. I bet part of the difference in cutting and sparring is that the force doesn't have to be controlled by your lead arm when you hit the other guy or his sword. Just enough to not injure them.
Sorry I missed this. Love your reviews ol'boy!
Great review kingfisher, definitely way to heavy,even a nodachi is just under 3lb. Hopefully they can work that out, without loosing any of its looks and feel.
Thanks. Was really hard for me to use, though I think if someone was like 6' tall and and 200lbs, it might be alright for them. The design is pretty cool, tho
Very well done review Fisher, I'm not a euro guy but this review made me feel like I knew what you were talking about. Bummer about the sharpness and weight, glad the fit and finish was good though.
Thanks, man. I wasn't keen either but working on a custom lightweight longsword from them now. The 65Mn has huge potential. Will see how it goes.
@KF1 I'm a huge fan of 65MN. It's what most of my DK blades are made from, and they all took a razor sharp edge and held it. Can't wait to see what you cook.up brother
Well... Heavy longsword. Right in my wheelhouse, brother. My next buy will be a katana, but it's fuel for thought since I have an idea of what I want in my next long/bastard sword. Hitting those doubles with that heavy a sword is no mean feat! Great review and cutting, Kingfisher!!!⚔
Cheers, those doubles were tough to land. You seem to do alright with the heavy longswords, but for me it feels really foreign. Thanks for the good word and happy cutting, man!
Smooth man! Great review, minus the pinched nerve at the end. I can’t believe the weight was THAT off 😳
Cheers. Yeah, this is the 2nd longsword I've seen from them that was off by 100g or more. Def worth paying more attention to before they send them out.
Always impressed by your review quality KF! great job 👍 & I feel the same at anything close to 3 pounds+ actually hurt my shoulder / wrists from using my hanwei raptor shinogi to often 🥴 specs say 2.11 if I remember but think it's even more & takes a toll stopping and starting after awhile, well done getting clean doubles like that on something even heavier🙌
Thanks. Those doubles were hard to do. Yeah, my wrists and shoulders also got shook up by this, especially before sharpening. Would be a cool design if dialed in a bit more.
They must have some consistency issues, I bought one of their budget longswords, which came paper cutting sharp out of the box and right under 3lbs. Shame I was thinking about getting one of their polish sabers.
Good to hear some of them are sharper. Thanks
Looks like so heavy, but good sword!
Yes, very heavy for me. Looks cool though. Thanks for watching!
Long sword + black mask
Is that the Black Silence?
Hard to see but the mask actually has a carbon fiber vinyl wrap. Saves on shaving when I'm lazy