Review: 17th Century Italian Rapier by Windlass Steelcrafts
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- ** Where to find this sword **
www.kultofathe...
** Specifications **
Overall length: 114 cm / 45 in
Blade length: 96 cm / 38 in
Blade width: 1.1 - 2 cm / 0.4 - 0.78 in
Point of balance: 7.5 cm / 3 in from the crossguard
Weight: 1.2 kg / 2 lbs 10 oz
Blade material: 1065 high carbon steel
Hilt assembly: Full tang, nut
** Pros / Cons **
Very light and well balanced for fine point control
Good fit and finish for the price
Overly flexible blade that takes a set easily
Thick, clunky quillon block (the triangular center point of the crossguard)
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Two adult men compare blade length, flexibilty and then engage in vigorous thrusting
Our daddy taught us not to be ashamed of our rapiers
Someone is Project
Dolphinboi i understood that reference
Damn.. I read the comments first and now my mind is full of innuendos while watching
Greeks already figured out peak masculinity 3000 years ago
Is not that the grip is too long, the sword is made for a wielder with 6 fingers.
As long as none comes to the owner claiming that he killed his father and has to prepare to die...
@@neutronalchemist3241 nice reference "Inigo"
I do not think that means what you think it means... :)
I'm sure it's no one of consequence ;)
I got that reference
You can tell how much Skal likes the sword by whether or not he's wearing gloves.
Gonna Miss Eric when Skall moves.
He makes appearance on blood and irons channel
@@TrueSonOfWalhall still, it won't be the same with him no longer guest starring in some of Skalls vids. :D
There is still time for him Eric to break one more thing! :-)
Not the same dynamic, skall has an especially fun good chemesty with sword nerds.
Maybe we get new guys.
i was just waching Skall, and now, i can watch Skall!
Ps. Please more Loki!
Very nice to see a video about rapier. Rapier is one of my 3 favorite types of swords.
Here in Spain its what you mostly find. Most hema places teach rapier, rapier and parring daga and rapier and buckler.
Skall before you move, let Eric break one more axe.
I was half expecting him to break the blade on the rapier given how much the blad flexes and how hard Eric was thrusting.
The legendary Pommel may have met its match
"The Bullet Tip"
Congratulations on finally solving the lighting problem at the club.
Before -> |
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Always love videos on rapiers, thank you. :)
Windlass swords aren't bad for the price, but the blades do tend to be "whippy" or a bit too flexible (imo) to some extent, at least the longer blades.
I was actually about to buy this because I loved the look of this thing. Thanks for the video Skall. Woud've spent 300 dollars for a wall hanger other wise.
Needs more dark moon blade
Need more dex to use effectivly.
_prepare to kill a lot of silver knights_
@@yoursexualizedgrandparents6929 That gave me a PTSD attack.
Your Son I'm still grinding this shit
i have a pre-fire hanwei too.
its perfect for beginners and virtually undestructible. love it.
Surviving examples are highly decorated, but it's difficult to tell when some of them were engraved, and inlaid. In the 18th century, a lot of collectors (Particularly of Italian Spada, Rapiers, and Chinquedea.) had their pieces engraved, inlaid with gold, and isilver to raise their value, or just prettyfy their collections. There were also a lot of forgeries due to the Neo-classical movement, particularly in the New World. Caveat Emptor. Also, in general the more ornate ones were just kept better, in Royal armories, and museum collections, because this sword was owned by Louis VI, or whatever. The EDCs were used, dinged up, and repaired. Notice that the ornate swords in museums show very little wear, and tear, because they were worn as Jewelry, and a sign of status. They also weren't kept in museums, and private collections for centuries, because the ornate ones have more value.
That's what I was thinking, then there's also the cost of creating an ornate hilt. Not everyone could afford one just like not everyone can afford a Ferrari today which would be an apt comparison.
@@JETWTF With hilts, especially swept hilts like that, there's really no way to keep it light, and keep it ornate, if you actually use it. The mythical jewel encrusted sword is mythical simply because if you set it like a crown, you can't use it like a sword. Gold really sucks for even holding gemstones securely, and silver turns as black as blood in the moonlight if you don't polish it.
@@Psiberzerker That's true in a way, when rapiers were being used they did have the ability to plate steel with gold or silver and then there's gold and silver wire wrapped handles so you could have a useable sword. Durable finish? Not very. Expensive? Incredibly. If you could afford that just for the looks you may as well go whole hog and get a purely decorative one for those balls you will attend.
@@JETWTF Right, but my original comment was about how ornate the most, or common ones were, when the truth is we don't actually know, because most of the examples we have today were from high end courts, forgeries, and/or embellished.
It reminds of the rapier swords that were used in The Three Musketeers in 3D
I like the design of the hilt, very elegant.
In defence of the long handle I’ll say that it moved the PoB back giving better point control. I nearly bought that model some years back opted for the Pilsen Rapier and I am glad to say it has a stiffer blade. I did find an issue with the Pilsen due to the square corners on the quillon block and removed them, the same could be done with that Italian Rapier. A lot of people put Windlass, and other Indian manufacturers, down for unsharpened blades, which is the law of the land. I did too at first then discovered by declaring those swords as “unsharpened replicas” customs is much easier to get along with. I hope Windlass, Universal, Weapon Edge and the others are forced to follow the practice, ditto for Del Tin. That’s a nice looking rapier and hopefully that was just a faulty blade.
A-HA!
*stabs*
BOOM
*used live round*
THE POWDER THRUST
When I hammered a bullet casing onto the e d of my rapier, turns out it had a bit of power in it. Must have been pulled instead of spent. So there was a loud bang that scared the hell out of me but nothing happened.
@@levifontaine8186 I wonder if perhaps you set off the primer.
That's what happened.
@@levifontaine8186 Oh, I misread that as "powder".
Is skall the "Sword Jesus" of youtube?
You should make a colab with the "Gun Jesus" some day.
Actually, Ian and Skall would get along very well I think.
I'd say SnapJelly looks more like Jesus and Ian LaSpina from Knyght Errant as Armor Jesus. And maybe Teutonic Penguin.
ah, i see you are a man of culture as well
That Channel I was wondering when Ian Laspina will upload a new video. Really miss his appearance.
Matt from demo ranch is gun jesus
I have a greatsword with a similar pommel nut. What I do to tighten it is I get a thick rubber band and a set of locking vice grips. The rubber creates friction and prevents the grips from scarring the metal
that's floppier than most modern fencing epée blades o_O holy shiat
thats a wallhanger.. it literally cant be used without breaking it (bending).. looks nice, but anyone wanting to use a rapier, this is an awful choice
I'd rather have an ugly one that didn't pick up bends from minor usage.
Yeah. Honestly, I would rather buy a plastic practice sword from Cold Steel.
@@fransthefox9682 Thse things have horrible balance. Get a Purpleheart Armory one.
Get a proper spanish rapier, you can bend it all you want and its gonna stay perfectly straight
@@kyomademon453 where?, do you know any good sites i need to buy one
Compared to historic swords, that guard and grip are GIGANTIC.
I can think of a few things that are enhanced with a bit of fuzz.
Also hi loki
Skall you could file or sand that nut to give yourself some flats to grab onto with a crescent wrench..2 opposing sides would do the job
Well, it doesn't look like it was designed for a six-fingered man, but the extra room inside the hilt is really nice. I hate swept, and basket hilts that are too close, they bust up your wrist. (Without the Lining. Mind you, Scottish Broadswords typically have some lining, which helps.) Also, singlesticks are great, because the hilt is leather. Speaking of which, do you know any decent singlestick suppliers, or should I ask Matt Easton?
Psiberzerker You should ask East Mattson
Castile armoury for the win
If you put hot glue you get hell of a grip with pliers, won't scratch the round nut and it peels off really easy afterwards
Amazing brothers!! Thank you very much!
i am going to say something out of experience: if you want italian repiers buy DEL TIN. Polish CAN be worst but generally design, materials, assembly and sharpening are better
Loki just lifted this from a 10 to a 11/10 video
The style that makes skull look like an arms dealing witchdoctor suits him. And the troll look of him is the funniest.
The six fingered sword from princess bride! Lol
I really really wanna see some test cutting with a rapier people say that they can still cut but I wanna see how well
I like the longer handle i would love a rapier with a hand and a half length so you could do a surprise big lunge with the hand on the lower section giving you another 3 or 4 inches plus the length of the exaggerated lunge. They do this sometimes with longswords and i was surprised at how often this technique scored hits. The opponent gets used to your range then you use it almost like a lance.
I'm curious if reheat treating this sword would help.
actually (if I'm not mistaken as to the design of the blade) the Cold Steel 88SMS Small Sword is the kind of dueling blade I like; but would prefer the style of guards featured in this video.
Is it weird that i am not really interested in Weapons or Martial Arts? I just watch for Skalls soothing Voice :D And his magnificent Beard and the funny stuff that keeps happening in nearly every single Video :P
Yes.
Nor at all, his roleplaying and his dad jokes are fun too and the does good weapon related ASMR. It would be weird if you wouldnt like swords at all thou, ut not bad.
He’s the David Attenborough of weapons
The best thing about this rapier is probably the silver on the handle.
The reaction when he bent the blade... Haha
LOL! I thought the same thing, watching Skals eyes trace down to the bend and just hold that gaze for a few seconds...hahaha...later "I was going to grind this some more"...ahahah, I bet you are now, throw in some bending back with that grinding. Much later "you can see one of the quillon's on my Hanwei rapier's is bent"...Skal - ya, just like my sword blade now.
Gotta have that maximum penetration power. Bendy doesn't cut it.
The evil staring fish knife shall haunt you, Skall..!
lol Eric when flexes the blade and it's stay bend. "Ooh...!"
Is the cats name Loki?
If yes, I had a cat with the same name.
If not, then you didn't have a cat with the same name? o.O
'Had'?
This is getting out of hand, now there are two of them!
@@frosty925 meaning he got rid of it or it died
Dogs are superior
Get a small strap wrench to tighten or loosen the hilt nut.
thanks for the honest review i always wanted a rapier, it's my favorite type of sword. but this cheap end ones are really not worth it meh...
Why are they your favorite?
I adore the silver wire grip. I wish they had another $50 or $80 or so to make a better blade id buy it in a heartbeat.
Dude I would really like to see what kind of training sword you would order from castille armoury.
I have the basic rapier, but they have tons of stock options for any common hema sword type. I'm sure you can make a few videos before you finally pick one for review.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't duels often fought with gloves? Didn't gentlemen offer challenges by throwing gloves down?
This would explain the thick triangle section between the ricasso and the blade
If you want to increase the garage band feel of the place, Skall, I could always show up an hour late and play too loud in the corner out of time while you shoot your videos.
What is your favorite shtf weapon sword and where would you get it? Value weapon.
A quarterstaff, easy to acquire and very effective, you could uprgrade it to a spear, with a dagger as a backup and a tomahawk as a tool/close qurter weapon.
It's all about versatility when SHTF
Cobra Steel Lakonia or Kershaw Camp18.
I replace plain hexnuts with 12 point acorn nuts. They make tightening easier and look less industrial.
I don't know who the 9 people are downvoting this video. Why would you dislike it?
Perfect. Thanks! Was curious about their rapiers as they're the only ones in my price range...
Looks like I'll have to save up for a better quality one...
Is the Hanwei one any good?
@@erichusayn the Hanwei is an old example, newer models aren't that good either, also known for too much flexibility
@@erichusayn Yeah. Saving sounds better. Perhaps you can try Regenyei Armory. I hear they make very good practice swords. They supply many HEMA schools around the world.
I think each of their practice sword has a sharpened battle ready version too with proper heat treatment, for some extra fees.
Skal, if you had to choose: what would be your post apocalyptic blade weapon?
I have a 22 LR casing on my rapier (it's a long narrow blade) under the tip.
I want to join a Hema group, but there aren't any local ones around where I live. Are there any alternatives, or would you suggest I do something else to practice Hema? I am at a pretty beginner level.
You could always try out one of the various eastern martial arts. Those tend to be a lot more common.
Well, you can try an eastern martial arts school. Like Japanese, Chinese, etc. But if you REALLY want HEMA, the best I can suggest is moving.
Have you checked HEMA club finder? If you're in North America you can also check the HEMA Alliance Facebook tho see if there are any other individuals near you with experience or interest.
Cut the blade just above the fullered part and get rid of the over bendy weak part that wll eventually snap. Remove the blade and use it to make a sword cane. Refit the nice handle with a new better blade.
Have you handled a Black Fencer Swept-Hilt Rapier to be able to compare in terms of balance for a practice rapier?
Loki clearly was the star of this movie!
Does he know that there already is Iron in the blood?
What do you think about the rapiers from zen warrior armory?
Skallagrim, 1v1 me on my home turf at the Wii Sports Resort. I've trained in the art of Mii fencing ever since I was a child. I believe you could be the only one to make me use 37% of my full power.
Interestingly I just checked Kult of Athena and this is one of Windlasses thickest rapier blades and hence, presumably, their stiffest.
I imagine the best counter to a rapier would be a metal glove & sword combo.
Couldn't you work with a bullet casing on that if you had a high enough caliper casing and just cut the neck off as needed?
i am not really an expert on steel. I think if the blade were not as flexible as it is in combination with the width it would be easier to break. other opinions?
I've read that windlass's musketeer and Brandenburg rapiers are stiff enough for effective thrusting
The musketeer rapier has a pretty thick choppy blade. Early period style.
I'd send that piece of junk back, it picked up a bend from flexing it.
Yeah I dunno if they designed it with someone trying to curl it into a Jesus fish in mind, but maybe. Haha either way it's way too flexible.
To be fair, Skall is very stronk.
@@yoursexualizedgrandparents6929 skall is daddy
to my knowledge he got it for free so its hard to "send back"
Seems like you could use a shell casing on the tip you would just need like a cut down .50 AE round or something lol.
Is it possible to have a video discussing why certain blades have holes or empty spaces int them, and what the purpose of having this was? I once saw an axe (probably medieval) that had a space in the middle of the blade in the shape of a catholic cross.
Reduce weight.
We need more cats on here
I love the look of that sword except for the length of the hilt. I like my hanwei rapier, but the straight quillions on that sword are nice.
Problem is the blade methinks, @8:16 I could see the end clearly...
What sharp rapier would be better to buy?🙂
Will you review the scorpione polearm?
I really need a rapier for personal use.
Skallagrim, what rapier would you recommend then for a functional sharp blade? All the higher end ones like Castille seem to be made for practice and the good quality even higher end ones like arms and armour or del tin are way over budget. Is there maybe a better windlass model?
I heard the Brandonburg rapier is pretty good
If you can’t tighten and losen the pommel by hand how are you supposed to throw it
Can u make a review about the female knight fighting style in "For Honor Marching Fire" trailer.Is it realistic?
To me, it looked better than the average depiction of longsword fighting in media. Of course, I don't know how that dao was supposed to have actually caused her any harm there; at the time plates were being added to the arms, mail from head to toe had been universally worn by knights for a while. While that cut might have been hard enough to bruise, I'm doubtful that it could have caused anything incapacitating.
Scholagladitoria suggest rapiers are 42+ inches, but i find non of that length for sale, may be not looked hard enough.
I don't know your price range, but A&A offers rapiers with up to 51" blades:
arms-n-armor.com/rapier171.html
For rapiers under $1000, though, I have no idea. All of my links to decent rapier makers were lost when my old hard drive died.
@@alexanderflack566 cheers
Ah, when you get to the end of the video, he suggests Darkwood Armory, which offers rapiers with 39", 42", and 45" blades:
www.darkwoodarmory.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_5
Skal, What are your thoughts on the cold steel practice swords? (waister, bastard sword) I have seen a good bit in the videos “fight camp” from scolagladitoria... they are definitely priced cheap enough
How does it do for home defense/self-defense
Might scare off a teenage punk, for actual defense nope
Uh not for nothing but I'm noticing the current model windlass rapier basically took all the notes from this video and implemented them. The ricasso could probably be thinner like he said but that might just be a quality issue with payment and craftsmanship. The fuller goes to tip. No pommel nut. Maybe I got the bone grip. If she bends TRUE then hey
Not i live round but a bullet casing how often do people do that by mistake is an idea that terrifies me
Yay! Practice blade review! As the instructor started to say, the new versions of the hanwei are not as great since the original factory burnt down. I have the modern 43 inch blade hanwei and it's so flexible I can take the tip in my hand and bring it in a full circle to the guard.
A Siamese cat named Loki - hah great cat. We have a registered choc point Siamese too, and a Russian blue as well. They don't have Norse god's names though...
Very entertaining video today, what more can you ask for from UA-cam.
Like for Loki! Cats always beautiful! Like swords :)
Any video about fighting with gauntlets? I mean, would a boxer do fine in middle ages? armored with good gauntlets / spiked gloves? (inspired by your video about what if guns dissapear)
Pssht, forget that flimsy blue-blood blade! I want to see more of that adorable chunky kitty!
You should do a review on some of the weapons from the Mortal Kombat series
The handle is from captain Barbossa from pirates of the Caribbean 1
Hey Skall do you think you could talk about the Heide Knight Sword From Dark souls 2
What about a 50$ rapier?
1:00 What are each of these 'other rapiers' called specifically, it's great to see that much variety but it's very confusing for a layman like myself, and on rapiers in particular.
They’re all rapiers, though maybe the one on the bottom right could be considered a sidesword since it’s got a more minimal guard and what looks to be a wider, possibly heavier, blade.
2:06 he trying to fix the rapier 😂
Maybe with that blade weight, it would be better to use two fingers since you are using it to thrust instead of slashing.
On the other hand i understand that is an italian fencing style characterized by long advanced-lunges but your hand has an improper fingers position since they're all looking up and it would be better to opt for a finger up participle to avoid your rival to take advantage of your blade.
Finally, your advanced-lunges are a little unbalanced forward, be careful or your knee will resent over time.
You're absolutely right. You must practice HEMA, right?
@@elenasuarezcollin8044 I'm actually a spanish HEMA Fencer, i usually do rapier from the "Verdadera Destreza" spanish style point of view, it is a totally different thing compared to the italian style.
@@DanielTheFencer me too! May be we can meet and talk more about fencing and other staff 😉.
@@elenasuarezcollin8044we could do some rapier assaults, it is cool to have new fencing experiences :)
I feel like this is the beginning of something exciting. Why are we still speaking in english since we know we're both spaniards?
3:07 Now I actually wanna see someone try that.
For someone with no swordsmanship training or rather no training at all what would be the best type of weapon to use? A big blunt weapon like a hammer
or mace or would a bladed weapon
like a sword be best for an unskilled fighter?
Scholar gladitoria might answer this and skal prob has a video up for the topic as well