I've owned one of The windlass Bowie d guards for many years now... I've always been pleased with it! Holds a good edge & solid construction. I've cut bamboo, pool noodles, plastic bottles, wood, branches & other stuff with it and it's only needed touchup to the edge....never chipped. Weapons at this size and up to about 20 in kind of fall in between dagger/knife size & true short sword size. A lot of Filipino weapons fall in this category also. Personally I've coined the term demi-sword to cover weapons with a blade between about 15 to 20 inches in length as they sort of are a hybrid weapon/tool. Large enough to use as a sword like weapon, but small enough to use as a tool & short enough to be easy to transport in tight spaces or getting in and out of vehicles. Personally anytime I take a road trip I make sure to have my D-guard Bowie with me just in case there's any road debris or need arises to defend myself or others; although I hope the latter never occurs.
@@alientude thank you! Use it if you like it's not copyrighted 😂 I just felt there are a lot of weapons that are kinda too big to be knives/daggers yet too small to really be swords. The Italian cinquedea often being a prime example. In the video Matt Eason did with Tobias Capwell, Mr. Capwell makes an interesting statement about the cinquedea after indicating very little research has been done on them. He said museum curators always want them in collections cuz they're very beautiful and often highly decorated but when it comes to classifying them should they be a short sword or a large dagger the answer is kind of always a 'yes. .put them over there we'll deal with them later' sort of attitude. So since museum curators aren't always sure what to do with them and little research has been done on them...well what are they? Likewise some of large Confederate blades, Filipino jungle blades, and other weapons in around the 15"-20blade length...short sword or large knife? Yes? 😆 I coined demi-sword to cover these sized weapons as an umbrella term for a lot of weapons/tools that are kind of both sword & dagger/knife. So no credit needed & anyone who wants can certainly use it
@@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145 wouldn't shortsword cover it? What differentiate a demisword from a shortsword? My understanding is that the mountings determine if one must be called a short sword or a big knife. Also demisword gives me serious Demifiend vibes....
@@junichiroyamashita sword & knife terms are not as precise in history as we might like. In Norman times a sword was a sword. Later they can be called arming swords. In some sources they are called short swords to contrast them with long swords... Rapiers are only called rapiers in England as in Italy they are called spada & in Spain espada; both mean sword. But when I coined demi-sword it is intended as an umbrella term for many weapons in the around the 15-20" range that function both as swords & knives/daggers. A sword & dagger/knife have differences in use due to their sizes. A short sword still would be used like a sword. A sword hilted dagger would be used like a dagger. A demi-sword is short enough to be used as a dagger but long enough to be used as a sword also. Many Italian cinquedea are examples of what I'd term a demi-sword. Some are clearly dagger sized & some clearly short swords. But some seem in between. Traditionally since there are no source materials on their use many museum curators simply put them in cabinets and kind of have a "we will get to them later" attitude in terms of research. Demi-sword as I intend it is not a precise classification by any means. It is more of a feel8mg/opinion thing. If you pick up a weapon that's bigger than you think a dagger/knife should be but it is a bit shorter than a true sword yet can be easily used either way... that's where I use the coverall term demi-sword. That being said if you personally look at a Confederate d guard buoy and see it more as a short sword and not a large knife or Demi sword that is your opinion & I have no issues with it. When does a bastard sword become a long sword and when does a long sword become a great sword it's partly dependent on the user and their opinion. I only attend Demi sword to be kind of a catch-all term for weapons that many feel aren't quite truly swords but are too big to just be knives or daggers. I hope that makes sense and wasn't too rambly as I said earlier I'm still sick and my head is pretty cloudy so let me know if that was total gibberish
@@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145 i remember coming up with a similar concept some years ago, the polesword. It refers to the types of equivalent of a nagamaki,so weapons where the blade and the handle have similar lenght,some have more blade,some more handle,but roughly the same. It refers of course to the nagamaki,some asian glaives such as woldo and yue fei dao,various exemplaries of dha with long handle,the spetum and so on . I would apply also to smaller weapons with the same proportions,like Zombie Tools Spit and the one you have in the third Frankensword.
As far as sharpening the false edge; yes it certainly can be done & it's not very difficult. I sharpened mine with a file then a stone & it can easily cut paper.
I was disappointed with it's primitive simplicity. Skinny round handle, no attempt at distal taper, no fullering. I might be a knife snob but a bit of extra effort can go along way. Especially when it's easy to do with modern tools.
Another hit, buddy. According to my research into these D-guard types specifically, it's pretty historically accurate indeed. Maybe they could have started with a slightly thicker base blade stock with more distal taper, but really everything else about it is essentially spot-on. Even then, Some did actually start at only about 4-5mm at the base. The thickness varied quite a lot. The sloppy peen was certainly historical on some, lol. The sheath is accurate to some as well.
I completely agree with Brother Nathaniel I'm certainly no expert on large Confederate knives but once I bought mine I did more research and many of the surviving examples with the d guard and Bowie style blade do have fairly crude looking hilts & many of them have very rough peens. As far as the scabbard yes in this case it does match a lot of historical examples being simply leather with a throat and chape of metal. Surprisingly windless did not put their typical scabbard stud on this one which some historic examples do have. The one thing I would say is slightly off is that the quillon ends in a ball rather than it standing further forward. Most d guards I've seen with a Bowie style blade seem to have an extended quillon. But I've seen a few, if memory serves, that did have a ball. And certainly other d-guards with different blade profiles did have ball quillons. So while it may possibly be slightly inaccurate, it's not so glaringly out of place that it would have stood out like a sore thumb back in the day.
The reason Windlass doesn't usually have sharpened blades is that there's a law in India that unless a blade is an antique or under a certain length (over 100 years old I believe. I don't know length limit but I'd guess 18" & under) then they are not legally allowed to ship it out of country with an edge. As far as certain swords that come sharpened from Windlass I believe they are shipped from India blunt and then sharpened by windless at museum replicas before being distributed to other distributors. But I'm not positive about that one I'll see if I can ask them next May if they have their clearance sale.
Disclaimer - my post is pretty much all hearsay. I believe rather than it being illegal to ship sharp replicas out of India, that instead there's an extra license fee that has to be paid. I've heard of other manufacturers from India that ship sharp blades, although names escape me right now. But apparently Windlass is shipping more swords sharp by default now - Hal Siegel of Therion Arms has said every Windlass sword he's received for his store has been sharp since the middle of this year. It could be that they're being shipped blunt and then sharpened, but I will say the sharpening on this is far better than what I've received from Museum Replicas in the past.
@@alientude that could be true. It's also possible there was a law that has been removed at this point. Regardless since the focus with replicas is more on use in recent years as opposed to wearing for reenactment or wall hanging then shipping dull swords is certainly becoming less favorable amongst customers & more a standard with companies.
@@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145 how would you sharpen a windlass dirk? With a small bevel or a longer taper? I was planning on getting the Primitive Dirk,but it says that the edge would be 0.7 mm thick,so i was thinking how i would approach this.
@@junichiroyamashitaI'm not the best to ask sharpening advice on as I'm not great at sharpening myself & still learning. When it comes to winless unless you get a sharpening service on them most of them except for knives and certain swords will come dull. It's some weird law in India that they can't export sharp blades over a certain length unless they're antiques... That being said I wouldn't recommend the sharpening service at museum replicas for that dirt because they will likely put quite a steep secondary bevel on it. Personally how I usually sharpen windlass blades is to use a small file. I run the file from near the guard to the tip with the file at an angle close to that of the blade to establish an edge. Then go back with a stone and appleseed/flatten the edge to closer match the blade's initial bevel. Most people won't do it the way I do & I honestly don't recommend it if you've never sharpened before as I screwed up a few blades learning how. If that doesn't make sense let me know as I'm at the tail end of a cold & my brain is still a bit foggy.
You mentioned the grip feeling a bit long for your hand. If you're holding it in a hammer fist grip I can definitely see why you're saying that however I think the grip is long enough so you can hold it like a saber with the thumb up the back of the grip. I can certainly do that with mine and it feels like holding a saber. The flare helps with hand placement/retention when you holding it like a saber, which I imagine might be preferable when using it as a weapon. But as you pointed out it also helps keep the hand in the right spot when using it in a hammer grip which might be preferable when using it more like a machete or tool.
@@alientude welcome. As I said I believe if the grip is accurate in size then it likely was intended to be saber gripped as a weapon but choked up in a hammer grip for tool use.
That's not a knoiife, this is a knoiiife. Sorry just can't resist. Is it me or that peen has a trollface meme pattern XD Seriously though, for a short cutlass, it's quite a deal. If a knife is just not enough for someone, this will definitely do the job. Any production blade of this size, even from Condor, it would cost more, not to mention any makers based in North America like TOPS, it would cost 3 or 4 times for worse results. For the price this reasonable, any number of small blemishes can be overlooked. BTW you look good cutting with those passing steps--more dynamic and livelier and happier👍. =)
I always think of Crocodile Dundee when I see a knife this size, too. I'm surprised I didn't make the correlation between this and a cutlass. It really is a Bowie version of a short cutlass - good call.
If you want to make the fit better on the scabbard get a rubber mallet and whack the throat collar lightly on the side where the edge would go so you can press the collar at that side and then it'll make it where the leather of the scabbard is holding the blade tighter. If you whack it too far and it's too tight you can always take a flathead screwdriver or something put it in there and pry it a little wider. As far as The windlass logo on the blade it's usually a stamp on there not actually etched. So if you want to remove it you can take some light sandpaper starting about maybe a thousand grit and then work your way up to 2000 and then buff it till it's back to a mirror polish.
I've owned one of The windlass Bowie d guards for many years now... I've always been pleased with it!
Holds a good edge & solid construction. I've cut bamboo, pool noodles, plastic bottles, wood, branches & other stuff with it and it's only needed touchup to the edge....never chipped.
Weapons at this size and up to about 20 in kind of fall in between dagger/knife size & true short sword size. A lot of Filipino weapons fall in this category also.
Personally I've coined the term demi-sword to cover weapons with a blade between about 15 to 20 inches in length as they sort of are a hybrid weapon/tool.
Large enough to use as a sword like weapon, but small enough to use as a tool & short enough to be easy to transport in tight spaces or getting in and out of vehicles.
Personally anytime I take a road trip I make sure to have my D-guard Bowie with me just in case there's any road debris or need arises to defend myself or others; although I hope the latter never occurs.
Demi-sword, I like that.
@@alientude thank you!
Use it if you like it's not copyrighted 😂
I just felt there are a lot of weapons that are kinda too big to be knives/daggers yet too small to really be swords. The Italian cinquedea often being a prime example. In the video Matt Eason did with Tobias Capwell, Mr. Capwell makes an interesting statement about the cinquedea after indicating very little research has been done on them. He said museum curators always want them in collections cuz they're very beautiful and often highly decorated but when it comes to classifying them should they be a short sword or a large dagger the answer is kind of always a 'yes.
.put them over there we'll deal with them later' sort of attitude.
So since museum curators aren't always sure what to do with them and little research has been done on them...well what are they?
Likewise some of large Confederate blades, Filipino jungle blades, and other weapons in around the 15"-20blade length...short sword or large knife? Yes? 😆
I coined demi-sword to cover these sized weapons as an umbrella term for a lot of weapons/tools that are kind of both sword & dagger/knife. So no credit needed & anyone who wants can certainly use it
@@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145 wouldn't shortsword cover it? What differentiate a demisword from a shortsword? My understanding is that the mountings determine if one must be called a short sword or a big knife.
Also demisword gives me serious Demifiend vibes....
@@junichiroyamashita sword & knife terms are not as precise in history as we might like. In Norman times a sword was a sword. Later they can be called arming swords. In some sources they are called short swords to contrast them with long swords...
Rapiers are only called rapiers in England as in Italy they are called spada & in Spain espada; both mean sword.
But when I coined demi-sword it is intended as an umbrella term for many weapons in the around the 15-20" range that function both as swords & knives/daggers.
A sword & dagger/knife have differences in use due to their sizes. A short sword still would be used like a sword. A sword hilted dagger would be used like a dagger. A demi-sword is short enough to be used as a dagger but long enough to be used as a sword also.
Many Italian cinquedea are examples of what I'd term a demi-sword. Some are clearly dagger sized & some clearly short swords. But some seem in between. Traditionally since there are no source materials on their use many museum curators simply put them in cabinets and kind of have a "we will get to them later" attitude in terms of research.
Demi-sword as I intend it is not a precise classification by any means. It is more of a feel8mg/opinion thing. If you pick up a weapon that's bigger than you think a dagger/knife should be but it is a bit shorter than a true sword yet can be easily used either way... that's where I use the coverall term demi-sword.
That being said if you personally look at a Confederate d guard buoy and see it more as a short sword and not a large knife or Demi sword that is your opinion & I have no issues with it.
When does a bastard sword become a long sword and when does a long sword become a great sword it's partly dependent on the user and their opinion.
I only attend Demi sword to be kind of a catch-all term for weapons that many feel aren't quite truly swords but are too big to just be knives or daggers.
I hope that makes sense and wasn't too rambly as I said earlier I'm still sick and my head is pretty cloudy so let me know if that was total gibberish
@@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145 i remember coming up with a similar concept some years ago, the polesword. It refers to the types of equivalent of a nagamaki,so weapons where the blade and the handle have similar lenght,some have more blade,some more handle,but roughly the same. It refers of course to the nagamaki,some asian glaives such as woldo and yue fei dao,various exemplaries of dha with long handle,the spetum and so on . I would apply also to smaller weapons with the same proportions,like Zombie Tools Spit and the one you have in the third Frankensword.
As far as sharpening the false edge; yes it certainly can be done & it's not very difficult.
I sharpened mine with a file then a stone & it can easily cut paper.
If this isn’t a historical sword. It should’ve been. It’s a good design. Along with the lord of the rings uruk hai Swords.
I was disappointed with it's primitive simplicity. Skinny round handle, no attempt at distal taper, no fullering. I might be a knife snob but a bit of extra effort can go along way. Especially when it's easy to do with modern tools.
Another hit, buddy.
According to my research into these D-guard types specifically, it's pretty historically accurate indeed. Maybe they could have started with a slightly thicker base blade stock with more distal taper, but really everything else about it is essentially spot-on. Even then, Some did actually start at only about 4-5mm at the base. The thickness varied quite a lot. The sloppy peen was certainly historical on some, lol. The sheath is accurate to some as well.
Good to hear. Windlass doesn't often do that well on historical accuracy, so it's nice to hear this is an exception.
I completely agree with Brother Nathaniel
I'm certainly no expert on large Confederate knives but once I bought mine I did more research and many of the surviving examples with the d guard and Bowie style blade do have fairly crude looking hilts & many of them have very rough peens.
As far as the scabbard yes in this case it does match a lot of historical examples being simply leather with a throat and chape of metal.
Surprisingly windless did not put their typical scabbard stud on this one which some historic examples do have.
The one thing I would say is slightly off is that the quillon ends in a ball rather than it standing further forward. Most d guards I've seen with a Bowie style blade seem to have an extended quillon.
But I've seen a few, if memory serves, that did have a ball.
And certainly other d-guards with different blade profiles did have ball quillons.
So while it may possibly be slightly inaccurate, it's not so glaringly out of place that it would have stood out like a sore thumb back in the day.
The reason Windlass doesn't usually have sharpened blades is that there's a law in India that unless a blade is an antique or under a certain length (over 100 years old I believe. I don't know length limit but I'd guess 18" & under) then they are not legally allowed to ship it out of country with an edge.
As far as certain swords that come sharpened from Windlass I believe they are shipped from India blunt and then sharpened by windless at museum replicas before being distributed to other distributors.
But I'm not positive about that one I'll see if I can ask them next May if they have their clearance sale.
Disclaimer - my post is pretty much all hearsay.
I believe rather than it being illegal to ship sharp replicas out of India, that instead there's an extra license fee that has to be paid. I've heard of other manufacturers from India that ship sharp blades, although names escape me right now. But apparently Windlass is shipping more swords sharp by default now - Hal Siegel of Therion Arms has said every Windlass sword he's received for his store has been sharp since the middle of this year. It could be that they're being shipped blunt and then sharpened, but I will say the sharpening on this is far better than what I've received from Museum Replicas in the past.
@@alientude that could be true.
It's also possible there was a law that has been removed at this point.
Regardless since the focus with replicas is more on use in recent years as opposed to wearing for reenactment or wall hanging then shipping dull swords is certainly becoming less favorable amongst customers & more a standard with companies.
@@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145 how would you sharpen a windlass dirk? With a small bevel or a longer taper? I was planning on getting the Primitive Dirk,but it says that the edge would be 0.7 mm thick,so i was thinking how i would approach this.
@@junichiroyamashitaI'm not the best to ask sharpening advice on as I'm not great at sharpening myself & still learning. When it comes to winless unless you get a sharpening service on them most of them except for knives and certain swords will come dull. It's some weird law in India that they can't export sharp blades over a certain length unless they're antiques...
That being said I wouldn't recommend the sharpening service at museum replicas for that dirt because they will likely put quite a steep secondary bevel on it.
Personally how I usually sharpen windlass blades is to use a small file. I run the file from near the guard to the tip with the file at an angle close to that of the blade to establish an edge. Then go back with a stone and appleseed/flatten the edge to closer match the blade's initial bevel.
Most people won't do it the way I do & I honestly don't recommend it if you've never sharpened before as I screwed up a few blades learning how.
If that doesn't make sense let me know as I'm at the tail end of a cold & my brain is still a bit foggy.
@@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145 do you think a sharpener with a belt sander would be better?
I think I may get one. It’s a bit later than the Texas Rangers (1846) theme I am building, but it’s just too neat.
You mentioned the grip feeling a bit long for your hand.
If you're holding it in a hammer fist grip I can definitely see why you're saying that however I think the grip is long enough so you can hold it like a saber with the thumb up the back of the grip.
I can certainly do that with mine and it feels like holding a saber.
The flare helps with hand placement/retention when you holding it like a saber, which I imagine might be preferable when using it as a weapon.
But as you pointed out it also helps keep the hand in the right spot when using it in a hammer grip which might be preferable when using it more like a machete or tool.
It does fit my hand a bit better in saber grip. Good tip.
@@alientude welcome.
As I said I believe if the grip is accurate in size then it likely was intended to be saber gripped as a weapon but choked up in a hammer grip for tool use.
That's not a knoiife, this is a knoiiife. Sorry just can't resist. Is it me or that peen has a trollface meme pattern XD
Seriously though, for a short cutlass, it's quite a deal. If a knife is just not enough for someone, this will definitely do the job. Any production blade of this size, even from Condor, it would cost more, not to mention any makers based in North America like TOPS, it would cost 3 or 4 times for worse results. For the price this reasonable, any number of small blemishes can be overlooked.
BTW you look good cutting with those passing steps--more dynamic and livelier and happier👍. =)
I always think of Crocodile Dundee when I see a knife this size, too.
I'm surprised I didn't make the correlation between this and a cutlass. It really is a Bowie version of a short cutlass - good call.
If you want to make the fit better on the scabbard get a rubber mallet and whack the throat collar lightly on the side where the edge would go so you can press the collar at that side and then it'll make it where the leather of the scabbard is holding the blade tighter.
If you whack it too far and it's too tight you can always take a flathead screwdriver or something put it in there and pry it a little wider.
As far as The windlass logo on the blade it's usually a stamp on there not actually etched.
So if you want to remove it you can take some light sandpaper starting about maybe a thousand grit and then work your way up to 2000 and then buff it till it's back to a mirror polish.
I'm putting on my comments separately so that I don't have one long run on comment lol
Sounds good. Helps the algorithm and reduces wall of text!
Just rubbish