X Marks the Scot - An on-line community of kilt wearers.

   X Marks Partners - (Go to the Partners Dedicated Forums )
USA Kilts website Celtic Croft website Celtic Corner website Houston Kiltmakers

User Tag List

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 21

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    MacRob's Avatar
    MacRob is offline Oops, it seems this member needs to update their email address
    Join Date
    30th January 10
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    150
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Dughlas mor View Post
    That is a good looking sword, and the price looks pretty reasonable. Fit and finish look good, and the weight and dimensions look about right. What do you think of the quality of the blade?
    It is a backsword, of course. The quality of the blade appears to be on par with most MR blades I have had the chance to examine. There are ripples in the finish which is expected on a blade at this price point but no more than usual. The balance point is 4.5 inches from the guard, the blade is 1.75 inches wide at the hilt tapering down to .75 inches at the point. The sword is quite lively in the hand, being narrow and at 33 inches swings well. I just wish they would make the baskets smaller. They are way too large, even for a sword from the mid-18th c. when baskets tended to be a little larger than the pre-Culloden era swords. The difference in size is painfully obvious in the photo I included of the 1735 era sword compared to the POS hilt. Harvey Withers' book illustrates one of these swords with back and side views. The side view looks very much like the MR replica but when you look at the back view the width of the original is much narrower. Oh well, there are always custom makers out there.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    21st July 14
    Location
    Burien Washington USA
    Posts
    1,086
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Well, it looks like other than the size of the basket it is a very nice sword at a pretty good price. MR and Windlass seem to be putting out some consistently good products at good prices these days. Thanks for your informative response, and enjoy your new sword!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    14th March 12
    Location
    Risingsun Ohio, USA
    Posts
    498
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    That almost makes me wish I reenacted that period. Just a note on the basket: MRL tends to make slight modifications to some of their designs based on the needs of the reenactment community. Many of the reenactment groups out there require the wearing of heavily padded gloves. That makes fitting the hand in a regularly sized basket a bit troublesome. I actually had a bit of a problem fitting my fighting gloves into the basket on my later period sword. Just a thought.
    Keep your rings charged, pleats in the back, and stay geeky!
    https://kiltedlantern.wixsite.com/kiltedlantern

  4. #4
    MacRob's Avatar
    MacRob is offline Oops, it seems this member needs to update their email address
    Join Date
    30th January 10
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    150
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    That could be the case but I do not think they are making the swords with reenactors in mind.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    17th June 11
    Location
    metro Chicago, USA
    Posts
    1,260
    Mentioned
    12 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Some time back it was this good fortune (?) to purchase a French 1800 pattern Light Cavaly Sabre with "lite" documentary provenance of coming from a Belgian barn in the vicinity of Waterloo.

    Comparing with the basket-hilt sword above, the Frenchie's "basket" is only composed of several steel bands from guard to pommel. It is this understanding, most cavalry wore heavy gloves with gauntlets after the time in history when arm-armour was "forsaken."

    What the French sabre is though, some traits shared, some not, with the basket-hilt: not elegant, not outrageously well-balanced...

    ...but a fearsome weapon.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    19th December 14
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    26
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

  7. The Following 5 Users say 'Aye' to NZ Marty For This Useful Post:


  8. #7
    Join Date
    13th May 05
    Location
    Native Texan, now located in W. KY/TN
    Posts
    1,002
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by NZ Marty View Post
    Now THAT is a proper basket hilted broadsword. I'll bet it is remarkably light and flexible compared to the modern attempts at a replica too. All originals that I have handled and owned certainly were.
    Last edited by Mike S; 25th December 14 at 02:56 PM.
    My Clans: Guthrie, Sinclair, Sutherland, MacRae, McCain-Maclachlan, MacGregor-Petrie, Johnstone, Hamilton, Boyd, MacDonald-Alexander, Patterson, Thompson. Welsh:Edwards, Williams, Jones. Paternal line: Brandenburg/Prussia.
    Proud member: SCV/Mech Cav, MOSB.

  9. The Following 2 Users say 'Aye' to Mike S For This Useful Post:


  10. #8
    Join Date
    21st July 14
    Location
    Burien Washington USA
    Posts
    1,086
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Very nice indeed. It looks to be in pretty good condition. Thanks for the pics!

  11. #9
    Join Date
    14th January 10
    Posts
    159
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike S View Post
    Now THAT is a proper basket hilted broadsword. I'll bet it is remarkably light and flexible compared to the modern attempts at a replica too. All originals that I have handled and owned certainly were.
    The three Armour Class replicas I have are shockingly light in the blade. They handle a lot more like a fencing saber than the iron bars foisted off on buyers as low-end swords.

  12. The Following User Says 'Aye' to Mike M. For This Useful Post:


  13. #10
    Join Date
    9th December 08
    Location
    Okanagan valley BC
    Posts
    586
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Congrats on the sword it looks great. But that original is just awesome. Thanks for sharing guys!
    Regards David

  14. The Following User Says 'Aye' to David Dubh For This Useful Post:


Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

» Log in

User Name:

Password:

Not a member yet?
Register Now!
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.0