Hawkyns Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Re- the Armour Class swords. I own 3, the shell and ring guard hanger, an earlier version of the tower hanger proto mort, and the Irish hilt. I have them all with the combat blunt blades and I just can't say enough about these weapons. Over the last few years I've put them through a lot of combat scenarios against other blades, musket butts and barrels, and pikes and halberds. They have held up far better than I would ever have expected. No saw-blading, bending or any hint of blade failure, the grips are all still tight, and the bindings still in place. The weapons I've put them up against acan not say the same, however. All the american made 'combat' blades they've gone up against have serious nicks on the blades. I will say that these blades are not particularly for inexperienced combattants. They are a bit heavier than your normal combat blade and require a strong wrist, especially to do a full swing and then stop before contact. The Irish hilt in particular is a very heavy piece and requires wrist and arm to manoeuver. On the other hand, there is very little than can stop a sweep or wide parry from this one. The edges and points are rounded to as reasonable a safety margin as can be expected with a weapon designed to hit people. Mke no mistake, though, an overplayed cut or a thrust that is not pulled will do damage to your opponent. if you are serious about stage or re-enactment combat these are the blades for you. They will not do fast, showy, wrist flick moves, but will give a solid feel of real combat that needs whole body involvement. Hawkyns Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl I do what I do for my own reasons. I do not require anyone to follow me. I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs. if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorg Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 That tower hanger be a nice piece.... :) Drop a kitten six feet, and she grins... Drop an elephant six feet, and ya gots yerself a mess ta clean up.... Sometimes bein' the biggest and most powerful is the LAST thing you wanna be..... Mad Ozymandias Zorg the Unsnottered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Maria Posted May 17, 2004 Author Share Posted May 17, 2004 It's the older brother saber... the hilts are very similar. I saw Van Helsing over the weekend. The gaurd on the cutlass in question is the same as mine. The blade on it however is no doubt aircraft aluminum as are all movie swords are nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PirateQueen Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 <snip>Eddie Floyd <snip> also does custom work, such as this version he made for the wife of one of the SFI members: If it's custom, then he must have fashioned a blade for an existing basket/pommel? The one in the pic is similar to the one offered by Museum Replicas: I have this one, and it's lovely! (Have had it for several years now.) Melusine de la Mer "Well behaved women rarely make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Frye Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 <snip>Eddie Floyd <snip> also does custom work, such as this version he made for the wife of one of the SFI members: ... If it's custom, then he must have fashioned a blade for an existing basket/pommel? The one in the pic is similar to the one offered by Museum Replicas: ... I have this one, and it's lovely! (Have had it for several years now.) I'm not sure I'm altogether following you, PirateQueen, but I believe the answer to your question is in the portion of my post that you "snipped". Eddie Floyd designed and made the original on which the Museum Replica cutlasses are based. So yes, the customer in effect said "I'd like one with that basket, but a different blade and grip covering." Presumably Mr. Floyd made another basket in the same design for this sword. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PirateQueen Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Eddie Floyd designed and made the original on which the Museum Replica cutlasses are based. Thank you for the clarification! At first reading, your earlier post wasn't clear to me on that score, but upon a second glance, I do believe you mentioned this when you said, "He designed it, and made the prototype for Hank Reinhard back when he headed MRL, IIRC." Those acronyms didn't click when I read it the first time, but now they do! *smile* It's a nicely designed cutlass. Melusine de la Mer "Well behaved women rarely make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Iron Faith Cutler Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 I received my cutlass from 5StarDeal, and though it looks very nice and has a good heft, the handle is loose so the whole thing rotates a quarter turn and the blade is therefore loose. Can't say I'm thrilled. I will have to see about returning it for a replacement because it's definitely not safe as is. Bummer... I mean, "Arr! Scurvy bilge rats! I'll have ye hides flogged fer this!" Iron Faith A pyrate's life for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMORIST Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Can you tightin it at the back of the handle? OH YEA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Iron Faith Cutler Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Brilliant! You're right...the pommel screws in. How quaint! Well, I'm off to plunder me some Texas tourist RVs now... A pyrate's life for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Maria Posted May 21, 2004 Author Share Posted May 21, 2004 Yeah mine was a bit loose when I got it. Things can shift in shipping. All I did is tighten it and it's been a dream since. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkyns Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 I always put a leather washer between the pommel and the grip. Cut it out of 6-8 oz leather (heavy belt weight), cut to shape, punch a hole for the tang to go through and then put everything back together. The leather acts as a compression washer and stops things loosening up all the time. If I have a blade that rattles at the hilt, I will put a similar washer between the blade's ricasso shoulder and the point of contact with the guard. Hawkyns Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl I do what I do for my own reasons. I do not require anyone to follow me. I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs. if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumba Rue Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 Ah, Maria, I had to chuckle over this, you see Boats got his identical sword at a Palm Springs faire one year for $35.00. Rumba Rue ** ** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkyns Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 Didja notice that Anna in VanHelsing carried a saber that looked similar to this cutlass? I haven't seen the movie but I have been told that it is similar to my cutlass. Proably something Tony Swanton cooked up using a cutlass like mine but with an aluminum blade. I saw the movie last night. To me, the hilt looked a bit more like a schiavona than the cutlass cage hilt, and the blade was a bit longer. VERY eastern european in the blade and scabbard, though. Hmmm..... I've got a schivaona hilt on noe of my schlagers. Wonder if I can pick up a decent sabre blade and scabbard and mate the two? Got to look into this. Hawkyns Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl I do what I do for my own reasons. I do not require anyone to follow me. I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs. if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorg Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 Aye, just saw the film, and it indeedy seems to be a schiavona, or maybe a german hilt from the same line of swords (very late 1500s through the 17th cent.) Appropriate for eastern europe, the italians adopted the hilt from slovenian and bulgarian mercenaries, and from there the style apparently went to scotland by way of german swordsmiths. Its apparently the origin of the scots basket hilt. Drop a kitten six feet, and she grins... Drop an elephant six feet, and ya gots yerself a mess ta clean up.... Sometimes bein' the biggest and most powerful is the LAST thing you wanna be..... Mad Ozymandias Zorg the Unsnottered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Frye Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 Aye, just saw the film, and it indeedy seems to be a schiavona, or maybe a german hilt from the same line of swords (very late 1500s through the 17th cent.) Appropriate for eastern europe, the italians adopted the hilt from slovenian and bulgarian mercenaries, and from there the style apparently went to scotland by way of german swordsmiths. Its apparently the origin of the scots basket hilt. I haven't got my ducks in a row at the moment, but baskethilts were under development in northern Europe through the sixteenth century. The development of the schiavona in southern Europe was indepent of this, though there may have been some sharing of the basic idea. There's no indication that I know of that the Scottish baskethilt derived from the schiavona that is recognized by current scholarship, though there were authors in the past that had suggested it. The main factor driving the development of baskethilts of all sorts during this period appears to have been the declining use of armour and with it the armoured gauntlets that had previously protected the hand. (Not that armour was abandoned altogether--it was still around for a good while and, in a sense, is still with us today.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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