My only complaint is that their hilts loosen up easily. I find their blades to be satisfactory. Obviously the first makers named are top of the line, but if you're like me and can't afford $500+ swords, Windlass is good.
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newbie question: sword quality
- Thread starter dadarrow
- Start date
Cold Steel: I have the 1796 Light Cavalry Sabre and I'm pleased with it. It's sturdy and a powerful cutter.
Windlass: I have a few Windlass pieces. I think they're reasonably alright for the money. Edge holding ability could be improved and I think some of them are tempered a little on the soft side, BUT I've never broken one. I abused a Windlass Scottish Medieval Sword by re-enacting many of the stunts seen in the CS Proof videos and it performed well. The pommels DO tend to get loose though.
Windlass: I have a few Windlass pieces. I think they're reasonably alright for the money. Edge holding ability could be improved and I think some of them are tempered a little on the soft side, BUT I've never broken one. I abused a Windlass Scottish Medieval Sword by re-enacting many of the stunts seen in the CS Proof videos and it performed well. The pommels DO tend to get loose though.
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- Mar 23, 2000
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The main thing with isn't the blades but the tangs which is of coarse the part you can't see. As in the case of the hand and a half if the pommel seperates during cutting the blade will fly off and this may or may not be a issue....depending on who is standing around 
The main thing with isn't the blades but the tangs which is of coarse the part you can't see. As in the case of the hand and a half if the pommel seperates during cutting the blade will fly off and this may or may not be a issue....depending on who is standing around
I resolved that issue on the Windlass Scottish Medieval Sword by screwing the pommel firmly onto the threaded tang and drilling a 1/8" hole through the side of the pommel, through the tang, and through the other side. Then I tapped in a mild steel 1/8" thick pin and peened it on both sides.
Problem solved.
I got the idea from the pommel of my kabar.
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The issue with the hand and a half wasn't the pommel unscrewing but the threaded piece welded to the tang breaking, it may not have failed had they threaded the tang.
Your fix would not have corrected this. Actually all you needed to do was use some locktight but what you did is certainly effective. Just a side note the Kabar pommel is pushed on not threaded on.
A threaded tang is much less likely to fail than a piece of allthread welded to the tang. Angus trim swords use a threaded tang and I have yet to here of one failing.
Yes I know, but I got the idea of pinning the pommel from the kabar.
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A question: shouldn't the sword be good, without any need for fixing things, right out of the box?.... Then, I guess Windlass is still far from being labeled as "battle ready".
Indeed you are correct. I consider the Windlass blades battle-ready but you may need to tinker with the hilts.
For the price, the blades are worth it I think, but then... "You get what you pay for."
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Indeed you should be able to.
Windlass swords are high low end swords about on par with Del Tin. Quality and workmanship can be up and down at times.
If you want a "Working" sword then look to Albion, A&A or Angus Trim.
Albions are expensive but well worth every penny and then some.
The same with A&A.
Angus Trims are less expensive. The fit and finish tends to be a little rougher (at least the earlier ones) but the blades and assembly are very good. They're more high performance rather than Historical.
Windlass swords have come along ways but they have a wase to go before they catch up to what's available in the US.
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- Sep 24, 2007
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I looked at all three companies web sites - thank you for pointing them out. I recall seeing two of them before. A&A does look impressive - also some rapiers of Windlass do look similar to the ones on the A&A site. Angus Trim, however looks too modern to my taste - also all their sabers look like ... well, curved straight swords 
. It was the first time that I looked at Albion - and it leaves nice impression - although nothing of what I searched for recently, that is shamshir. It looks like all three of these companies are mainly specialized on medieval/renaissances European swords, which is again not what I was looking for.
A question: does anyone know anything about this company:
http://www.militaryheritage.com/mamelukesword.htm
They have a nice-looking shamshir. I did e-mail them but received no answer, also called several times but the lady on the phone was unable to answer my questions as of what kind of steel is used for the blade, what are the dimensions, weight etc.
. It was the first time that I looked at Albion - and it leaves nice impression - although nothing of what I searched for recently, that is shamshir. It looks like all three of these companies are mainly specialized on medieval/renaissances European swords, which is again not what I was looking for.A question: does anyone know anything about this company:
http://www.militaryheritage.com/mamelukesword.htm
They have a nice-looking shamshir. I did e-mail them but received no answer, also called several times but the lady on the phone was unable to answer my questions as of what kind of steel is used for the blade, what are the dimensions, weight etc.
I don't think they offer the ones I bought anymore. I have the knightly hand-and-a-half, the eastern barbarian, and the barbarian two hander (facsimile of the Conan sword). The blades on mine retained their edges well and the pommels remained solid. It was the grips that loosened up. Only the eastern barbarian, with a grip solidly bolted to a full tang, didn't have this problem. Still, the fact that yours survived those tests is pretty good for a sub-$300 sword.
Indeed.
I didnt use any tatami, but I used pumpkins instead. It sliced cleanly through three medium-sized pumpkins and lodged about 1/3 of the way into a fourth.
I struck it repeatedly with force against a rigid oak post.
I wrapped some old rags around a broomhandle till it was about 5" diameter. The sword cut deeply into it and sliced through the broomhandle... not cleanly, but it bit about 3/4 of the way through it before the broomhandle snapped off.
It sliced cleanly through a styrofoam archery target of about 3'x3'x1'.
I flexed it to almost a 90 degree angle without the blade breaking or taking a set.
So I'd say a Windlass blade is battle-ready. Is it as high-quality as A&A or Albion? Certainly not. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Is it a good buy for the money? I think so. There are issues with handles/pommels becoming loose but they're not that hard to remedy.
The Windlass I own which has impressed me the most is the Greek Hoplite Sword. The blade seems more or less historically accurate but the hilt seems to me to be a modern interpretation. It's a very fast-handling and stout little sword which cuts like a champ. Edge retention is better than any other Windlass blade I've encountered. Again though; the handle/pommel gets loose. That's okay though because I bought it for the blade and plan on making my own hilt for it.