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Main => The Armoury => Topic started by: Sir Ulrich on 2014-04-15, 00:15:00
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Well Joe Metz was selling an Albion Ritter for a good price, once I had the money I decided to buy this as I wanted this one Del Tin but it was 420 dollars, for 525 I got the Ritter instead, might as well of done that because Albion is top Quality. Honestly I like this sword a lot, it's much less wide than the Reeve but it's about the same weight. Maybe it's a bit heavier due to being longer. This thing is MASSIVE, obviously a horseman's sword.
(http://i.imgur.com/ph83EmQ.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/kJuUvL2.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/AfM35Si.jpg)
It has a flat crossguard but I aint complaining cause I have seen examples like this with that and I prefer the flat crossguard to the round one. Makes it a bit more unique anyway. Only complaint I have is the grips a bit rough and abrasive maybe I need gloves to use this one unlike my Reeve. Still need a scabbard thinking a bit on what I want there. Maybe I will go to Ron Johnson again as his prices were fine and I really liked the fact it was lined with wool to keep it from rusting in storage. Plan to use this with my Teutonic outfit and my Reeve with my heraldic outfit.
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Nice acquisition! Congrats!
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What a great price for a high quality weapon!
I’ve never seen this particular piece in person and thus never realized its massive presence. You’re “sword in hand” photograph really helps put it all into perspective. 8)
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That's the same price he sold his Senlac to me for. It's quite opportunistic as Albions rarely hit the market, and even more rarely for that low a price.
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That blade is enormous. A true Type XI example indeed!
Its stats say it's surprisingly light despite its rather massive-looking blade. (2.57 pounds)
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The more I handle it the more I get used to the grip so that problems pretty much gone. My guess is the handles were dry and the oils in my hand sorta makes the leather smoother or something, or it's just getting used to the feel. The blade is quite massive and I swung it around a bit outside with dry handling and it's quite imposing, feels a bit more of a heavy hitter than the Reeve does, I could easily use a weapon like this on horseback. My guess would be the Reeve is a foot soldier's sword cause it's about the same length as a viking sword. There was a difference between foot solder's swords and horseman's swords. I do like the flat guard more than I do the round one for some reason cause it has a bit of a beefier look. If it looked like the Templar's guard with the Ritter's pommel that would pretty much be the perfect sword for me at this moment, though I aint complaining I just think a beefy crossguard would make it a bit more imposing like the St Maurice Albion sword, which it's almost the same size as that one, off by about an inch, though the St Maurice one has a thicker wider blade like the Reeve.
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Only complaint I have is the grips a bit rough and abrasive maybe I need gloves to use this one unlike my Reeve.
You might find that using gloves works really well anyway. For those of us that do a lot of swordsmanship, just from the safety perspective, we're usually wearing gloves, and so for a consistent feel, it's useful to still wear them even when doing test-cutting and the like. So I've found that the smoothness or roughness of the grip really isn't that big of a deal, as long as it isn't so slippery that a leather glove has problems with gripping it (which I would think to be pretty rare).
though I aint complaining I just think a beefy crossguard would make it a bit more imposing like the St Maurice Albion sword, which it's almost the same size as that one, off by about an inch, though the St Maurice one has a thicker wider blade like the Reeve.
The St. Maurice is also extremely blade heavy. Since it's based on a specific museum piece, they replicated the weight and feel pretty precisely, and that one feels more axe-like. Albion usually tries to capture the "best" handling characteristics of each class of swords, but the originals fell into a full spectrum. The St. Maurice just happens to have a heavier feel. (It's still just under 3 pounds, but the center of gravity is at the 9" mark)
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Man I want a nice sword...must buy armor...must build soft kit...weapons come later....
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Wonderful looking sword.
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I was talking to Dr Metz about it and said I would take it if you passed on it. Congrats!
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Dang, that thing is huge! :o Congrats on the acquisition.
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Shawn, here's an in-stock ready to go scabbard for a Ritter on todstuff. Leo Todeschini, in my opinion, makes some of the finest medieval scabbards on the planet. He really nails the medieval aesthetic, and is known for historical accuracy.
It's #21 in the list.
http://www.todsstuff.co.uk/in-stock/tods-in-stock.htm (http://www.todsstuff.co.uk/in-stock/tods-in-stock.htm)
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It's actually lighter than my Reeve I just checked the weight. This thing is well balanced though it actually feels lighter than the Reeve. I probably wouldnt be able to handle that St Maurice one honestly cause 9 inches in POB sounds like it would be tricky to use glad I tend to like the ones that are well balanced like the Reeve and Ritter. I pretty much am satisfied with the amount of Albions I have now as the pommel types I prefer tend to be more rarely made. Still think this sword would look even cooler with the Albion Templar's crossguard though.
That scabbard looks nice I wish I had the money in my account to pay for it right away I would assume it adds up to 680 from what I gather I dont have much left in my paypal balance. May have to ask my parents to loan me some though I dont know if the belt would fit me cause I got a 29 inch waist 32 with all my padding and maille on. Though new holes can always be punched. May just email him about it as it isnt a bright color and looks rather aged from the small pic I saw with the brown and darker red. Hopefully those colors are acceptable for a Teutonic impression.
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h8 u lol niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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The stats on that sword are near identical with those of Irae (my Arn sword) - it is a large sword, but well balanced and a joy to wield. Definitely would shine from on-horseback; real nice aquisition, Shawn. I'm not a fan of the cocked hat pommel but at that price, its a steal.
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The stats on that sword are near identical with those of Irae (my Arn sword) - it is a large sword, but well balanced and a joy to wield. Definitely would shine from on-horseback; real nice aquisition, Shawn. I'm not a fan of the cocked hat pommel but at that price, its a steal.
That is why I like the Arn sword better, The pommel ruins it for me.
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That's a fantastic price for a great quality sword, congrats!
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After an hour of dry handling both swords outside I can conclude the Reeve is indeed heavier than the Ritter. Only slightly though, I like both swords though the Reeve has a thicker handle than the Ritter. I actually like how light they both are and both feel quite good in my hand. I actually like the Cocked Hat pommel type for some reason round ones never appeal much to me and look plain, only like them on type XIV swords. I also handled the Templar at DoK 2 and for some reason that one I didn't like how it handled, felt a little blade heavy to me, I am rather glad the swords I liked the most happen to be ones that I can handle the best too. Only real complaint I have is as I said the rough grip and the fact it's black, I would of went for brown myself but I did see 13th century period art with black gripped swords shoes scabbards and belts. Though black leather I DONT think was used in the earlier medieval period, for my period it should be fine as I know they used iron filings to make black dye for leather.
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After an hour of dry handling both swords outside I can conclude the Reeve is indeed heavier than the Ritter. Only slightly though, I like both swords though the Reeve has a thicker handle than the Ritter. I actually like how light they both are and both feel quite good in my hand. I actually like the Cocked Hat pommel type for some reason round ones never appeal much to me and look plain, only like them on type XIV swords. I also handled the Templar at DoK 2 and for some reason that one I didn't like how it handled, felt a little blade heavy to me, I am rather glad the swords I liked the most happen to be ones that I can handle the best too. Only real complaint I have is as I said the rough grip and the fact it's black, I would of went for brown myself but I did see 13th century period art with black gripped swords shoes scabbards and belts. Though black leather I DONT think was used in the earlier medieval period, for my period it should be fine as I know they used iron filings to make black dye for leather.
Black leather was certainly used in the earlier medieval period, though it wasn't as common, and a lot of reenactment/living history groups discourage its use.
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I checked it out in the light, the leather is not like a solid black. But it has a few brown bits in it. Apparently it's really dark brown almost black it's like it almost has brown bands with black dye too. Quite a cool effect honestly. Though black wont look bad with my teutonic outfit even if people discourage it.
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I checked it out in the light, the leather is not like a solid black. But it has a few brown bits in it. Apparently it's really dark brown almost black it's like it almost has brown bands with black dye too. Quite a cool effect honestly. Though black wont look bad with my teutonic outfit even if people discourage it.
In a way, that's much better. Medieval black dyes were really a very dark brown. Modern dyes are too pure. :)
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I checked it out in the light, the leather is not like a solid black. But it has a few brown bits in it. Apparently it's really dark brown almost black it's like it almost has brown bands with black dye too. Quite a cool effect honestly. Though black wont look bad with my teutonic outfit even if people discourage it.
In a way, that's much better. Medieval black dyes were really a very dark brown. Modern dyes are too pure. :)
I like a sword grip black, But I like a belt or scabbard brown.
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You got an amazing deal on that sword. I was very tempted myself, but don't need another early sword. I bought his bare Albion Poitiers blade instead.
Question on black dye. Why is it discouraged? Black dye is one of the easiest to make with period ingrediants. I used to make it by the gallon. With good veg tanned leather, it will make it as black as night. However, with long exposure to the sun and air, it will begin to fade all the way out to chocolate brown. There may be a misconception that it did not look black when new based on the look of period pieces.
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I'm inclined to agree that the "lack of black" in period is a modern reenactorism misconception. At least to the scale that people seem to think. On textiles anyway, it was probably just cost prohibitive for most people. I've not seen any of the English Sumptuary Laws address black specifically though. They do address how expensive the bolt of fabric used for your clothes can be though. It's all based on your annual income and holdings.
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Yes, I think there's a bit of a misconception out there. Nothing seems to indicate that it was banned or controlled in period, except that it may have been more expensive than most other colors, and culturally I think bright colors were more highly prized.
But it's also possible that there is a fear that if they allow black, then almost everyone will use it, when instead at an event there should be a much higher proportion of other colors.
I also suspect that the modern avoidance of it may have come about at a time when there was less information about it, so people tried to stick to what was more well known. Once a "rule" is there, it tends to persist.
So it could be a lot of different things.
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Dyeing cloth in black was very expensive. It required the combination of many colors to come out with a deep black. That is why it tended to be limited to the more afluent clergy members.
Black leather dye, on the other hand, is just iron filings disolved in white vinegar.
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I vaguely recall the fabric dyes color being related to status, but in that the wealthy had their fabrics dyed first, and got a nice, deep color. As financial status went down, your fabric might be dyed in a third, fourth, fifth "run" from that dye bath... and so on. Each run of dye made the dye less potent, leaving the subdued / faded colors.
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I'd say black leather was probably more common than black clothing. I saw many examples of black leather on the Maciejowski bible which I would think too many reenactors actually discourage it's use and I agree with Sir Ian on it probably being more common than most reenactors give it credit for. Though I think the black would be more of a super dark brown and not as "pure" as modern black dye.
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I'dThough I think the black would be more of a super dark brown and not as "pure" as modern black dye.
Sir Ulrich, the period black dye I have made will turn good vegetable tanned leather as black as tar. If it is kept oiled it will retain its blackness for a long time. As it drys, or is exposed to the elements, it will begin to lighten to a deep chocolate brown. The dye is the color or dark beer, and works on a chemical process on dry veg tanned leather to turn it black. There is no pigment in the dye. If the leather is dirty, or has been contaminated with geasy fingers, the dye does not "take" as well.
Sir Humphery