Hanwei Practical Longsword?

[Sir Edward]

Yes, it's a sickness. You can never have too many Albions. That's how it begins... you only need one. Then you find another one you like just as much, in a completely different way. Then you realize that the ones you have a great cutters, but you don't have a good harnessfechten thruster. And so on...

[Sir William]

Yes, and the disease is compounded by all of the beauties they hold in their catalog...you could start by wanting one from specific eras, then you'll find that you'll want one from each of the Oakeshott typologies- that is what I am currently struggling with.  LOL

[Sir Edward]

... and then you decide you want a sharp and a blunt of similar characteristics...

... and then you move on to scabbards.

[Sir Brian]

Pity I only have one extra kidney to sell in order to buy them all...unless I can convince others to sell one of their kidneys to help feed my addiction! 

So which Albion is considered the best at kidney extraction? 

[Sir William]

For me, it is a no-brainer- the Knight.  It is their pound-for-pound champ in my book.  That or the Kingmaker...now the Knight's a type XII, your archetypal knightly sword and the Kingmaker's a type XVIII- my two favorite typologies of them all.

But you, being a rather large and imposing knight, might prefer one of their bastard swords...in which case I have only ever loved two...the Crecy and the Duke.  Between the two, the Crecy is the finesse blade, the Duke is the tank.  At least...that was my impression.

You might also consider their Squire Line swords...I'm interested in the 15thC bastard and the 13thC knightly...at about 60% of the price of their Signature Line, definitely worth taking a look at.

[Sir Edward]

The Baron is their other tank. I love that sword, as it's beefy and it's a mean cutter, but it's not my favorite of the ones I have.

Amongst the longswords, The Landgraf is one of my favorites. The Talhoffer is a great thruster for harnessfechten stuff, with a great feel. With the single-handers, the Knight is excellent (and cuts well). But the Chevalier is very pretty and feels great in the hand.

The Crecy is an excellent "jack of all trades", and I'm glad I have it, but it's also nice to have others that are more optimized for various roles. But it's also a good cutter for learning good cutting technique, so when I start cutting again, I'll probably start with that one.

I don't have it (Bill does), but that Count is surprisingly nice in the hand. I'd be tempted to get one.

But one of my favorite longswords that I don't have is the Munich. Oh man, now that is a nice sword. The only reason I don't have it, is that I already have the very similar CF/Atrim Bayersiches sword.

[Sir William]

For my part, I'm going with a Lundemo custom for my next big sword purchase...I'm going to design it and have him realize it in steel (and leather and wood).  His prices are very comparable to Albion's...and he's such an easy going guy; been dying for one of his swords for years.  It wasn't until last year that I found out his pricing was such...had I known, I'd have had one of his creations at my hip instead of the ARN.  Not that I'm complaining, I love that sword.

[Joshua Santana]

Speaking of Albions, the Castellan, Count, Steward, Constable, Mercenary, and Crecy are on my list of Swords to order.  One disappointment that I found out if that swords such as the Talhoffer, Ringeck, Fiore, Earl, Sempach, Agincourt and Landgraf would be too big for me (the swords are in the range of 48' to 45'.  This also comes from my instructor's input on which Albions to purchase that would be a hindrance  since I stand at 5'1)

But on the bright side, this would make it easier to create a 14th Century Persona with either a Count or Steward (War Sword Lover!)  Or a Late 15th - Early 16th Century Persona using the Bastard (Hand and a Half) Swords with superb ease!  (As you can see, it is alot more fun when you can create two Personas along with two Kits!)

[Sir Wolf]

some of the A&A swords would fit you better then. such as the henry 5th which is just awesome!

[Sir William]

Sir Joshua, Sir Wolf has a point...the A&A Henry V sword is a short type XVIII, diamond cross section, hollow ground to reduce weight (the earliest Henry V's were not hollow ground, resulting in a slightly heavier, and more forward blade presence) and I believe it is less than 33" in overall length, with a 26" blade?  Wolf can elaborate on it probably.

At your height, the sword will not only suit your stroke, but would also look appropo at your side.

[Sir Edward]

The museum piece they modeled it after was actually hollow-ground, but it's true that not all swords of this type are. With the diamond cross-section it has a very light and agile feel. Even more-so with the hollow-ground blade.

I have the hollow-ground version and I love it.

[Sir William]

On another forum I'm a member of, saw a sweet Atrim shorty that Lee's Armoury used to stock...DD1403c; there were three, DD1403a was a two-handed longsword, DD1403b was a bastard and the 1403c which was the shortie.  One of the forumites picked it up years ago and personalized it...been tryin to talk him into selling it as it is a long discontinued model.  LOL

[Joshua Santana]

some of the A&A swords would fit you better then. such as the henry 5th which is just awesome!

Of course Sir Wolf!

A&A Henry V sword is a short type XVIII, diamond cross section, hollow ground to reduce weight (the earliest Henry V's were not hollow ground, resulting in a slightly heavier, and more forward blade presence) and I believe it is less than 33" in overall length, with a 26" blade?  Wolf can elaborate on it probably.

At your height, the sword will not only suit your stroke, but would also look appropo at your side.

That is exactly why it would work for me and expect me weliding it in a future production of Shakespeare's Henry V shouting on a horse "Once more unto the breach dear friends!  Once more! Or close up the wall with our English dead!"

The museum piece they modeled it after was actually hollow-ground, but it's true that not all swords of this type are. With the diamond cross-section it has a very light and agile feel. Even more-so with the hollow-ground blade.

I have the hollow-ground version and I love it.

 

It does look that Arming swords from Albion would work fine as well as the A&A English Longsword!