Epoxy, Broken sword, and Searching

[Sir Nate]

Hail, Recently I purchased epoxy to help my sword with a loos grip, guard,and Pommel. Well While the Epoxy did its job fine it ended up lasting longer than my steel. I do not want to get into too much detail other than me doing the Sin of Hacking at wood with a sword, and my pommel broke off. The steel of the tang.
To sum up Epoxy works great Better than my blades steel.
I have been looking now at Del tins sword products.
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT2133&name=Del+Tin+Type+X+Medieval+Sword

(pics will be added soon)

[Mike W.]

Sweet Jesus! 3lbs 9oz?! That is one hell of a heavy sword...

[Sir Edward]

Sweet Jesus! 3lbs 9oz?! That is one hell of a heavy sword...

That's always been one of the criticisms of Del Tin. They make nice replicas, except for the fact that they're on the heavy side, and usually don't have enough distal taper.

Having said that, there were some examples of period swords that were also heavy cleavers. Companies that try to get it right, such as Albion or A&A, tend to model their swords after some of the better examples available, but there was a wide spectrum back in the day.

So when it comes to something like this, I think it's best to ask yourself if the weight is OK for you, and whether the replica is good enough for your tastes, at the price-point that is offered.

[Sir James A]

Happens when hitting solid wood with a "rat tail" (thin round) tang like that. You could keep the handle / hilt / crossguard and buy a new blade, but I wouldn't suggest hitting wood with it.

I'm not sure about the Del Tin tangs, but they are critical to the sword taking abuse - and hitting solid wood is indeed sword abuse.

[Sir Nate]

Ulric has informed me that the weight in del tins is heavier it isnt that bad.
Ill get it and I swear on my.... Aragorns sword I will notuse wood again when I do get a new sword.

[Sir Ulrich]

Well they're made heavier because they're made for reenacting and not "sharp sword play" they tend to make reenacting dull swords thicker on the edges for both safety and durability. If you're gonna sharpen a Del Tin it wouldnt be as nice as an Albion but still better than a Hanwei or Windlass. I would however recommend a lighter del tin as that ones quite heavy now that I check the weight, 3 pounds is acceptable but 3.9 seems a bit TOO heavy.
Heres a link to some similar swords that are made by del tin that are lighter.
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT2131&name=Del+Tin+13th+Century+Cruciform+Sword
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT2130BK&name=Del+Tin+Sword+of+St+Maurice+%2D+Black+Grip+
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DT2132&name=Del+Tin+13th+Century+Medieval+Sword
All those are relatively similar and much lighter, though I would probably save up for an Albion but thats just me. Dont waste your money on the cheapies, they're just not worth it honestly.

[Sir William]

Sweet Jesus! 3lbs 9oz?! That is one hell of a heavy sword...

If it is balanced well, you'll not notice it as much.

[Sir Edward]

Sweet Jesus! 3lbs 9oz?! That is one hell of a heavy sword...

If it is balanced well, you'll not notice it as much.

That's true, but that's part of the problem with the Del Tins. The extra weight is spread down the length of the blade, due to a lack of sufficient distal taper, so you feel all of it.

But like I said, they're not ridiculously out of spec, they're just not emulating the finer aspects of historical swords as well as Albion or A&A would. But they're significantly better than a lot of the other cheaper sword makers out there, when it comes to authenticity.

No one will look at your Del Tin and say you went with a crappy option. I'd say they're a step up from DSA, Gen2, etc. and Hanwei has gotten comparable on some models.

[Sir Nate]

What is A&A?
See ulric I just don't really like the rest of the swords they have. Im a very picky man with swords. Even albion swords has 1 or 2 single handed blades I like.
I could get over a blades weight as long as it is balanced but if it is all in the blade I will avoid it.
I just wish their was more of a selection with early 13th and 12th century swords with more of that cruciform gaurd and blade length.

[Sir William]

A&A is Arms and Armor, www.armor.com; I think they're based in Minnesota.  When it comes to swords, especially production types, the list usually goes Albion, A&A then all the rest.  Unlike Albion, which crafts their swords to suit a specific period in time, A&A makes replicas of specific swords.  Two of their more popular models are the Edward III type XVIII and the Black Prince type XV; I do not recall ever handling an A&A piece, but I will someday.

[Sir James A]

Also worthy of note, there is some overlap between Albion and A&A but there are many things that only one of the two make.

[Sir Nate]

I was look at A&A but there selectionis small and more expensive. Plus albion seems more.......small company.

[Sir William]

Naythan, its actually the opposite- A&A is the smaller outfit and price-wise they're pretty comparable.  The level of finish might be slightly lesser in an A&A sword- and I say that only due to the reviews of both catalogs that I've read, not from personal experience.

[Sir Nate]

Naythan, its actually the opposite- A&A is the smaller outfit and price-wise they're pretty comparable.  The level of finish might be slightly lesser in an A&A sword- and I say that only due to the reviews of both catalogs that I've read, not from personal experience.

ah. Well I've actually taken time to look at hanwei, its not out the ball bark but Im unsure about there products

[Sir Edward]

A&A is really awesome, because they make a lot of the more "difficult" types of swords that Albion doesn't do currently. Plus, they do polearms, and take custom orders as well. Their product has a more hand-made sort of finish to it than some others, but in a very authentic way. Plus they have access to a lot of historical originals, to replicate the details.