Beautiful and Functional: The Tai Chi Saber from Swords of Northshire

Where to buy it (affiliate link): shrsl.com/2rcv4
** Specifications **
Overall length: 125 cm / 49 in
Blade length: 95 cm / 37.4 in
Blade width: 3.5 cm / 1.38 in
Blade thickness: 5.5 mm / 0.216 in at the guard, tapering to 1.5 mm / 0.06 in
Point of balance: 12 cm / 4.7 in from the guard
Weight: 1.3 kg /
Blade material: 1095 high carbon steel
Handle material: Ebony
Hilt assembly: Pinned, full tang
** Pros / Cons **
+ Handles well in terms of weight, balance, and grip shape
+ Beautifully decorated fittings
+ Excellent finish
+ Remarkable cutting performance
- The blade becomes very thin and flexible toward the tip
- Expensive
- The guard could be more tightly fitted, considering the price
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Outro:
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[@sushanalone]

That Chinese Ring-Pommel is meant to catch an unscrewed European pommel thrown at you! Your only defence.....only a pommel could stop a pommel

[@idontwanttoputmyname403]

Unstoppable Force meets an immovable object

[@creaturetransylvania8943]

Ani't the ring used to hang the sword?

[@md_vandenberg]

@@creaturetransylvania8943 Wait... did you take sushanalone's comment seriously? Pro tip: if something sounds batshit, it probably is.

[@adjothemodest]

You are a genius!!!

[@creaturetransylvania8943]

@@md_vandenberg Wait was it a joke?

[@raphlvlogs271]

The hilt indicates that it was a post-medieval European influenced sword design.

[@cassiehoalaia9179]

Now something from ArchangelSteel or True Katana

[@CharlieVrallstak]

I always love when you say "I dont know if you can see this" and in that exact moment you manage to show what you are talking about just perfect xDD

[@taylor_green_9]

Yes, the wiggle in the guard was quite visible

[@dedmete]

"very nice wood, feels very good in the hand."

[@Y4ngCP]

nice one... grab my log...

[@FablesScribe]

Why...xD

[@heroesytumbas]

You know the saying: "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

[@tsumikiayato1560]

That's what she said

[@markusallen102]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@2lazyt378]

Watching you talk about swords makes me happy for some reason

[@brandonpowell8631]

Me too. It's not like I'm going to be getting a sword or any other arms and armor type thing in the next five years except for maybe a staff. Skal is an interesting host for sure. Really loved his video on Otzi. Check it out if you haven't.

[@SetuwoKecik]

I mean, its about a man who's enjoyed his hobby to the fullest, amirite 😹

[@RyllenKriel]

Those hobbits from Northshire make decent blades.

[@potatomatop9326]

I'm gonna quit my job and go on a quest to kill dragons rightnow.

[@weldonwin]

Or at the least become a bandit king

[@bustinlol1987]

Goblin slaying would be hard for beginners so I wouldn’t advise it

[@weldonwin]

@@bustinlol1987 I still say becoming a Bandit King or Warlord would be more fun. Especially since they tend to get the most badass looking ornate black and gold armor, without having to go full on Dark Lord

[@shlamimk4664]

@@bustinlol1987🎤 I don't want to see you in bed b-b-be-be-bed with the Goblin! 🎵🎶🎵

[@shlamimk4664]

Guess the reference for a thousand points!!!

[@EpicWorkshop]

Cool video Skall, but those cons are too much, especially for the price tag...

[@planescaped]

Yeah... the wobbleyness kills it for me. Having a wobbly blade is part and parcel of Wushu unfortunately. Goes back to when the Mao regime banned stiff blades for martial arts use, so they had to use "Wushu" steel. The ban was around for a long time so many people, even Chinese people, think Chinese swords are supposed to be floppy, but they're not. I am not sure if the ban still applies though, so it's shame they still bother, because... well... Wushu weapons really suck. They were designed to suck and be unusable for actual combat because China were super paranoid about uprisings during the early communist days... This one seems like more functional wushu steel, but it's still wushu. If you ever see the word wushu in a weapon, run away. I know there are specific wushu martial arts schools now but, eww... I think it might be still that they are only able to sell wushu weapons in China, any non wushu weapon made in China is for export.

[@Shenzhou.]

@@planescaped It's not just in communist mainland China alone that Mao Zedong that banned "stiff" wushu blades. Even in Taiwan, they use floppy blades in Wushu, just like Hong Kong before its handover back to mainland China. I mean, if you watch some old Hong Kong and Taiwan movies, the floppy swords were already around, just like in mainland China.

[@GuyWithBadHair]

The brass metalwork looks like tin foil from a distance 😆

[@harpyeagle5107]

Or like it's gold glitter glued on

[@duchi882]

*For some reason* I find Chinese swords beautiful

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Not quite so overrated as a certain Japanese sword? Or maybe it’s just a pretty good sword.

[@Dingus_Khaan]

They're typically tastefully decorated, and many are nice and curvy. They have that East-Asian charm without the weeb stigma of Japanese blades. My personal favorite is the dadao.

[@weldonwin]

I'm very fond of the Dao style swords, since they have a wonderfully elegant and beautiful curve to them, while still being very robust and functional, as well as being very versatile. A Scholar's Sword is for a gentlemanly duelist, a Katana is for a highly trained warrior and a Dao is for a citizen soldier who has a life outside of fighting

[@theghosthero6173]

Also it seems this sword is inspired from some early republican or late Qing sword with a similar handle and blade, but they were rarer than the clip point dadao

[@semcorda]

Your comment looks like you started a haiku. Lack of last verse was a bit disappointing :)

[@isinaitor]

This sword appears in the manga blood and steel (it not a japanese manga i think its from a chinese author with japanese influence )

[@SabirKhan-wu6je]

Called a Manhua then

[@LV_427]

The sword used by the Wudang grandmaster, isn't it?

[@isinaitor]

@@SabirKhan-wu6je true

[@isinaitor]

@@LV_427 exactly

[@CaliburovX4]

Sabir Khan Isn’t Manhua Korean?

[@Y0G0FU]

i allways like how you barely see the flexing on the normal cam but when you go to slowmo it just wobbles furiously :P

[@weswolever7477]

You should do a series of clobbering videos testing the effectiveness and durability of various scabbards

[@ciarfah]

Wes Wolever that's quite funny. Perhaps sparring with a sword vs its scabbard too

[@arx3516]

@@ciarfah sword in main hand and scabbard in the off hand?

[@navigatorofnone]

That would be an epic fight, but would completely destroy the scabbard. But if that ever happens, one would still be able to use the remnants of its metal parts as improvised scabbard.

[@Wingzero90939]

I think most military sabers would win since they often come in metal scabbards.

[@michaelc.4321]

That sword is better than me. I am neither beautiful nor functional!

[@tomwhite4085]

Now I just want spaghetti for dinner

[@heroesytumbas]

Bootleg ninja/He-Man action figures from the 80's used to include this type of sword.

[@virgosintellect]

Crom laughs at your four winds.

[@80Kpml08]

S-guards were not uncommon in southern chinese daos

[@navigatorofnone]

KLousyfolds it’s a custom job.

[@80Kpml08]

@@navigatorofnone I'm aware. I'm just saying that s and d guards aren't unheard of in east and southeast asian swords, as opposed to the belief of some that all single edged swords of that region had disc guards.

[@qwerfa]

I think he meant that it was large compared to other S shaped guard he'd seen.

[@80Kpml08]

@@qwerfa I never mentioned anything about size so I can't really see how that's relevant.

[@jort93z]

@@80Kpml08 well, i don't think skall said anything about s shaped guards being unusual either(or did he?) He just said he has not seen chinese swords with a guard that large.

[@sevenproxies4255]

The man hours that went into the hand carvings definitely adds to the price. The version without carvings is significantly cheaper, but the blade will probably perform just as well.

[@jort93z]

But if you read the specs the blade has significantly different measurements. Might not be made with such care and have a much worse geometry. Maybe different hardening process too, less experienced smith, who knows. Its definitly not the same blade.

[@TheGurumash]

Looks like a military officer's sword to me. Like it's mostly for decoration such as when in your finer dress uniform, but still functional to where you could very much still cut down fools with it.

[@Y4ngCP]

yeah, for execute traitors :v

[@planescaped]

It's a wushu weapon, so it would bend beyond use after downing a couple of guys at most. They're not actually functional. They were meant as a compromise for Chinese martial artists when the communist government banned bladed weapons in china. They're great for cutting tatami and practing martial arts... but in actual combat they're designed to fail. I'd personally never buy a wushu steel weapon. the floppy blades and low durability are total deal breakers. I'd love this sword if it were made with an actual decent steel. I don't even know if the ban on normal blades is still in effect in China, so I don't know why wushu has stuck around. Might be that they can still only sell wushu weapons in china, and normal ones for export.

[@DontKeeptheFaith]

Why must you tease me with these expensive, beautiful swords? WHYYYY?

[@jort93z]

To be fair, swords of northshire has a lot more affordable swords as well. You can probably afford one if you wanted to.

[@NinjaRabies]

I wish I could get the bare blade and make a kriegsmesser with it. That seems like it would work out quite awesome.

[@camrendavis6650]

Fuck yes

[@jasiam7841]

What do you think about the Polish Winged Hussars saber?

[@malikhunter6203]

It's a very pretty sword. Reminds me of a few kung fu movies with that wobbly blade lol

[@abnunga]

Tai chi with a miaodao?! That seems ... odd. Would love to know whether the makers were inspired by a real form, or just threw some cool-sounding words into the title.

[@wilfdarr]

Ya. I was thinking the same. I don't know any TaiChi practitioners who would use that. WuShu maybe?

[@eagle162]

One person comment that this kind of blade is used in yang style of Tai chi.

[@planescaped]

They might be called swords of northshire but they're a chinese company/reseller.

[@wilfdarr]

@@eagle162 ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Thanks for catching that. I hadn't seen that comment. 谢谢。

[@joypog]

There is a book “the complete Tai ji dao” by Yun Zhang, the sword on the cover is exactly this.

[@CJ_F0x]

Must be the most beautiful sword I've ever seen in my life. Love the mixed looks of Dao and Messer, also two favourites of mine. They should have the finalists on Forged in Fire make swords like these.

[@fransthefox9682]

If it's indeed so beautiful, you should check out Sinosword's Luxurious LiuYe Dao.

[@grub833]

It will keel

[@ItsDaKoolaidDude]

that sword looks beautiful. *_Lets cut something fleshy with it!_*

[@ArgentavisMagnificens]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="5">0:05</a> I guess you were _Northshire_ how to pronounce that

[@aldor9357]

It kinda resembles some sabres from The Witcher 3

[@cendark]

My thoughts exatly

[@VK-sz4it]

Scoia'tael sword from witcher

[@chaotic_enby2625]

That’s a beautiful sword! Some nice inspiration for realistic fantasy sword designs.

[@Epicmonk117]

If the heavy edge is that good, the light edge must be monomolecular Yes, that's a word. It means 1 molecule thick.

[@sk84lifeMS]

r/iamverysmart material right here.

[@safariman1349]

metals dont form molecules

[@Epicmonk117]

​@@safariman1349 2 things: 1.) It's still called monomolecular 2.) They do, actually. They form ionic bonds with nonmetals (mostly oxygen and halogens), and any hunk of metal is technically just 1 big molecule.

[@safariman1349]

​@@Epicmonk117 2 things: 1.)Yeah i meant to say that they don't form molecules within a structure such as a steal sword blade but rather a metallic lattice of ions and delocalised electrons. Its not normal in chemistry to call a lattice a single molecule and nobody does that despite the technicalities. 2.) Go back to plebbit you fucking nerd.

[@Epicmonk117]

@@safariman1349 2 things: 1.) Alright, I'll give you that one 2.) no U

[@mealex303]

Looks like a Chinese butterfly sword and stretched broadsword had a baby. 😂

[@sasionx4785]

*Alex* V-i-P Actually shape of the blade is kind like a 柳叶刀(willow leaf sabre ), but the hilt and the guard is fantasy.

[@konstellashon1364]

look up Nandao

[@neonnwave1]

Out of curiosity, what is your opinion on bladed weapons with holes in the blades? I've seen a picture of an axe with a christian cross cutout in the blade, or even the sword Jet Li used in the movie 'Hero'. Would that make the blade more fragile or have any negative effects on the weapon's performance?

[@Scarlet_Soul]

For the price the quality control and steel seems off

[@DarkDragonRus]

Half of cost is clearly from engravings on handle alone.

[@Scarlet_Soul]

@@DarkDragonRus which is the least important part if the quality control isn't there

[@brandonpowell8631]

@@DarkDragonRus Honestly I rather have a good sword that looked like total trash, I think.

[@VioletDeathRei]

@@brandonpowell8631 I have a really nice sword that a second company did the fittings and it was just slightly more then this one but is perfect. I feel like if you are already at mid $800 you might as well go $200 more and get both quality blade and looks.

[@Wingzero90939]

jackson kye I think you should either buy an Albion or go custom since the cheapest those swords start at is $880

[@AzyrealLal]

Very beautiful sword! I checked out the simpler version of the sword, and I personally appreciate the aesthetic a lot more and the one presented here. The price point is a little better. If you ever get a chance can you do a review of the lesser cost version of The sword to see if there is a substantial difference?

[@ducontra666999]

Katana: meh chinese katana: marvelous

[@-nightcore-2559]

- Also, please look at 'miao dao' - which is not used in tai chi, (taiji only uses jian swords so idk what this website is on) but used specifically in 'piguazhang' (Very interesting martial art, that I have studied for a few years, and originates in Cangzhou.) 'Pigua' has very big circular movements in the arms, with power from the waist, that then swings the arms (which are totally relaxed) in a whip-like motion. - and so as you can imagine how much power can be transferred to the sword. - it was Miao Daos like these which stopped the invasion of the Japanese into China, because of the length compared to katana (apparently).

[@camrendavis6650]

That is literally my most favorite Chinese sword ever. And I would love to bits if he would review one. Also, I read somewhere that the length and shape was inspired by the nodachi, but I'm not sure if that's true. Cuz I know for a fact that the blade on a miao dao is much straighter until you get to the tip which curves a bit

[@eagle162]

@@camrendavis6650 Nodachi can have different shapes, actually a lot came with a pretty straight blade, and oh so yeah on the inspired part. mandarinmansion.com/article/chinese-long-sabers-qing-dynasty greatmingmilitary.blogspot.com/2015/04/chang-dao.html?m=1

[@jameswoodard4304]

Basically, it's a mid-range sword that costs high-end money for solely cosmetic reasons. I can see hand carving that amount of detail into that amount of brass costing a lot, but that seems like an excessive amount of decorative quality relative to build quality. Personally, I feel the decoration is a bit too baroque. Especially in contrast to the massive plain wooden handle. I like ebony, and it works for me on the scabbard, but the handle just seems like a straight boring piece of wood. As far as the carved brass, it's a bit too "fancy" for my taste, but does seem to be in line with traditional Chinese styles, which is more important than my particular preference. It's a good looking sword that is too expensively decorated for it's build quality.

[@willyjum]

Those inconsistencies with the quality of the build are disappointing. For the price, one should expect the sword to be properly checked for quality.

[@jeremydingeman2492]

Dont structure it more. The spontaneity is part of the entertainment. It makes you you.

[@peteredwards2318]

It maybe that the flexibility is part of the specific use case of that sword. Although not historically accurate, it clearly takes some inspiration from Chinese martial arts, and some of the swords from that family can be utilised to slap around a guard, to stun an opponent, opening them up for a more decisive attack.

[@konstellashon1364]

For wushu performance, the flexibility allows the ringing noise. If you're not getting the sound, there's something wrong with your stabbing technique. (low power, limp wrist, etc)

[@chunkychew6995]

Imagine trying to rob skallagrim

[@isakpalsson9012]

*reveals unimaginable amount of swords under clothes*

[@russellchisel5005]

@@isakpalsson9012 and quite a few firearms as well ;)

[@Dennis-vh8tz]

Ebony is *expenive*, so if the wood is real ebony (as opposed to some less expensive wood stained black) that would go a long toward explaining the price. However, I don't think putting such expensive wood on a mid range sword makes sense.

[@MikhaelEternal]

Great Video, Skallagrim! I've rung your channel's bell and will be back for the next video. Cheers!

[@XxZekeKnightxX]

Just did some digging about the difference between this sword, and the utilitarian version. I had a hard time believing that just fancy fittings would jack up the price $500. Turns out, it isn't just the fancy stuff. I'm going to paste the specifications here side-by-side and let people more knowledgeable than myself determine if the $500 difference is justifiable. For brevity I'll only include the differences, anything not included is the same. Ornate and Utilitarian respectively, straight from the website. High-Density Ebony Wood Scabbard -> Huali Wood Scabbard with Adornments Beautiful Hand Carved Brass Fittings -> High Quality Solid Brass Fittings Blade Length: 95cm -> Blade Length: 82cm Handle Length: 23cm -> Handle Length: 21cm Blade Width Near Handle: 4cm -> Blade Width Near Handle: 3.5cm Blade Thickness Near Handle: 6mm -> Blade Thickness Near Handle: 9mm Blade Thickness Near Tip: 2.8mm -> Blade Thickness Near Tip: 1mm Weight without Scabbard: 1350g (~3lbs) -> Weight without Scabbard: 800g (~1.8lbs) Point of Balance: 11cm from handguard -> Point of Balance: 4cm from handguard $839.99USD at base -> $338.99USD at base

[@elsullo2]

Masses of hand carved brass, and you complain about price? Go and compare other hand carved brass artifacts d' art...……………………..elsullo

[@greengoblin88]

would be cool if u talk a bit about the history of that sword and why Chinese swords are so soft.

[@camrendavis6650]

I don't think Skal is very gifted in this field. But I can lend you a few facts. For as long as China has engaged in Warfare they've constantly adapted and developed new weapons and ways to make them. One of the most remarkable things about the Chinese sword is how it is forged, traditionally in layered Steel much like Damascus. The heat treatment and tempering process allowed for the blade to be extremely thin but also retain its shape and rigidity. Much like a longsword, but even thinner, but twice as versatile

[@Nepheos]

I honestly prefer the normal dao swords or han dynasty swords over this... but its kinda nice.

[@LobterGaming]

Skallagrim tai chi swords are supposed to be flexible

[@VladimirGorev]

The blade is a little bit corkscrewed. And it’s a heat treatment result, really hard to fix.

[@Jamndude3]

Yeah, that much hand carving and polish....that's going to be extremely labor intensive.

[@HZilong]

Always happy to see skall do chinese/asian sword reviews!

[@SuperFred001]

Im no expert but 800 dollar for that sword seems a bit much

[@cullenhutchison6528]

I'm trying to imagine how the sharper edge would perform in cutting.

[@weldonwin]

Though I doubt it'll ever happen, I'd like to see how effective this sword is from horseback. After all, when society crumbles and the technology fails, future bandit kings and warlords are going to have to give careful consideration to what kind of sword they want for raiding and pillaging with and something that's good for fighting on foot and mounted would be a big bonus

[@DH-xw6jp]

Who needs horses when you can use dirtbikes running on moonshine?

[@weldonwin]

@@DH-xw6jp Its not the same though, Dirtbikes just don't go with baroque black and gold armor

[@DH-xw6jp]

@@weldonwin oh, i see your problem. You forgot to add the 'skull throne' reskin to the bike. It even comes with all natural horse hair tassels for the handlebars.

[@Crusade1982]

Hi Skall, as you have pointed out there is another version if this sword without the fancy fittings and it is much cheaper. But the version you have is not just a simple “tool” it is a piece of art and art can be very pricey.

[@Mysterymelmoth]

I have to admit that this channel has given me a pet peve with Games like TES (spezificaly Daggerfall and Morrowind right now) when it comes to item weight... No, Daggerfall, a common steel Longsword certainly didn't weigh 9kg!!! And while morrowind might try to get away with it by not giving a unit of weight, i don't think a one haded axe that is as heavy as 48 pairs of shos makes a lot of sense... This is your fault, Skall.

[@Skallagrim]

Sorry, not sorry. :)

[@goldboy987]

Chinese/ East Asia material art swords are light weight most mainly for one hand user, and fast movement, small guard for the same reason. Chinese/ East Asia martial arts rare use sword or any weapons for blocking from a strikes/attacks we mostly use it as offense tool to strike/cuts/slash, we rely heavily on agility and quick reflexes and techniques/kungfu to avoid the strikes/attacks, that why the guard most of Chinese/East Asia sword only act as hand holder to keep the hand from slide onto the blade section. Most Chinese sword have flexible blade because the culture historical, it will be hand down from generations to generations some case were given to kids 13+ to practice, because Chinese early age only adores men with martial art knowledge, which lot of kids were taught martial art throughout their teenage years, therefore lightweight and flexible blade are good for kids to practice. Hope this help if anyone wondering

[@goldboy987]

Also depends on different Era of China like Han Dynasty have stiff blade, double edged, small guard, and short similar to roman gladiator sword, or Chinese broadsword are also pretty stiff aswell,

[@arkhtyi9456]

We get it Skall. It's a nice blade. Stop *flexing*

[@GallowglassVT]

Who else thinks this looks like Mugen's sword?

[@CountOrlok22]

I like my Tai Chi swords flexible.

[@nujiro]

You had me at chinese dao and european longsword

[@TheFluffySeraph]

“Deliciously beautiful cuts”, I can’t take that off my mind

[@themysterydrood5891]

It looks like how I always imagined the heron-marked swords from Wheel of Time.

[@SamGlaze]

Good call - pretty much exactly how it looks

[@Rivers256]

The guard is to gaudy and cheap looking for my liking, for that price.

[@markziff7234]

Dao & Grosse Messer.

[@hannibal1980]

the flex is based on populate design, I don't know it's historical

[@camrendavis6650]

It is very historical.

[@junichiroyamashita]

That looks like a Nandao, a so called Southern Ring Saber,it seems to be a pretty recent type and it characterised by the large ring pommel,usually used with a sash,for all the known reasons chinese put sashes on their weapons,and i also i saw them used as a kind of second handle by wrapping it around the lower hand. I usually tend to dislike chinese swords but i think it is time to change that.

[@gregsmw]

man i love single edged swords like this, sabres and falchions/messers its downright beautiful

[@lautlos3]

From my experience, the hand finishing is often where a hefty part of the price comes from.

[@bagochips834]

The legends say that the light cutting edge is so sharp that you'll receive a cut simply by looking at it.

[@joshuazane3210]

It's very pretty but I think I'd prefer something a bit more stout.

[@fearz-4367]

Stout?

[@joshuazane3210]

@@fearz-4367 Specifically something that bends less.

[@cybersamurai5744]

DID YOU CUT YOUR COOL HAIR?

[@highchamp1]

Cutting Material (development) A Clay or a (purpose made) Gelatinous substance would be good (moldable, re-usable)

[@greenman5255]

A lot of cost is in the Gabon Ebony wood. A very expensive wood and there is a lot of it.

[@hajarch5190]

At first sight I thought it was like an Arabic saber how it was decorated

[@lupus67remus7]

I cringed sooo hard when you took hold of the blade to flex it like that!!! I love the weapon reviews, though! Love it!

[@OkamiSan11]

Wow that's a pretty nice sword! I really enjoyed this video, I think you do a really nice job. Greetings from Spain!

[@nvbushido]

1089,99 $ ... ouch...

[@vullrath]

skallagrim can you review products from grimfrost? they are authentic viking merc from sweden. home of the vikings. also hegg is a member aka lead singer of AMON AMARTH! viking metal.

[@rolandotillit2867]

Real tai chi sword weighs 4kg, tai chi weapons are very heavy, much heavier than normal weapons. It's to build muscle and strength.

[@zenhydra]

Value is subjective, but the price point on that sword is ridiculous. There doesn't look to be anything about that sword which justifies it being that expensive. The fittings don't look particularly nice (and are cheap brass or alloy). I doubt "ebony" is the actual wood that the scabbard and handle are constructed from. The blade looks to be mono-steel and through-hardened, and is almost certainly T10 rather than 1095 (because it's made in China). The blade profile isn't particularly complex or difficult to execute. I don't see anything about it which justifies its price being comparable to an Albion Next Gen sword.

[@TheDarKris]

I reeeeeeeally want this sword. I think if the issues with the blade were addressed I would save up to get this.

[@Nimno74]

Pretty! Although I find that yellow-gold color gaudy. Would prefer a bronze/copper color, or maybe even a tarnished steel/silver color.

[@johnrollex680]

I don't think that's unreasonable price given the quality. I've seen more expensive swords on your channel which I'd consider to be lower quality, yet you gave them glowing reviews. Granted I haven't handled this sword, but you didn't seem to have any complaints about the handling. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this honestly doesn't seem too far from something you can get from Albion.

[@MushVPeets]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="30">0:30</a> ...About *shiny* swords? Also it's probably just as well you went with the "heavy" edge. If you picked the light one, just standing it upright would probably cause it to start effortlessly cutting through the ground and it'd end up stuck hilt-deep in the floor.

[@hiddehoogervorst6669]

Hey Skallagrim, can I reccomend Kovex swords to you? Kovex is a czech bladesmith who makes good quality swords for reasonable prices. I personally handeled a few of his hand and a half swords and I think they perform great. I would like to know your opinion on them. Here is a link to his web page: www.kovex-ars.cz/index.php?jazyk=A

[@charleslindberg829]

Skallagrim, I'm wondering if you can do a review? I'm not sure if your up to it, but I'd love it if you can put in your opinions on the cold steel drop forged series. (Battle ring 2, survivalist knife, Bowie, hunter; the drop forged series, they are affordable, price wise, but drop forged from single pieces ot steel) I'm happy you found a truly beautiful and yet very functional sword. It is indeed very awesome!

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Talking of expensively decorated swords, what do you think of the sword recently made by Royer (an ABS master) and shown on his KZbin channel? You obviously won't have opportunity to touch or test it, but the videos give plenty of details, though no cutting tests.

[@Rick_Cleland]

Nice pommel.

[@TerkanTyr]

The looseness of the guard was incredibly obvious, and the sounds very noticable. In my opinion it's simply very poorly fitted. I would be directly unhappy to receive this after paying for it.

[@Kavriel]

I don't like the fittings, the guard etc. I like the blade, but the brass looks very bad/cheap to me. It doesn't look like metal, but plastic, purely my opinion though, i concede.

[@colts8146]

i love it except for the really big ring pommel

[@Diveyl]

For the price of it. Steel is one thing, then is the wood price. And you got sword AND scabbard, both of them decorated. And what is the material used for guard, pummel and fittings? Carving all of tha by hand will be time consuming, and it will need a bit of attention to make it right. As for the hand guard and that gaps... Perhaps this is a place where you can attach tassels/fringes that Chinese like? But that would change the balance of the sword... so maybe two wedges to secure hand guard a bit more?... XD

[@mattbugg4568]

What's with the thumbing guard on a giant sword? Also it's a saber, a double edge blade would have been awesome. Also the wrist ring on the backend of the sword pammal should be a little larger. If you did a Jian with a double thumb guard, a wrist ring, double edge blade with a fuller In the middle, eight sided blade, and hitasuhira hamon clay tempered and a 5 piece handle done with a wooden blank pined with bamboo pegs rayskin, with leather ito. You could standardize Jian swords like samurai swords with interchangeable parts. Could be a huge market.

[@tantan19910603]

This type of saber is used by YANG Style Taichi. And this blade maybe too flexible not tough enough. Here is a video to show how this sword designed to be used. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWHIhKGsmbuVjqc

[@snakethecanarykeeper6403]

Looks like a Han sword(ring pommel sword), but a little bit wider. Also the original ring pommel sword has no or very small guard. Like katanas, chinese swords all have only small guards or even no guards :D (maybe I should say it the other way around)

[@FezMan94]

As a student of Chinese military history, I can tell you most Chinese swords are significantly more flexible than their European equivalent. Same with Chinese "polearms" the blades are usually wider from edge to spine and thinner face to face. But not so thin as to risk snapping.

[@戰國春秋]

I don't think it is fair to say that it is "not an accurate historical sword", the design is recent, with less than 100 years of history, but the replica is (as far as my naked eyes can tell) fairly faithful to the standard design except for the tip. That is akin to say that Model 1913 Cavalry saber is not "historical accurate" because it was designed in the 20th century.

[@MiguelAngel-vn4xz]

The Celtics, Germans, Russian and Chinese Swords and Sabers, looks more scariest than others..I dont know the reason about it.

[@ctaber2011]

very nice!