Deepeeka Castilion $200 Arming Sword Review and Destruction

[@70gags]

Thank you for the review. I will start looking into the heat treatment on the fittings. They are ideally tested for not breaking off with a hammer. It surprised me how easily the piece broke. We will be more careful for our production runs for future.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Gagan, thank you for watching. Looking forward to seeing the impartments you make.

[@alexanderren1097]

Can we get an interview video please?

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

I love it.. I would get it right now if I could

[@johnladuke6475]

Hello Depeeka guy! Well done sending Matthew a sword to bust up, he's an excellent advertisement for putting a sword through far more than it should reasonably withstand. Scholagladiatoria outsources sword demolition to him sometimes. I don't watch Skallagrim much anymore but he also does similar abuse/destruction testing. Good investment in marketing - what I've seen in breakage has convinced me of quality. If that sword was made with a properly hardened tip for piercing maille and was used to chop a branch, I'd expect the tip to snap off... as it did. I'd agree with his "not okay" rating for a sword at triple the price, but at this price point getting a tempered blade with proper shape and construction is a steal of a deal.

[@turbografx16]

Hi Gagan, I just wanted to say I'm very pleased with the direction Deepeeka has been moving in the last few years. The products are looking a lot more accurate, and fit and finish are much improved. If the blade weights could be reduced with better distal taper, that would be excellent.

[@iratezombiemann]

You're literally the best sword reviewer on the tube - for anyone else a nice, handy sword like this would be an easy yes but because you pushed it to breaking, you found flaws others would miss. I also love that you test the quillons - they're there for a reason, after all.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Quillion testing came from feedback. Glad you enjoy the content sir.

[@guarddog318]

I'm a little late to the party here, but I wanted to mention that Matt Easton has a video where he talks about people expecting too much from replicas, and that original swords have all the flaws you see here in this sword. I'm not going to try to repeat what he said, and instead suggest looking up his video here on KZbin. Because he does make valid points about the actual quality and construction of original antique swords. I would also like to point out that a sword of the same quality as that replica would cost a helluva lot more than equivalent of $200, in the time period it represents.

[@mobpriv]

even later to the party but it makes sense for it to be cheaper in the modern day. We have easier access to steels and machining equipment. To make a good high quality reproduction sword would not take nearly the same amount of time and labour it did in the past. Compared to other budget forges (especially Swordiers stuff, which is quite recent but I digress) deepeeka is not offering a whole lot of quality for that price. The only thing deepeeka does well these days compared to longquan forges is their scabbards and handle wrapping.

[@muffincutting6020]

Still waiting for the day you sharpen the croquet stick of doom. Legends will be told

[@Matthew_Jensen]

I wonder how many swords will break before it gets chopped in half.

[@jaysblades]

@@Matthew_Jensen "Why don't they make the whole sword out of the croquet stick of doom?" - 1980s Sword Comedian

[@erichusayn]

KOA sharpening service definitely leaves much to be desired in my experience. And don't get me started on deepeeka. Lol.

[@erichusayn]

That # 3 cut on the noodle was nice.

[@adam-bf8li]

Your comment time shows you posted this comment 9 days ago. We got you now time traveller!

[@ryldauril6379]

@@adam-bf8li ikr this guy..i want that trick!

[@erichusayn]

@@adam-bf8li I soooooo wish I could travel back in time. You have no idea... nope, that's just a benefit of being a premium memener. Totally worth the $0.99/month.

[@70gags]

You could write to us directly, and let us address your issues. We are willing to improve if someone gives us correct inputs.

[@shawnclifford362]

Great review Sir. Tip breaking didn't surprise me, but the hilt snapping did, had a die-cast look to it. Thanks for your efforts, like I said before, you save me the Effort of second guessing or doing it myself. God bless you and yours Sir. ☘

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Glad you enjoyed Shawn. Thank you for the kind words.

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

I'd get that just for the scabbard... I'm loving that scabbard

[@Kratos_God_of_50_BMG]

@Matthew Jensen *Note: I know on the two newer Deepeeka beater longsword & hand and-a-half swords that I bought for sub $200, they switched from the EN-45 steel that they used to use , to 1060 for what it’s worth. As far as the heat treatment goes, that’s a variable that I haven’t been able to explore, so I can’t really speak for that.

[@yotomuramasa]

Very insightful review. Good to know that their heat treatment needs some work. This sword breaking on a branch like that reminded me a of a Fafnir Viking sword I bought a while back. I had just got done sharpening it, and went to make my first cut on a pool noodle. I slapped the pool noodle, over-swung (it was a very forward weighted, having the exact opposite of a distal taper), and tapped the tip of the blade on my carpet as I was trying to stop it. No sooner did the blade fly out of it's handle and do a full spin before falling to the ground in proper death helicopter fashion. The break in the tang was barely over a mm thick at the bevels, and about half a mm in the fuller. The grain structure was good, but the narrow tang was a big weak point in the blade. I since gotten a replacement that hasn't had any of the same problems. That is the only blade I've ever had fail that way.

[@godzilla5599]

Reminds me of Windlass,had a gladius snap on me...the tang was a two piece welded thing,that was in the 90's and has put me off on them ever since.

[@rickcroft4625]

Wow - The grain in both the quillon and the blade is huge!!! Thanks for taking the time Matthew.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Very interesting demonstration and review! We always wonder how a sword at this price range will perform and hold up to abuses, but most people are too shy to review a Deepeeka. Thanks for the review, for it has definitely satiated our curiosity! Some of their "new and improved" models are indeed improved. The way they look is a lot closer to a historical sword, and they would work well as reenactment swords and as props for film productions. The only criticism on this sword is the ahistorical fuller--would work so much better if they just get rid of it and have a proper diamond cross section and a bit more distal taper--maybe 40-50%. It's also surprising that some of the new models handle quite a bit better with the proper profile especially the type XV ones, with that crazy amount of profile taper. You showed that one can have a lot of fun with light to medium cutting with proper handling, even when the heat treat is subpar. The grain structure is like sand. That's not good for a functional sword. But overall, it's still within expectation of a sword under $200. Definitely another enjoyable video from you!

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Thanks Kane!

[@lukerope1906]

I'm no steel expert, but I suspect the tip got too hot when normalizing the blade. Probably because the sword is so wide then tapers down to a very narrow point. I would hazard a guess that it's a difficult profile to heat treat. Something else I'd like to see. Are higher end swords abused like this. Particularly the hilts. I've seen so many cross guards fail in Mathew's reviews. But they are all cast fittings. But Albion and Arms & Armor use cast fittings too. I know not all casting is created equal. But I'd like to see how they hold up.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Yes that profile taper on this Deepeeka type XV is a bit problematic. Albion, Arms & Armor and Lockwood also have type XV arming swords, but their profile especially on the upper portion isn’t completely linear so the blades don’t get this slender (there is still some width and quite a bit of thickness on the blade even just below the tip). And then the heat treatment on the Deepeeka is clearly not adequate, which is in line with their reenactment reputation, where the swords are more cosmetic than functional. I don’t know whether other brands of premium swords have been abused, but Skallagrim used Albions to chop down trees. And there’s another even crazier example: some guy completely smashed up an Albion Landgraf. Every part of the sword is smashed with bricks, and the blade is completely toothy from the base to the tip and the crossguard. Someone clearly meant to destroy it completely, but failed. The sword was still sold for 600 dollars and the guy bought it reprofile the blade, and fixed the fittings. It is now even more slender (type XVII blades are slender to begin with) but back to fully functional. A testament of Albion’s durability.

[@hschan5976]

@@lukerope1906 i use blackfencer and regenyei blunt longswords in hema drills and free sparring sessions. I've also fenced against Albion blunt longswords. The crossguards get hit quite regularly and i never seen a crossguard shatter on impact. Bending and deforming can happen under severe force yes, but never shattering like in the video.

[@godzilla5599]

I just had a thought pop into my head: If you still have the parts to this one take the guard and see if you can stain it,the reason for that is maybe it's not carbon steel but stainless,if it is then that would explain it snapping.

[@LangstonDev]

There are two pieces of information I've come across about Deepeeka that may explain the results seen here but should be taken as hearsay and conjecture, respectively, and have influenced my overall opinion about their products. The first (hearsay) was from a comment I read on a video about a Deepeeka sword that said Deepeeka has tried to distance themselves from their swords being advertised as "battle ready" - that, effectively their swords are intended only to be used for collecting and reenacting more than function, that their swords are advertised as "battle ready" purely based on the fact that many of them are made of EN45 high carbon steel. In other words, the "battle ready" designation is almost entirely given by the retailer to move swords. This lead me to the second piece of info (conjecture) - scrolling through a lot of the swords on their site, they specifically mention on several high carbon swords that they are not tempered, several that say they are tempered, and most that don't say either way. Many of their swords are listed as mild steel. I checked multiple listings on Kult of Athena against Deepeeka's site and couldn't find an example where Deepeeka specifically mentions a sword being untempered and KoA had it listed as "Battle Ready" (I also didn't check all 150+ listings) but there are many that KoA has listed as "Battle Ready" that Deepeeka doesn't mention being tempered either way, in fact, it looks like most are that way. I did find one listing (William Wallace brass hilted sword) that does say untempered that KoA does *not* have listed as "Battle Ready." So if we buy a "Battle Ready" Deepeeka how confident can we ultimately be that it is one of the ones that has been properly tempered? In most cases, I don't think we can. We're basically taking KoA at their word, and after the Balaur Arms/Devil's Edge debacle I'm not sure I'm confident in doing that. Either way, the bottom of Deepeeka's website explicitly states their items are sold for "display, reenactment and costume purposes." " LARP and reenactment" is mentioned again at the top of their Twitter page. I would tend to take the manufacturer at their word when they tell us not to use their items a certain way lol. All of this leads me to believe that the KZbin comment mentioned above about what Deepeeka actually sells versus how they're marketed is probably pretty accurate!

[@makidiaz3894]

They are battle ready if KOA designates it so. Deepeka is just covering the legal system by saying it’s for LARPING only.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

If this were sold blunt and used for reenactment, then it would still be a potential risk. I am under the impression that stage combat and or reenactment involve the sword making contact with other objects. Costume or display don't imply usage of this kind but I think reenactment does. Am I wrong on that? Either way I would still test it the same way. Deepeeka may not be doing anything wrong but it is still helpful to know what kind of usage the sword is suitable for.

[@LangstonDev]

@@Matthew_Jensen Good question and I'm not sure - I'm not a reenactor or familiar with that world so your guess is as good as (probably better than) mine. Agreed about testing it the same way regardless, I'd reckon 99%+ of the people watching your channel would be buying one of these for backyard cutting more than anything else, anyway, and I'm not sure even Deepeeka themselves has a real consistent "intended use" to measure a standard against.

[@thedausthed]

If a sword is hardened but not tempered it would shatter very easily.

[@nickbonavita1379]

I personally have had good luck with my four Deepeeka swords and some of their Roman armor. My one Viking and two Migration swords are excellent. No not compared to my Albion's but excellent in the price range. My Gladiator Sica has a slightly off set handle but KOA discounted it for that and since it's just part of a Gladiator display it's not even noticeable . I only buy Deepeeka swords from KOA because as far as I know they're the only ones who inspect them before shipping. Oh and I use a chainsaw or axe to cut wood for the wood stove not a sword.😂

[@jacobharris3208]

I'm so excited for this video and I haven't even watched it yet. I'm excited because about five years ago I bought the "Norwegian Viking Sword" from Depeeka which is based on a Carolingian Sword in a Museum. It looked nice. Anyway I bought it, and I held it after unboxing it, and immediately I knew it was junk. I went and whacked a piece of wood with it and wasn't using that much force at all, and about the 8th whack the pommel snapped off. I was extremely disappointed and never bought another Depeeka sword again. So this will be interesting. It's possible I got unlucky? That their product quality varies? We will see. Thank you Matt for this video it will be very informative 🙏🏻

[@tsmspace]

honestly the review does kind of sell the sword. something that stays sharp at that price and should handle normal fun targets and has the pokey balance is actually intriguing,, I was partially sold for a bit except I'm yearning for another

[@JoeSteel1]

Fantastic job Is on this Matthew

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Thanks Joe

[@KF1]

Nice sword. That scabbard is right Zelda. I think the thin blade profile was a factor for how soon it broke. Good review

[@Matthew_Jensen]

I would guess it is a factor but the heat treatment seems to be the biggest contributor. I have had small thin blades (LK CHEN Royal Arsenal Dao) that took abuse like that without snapping. I think it could still be strong.

[@KF1]

@@Matthew_Jensen Good point agreed. Didn't even break at the point of impact but like further up from the strike. At this point, if it doesn't last until the croquet doomstick it's hard not to expect better.

[@gozer87]

The quillons looked pretty grainy after they broke.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Yes, ideally they would bend before breaking.

[@vilvuk4486]

I have 3 or 4 deepeeka swords and the scabbards are generally quite good. The swords are supposed to be for projects, that I might get around to completing/starting one day, hopefully... I have a Roman spatha that's been 80 percent complete, since early 2020 I think...

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

Idk... I think u just smacked that log a bit to close to the tip.. which of course it snapped

[@StoningXStephen]

Disappointing results man. I was hopeful about this one for the price. Great review.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Indeed. A little better heat treatment would have made it a great value

[@thedausthed]

I would be really pissed if I bought a sword and it was overheated by the sharpening like that.

[@AR15fan]

This is an Oakshott type XV yes?

[@Matthew_Jensen]

though not sure if the XV has a fuller..

[@GlockPerfectionDawg]

Try a hanwei sword for $250, they are near to flawless

[@GlockPerfectionDawg]

Ive cut down many thick pine trees with mine and its super flexible but sturdy

[@helenwrong6363]

I highly recommend watching Matthew Jensen's review on the sword before buying. He used it till he broke it. And Not in really unreasonable ways. I also just don't recommend Deepika. The sword buyer's guide is really wary about that brand.

[@jmanker6106]

@5:58 woodchip bonanza XD

[@johnladuke6475]

I don't know that the tip breakage is such a big deal. Multiply the price a few times and I'd be tearing a strip off customer service but at Depeeka prices I'm pleased to see proper hilt construction. The tip snapping might seem bad, but that blade type is meant for piercing maille and prying at gaps in armour, which requires a hardened tip with a thicker profile less suited to cutting. If it's going to break, that's where it "should" break, rather than the tang snapping from being overhard itself. I could imagine His Lordship ordering the smith to be lashed for his failure with such a product, but for a peasant levy like me that seems pretty reasonable.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

There are worse options for the money but the trick is there are better ones too. Hard to find a better scabbard and general looking sword for the money but many items at the same price point seemed to hold up a bit better. I hope I get a chance to revisit Depeeka, this was very close to being an excellent value.

[@johnladuke6475]

@@Matthew_Jensen I'd love to see what your extreme testing makes of some of the more robust styles of sword they offer. I'd be disappointed if something advertised as a "viking" or "Norman" sword failed quite so easily at that kind of brutal wood chopping. I notice that some of their models state a nut pommel, but it's hidden under a decorative cap and impossible to guess how secure it might be. No doubt you'd find out in the course of your tests.

[@jacobharris3208]

Speaking from experience, if anyone on here reading this wants a sword they can abuse, go for Age of Craft, or look at Hanwei(Practical options), even Windlass. You can purchase these brands for as much or sometimes less than Depeeka and actually USE them. Depeeka avoid it at all costs, they Make TERRIBLE swords. Their helmets are pretty good though (for the price)

[@johnladuke6475]

Pretty much anything from Windlass or Hanwei sells for twice the price of this and most of the rest of Depeeka's selection. For the price tag on this thing, it's admirable that it didn't start hilt rattle on the soft targets and snap at the tang with the first chop of wood. It's fair to expect a Windlass to do better than this, but for two or three times the price... same as how an Albion will survive whatever breaks that Windlass.

[@billyheaning]

A nagging voice keeps saying, “Get this,” but a deeper voice keeps saying, “No.”

[@OG_Jin_Bling]

I just ordered the Deepeeka spadona. Now I'm getting into reviews, but it's my first sword so still send like a good choice.

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

For 200 dollars... Holy shit...