Sword Review - Hanwei Albrecht II Hand-a-Half-Sword

[@adam5words688]

Glad you posted this review! I hemmed and hawed about buying that when it was on sale at SBG, looks like you did more than that. I haven't seen your channel before but I happily sub'd you so I can look forward to more reviews of things I may purchase! Gotta support my sword community after all. Hails!

[@alientude]

Thanks! I'm really glad I bought it, and the SBG discount at the time made it an absurdly good deal.

[@adam5words688]

@@alientude I scored a dragon king tatsumaki katana for just over 600 because of their xmas sale , love their random deals. That sword can retail as high as $1300.

[@alientude]

@@adam5words688 Nice! That's a handsome katana. How's it treating you?

[@adam5words688]

@@alientude I like it for cutting , it looks beautiful to boot, but for kata not so much. The ito is kind of slippery giving me a lot of tendinitis issues when using , and it is a fairly light blade, but most of the weight is in the blade. Pob isn't bad per se, it's just a more cutting oriented balance. For that price it was a steal! The slivered fittings look amazing and the sageo is great, and in a sucker for rattan ribbed sayas lol. Just bought a Hanwei Lion Dog, same deal there 😎

[@tobytoxd]

Thank you, that was a joy to watch!

[@alientude]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jeff-hc8ux]

frik frackin love this channel

[@alientude]

Thanks!

[@JoeSteel1]

what a really nice polished straight grind on that blade...the handle looks like a clean fit and finish...very nice show piece 👌..Hanwei did a nice job on this replica...although Albion is king of quality ero replica swords...this looks pretty good for the money

[@alientude]

I agree, Hanwei did a great job with this sword.

[@KF1]

Nice sword and well done review. Thanks for showing

[@sinisterswordsman25]

Yeah its definitely in the running now. I always over looked this one I just assumed it was one of Hanwei's earlier attempts and would be kind of derpy and poorly balanced. I think I have it narrowed down to this sword, the Rhinelander or tinker great sword. This one is the most expensive if remember correctly but it's also really cool and only like 50$ more. Thanks kyle your feed back and reviews really helped out. Hopefully I can get one of the above sometime this year. I'll be sure to show whatever it is off. So check in with me Cough* wink wink nudge 📽 nudge

[@TarpShooter]

would be an instant buy for me if that big-ass pommel was a bit smaller

[@mojo-hand4539]

Great review! I just ordered this one! About $350 w. tax and shipping

[@alientude]

Awesome, I think you'll be happy with it!

[@osborne9255]

Nice review. I have a pair of the 3mm/ Quarter round flat edged version for early Liechtenauer training. Used a pair since 2010. Reliable, versatile. They have taken one hell of a beating after 11 years though, still very usable. We even used them for single handed use though they are a bit slow (due to their thick edge?) and expect the sharp to be a lot faster. Also the grip is fine for 2 handed gloved use, with plate gauntlets there's not enough room for both.

[@alientude]

Thanks for sharing! Really interesting hearing the difference between the blunted version and the sharp.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

I have always heard that this is a fantastic sword for the money. This detailed review confirms it! I have to say, many of Hanwei's replica swords are (Cawood, St. Maurice, etc). The faithfulness to the original and fit and finish are above and beyond the price range. Perhaps the only real criticism is having a bit more pronounced distal taper. Hanwei swords all feature noticeable distal taper, I just wish the tapering degree could be greater. But as of now, the balance and weight distribution is mostly right, and perhaps the added thickness towards the tip increased the rigidity which is a good thing for a type XVIIIa sword. The other thing I have observed about Hanwei is although their swords ship with one very clean primary bevel and adequate sharpness, they tend to not retain the sharpness for long so you will have to re-sharpen them soon if you cut regularly with them. I don't know if this is the case for your Albrecht II.

[@alientude]

The Cawood is on my wishlist, and I might look into the St. Maurice at some point as well. If my Albrecht is a good representation of their budget replicas, I'd be really happy with those others also. I know the Cawood has received a lot of favorable reviews, so I'm really looking forward to when stock comes back. When I found that the pommel on the original was brass after recording, it did make me wish this replica had gone with brass as well, but it looks really nice in steel, so it's not really a complaint.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

@@alientude Brass would be very nice. Not sure if you could electroplate the pommel yourself. Probably would have to take it off the hilt first. But yeah, Hanwei's replica swords are the best looking swords under $500.

[@alientude]

I imagine I'll leave it as steel and keep an eye out for more reproductions. I know Maciej Kopciuch is working on one, and on Facebook I saw Gael Fabre recently post a picture of a sword that looks very similar. I certainly wouldn't mind owning a bespoke reproduction of the original.

[@vladimirkovacevic1656]

awesome polish and sword,great cuts

[@alientude]

Thanks 👍

[@saint8228]

Thanks Kyle. One confusing thing. You say the pommel is hollow?! How so? And how did you learn this without dismantling it? That sure is odd. If that is a case, as historically accurate as the sword is, I would prefer a solid smaller pommel over the large hollow pommel. Thoughts?

[@alientude]

I didn't dismantle it, but others have and found it hollow. Also, flicking the pommel, it sounds different than a solid one would sound. Also, if it were solid, the weight of the pommel would really throw off the balance. I don't find it odd, personally. Hollow pommels are found historically, after all.

[@saint8228]

@@alientude I did not know hollow pommels we're found historically! Why make a hollow pommel back in the day instead of just a smaller solid one? That doesn't make sense to me. Unless it was one of those things, where yes it was historical, but it was accidentally done, not purposefully. Like other things about some medieval swords; they would have loved for it to not be that way, but it's just how it turned out using the tools at their disposal.

[@alientude]

@Modern Medieval A few references: myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.10011.html kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZe1laB9ibGSf9U myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.23242.html

[@4thassassin]

Nice 👍

[@alientude]

Thanks

[@jimmy2494]

Another great review

[@alientude]

I appreciate that!

[@bobc1911]

Can't say much for Hanwei's customer support. I've had this sword for at least twenty years. When the wood grip cracked, I contacted them about getting (and paying for) a replacement but they said I was on my own, even though they plainly still make the sword. I could understand if it were a discontinued model but come on.

[@unklemike5012]

All your videos got me regretting my sword. 😅 I chose a sword I thought looked cool in a Skyrim mod, but I didn't get it sharpened and I had to change the color of the leather, which turned into a disaster. For some reason, the leather never fully absorbed the dye and it rubs off on my hands every time I touch it, despite rubbing it down several times with paper towels.

[@fettmaneiii4439]

reproductions are always slightly less pointy than originals. you can see the curve from the point has more stout shoulders than the orig pictured. Reproductions always come close but they never really hit that exact level of pointiness!

[@TheGloriousLord]

Dude use better mic or speak louder, barely can hear you

[@saint8228]

It's your phone or computer. It is plenty loud.