Windlass Battlecry! Maldon Viking Sword Review and Destruction

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

I enjoy this review thoroughly. It's about time you put one of the older Windlass models through its paces and expose the horrible designs behind them. Props to Matt, who once again prioritizes sword science over his personal financial health, and to you obviously, who risk immense bodily injury to test these swords to their failures. Like all the models in the "Battlecry" line, this sword is a lazy re-hash of an even older Windlass model called Ashdown, which was reviewed by Skallagrim 3 years ago. He was absolutely impressed by the sword: "bit of a dead bar" "I've handled worse, but I still wouldn't praise it". The sword batted tatami mats around without biting into it even a little. He tested against a ballistic gel torso, and it was just bounced back time and again. For a Viking-era sword that doesn't have much profile taper, a flat bar without any distal taper is simply unacceptable. The pommel is just horribly designed. It's a flat block. Historical Viking-era swords all have pommels tapering in thickness to both sides with edges rounded, so it's comfortable to hold in handshake grip. There's absolutely nothing wrong with your grip, and there's nothing wrong with properly constructed Viking-era sword hilts, which this sword is not part of. I see that years after Skall gave constructive criticism, Windlass shows no intention to improve this model, I guess that's just the business practice. Well it's not a surprise that it broke prematurely. Other than having square shoulder on the tang which is a hazard in itself, but the harmonics of this sword is non-existent. By having a base of the blade so thin, and not tapering down in thickness, having a thick foible. This is the reason it has the wrong vibration nodes, and your hand received all the shock, which is exacerbated by the useless pommel design. It's also the reason that such shock eventually broke the sword in half in the worst place possible.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Thank you for the kind words. Do you think the newer blades from windlass are better? The royal amroies stuff looks nice.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

@@Matthew_Jensen Yes, the Royal Armouries Collection is significantly better. Not without any problem, but virtually every aspect is improved vastly upon their old models. They look and handle quite like actual historical swords. No surprise there, they need their prototypes to be sanctioned by Matt Easton and Royal Armouries curators. The tolerance is still a little high, but overall, the quality is definitely higher than swords by most of the makers in that price range.

[@vicnighthorse]

@@FortuneFavoursTheBold After watching you and Kyle say good things about them (some of the RAs) I got the 14th century longsword mostly because I really like thrusters and big wheel pommels (Sir Mix-a-Lot fan here), but that they are 1080 really concerns me. I am hoping that it is very appropriately heat treated and that it's thickset helps offset some of the brittleness. I don't even let is see Matt's crochet stake in these videos.

[@AlexisB-gv1tk]

Unfortunate they always seemed like a good budget option

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

@@AlexisB-gv1tkwhat’s “they”?

[@poisonsumc7426]

Came from the short, which was *hilarious* (and you could totally go viking ...)

[@pearseoconnor5507]

Thanks for the review. I saw a Matt Easton video the other day and remembered your comments abut Viking sword handles and how you dislike them. I paid attention and wondered why and Matt Eastons video explained to hold a viking sword you don't choke up on the guard but rather seat your hand against the pommel, leaving a gap between the hand and guard. Haven't got one to try but may be the thing.

[@Xarl-VIII]

i usually wrap my ring and pinky finger against the pommel while holding it in a handshake grip but the sword i have is the second gen 5 lobed Viking sword by darksword armoury which had the weight of 2lbs 4 oz. so blade heavier might need to choke up on the guard a bit more

[@Pablo668]

As mentioned elsewhere in these comments. It's possible they've cut the corner where tang and blade meet too square. There should always be a radius there, it increases strength and takes away an area in which cracks are likely to form.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

I have never held a "Viking" sword but those grips do look terribly uncomfortable. Thanks for the review. Love the Thumbnails. Cheers!

[@SgtGrave]

They are my favorite sword ascetically but even in my fairly small hands they can be uncomfortable.

[@wompa70]

I like how you’re up front with not worrying about historical accuracy. We watch you for info on the build quality and feel while using. I also don’t really like the Viking era pommels.

[@angelosilva342]

Love these reviews. A few things that will stick with me: - Grain size looks pretty big; - The transition into the tang needs a larger radius (which is something I realized Windlass doesn't do right after seeing a recent Scholagladitora [Matt Easton] video); - A strict, locked, hammer grip with no wrist motion seems to be the only way to avoid uncomfortable handling on Viking swords - Someone needs to tell Windlass to put some distal taper on their blades... Seriously! Can't wait to see more reviews like this. P.S. Why not sell some "sticks of doom" as channel merch? I'd get one if reasonably priced.

[@schreiberundleser5318]

The handles of viking swords are often very short, because your pinky should sit on the pommel and the pommel touches the palm of your thumb with its side. Very old swords, old like bronzeage have pommels which ment to be hold in the palm. The Viking handles are between this type and grips with pommels below the fist. Modern replicas tend to have oversized handles with undersized pommels on Vikingswords, which tend to bite in the wrist. A big viking pommel should slide on the palm of your thumb.

[@michaelrizzo5523]

I was worried as soon as I saw "Marto" on the blade.

[@TheCrusader1099]

most Windlass blades have it...no worries..

[@LangstonDev]

Why's that? I'm not familiar with the significance either way.

[@michaelrizzo5523]

@@LangstonDev Marto is a maker in Toledo notorious for making fragile rat tail wall hangar swords with cheap die cast and plastic fittings.

[@TheCrusader1099]

@@michaelrizzo5523 i think windlass produces wallhanger stuff for Marto. Or Windlass even owns Marto...

[@riccardomercante6751]

From what I know, Windlass Steelcraft bought Marto company a couple years ago (more or less).. so all Windlass swords now have the new brand logo "Windlass Marto" written at the base of the blade. At least here in Europe market. All the Windlass swords I've bought in these last two years, from diffrent european resellers, have this new logo.

[@robinmarks4771]

I wholeheartedly second your opinion about Viking era pommels. I've never handled one that feels good in my hand.

[@fargoalspach557]

I own that exact one myself, I’ve had it about 8 years now , I’ve always been happy with it but Ive always kept good care of it. Mine did come with an edge on it from the company lve never had to sharpen it for any reason. For the price, decent sword.

[@scripture1983]

Love the videos

[@Matthew_Jensen]

thank you

[@marianiurea6217]

Steel is supposed to be softer in the tang. Therefore it should bend, not brake. Tempering issue.

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

Windlass certainly needs to address this issue! I've seen older Battlecry! Viking swords take more abuse without bending & or breaking. This is clearly a lemon but was it a fluke? A batch of them? Or has the whole line taking a dive? Regardless I hope this gets addressed soon! I have owned the Battlecry! Bosworth longsword for a few years & apart from the inside of my grip being a bit too hollow where the tang rattles a bit I have no complaints. I've cut on dry bamboo & plywood & it's still tight.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Would be helpful to know. Being second hand it will be hard to say.

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

@@Matthew_Jensen I forwarded your video to them & got this reply: Hi, thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I will forward this issue to our products team. Thank you again! So hopefully they will take it seriously & check into/fix the quality control. The blade bending was especially concerning as that told me the temperi6was done wrong.

[@TheCrusader1099]

got mine since it came out! always use it with the handshake grip! historically speaking this one is a bit on the heavy side. did a lot of cutting with it. had no issues with it😮

[@HughJorgan-01]

Matt your 100% correct on the pomel.

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

Looking at that break it looks like they may have cut the shoulder transition from tang to blade in too square. The transition needs to be more smooth & rounded. Square shoulder makes stress points & if that was a used sword it could have already had stress fractures from using it w/ such defects.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

it could have. hard to say what it went through before it came to me too, though it did not look like much. I speculate whatever caused it to break was there at the start rather than resulting from the testing I did but I could be way off on that.

[@Lucca_02]

You should test the battle cry Agincourt war sword by windlass

[@Matthew_Jensen]

maybe some day

[@Arikayx13]

I’ve heard the Viking sword grip is meant to lock the fist down against the top and bottom fittings, which, makes me wonder if they were custom made or otherwise sized for the user.

[@adam-bf8li]

I am a time traveller and viking used their sword by tying a rope around the pommel and twirling it around like a nunchaku. I must go now before the time police catch me.

[@beowulf848]

i'm glad its just not me that has issues with those pommels! I have relatively big hands and have similar issues getting it to feel right while maintaining some level of control

[@timomeyer9098]

How much for pool-noodles each month?

[@hansjohannsen6722]

If interested there are some great resources for the how and why's of the grip. After some education and use I'm a convert.

[@hansjohannsen6722]

A 2% twist in a vise can align the pommel better. Historic examples can show this and your hand knows why.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Any suggested reading sir?

[@tsmspace]

where it failed looks well heat treated, which may be the issue. Perhaps the tang needs to bend not break.

[@yotomuramasa]

Bought a fafnir viking sword. Broke the same way on the first swing after I sharpened it, was way too thin at the base of the tang. Koa sent me a new one on the spot, thankfully

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Glad to hear they took care of you.

[@rugerjones78]

Never been a fan of windlass swords, blades are good but they tend to break at the hilt, I've broke two like that and have one just sitting in the corner afraid to cut trash because I spent 350 on it.

[@TrangleC]

Why did you buy several if you don't like them? I have one, the Munich Town Guard sword, but I never did any cutting with it. What is strange about Windlass is that I heard that pretty much all of the swords Cold Steel sells are really made by Windlass and Cold Steel just stamps their logo on them and acts as a store front for Windlass. The reason I consider it strange is that Windlass swords apparently have a reputation for not being very sturdy, while Cold Steel swords get criticized for being too heavy and not feeling right in the hand, but they have a reputation for being durable and able to take a lot of abuse.

[@c99kfm]

@@TrangleC That actually makes sense - at least, in my mind it does. If Windlass are "not good enough" to make durable swords with good weight and handling, but they are capable of making less durable swords with good weight and handling, then just adding more metal would make their less durable swords more durable - while ruining the weight and handling.

[@TrangleC]

@@c99kfm Yes, but wouldn't that imply that they are making one flimsy version of the sword to sell under their own name and one over-built tank version of the same sword to sell through Cold Steel? When you compare the Windlass lineup to the Cold Steel one, it seems it often is the same sword, or at least the same blade with a different handle or finish.

[@beepboop204]

🙂🙂🙂

[@TrangleC]

I heard that they often welded soft iron tangs to the steel blades on Dark Age era swords. Maybe that is why. I guess such a soft iron tang would have bent before it broke.

[@irrelevantfish1978]

That wasn't just done in Dark Age Europe. At the least, some Indian talwars and 19th-century European military sabers had iron or mild steel tangs, and I suspect most steel sword-making cultures throughout history have made use of that technique to some degree. A soft tang/base typically makes for a substantially more durable weapon, and with the available metallurgical technology, it was probably usually cheaper and easier to forge-weld on a low-carbon tang than to obtain similar (albeit, probably somewhat superior) results by differential heat-treatment of a high-carbon tang.

[@lechatdeluna8472]

Wow That fail was fast

[@stefthorman8548]

can you review the Windlass British 1796? it's $369.95, i can't justify spending that much without seeing if it's well built, other people have reviewed it, but no destruction test.

[@dlatrexswords]

Oh the poor Viking sword. It will not appease Matthew :) Great work going over it from top to bottom and a shame it had such a critical failure for what should in paper be a “beater” sword. I know other makers have had issues with heat fitting guards on their blades, but I cannot imaging that’s what’s going on here. Hmmmm

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Not idea for sure. For something sold as a durable piece it did take a bit of punishment but should not have broken where or when it did.

[@targetaps]

Just a heads up, the blades come dull. You can get them sharpened for an extra fee from certain vendors like Kult of Athena.

[@sinisterswordsman25]

Oh damn 🙆‍♂️ busted at the hilt that's a scary one for sure. It did go though the throwing and the tree of woe, but then again who knows when it broke? Probably before you even swung at the c.s.o.d. that's my best guess anyway. It's a tough one though for me, I really like this sword. The pommel ain't gonna come off that's for sure lol I have a windlass lief erikson and the blade has yet to fall off. I've cut some pretty hard targets with it, nothing like the c.s.o.d but I don't baby it. Also have hanwei tinker 9th century viking sword. I like the pommel on viking swords when you feel that bite you know it's working🤘😅 viking swords are heavier than most and blade heavy. Swung one handed over and over, a 3lbs sword gets kinda hard to hold onto. But if you have a big old knobby pommel it's alot less likely that you'll drop it if you do get tired. And at the end of the day its just a experience thing I got bit a few times. Viking swords have so much momentum you just don't have to swing very hard to cut really powerfully. Matt Easton has a video from a couple years back where he shows the proper wielding techniques. (They work for me) Also wanted to say I read a bunch of the comments and no the viking sword wasn't some kinda weird cavalry only sword or just for stabbing, it was used with a shield and as carried as a side arm(mostly, this style sword was used all across Europe from about 500-1100). The large pommel makes it basically impossible to fumble a draw, if your spear or axe broke or whatever and you have to draw your side arm now, now,now. Then that "annoying"pommel becomes a life saver. So it was probably considered a reasonable tradeoff until armour and cavalry started winning the arms race. Then drawing lighting fast and true wasn't as important so they eventually became, the slightly more ergonomic but basically the same wheel pommle. After the awkward teenage Brazil nut faze lol. (probably, in my well researched arm chair opinion). We as modern users just don't know what we're doing. If they totally sucked they wouldn't have been so popular for 600 years give or take.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

it could have broken before but considering being tossed at a tree gives it a chance to come apart I think whatever issue was there from the start rather than developing over time. I could be wrong through.

[@sinisterswordsman25]

@@Matthew_Jensen could be the wiggle that was developing was the blade cracking. I swear I've seen failures like this one on a few forged in fires. The blade probably wasn't seated correctly with the guard. The shoulders were in to low or something, down inside the guard. So instead of bending, cause the stress is all on one point of the blade right at the hilt the blade snaps. And some how leverage kinda shears the blade. seem to remember an episode where the Smith tried to make his sword stronger by putting the whole thing in deeper, and it broke similar to this maldon here, after hitting a brick wall 3 times if memory serves the judges said that was the problem was the hilt fitting. Also it windlass lol I love windlass but windlass is well... windlass

[@LancelotChan]

It was really screaming a battle cry when it broke. LOL.

[@alexanderren1097]

Who are you and what the HELL did you do with Matthew Jensen?!

[@cemalhunal2659]

I too often happen to agreewith you....

[@tsmspace]

I have a thought on the pommel. Viking swords are actually not viking swords,, they're norman swords and were developed for use on horseback, as a derivation of the spatha. Vikings also used these swords, horseback? I don't know all of that but the normans were all cavalry. A longer sword from a horseback is, in the modern era, (patton sword for example) often used as a lance to be stabbed into the target as the horse charges. ,,, PErhaps this pommel is actually a palm cap?? For some charges, you might position your hand so that rather than pushing your thumb and forefinger into the handguard, instead you have the full force of your palm behind it as a lance??

[@tsmspace]

this might also make more sense with a more historically accurate viking sword, which has a very short grip.

[@tsmspace]

further this might also make sense for a historically accurate pommel,, which is in two parts. If the peen were all the way through the pommel,, it would simply shove through it if you pressed hard on the pommel as in a horse charge,, but if the peen were on the one part of the pommel, and then a cap were peened to this first pommel piece, the tang peen would only shove up into the cap, so your palm would always have the full surface area of the pommel to press on. (you wouldn't get the tang forcing up through your palm.

[@lassiturbo2554]

half-moon my pommel mattdaddy

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Not until you watch Tim Mitcham.

[@tijnieken]

Where BA kriegsmesser review? :(

[@Matthew_Jensen]

it will be up in a couple weeks. I have it up for members at the moment (shameless plug)

[@tijnieken]

@@Matthew_Jensen Oh thanks :)

[@mr.j1381]

It really seems kind of long for a one handed weapon.

[@robertjensen1438]

Just a comment for the algorithm

[@kennywedlake2981]

I like i like i want i want....❤❤❤

[@KF1]

Excellent note about Viking sword pommels. Good god, how can a design look so good but grip so badly.

[@Psycho-Ssnake]

You cut your hair? Or more likely had someone else cut your hair for you?

[@Matthew_Jensen]

yep, now my wife likes me again

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

Something like this.. if you actually get to push this one to failure... It may very likely.. just snap right at the Tang.... The hilt... Right where the tang starts ..ya know... It depends on how it's made... Or built.. or also the material

[@Matthew_Jensen]

That is what happened in the video. Conceivably you could use one and miss your target, hit your stand and break the sword. It took a bit to happen but ideally it did not break at the hilt where it did.

[@scripture1983]

Lmao

[@GrizzlyHemlock]

Regrow your beard and don't shave it off again, my advice to all men.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

my advices to all men is do what your wife likes so she will sleep with you more.

[@Resident-cb3yz]

Crappy sword made for small girls. That is it.

[@Resident-cb3yz]

Yes i have two small girls so i know.

[@MrBeefy-og7nw]

Windlass is crap.