LK Chen Saxony German Rapier Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ค. 2024
- Today we took a look at the Saxony German Rapier by LK Chen. This sword impressed us initially, and was a welcome addition to a scarce mid range rapier market. But now that we've spent more time with the sword do we still think it offers great value for money? Find out in our official review.
**Disclaimer**
We're not experts in weapons, history, or anything really. We don't study HEMA or any other form of material arts that would tell us how to use the weapons we talk about. We are simply enthusiasts and consumers. We'll give you our honest opinions so that you can make informed buying decisions.
Specs
Overall Length - 47"
Blade Length - 40 3/8"
Weight - 3 lbs 1 oz
Width - 34 mm
Distal Taper - 7.6 mm - 1.4 mm
Pommel - Threaded
P.O.B. - 3 3/8"
Grip Length - 4"
Blade - GB 60Si2MnA High Carbon Manganese Spring Steel
Where to buy
LK Chen
lkchensword.com/shop-1/ols/pr...
KOA
www.kultofathena.com/product/...
Matt Easton's video
• What is a Military Rap...
I've got the LK Chen Town Guard, and I love it. It has the same casting marks and finish on the hilt, but fortunately I'm also a fan of that more "utilitarian" aesthetic.
It's awesome to see LK Chen stepping into the European sword market with two really great options out of the gate.
Vic here, I really want that town guard, so I'm glad to hear you're happy with it. Personally I'd get it in a satin polish. Though I totally understand you and Jon appreciating the sandblasted finish. I'm happy we have options. And I'm unbelievably happy with LK Chen making Medieval European and Renaissance swords. I am here for a great mid-range market.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Absolutely a joy to watch. Everything I can expect from LK Chen. Brother Nate just shipped me this sword and I expect to receive it soon. Looking forward to it so much! Excellent breakdown, guys!!
I don't think you'll be disappointed. :-).
As ever, thanks for watching, and for the kind words sir!
Seems like a fun one. LK Chen seems to consistently be coming out with the goods.
It really is a good time.
And you could not be more right. It would be hard for me to think of a manufacturer that makes such good products at such reasonable prices.
Thanks for watching sir. It's always good to hear from you!
Great overview lads! I appreciate the different points of view to highlight the pros and cons of the type of finish that the fittings have on this sword.
Looks like we are going to be spoiled with a variety of complex hilted swords entering a void in the mid-range market thanks to LK Chen!
I, for one, am here for that spoiling. Lay it on me LK Chen!
Thanks for watching!
Oh no! It looks like I am going to have to suffer another Bulgarian customs saga, like I did with my Niu Wei Dao and 1796 sabre. Thank you for convincing me it will be worth it... Good job guys!
Thank you for the kind words. We both absolutely love their Nui Wei Dao. And the 1796 saber is one we will be checking out in the near future.
Thanks for watching!
Lk chen has been putting up a new sword its seems like every month. Im a fan of these rapier, but the latest, the qing jian has really won me over. It will be my next lk chen buy
Agreed LK Chen has so many swords I want to buy. They will be getting my money often for the foreseeable future.
Thanks for watching!
Finally.
I was waiting for this review
Love the name sir! And thanks for watching!
I think it definitely falls more into the side sword category, but it is a great looking sword. I would definitely buy it
There's definitely an argument to be made for its being a side sword. Either way though, it's FUN!
Thanks for watching!
Sweet sword and cool review. Well done
Thanks for the kind words, and for watching!
Just adding that on LK Chens website you can now get the hilt in a polished finish. I'm not sure if this was an option when I purchased mine earlier this year.
That's actually a brand new option. LK Chen just emailed us some pictures of what the satin finish looks like, and it's really nice. I'm quite happy with this finish, but I think the satin will be much more broadly appealing.
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews I agree. I saw someone's on reddit the other day and I gotta say I wish I had the option on mine. I believe someone in the post mentioned they polished theirs mildly as well so that's always an option too.
Hm! This sword has nearly the exact same grip and guard as the Phil Chen Torino Rapier from the early to mid 00’s! I have one. The blade is much different, being much thinner, and is pretty whippy.
The only difference I see in the grip is that the spiral wires on the grip were singular as on this it’s doubled. Also, the pommel on my Torino Rapier is a far more slender, cylindrical style than the large walnut style on this one.
You guys should take a look at the Torino Rapier and you’d be surprised at the similarities.
I’m glad the blade is ought what it should have been all along though. Heh.
Though, nothing in all these years (mid range) has surpassed my 2005 Phil Chin “German Side Sword”..
Also….both the Torino and German Side Sword costed me no more than $200 bucks each. (Which of course seems insane for a quality mass production piece, but yes) Even with inflation, it makes me question this piece, especially considering the high quality of the “German Side Sword” less than 20 years ago. But…who knows? 😁🤷♂️
Cheers, guys!
Great review as always, guys! Now I want one. May have to be my second sword, once I recover from the Ansbach.
As always thank you for the kind words! And I'm very happy you decided to pull the trigger on the Ansbach. Please let us know what you think of it when you get it.
Thanks for watching!
Too bad I'm poor because there are SO many swords I would love to own (and a good portion of those are from LK Chen) and this is one of them.
I'm poor exactly because of how many awesome swords there are!
That is a very traditional rapier. Most of them had blades 1" to 1.25" wide, but often almost four feet long.The hilt makes it a rapier more than the blade.
Interesting perspective.
Matt Easton makes the opposite argument. He makes the point that what differentiates a rapier from other sword types like a side sword is the nature of the blade. Even if the hilts are exactly the same.
Thanks for watching!
, there is many rapier with wide arming sword blades, i think easton is very wrong, sideswords are always shorter and less complex in the handle.
The rapier is a longer weapon of spanish origin. The sidesword is a shorter Italian weapon with a less complex guard
Nice review.. I can't use this sword as it is only offered for right hand, maybe you should mention that in your review. Help a lefty out. Please review the seven ring rapier form LK Chen.
Ah that's a shame, maybe a cup hilt rapier would suit you? I believe those tend to be pretty symmetrical. We definitely have our eye on all the complex hilted swords from LK Chen. So whichever one we get next we'll definitely mention its usability, if any, in the left hand.
Thanks for watching and for suggesting we give info to our lefty viewers!
the 1500s featured all sorts of unique swords for the changing era. Somewhat similar to this, Windlass makes a GREAT replica of the 1540 "Christus Imperat" rapier that's in the tower of london museum. It is a rapier that fits the traditional look more than this one, yet it was definitely designed to be a heavy duty "battle rapier" for some noble, meant for use facing bigger older style war swords in extended combat rather than the feather-like dueling blades nobles tended to carry day to day. It has a long relatively thick but narrow blade, very ornate yet protective crossguard, and wire wrapped handle as well.
Very cool! Thanks for that info. I'm going to fall down that research rabbit hole.later today. :-)
And thanks for watching!
Very interesting sword, and good review. Will you ever review the Albion Landgraf that used to be on the wall?
We will definitely be reviewing the Landgraf at some point. Spoiler Alert - I absolutely love it. We just keep acquiring new swords that jump its place in line. Having a lot of sword options to review is definitely a first world TH-cam sword reviewer problem. One that I am happy to have 😂
Thanks for watching and the comment!
Interesting
Great review. Love the channel. Quick questions: Does the tang go all the way through to the pommel? So, if the guard or something becomes lose, can this be tightened at the pommel? Also, noticed you only cut plastic bottles. Did you cut any wood, like sticks of thumb size diameter? Wondering how the quillon, guard, or whatnot holds up due to greater stress. With all that, I agree the aesthetics of the guard isn't anything like an antique look. I think LK Chen now polishes the guard? Regardless, I think if the guard was chemically colored black, the entire look of the sword would improve.
Hey, thanks for watching!
This sword is a full tang construction. We haven't used it to cut anything but water bottles. But Kane Shen did a video where he made what essentially amounts to ballistic gelatin and suspended bone thick sticks in it to see how the sword performs.
Spoilers.... It's crazy. This sword cuts better than it has any right to. I have no doubt it could take off a limb.
Here is the link to Kane's video:
th-cam.com/video/ab_hgwb1CbE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=fv0WhoFT2wB4Uo4Y
I've been rewatching this review. I enjoy seeing that blade cut, but I still don't like that pommel. Such a dealbreaker for me. 😔
I was wondering why I am harsher with rapiers than I am with swords, and I finally got it. Rapiers have more elements to them, so there are more things for one to potentially dislike, or conversely, more things that need to come together to obtain a desired look.
I'm going to rant a bit now on the type of rapiers... AVB Norman tried to give a typology based on the hilt types. So people say that rapiers are defined by hilts, meaning that all complex hilts on cut and thrust blades are rapiers. There is a different discussion people can have that, depending on use, there are only swords, sabres and rapiers, as bladed weapons go. All estoc, dussack, falchions and other such names are in reference to particular examples of cut, thrust and slash blades and not types of their own (i.e. they don't add a new focus on a blade use to the mix). You and others pointed out that some rapiers have broader blades than others, some starting to use the term military rapier. Except for the Munich Town Guard Sword and the Rapiers of the Guard of the Duke Elector of Saxony, I don't know a rapier type that has been issued to a militia by a governmental body, so using military in this context sound really wrong to me. And these two examples can be simply called Guard Sword (accounts for the quite wider blade) and Guard Rapier (has about a one-inch wide blade) to showcase the historical link with "guard", but also to denote the complex hilt guard. But rapiers in general were private purchases, and people added to them whatever blades they wanted or needed (and sometimes, like changing tires on a car, you changed what blade you had for what you needed, but kept the hilt). The distinction in fencing systems between self-defence and use on the battlefield were apparently pretty slim, i.e. you may not do flourishes on the battlefield, but you still hold the sword, parry and move your body in a similar way. This has nothing to do with the military as an organisation. The later Bilbo was used by Spanish military, but also by private people in the Americas that wanted a broad-blade (and I would argue that it is a broadsword as a type), but you see the same wide blade on earlier cup hilts, and shell hilts that are made for narrow blade rapiers (the ones people think of when watching old movies with the 3 Musketeers). So people should either just use the terms "broad-blade rapier", or "narrow-blade rapier" in reference to the morphology of the blade, or they should say "field rapier" to denote rapiers assembled with the intent to be used on the field of battle (e.g. Italian Wars that lasted for 65 years, The Thirty Years' War, plenty of occasions to be used) rather than military (which implies a clear organisation behind it, that it isn't there in most of the cases).
Big thanks for the review, gentlemen! Ordered this sword from our local retailer in the UK and expecting delivery at some point this month.
A bit of an off-topic question: could you please provide a link or at least just the name for the tabletop sword holder you are using for this video?
Much appreciated!
That's fantastic. I'm glad you liked the review, and I'm sure you will love the sword.
The sword holder is actually one that I, Jon, made myself. I'm considering selling some down the road, but I haven't gotten around to it. If I do I'll let you know though.
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews Thanks a lot! Please consider shipping to the UK too 🙃
After I asked for a satin polish on my hilt, Lk Chen now offers a satin polish on the guard and pommel on this rapier and the Munich side sword that they make
Vic here, I'm very happy the satin polish is an option. That will definitely be the route I go when I eventually order the town guard.
Thanks for watching!
How about a review of that Albion Kern on the wall there?
We will definitely be reviewing the Kern sometime soon.
Thanks for watching!
Nice blade. We in Germany call that a "Degen ", it is more a sword meant by this. Rapiers in German meant blades only for stabbing, most of them had no cutting edges.
Thanks for the info! And for watching!
Also…not certain what exactly has occurred with it/them…to wherein Phil Chen later became CK Chen and seemingly now LK Chen. Heheh.
Anyway. Thank you, gentlemen!
Cheers, again. I’ll shut up now. lol
No need to shut up lol, we appreciate you taking the time to hit us with your thoughts. Taking a look at the Torino Rapier would be a lot of fun. As we said in the video, this was our first rapier. And now we really want to check out more.
Thanks for watching! Cheers!
Did you guys happen to have any rust on the swept hilt or is that stainless steel like the chape?
Fortunately the hilt and pommel are stainless. Trying to keep the hilt oiled would be a nightmare, so I'm glad.
Thanks for watching
Wouldn’t you be worried about the cast guard breaking? I’ve seen forged guards break, the good ones just bend. It seems like a cast guard wouldn’t hold up to regular abuse
I would imagine It would be less durable to impact than a forged guard. Fortunately, LK Chen has amazing blade harmonics, so the impact from striking objects doesn't get transferred directly into the hilt. So I don't think backyard cutting will cause any problems for the guard. And since I don't plan on getting in any sword fights, I think it'll hold up okay.
A forged guard would be nice, but there is no way you can deliver that with this level of blade quality at this price point I don't think.
Thanks for watching.
I placed a order for the town guard from lk chen’s website, how long did it take for you to receive your sword for from them.
It arrived almost exactly 2 months after I ordered it.
Thanks for watching!
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews Thanks, I enjoy your guy’s reviews👍
How long did it take to ship?
It was delivered almost exactly 2 months after I ordered it.
Thanks for watching!
Hi guys, can you reply when you read this. How long did it take for this rapier to arrive from the day you placed your order? They told me that it generally takes about 6 weeks for delivery. I placed my order on 22 October and 67 days or 10 weeks later I’m having to ask how far away my order is and they’re telling me it’s only days away, weeks and weeks ago. I’m getting anxious about this and starting to feel like I’m being scammed.
My sword arrived almost exactly two months after I ordered it.
I have found their customer service to be very honest up front and efficient. I would definitely recommend contacting them.
I hope it gets here soon. I know you're going to like it when it does.
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews Thanks very much!
Nut and bolt pommel or peened?
It's a threaded pommel. Check out the videos description, we have all the specs listed.
Thanks for watching!
Too light to take off a limb or head. I prefer an English broadsword like my Albion Baron, but this is a beautiful sword.
The Baron is gorgeous, and I'm sure very much more authoritative in the cut.
That said, I'd bet you could amputate an arm with this. LK Chen has video of cutting what looks to be 4 inch bamboo with zero effort. This thing cuts better than it has any right to.
Thanks for watching!
Blah blahblah blahblah blahblah.
I got 3 1/2 minutes in, and still no real information.
Respect your viewers’ time, plan out what you’re going to say ahead of time, and Get. To. The. Point.
Thanks so much for watching, and for your extremely helpful suggestions. We will be sure to get right on that.
Have a great day.