My Opinion of Windlass Steelcrafts
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 เม.ย. 2017
- Here is what I think about this manufacturer of historical arms and armor reproductions (among others things). They are one of the most affordable sources on the market, and I've owned / handled a number of their swords, spears, and axes over the years.
If you want to browse their stuff (affiliate link): www.kultofathena.com/brand/wi...
The review of the shamshir / scimitar: • Review: Scimitar by Wi...
The sharpening video: • An Easier, More Effici...
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My favorite online store for buying swords (worldwide shipping):
www.kultofathena.com/?koa=259
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Some recommended knife makers on Amazon:
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I curled to my mace and softly whispered "don't worry,you are still battle ready for me, don't listen to him..." while stroking it gently.
_Pets warhammer and mace (and bec de corbin and trench club and Hussite polearm flail thing and three war clubs and maul and bar mace)_
It's okay, Skall didn't mean it. Kind of. I mean, he totally meant it, but... y'know... yeah... stop being such crybabies, you are literal blunt weapons.
Fairly sure when he said “battle ready” he meant blades/swords. Not just weapons in general.
@metalfaust19 maces in general are quite affordable and easy to find good ones. Even Tod Cutler bronze mace heads are reasonably inexpensive
Their maces are pretty solid in my opinion, and their spears are pretty nice too
Taxi for a. Virgin, is there a. Virgin in here?
Question: Would you damage the edge to save a limb?
Answer: Not if its an Albion.
Q: Would you damage a limb to save an Albion?
A: ... Fok yea.
2:22 That was a very impressive squeaky door impression :o
I was thinking the exact same thing!
dude I read this right as it happened wtf
Marko Stojadinov im your 69th comment
I mean like lol
@Fab I love the matching of your name and profile picture :D Thranduil should be the the new face of Schauma ... the best hair in Middle Earth deserves no less ^^
Skall, the swords are made blunt as they are because India does not allow the export of sharpened blades.
Yes, but the statement about their "battle-ready" swords is from Museum Replicas Limited in the US. And they still offer them blunt by default, with a sharpening option that costs extra.
True, if they imported them and Museum Replica sharpened them for free before selling that would be one thing but they advertise them as battle ready blunted.
Agnish Roy That may be a case, but I'm speaking of exported production pieces. Not ceremonial religious practices.
Captain Harlock In all honesty, if a person is really into swords and cutting with them, they should learn how to service their tools. Warriors from all time periods have had to service their own weapons. You can't hold up a battle to have your sword or spear or armor sent off to a a professional to have it serviced. You do it yourself.
Personally, I wouldn't knock a product because of the edge it came with. That is an issue that can be fixable yourself. What matters more is structural integrity and the tempering of the steel.
I happen to like Windlass blades quite a bit. For the price they are good pieces, and can be made excellent with just a little work and care.
Agnish Roy Yeah that does sound like a weird practice. But blade laws can be weird, especially in places like India where these things are a lot more prominent in the culture and life than here in the States, or in most Western nations.
but skal in a battle situation you're supposed to defend your edge with your own body before allowing it to take damage!
Nathan Carter no, you're supposed to defend the pommel with your own body and your edge
The pummel is perfectly capable of defending itself.
If I drop one of my swords onto the concrete I do my best to dive beneath it's path to soften the blow, as all true warriors should.
Fixing edge damage just isn't worth it.
You are supposed to use your sword to take ALL damage from another sword. It is a tool. You can fix a sword or gods forbid replace it. Try replacing your freaking arm.
I like them for budget items in general. They are decent and useable if you have a small grinder to hone the edge typically.
Use stones. Grinders are best used by chimpanzees.
I own a Windlass Steelcrafts sword that I had custom sharpened and it was fantastic, it sliced through bottles and cartons like they weren't even there. Then I accidentally struck the 4x4 stand the bottle was standing on and the top six inches of the blade snapped off. It wasn't even a full-strength swing. I don't recommend them, myself.
Most definitely wasn't just the sword's fault. How hard did you swing? At what angle did you hit the stand? What material was the stand? How stabilized wasnthe stand?
Sidenotr: I've heard before, don't know if it's true, that sharpening blunt reproductions can seriously mess up the blade's integrity and turn them into what amounts to a large glasshard. Super sharp but one bad impact and that's it.
I have a Kukri. It was passed to my great grandfather by a Gurkha he served with in Africa, apparently.
Very nice knife.
Made by Windlass?
@@cavalryscout no but he wanted to tell everyone about it
The company did explain the 1mm wide edge with the fact that it allows them to sell them to a much broader public and export them to far wider range of countries. I'm fine with that, I didn't get bent out of shape when I got my regimental kukri and saw that it was blunt. Calling it battle ready or whatever it was is of course misleading to say the least, but it's still a lot better than selling sharp crap, like all of these combat-/survival-/zombie- fantasy knife manufacturers do.
That regimental kukri I bought once upon a time was flawlessly made, by the way, and once I took a file to the edge and then sharpened it, it turned into one of the least disappointing large knives in my collection. It was cheap, too, so it's not something I've felt I need to treat like a delicate little butterfly.
Definitely in favor of more videos on individual manufacturers.
An honest and detailed opinion, as always. I like this review of weapon manufacturer. It would be great if you would do more for others as well. I think it can help a lot of people who are not sure which one to choose.
Throwing it out there skall, yes please more of these if you can. Always nice to have a baseline on manufacturers which is hard to find without a TON of bias behind it.
Yes!! Please continue making videos about the different companies available! I have no experience in sword collecting, so hearing the pros and cons of the major companies from someone like Skallagrim who strives to be objective would be super helpful.
"A sword is flying at me, but this sword cost a lot, look how good it looks, it'll be a shame if the enemy damaged my edge and- Aaaaaand there goes my arm" - The life of Medieval soldier according to windlass.
Disclaimer: edge not included
You should make a video about which countries have the fewer bans on weapons and which ones have the most.
Definitely would like to see more of these for all manufacturers you feel like you have sufficient knowledge to talk about.
This is actually something I've been interested to hear from you. Cheers!
I loved the style and honesty of the review, great job as always skall and looking forward to more product company reviews! I plan on getting the budget tatical gladius, but will defer to other companies for any higher end swords that i wish to buy. (I use them for hunting safety and protection in dangerous woods near where i live to conserve ammo for game.)
Hold on a second, they're arguing that "Battle ready" means "Unsharpened" because in battle you could ruin a sword's edge by crossing it with another sharp edge?.
So, in essence their whole argument is "would you have your sharp edge damaged in the battle?, no ,right?. That's why all swords were dull metal clubs, because if you had a sharp edge then it might be damaged, so better to have no edge to begin with, that way you don't get a weapon rendered useless in the middle of a fight...you go instead with an useless one to begin with".
Holy shit do some people make no sense when inventing excuses....
I don't want to run out of ammo in battle. That's why I don't bring any ammo.
great work skall I've been with you since you were at 5000 and the qaulity has remained the same over the years keep it up!!
I would LOVE to see more company reviews from you. +1 to that, definitely!
I like the little grin you made when that cut corner joke came out.
"kult of athena which i generally recommend because of the good prices and international shopping" yeah good prices u pay $200-$300 for a sword and shipping is $120 USD, kill me now
Atomic Horizen Same here
Check out Southern Swords.
Yeah the shipping really is hella steep, $150 to norway plus import tax in addition!
@@ConsciousBrosCommunity I am new, how do you guys check the shipping price
@@snoopcat9351
Gotta go thru the checkout process and enter shipping location details, then you'll get a price
the pirate captains hanger they make is amazing. i cut into a grounding rod that i forgot to take out of the box my dryer came in. there was barely any edge damage, i touched up the edge for only a few minutes a couple days later and it barely looks damaged.
I for one, would like to see more videos that cover specifics about the different manufacturers.
Over the years. Learn to appreciate your criticism and review well done
love these kind of videos please keep making them!!!
Thanks for the video, it was indeed interesting. Personally, I'd enjoy seeing your opinions on other manufacturers, and your picks of what items you would buy of theirs
More videos like this would be greatly appreciated.
Windlass is a nice option for those looking for a specific type of sword they wouldn't usually collect and don't want to spend $400+ dollars on it. Also a great starting point for college students or other penny pinching HEMA practitioners.
This would definitely make a good series. Thanks, Skall!
I appreciate your concise explanation!
We're people really not interested in manufacturer reviews? I would love to see more.
I'm definitely interested in more videos like this.
awesome review! great passion my brotha!
I would defiantly like to see more of this video type it was extremely useful; its good to know which manufacturers you can trust, especially for what specific weapon type. Are all the Windlass gladioluses bad? If so who is a good manufacturer of gladioluses and weapons from antiquity and the early medieval age which is my favorite period of to collect from?
Thanks for the review - I have three windlass steelcraft swords so far. I don't do heavy cutting but the ones I have seem ok.
Can we get Hanwei next? I've been looking into their blades but I am very paranoid on brands.
This^
I'd recommend their Tinker Pearce line
He's delivered! Hoohah!
More of these manufacturer history videos, please! :D
You should do your opinion of cold steel. Haven't seen you review much of their stuff, great video as always, keep it up!
These are useful, please make more for the other companies you use.
i have a cobra falcata that i used yesterday to go to work clearing brush and never chipped or dulled that much so i was pretty impressed
Good video Skall. To added to it, from my experience so far and from what I have heard it appears that Windlass's quality is improving as their newer lines so far appear to be of good quality. But I still need to run more tests on more of their swords.
The Windlass Battle Cry line comes sharpened, the edge cuts out of the box but could be better as it is sharpened to a steep angle. From my tests with the Maldon Viking Sword I have found it to be durable, it was neither bent, chipped, nor was the finish damaged after many strong strikes into a 5in tree trunk. Also its handling felt good to me. I am planning to make a few reviews of different blades from the line, once the semester is over.
Lindybeige made an entire video dedicated to explaining why hitting with the edge is often a good idea. He touched upon the brief points you made, among others. I recommend that for anyone interested in hearing more on that subject.
I have several of their swords and the sharpening done by them is extremely sharp.
The Oakesshott type XIV is quite good, too and I am satisfied with the Erbach Castle sword as well.
Skall, could you do a video on repairing rusty swords to usable swords. So tips on how to take rust off a dull blade, and sharpening it afterwards without harming it.
I've had a Windlass rapier since the early 2000's. I've been pretty easy on it, but it's a very accurate thruster for someone of my limited skill/experience.
I used to own that Windless Shamshir you mentioned. I got it from MRL and it was called their Scimitar. It was very well balacned and fast and deadly in the hand. I loved it and regret getting rid of it. But you mentioned the guard being seemingly laquuered or something. Something else about the guard; I dropped my sword on my hard ceramic tile kitchen floor and th guard bent. So it is evidently made of pot metal or some other soft metal. But I still love it. I also owned the Cold Steel one which also made by windless has a brass guard.
I've two Windlass swords, both came sharp from where I ordered them from. They cut just fine.
Very nice video, Mr Skall. Do a similar video about Del Tin.
I have a couple of their blades. I get the sharpening service done when I purchase them. They are pretty good quality.
I remember reading a review on Cold Steel's Shamshir and the blade being reviewed had an almost faded "Windless made in India" stamp near the tang.
So It's safe to say that Cold Steel = Windless + Sharpened blades.
I beg to disagree
*good windlass blades with terrible cold steel hilts*
I thought Cold Steel was made in South Africa
Cold steel is a garbage company. Do not support them if you appreciate historical weaponry. They trademarked the historical term “San mai” and have attempted (unsure if successfully) to sue companies for using it
Good steel, bad handles.
I would enjoy more steel craft brand reviews
I have the Sword of Roven (or European longsword) and their version of the Ulfbehrt. Both seem nice for the price. No major flaws or excessive wobbliness.
I really like this video. Do more reviews like this. please.
I echo your sentiments.
For semantic purposes, I would say they are indeed Battle durable or Battle ready, but they are not Competition sharp. Over the years I've owned several Windlass swords, purchased through Museum Replicas or Atlanta Cutlery, and the selections I've made have been well-constructed pieces, despite lacking distal taper.
Man, I want to play a weaponsmith dwarf right now!
Nice job
In the beginning of the video you talked about steel types, I was very interrested in that topic and want to learn more about the different steel types, so could you make a video explaining what type of steels are out there and what characteristics do they have?
i'm sure he already has a video like that
Could you talk about rapiers, Skallagrim? It's something I'm interested in and would love to hear what you think about them.
I like, please, to have some more info or a link on that dagger you mentioned that could be bought on a limited budget.
Skall, I've been looking over spears recently, and I have the same concerns about the design you were showing, where the blade is jointed to the socket and doesn't look reinforced. I was wondering if you could offer any advice on a few of their available offerings. Both the Greek and Euro heads look the best due to the central ridge running up a good portion of the length of the blade, giving a very sturdy design from the socket up. The Hewing spear is way too abrupt at the transition between socket and blade, but the Long Blade Hewing Spear has a longer transition.
That background is so beautiful, I'd like one for myself =)
for those curious, 10XX steel is just carbon steel, some companies like zombie tools use a 51XX spring steel (I think the specific is 5160). As Skall mentioned the last 2 digits refer to the carbon content in 10ths of a percent. the 1060 mentioned has .60% carbon in the steel. The first 2 digits refer to the alloying elements.
5160 is great spring steel for blades!
Gods, I love Kult of Athena. I've had nothing but good experiences with them.
What are your best options for Sabre reproductions for cutting? As in swords that can hold an edge and wont fall to pieces immediately? Are the universal swords 1853 sabres any good? Any input would be appreciated!
please do more company review thoughts.like dark swords, ten ryu, maybe even swords of northsire
Im looking for a cool wallhanger that i can take outside and cut some cans or whatever and not have it break. Ive heard generally good things about the bosworth longsword for its price point and im wondering if it would fit my needs?
I have Windlass' Sword of Tancred, and i must say, it came from the factory pretty damn sharp
Hey Skallagrim!
Is there any chance you could do a video on the research of, "Bojutsu" I think it's called?
I've been trying to search it up, but most of what I find is demonstrative youtube videos, but not much on history. Perhaps I'm not using the right search terms?
Well as you and others have pointed out if the edge was never to contact another edge, then the cruciform guards wouldn't have been in-line with the edge.
I have two Windlass swords, the Eglinton Backsword and the Sword of the Thirty Years War rapier. I haven't sharpened either of them. The backsword is on the heavy side, though it appears within the weight range for an original, and has a rather chunky "edge." I keep meaning to travel the few blocks to the Royal Ontario Museum and see if I can compare it to the original on which it was based, but I just never seem to get there.
The rapier wouldn't take a huge amount of work to sharpen as it has a thinner blade and more shallow geometry. The tempering on it seems to be fairly good as it's not overly floppy and returns to true, when bent perhaps 8" or more offline.
I just received "The Dark Prince from" Dark Sword Armory. They are in my opinion nothing less that the Finest Forge on the Planet!
I believe another reason Windlass was founded was to make steady work for Gurkha soldiers who were retired or disabled
Hey skallgrim could you possibly take a look at hai to gensou no grimgar I really like it and wonder what your opinion on it is since it seems to be going for a sort of realistic feel rather than a flashy action one.
Are there any manufacturers you'd recommend for buying a good quality transitional rapier?
My guess as to why so many manufacturers make blunt swords is because it is a lot easier to ship and there is less hassle (ie permits). I know that in New Zealand there are a lot of rules like that with fines for companies if they sell edged weapons.
Their claims aside; are they allowed to export a sharpened sword?
Aninquin: Bullshit!!! Cold Steel's swords and knifes are manufactured in India and they come sharp right out of the box! The Windlass Cobra line are sold sharp right out of the box! Just to mention two examples. So stating "India does not allow the export of sharpened blades" is utter bullshit and nothing else!!!! There are NO law in India preventing the export of sharp blades!!!
Verdunveteran Again, unnecessary use of aggressive language.
A Terran Republic Grunt language cannot be aggressive.
My work here is done!
@XerasDezarrys I know this is a year late but this is one fucking brilliant comment.
does anyone have any experience with the windlass greek spearpoint? Looks a lot more solid than the zulu one and seems to be a pretty good option for a spearpoint, if i have to believe the interwebz
Could you please do a video on what you think of Darksword Amory?
Question, do you have the old MRL polish Karabela saber? Or know anyone who does, been trying to track one down.
Their Viking type swords seem to be decent from my experience. I have several and have put them through hard use and they've held up. I have a couple high end swords but don't want to risk damaging them fighting so the Windlass swords are used.
Have you tried their naval cutlass? I'd like to get one can't find a review
I have a windlass steel craft 15th century German bastard sword so far my best sword yet, mine came professionally sharpened (most likely in the USA where I live and ordered it).
Can someone give me a few suggestions for sites to buy low-to-mid range price swords with more authentic items?
I got a couple from this video and description but I wanted to see if anyone else had any to share.
Erm skall....can i ask for a request . Would ye kindly review the musketeer main gauche and rapier combo by windlass , please ? Kind regards and season's greetings 🙂❤
Just get them professionally sharpened! That's what I do and that works well!
Please do Del tin next! Looking for affordable Sword to abuse, don't have the stones to test my Albion like you :) Think I remember Matt Easton Said ones that Del tin were one of the better brand in the budget range.
You need to review the American Revolutionary Saber. That thing is properly peened. Even with the sharpening service, it is still incredibly priced.
Would it be possible to make reviews on Kaskara swords thanks.
Was a bit worried he was going to say they're junk and not to buy them. I just purchased my 1st sword yesterday. A 1860 Union light Calvary saber by windlass. (I also have a Japanese imperial Navy katana. But I inherited that one.)
Heya, Skal! In regards to the swords being blunt, I'm pretty sure that India has export laws for weapons stating that you can't export a "sharp" weapon, which is why their items (and all indian made items) are purposely shipped blunt.
Thanks you made me buy one :)
can you tell us something about the tiger hook swords??
in your opinion what is the best for the money battle ready swords under 500 ?
I purchased a few items that didn't fit and returned or I had to strap, buckle, and rivet some of my helmets. I have been ordering from Museum Replicas since the early 1990's. The quality is usually very good, however my biggest problem with Museum Replicas is their back orders. I have been waiting for an order since spring 2023.
Hey Skallagrim can you do a vid on sword breaker daggers?
Thanks for the Zulu Spear (iklwa?) review; I had been thinking about getting one. Oh, well...
Can you do a sharpening video? Is sword sharpening different than knife or axe sharpening?
Can you do one of these vids for legacy arms?