Incredible sword! Congratulations to Vic! My experience with type XIX arming swords and longswords are they do a lot of work for you in cutting with less weight overall, which makes them a more efficient cutting sword in terms of power/mass ratio. The far out point of balance makes it natural to engage the shoulder and elbow when cut with them and although the point of balance is usually further away, because the sword is lightweight, it’s not that slow to redirect them either. It’s a relatively rare type in late medieval times, very different from the popular type XVIII swords but once you experience them, they grow on you.
I have bought this model from them, and while I must say it's of great quality, I was surprised to find that the hilt is not really historical, contrary to what you would expect from Albion. The issue is firstly the guard, which is clearly inspired by extant swords you can find in the National Archaeology Museum in Dublin, but not really the same at all. For the grip, they took the length of the longest one that e know of, since Irish swords all have very small grips, but - and this is the source of the issue most people have with this sword - they put a pommel on it that is as wide as the widest pommel known, and as thick as the thickest. Irish ring pommels have overwhelmingly small and thin pommels. On many, it is practically vestigial, and some, like you mention, taper down. The sword that the kern is mostly based on has a much smaller pommel, and one that has very rounded edges as well. The current pommel digs in the hand uncomfortably when you try to cut, but historical ones would not, thanks to their smallness and/or thinness. Even the concept that Peter Johnston made was actually very different to the production model. My guess is that once they looked at it, they thought the balance had to be wrong, being used to swords with much heavier pommels, and so they built a bigger one to rebalance it closer to the hand. Irish warriors loved to cut, and were not very prone to thrusting, as we learn from period commenters, so naturally they would have wanted a very blade heavy, yet light, sword. I am seriously thinking about getting the pommel on mine changed, maybe even get a new guard made. The blade is spot on, but the hilt I would prefer built more accurately.
Nice review. Type XIXs are so good-looking. It's interesting how much the hollowed-out pommel affects weight and balance, compared to the Machiavelli, which I believe has the same blade. Looking forward to the review of the VA sword with the ring pommel!
Ooo man how lovely. Type 19s are certainly some fun swords and I can see how it’s confusing that they’d be lumped together by Oakeshott. I may be wrong but I suspect that with earlier types the blades are more starkly broken up into single or two handed types, yet as we approach the 15th century the idea of longswords means that you can have a “long blade” and it can be fitted on variety of size hilt. Great review!
@stevenkennedy4130 Oh, my mistake. I was reading Gen 2 as the successor to Albion's first gen swords (1st generation or Albion Maker's Mark). Not the Gen 2/Legacy Arms brand! 😂 What do you think of the sword? I personally don't have any experience with their work.
@@alientude Fit & finish is just fine. Nothing special there. But the handling is amazing. Very fast and nimble, for a sword of it's size. And It loves to cut. Tatami to water bottles!
"better fit and finish than their usual finish"....you are giving that peen block a big pass and I feel you would be much more critical if another $1300+ maker did that. Interesting review and comparisons.
I should have clarified I meant the blade itself, which is very clean. While the peen block being slightly misaligned doesn't really bother me, I acknowledge other people disagree. I'll make sure to apply this same level of criticism to other makers in this price point going forward. Thank you for pointing out potential bias.
Honestly I don't think kyle is bias for giving a non issue a "pass" perfection doesn't exist brother, never has never will. To be fair to your point, is it aonce you see it you can't un see thing, like the tiny ripple in the fuller he also pointed out? Yes sure of course, but is it so bad its a problem and sticks out like a sore thumb? No, not really. If you bought this sword, when you got it there would likely different minor imperfections. Albions are hand made. And not to be a butt hole but if you think 1300$ is an expensive sword... it's not. It sure ain't cheap don't get me wrong. But if extremely minor things like that give you buyers remorse then I personally think you are way to picky. Beautiful sword, cuts well, light weight, handles well. Two very minor flaws that you practically need a magnifying glass and a square to see.... You're just fixating on the negative at that point imo. Albion makes excellent swords. They're easy to recommend. If any other manufacturer made these exact mistakes I seriously doubt kyle would call it a deal breaker.
@@sinisterswordsman25 And I counter that these are exactly the kinds of flaws he would point out as issues that really would bother him on any other sword and would be considered a detraction. He would pan this on any other $500+ sword. Did I say $1300 was expensive (I'm well aware what top tier customs can cost)? I just pointed out that he would be unlikely to give another company in that price tier a pass. He also basically admits an Albion bias in the vid, lol. I also own a couple Albions and I know they aren't perfect.
