If you like sword tests and reviews, check out these other ones too if you haven't seen them yet: Testing the Supreme Cutters: I was not Ready for This... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eCi61M0NeBE.html This Sword is Beastly! (Two-Handed Katzbalger?) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1DwtGzPKU8M.html Possibly the Best Single-Handed Cutting Sword I've Tested! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HzbM_uHG6xc.html Vicious Weapon from Hawaii: The Leiomano ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dpCeXxfD-ZE.html Will This $250 Yatagan Make the Cut? (Sword Review) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vX_8RWBkVQQ.html Is Kendo Experience Useful for Cutting with Sharp Swords? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K3lSeQVR0iE.html Also if you'd like to help cover cutting materials and others expenses while getting bonus content you can sign up as a member or patron. www.patreon.com/skallagrim ru-vid.com/show-UC3WIohkLkH4GFoMrrWVZZFAjoin
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7dqweWPohyM.htmlsi=KyK6cF0s-XvEVXIS I commented on your last video about the sports tape for your forearm/elbow pain. You may not have seen it, however I am mentioning it again because I think it really helps. I linked a RU-vid video of how to tape your elbow/arm. I hope it helps.
@adamyoung6797 I honestly don't know anymore. I'm 70 and am a veteran that had more opportunities than others (I think). I got curious when j went through cavalry ceremony training. I pursued the subject.
Yeah probably edge alignment is like 90% of cutting, but I really think that keeping a ludicrously sharp and maintained edge is really underplayed. Like a dull edge with perfect alignment isn't gonna cut a coat even at full gallop, but a razor will.
@@tylerreed610 well it depends on the mass, and the angle of the edge, too thin and sharp is useless as a blunt sword, the goal is to cut more than once.
May you heal swiftly. LK Chen produces such good swords. Glad he's so integrated at Kult of Athena now. Also, KK is a complete gold mine of useful information and an excellent contact.
@@bookerdewitt4811 I see, I suppose we enjoy different aspects about them! That’s a cool take on military swords, especially if there is a serial/production number on them .
Skall i think you earned the reputation of being honest and fair with your reviews, so if theres nothing wrong with it in your opinion then its a no brainer buy
Hey Skall, hope you heal up quickly! Great overview. These really are two very nice and as you put it 'representative' examples of their historical sabres. It's interesting that they struggled as much as they did with the tatami; I haven't tested mine on tatami yet, but they have made short work on almost any other target. Guess it's time to pony up...
Wanted a 1796 for years. One of the few paterns working for a left handers. Ordered one after seeing your first video on those sabers from LK. After this closeup, I cannot wait to have it in my hands. Was very happy with the messer you also reviewed (Gustave). Keep up the good work! Always a pleasure to watch!
LK Chen makes fantastic blades. I got interested in LK from a review video just like this! Since then I've had their Munich Town Guard and their Italian Longsword and would absolutely recommend them. The longsword especially feels so good in the hand. Skal, thanks for the blade on blade tests/comments. I know it's a small thing, but so rarely so you get any information about that in reviews.
I have an antique sabre collection. I also own a few repro sabres. The repro are usually larger and heavier than the originals. My first sabre was a COLD STEEL Napolionic repro. The length is insane, and the handle is large and uncomfortable. I have an antique Napolionic hussar sabre, and it is sooooo light and comfortable to hold. I think modern sword manufacturers are overcompensating something.
0:08 I like your cheesy over used effect... I think the editor is always sick of effects before people actually consuming the video. Use it more, it's cool. 😉
WKC Solingen bought a lot of machines back in the day. Wilkinson Sword ones etc. They still produce sabres to "parade" with. Might be worth a look for collectors.
My Dad had an 1860 saber back in the 1960s. There was no liner in the scabbard, just steel. I have read that the scabbard would dull the blade as it bounced on horseback. Also remember it being a surprisingly tight fit. Was told it was to keep the sword in the sheath as cavalry bounced across the rough countryside.
I have read some interesting things about the 1796 Pattern Sabre and why the government issue ones were often heavier, because the government issue ones were made in batch order they tended to be cheaper where as privately made swords were more often made to a standard whereby an officer would go to a shop where the sword would be tailored to their hand with a wooden model to get them a precise fit. After 1815 many of the government issue sabres were sold off to various people; The East India Company bought up a lot as did local governments and they'd entre service with the police forces of various British cities and towns and so into even the later 19th century you could find a 1796 Pattern Sabre being carried by a local constable or bailiff (although in my town the bailiff back then didn't because he was "loathed to surrender his halberd" which would be given after his death to the Castle when it became a museum in 1899). As for the 1860 Light Cavalry sabre I once read that there was a reason it needed a firm pull to get it out the scabbard, and that was an attempt on some models to get around a problem the "wrist breaker" had apparently encountered during the Mexican-American War, and that when riding over the bumpy terrain of the South-West and Mexico it was supposedly prone to falling out of its scabbard and being lost, although if it was unpopular to use some speculation exists that they might not have fallen off entirely on their own. One thing I can say is that I've seen no sources indicating tatami mats were ever deployed against the US military during this time period.
That’s funny about the bailiff not wanting to surrender his halberd 😆. I don’t blame him! I’d rather have a halberd than a saber too! Halberds are badass and intimidating! You don’t want to be on the receiving end of one of those!
@@117rebel As controversial to his contemporaries as he was. I could definitely see how a someone thinking about shoplifting might want to think twice when seeing a man with a halberd walking round the high-street. Not to mention he is reported to have rescued a child from the river with it by using the point to hook their coat and fish them out with it, this story eventually swaying the corporation to not retiring his halberd.
LK Chen has really established themselves as one of if not the top reproduction maker on the market. I don't think they've made a bad blade yet, at reasonable prices. I wish I had the budget to get all of them.
I am quite satisfied with my LK Chen 1860. The blade is fantastic. Finish on the guard and scabbard could be better but the blade and dimensions are the real deal. After a lifetime of handling cheap m1860 repros I was impressed by the authority of this sword. They are long and made for cavalry, not fencing. I'll definitely be buying something else from LK Chen.
I've been so excited for this video ever since you said you were planning it! That 1860 saber is absolutely gorgeous to me; I love that blade shape combined with that handle shape and guard. I've always loved sabers in general, and that one just looks so elegant. Also, I was wondering: do you have any plans on reviewing or talking about LK Chen's Yuan Mongolian Saber? I saw Matt Easton's video on it and fell in love with that sword. I had never really been exposed to swords from that part of the world in that time period before, and I immediately became enamored with it. Regardless, I loved this video, and all others you've put out! Keep on keeping on
Interestingly Matt Easton has a video on this apparently a large amount of the 1860s cavalry sabers came dull from the the factory, which is why the revolver was perfeered by most cavalry during the Civil War.
Skallagrim said it himself: he's not a sabre guy. But complaining about the back-strap and the grip-wire is the biggest self-report that he don't get sabres. 😅😂 Great video! Do more like this whenever you can. 👍
For some us, thanks for the info specs on taper thickness in some parts of the blade... The easier to forge out accurate copies of our own for them is that watch channels like THIS then turn round an follow it up with old Forged in Fire reruns... Least if one happens to ALSO have forging skills all at same time too
I love original military swords and sabers, if there’s two things I really enjoy…it’s antiques and swords, combine the two interests and you have what I am trying to collect. However, at the moment I can only afford to purchase antique sword bayonets. College struggles, am I right?
Just to note, in the way of 1v1 duels with swords, they could be very prolonged depending on the combatant. The infamous buccaneer Blackbeard, for instance, during his duel with Captain Maynard it was reported that he was stabbed 20 times before he finally succumbed to his injuries, it only ended once an English sailor caught the pirate down on the deck, his life fading then seizing that moment to finish him off!
Scholagladiatora reports that apparently American cavalrymen regularly complained about being issued dull sabres without equipment to sharpen them. A sword striking but sharply bouncing off a target instead of passing partly through it might actually break someone's wrist. That's just speculation though; no sources to back it up.
I wonder if the idea was to issue the sharpening tools only on the eave of war, similar to how the British would only order soldiers to sharpen their blades when war was declared.
I have several originals - The officer's models vary a lot but they tend to be a LOT lighter, like almost half the weight. The hilt on that is ok, some oeiginals do look exactly like that, but really good ones are sleeker (that cap is very stubby). Government originals had excellent fit and finish, so that one isnt better, its just pretty much the same. Sabres of all kinds had metal backstraps for over a hundred years so that's not an unusual feature and I realy prefer it. Its a myth that other reproductions of the 1796 has no distal taper- the most popular were the ones by Cold Steel (with their horrible ads) and Universal swords. The problem with them was that they had linear distal taper, whereas real versions have more complex taper. The only repro it know of that didnt have any was the Deepeka version but there may have been others. They were super cheap though.
Using the momentum of a horse while you follow through with a cut or cutting down from height while seated on a horse would very much compensate for some bad edge alignment. These days people are looking for the perfect cut. But just think if you where a solider and you had one of these hit your face or arm with the edge battle sharpened the night before do you real think the cavalry trooper cares if he made the perfect cut. More than likely he had just taken an enemy combatant out of the fight or has straight up ended you. Fun vid as always Skal
I own that saber as part of my old unit's ceremonial dress (spurs, saber, stetson). Wife was screaming one night, saber was the closest thing I could grab. Turned out we had a possum in the chicken coop with a dead chicken in it's mouth. I did not expect the saber to absolutely crucify that 20lb beast as easy as it did, but it did.
In regards to the tightness of the scabbard, I actually inherited an 1840 "Wristbreaker" from my grandfather years ago. And the scabbard on that sucker is TIGHT. Granted it's also rusted and missing it's handle (just the tang and guard remains) so that may be a contributing factor.
Worth remembering the original isn't in original condition - its been used, cleaned, polished, stored for a while and probably practised and simply played with for a very long time, so a smoother finish from all those hours of hands on it. That rivet at the pommel end probably looks great in the picture through the passage of time as much as anything - maybe they could have done more on the reproduction to make it better, but I highly doubt the originals were nearly as smooth as the image makes it look fresh out of the box..
I'm an amateur/hobbyist knifemaker and I've *attempted* to make a couple swords. Every extra inch doubles the difficulty when you're swinging the hammer. My rotator cuff is worth about 10 inches of blade every week.
Video: hey check these repro cavalry sabres... Me: nice, nice Video: ...from LK Chen Me: Now you really have my attention But seriously, LK Chen seems to be on a roll with well-made, well-thought-out stuff. At least from what I see as a viewer who doesn't own any swords. ...yet
Same type of saber as seen in "The Duelists", the way these cut I can easily picture the real officers they were based upon duking it out with them. Eyes locked with lots of aggressive movements, the tension building as the bout picks up in speed and intensity. Compared to the film real duels could be terrifying sans the Hollywood glitz and glamour.
I'm just happy that we get more decent saber reproductions. Yes, you might be able to get an original for a similar price, but would you want to risk damaging it with cutting practice?
I have one of the recent Cold Steel 1796 Light Cavalry Sabres and while the LK Chen _is_ more historically correct, the Cold Steel isn't a mile off--the "ears" on the handle aren't riveted, it doesn't have quite as much distal taper, and it has a nut instead of a peened pommel, but it really doesn't have any glaring problems. In addition, you can pick them up, with a leather instead of steel scabbard, for well under $200, less than half of what the LK Chen sells for. Something to think about.
