New Toy!

A central place to talk about weapons and armour, as it relates to your kit. This is where you show it of or talk about making it. Discussing the relative merits of types of weapons goes in the WMA section.

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Manveruon
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New Toy!

Post by Manveruon »

Boy oh boy, have I had a lot on the burner lately! Finished my haversack for ranging, did an awesome trek with Greg, planning another trek with some locals on the 20th, and noooooow...

Remember over the holidays when someone posted about the sale at Valiant Armoury? And I said I really, REALLY wanted to get a Bristol, but my wife would kill me? WELL.

I GOT A BRISTOL. And I lived to tell about it!

Commence pictures!


First, I return home from work to find that the box has arrived!
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And now! The unboxing!
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The camera didn't quite focus right, but here's the mouth of the scabbard.
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And lastly, a couple comparisons with my beautiful arming sword from Ernie at Yeshua's Sword. Alas, I have still not finished the scabbard and suspension for that one, but it's one of the next things on my list.

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Sarah was definitely not thrilled when I broke the news to her that I had bought it, but I got some extra cash over Christmas, and it burned a serious hole in my pocket.

Anyway, I couldn't be more pleased, for the most part. I obviously just got it in my hands, so I can't be as thorough as perhaps I ought to be, but here are my initial impressions:

THE GOOD
- It feels wonderful. Heavy enough to deliver a good cut, but with a lovely balance point, such that it does not feel dead in the hand.
- It's sharp as hell. Like, seriously. Dang.
- The grip is secure and extremely comfortable (which I wondered about before purchasing, since it's a bit of an unusual shape), and the leatherwork is all but seamless. Seriously, the seam is practically invisible - even more-so than on my custom sword from Ernie, for which I paid a lot more money.
- The fishtail pommel is handsome, and its shape even allows for a two-handed grip, if one is so inclined. Also, it resembles the shape of pommel on the movie-version Narsil/Anduril, which certainly lends it a nice Dunedain-ish aesthetic.
- The antique green color is GORGEOUS, especially on the scabbard.
- The scabbard in general is beautifully constructed and finished, from the well formed mouth which grips the sword *just* enough, to the beautiful steel chape at the bottom. The risers are also neatly formed, and add a nice flourish to the design.
- The blade seems straight, secure, and well finished to a uniform satin sheen.

THE BAD
- I feel the grip could have been a little lighter in color, but this is an EXTREMELY minor gripe.
- There were a couple minor nicks in the leather of the scabbard, but I honestly don't mind. They were very, very small, and really only add a little character. I'm sure I'll be putting plenty more nicks in it myself.
- The scabbard throat doesn't *precisely* match the sweep of the crossguard. It's really, really close, but not 100% flush. Once again, this is very minor - hardly even worth mentioning.

So that's basically it, but there is ONE last detail that bummed me out a little, and frankly it's the only "bad" item that I actually care about in any way. That is, the pommel is very slightly offset from the grip - maybe a millimeter, maybe two. To a casual observer, it's probably hardly noticeable, but I admit, it was the first thing I saw when I inspected it. This does make me just a little nervous that the leather might begin to sneak out from underneath with prolonged use, as I believe has happened slightly with Greg's Bristol. And unfortunately, since I chose a peened construction instead of a hex nut, I don't know that there's any easy way to fix it without major surgery. Any thoughts on this would certainly be appreciated. Here's a shot showing what I mean:
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Overall, however, I am extremely pleased with this sword! That one detail is definitely a bit of a concern, but basically everything else about it thrills me beyond belief! It arrived much faster than I anticipated, and it was packaged extremely well. The price, obviously, was fantastic, especially compared to my custom sword from Ernie (which, don't get me wrong, I still absolutely adore), and that didn't even come with a scabbard! Sonny was extremely communicative, and very helpful. He didn't even have a problem when I asked him if he could knock off the extra cost of the peened assembly if I were to leave out the harness altogether (I've never loved the harness they offer, and I plan to make my own anyway).

So yep, there you have it, folks! The Bristol is starting to become the sword of choice around these parts it seems!
Maerondir Perianseron, also called “Mickel,” Halfling Friend - Ranger of the Misty Mountains
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Elleth
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Elleth »

Oh VERY cool!
I confess, I was tempted: I'm glad you took the plunge though!

I'm curious - how does it handle compared to your arming sword?
I confess I stink with swords, but after a month or so of moulinettes in the basement with my Windlass "Type XIV" I'm finally starting to appreciate the one-handed western sword (and more importantly perhaps, my forearms finally got enough exercise I can appreciate them. )
But anyhow - I've noticed with the sword I have that having a disc pommel right under the heel of my hand seemingly sometimes seems to provide leverage to the grip.

Though perhaps that's just psychosomatic? I don't have a basis for comparison.

Since you use both: do you notice a difference between the two? Does the arming sword have an "oomph" or stability missing when there's no pommel right under your hand?
Or does it just not matter?

Regardless, it's gorgeous! I do love the "Numenorian" look! :)


Finally - re the pommel. I know it's terrible letting go of a new toy, but do you think you could exchange it? I know I've always been grateful when "Past Self" went ahead and did the un-fun thing (like having to wait ANOTHER few weeks for a fix) than just living with something not-quite-right.
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Greg
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Greg »

They probably wouldn't take an exchange on something with custom colors and a peened tang...but that offset is significantly less than the one on mine, so I'd say you're in a good place.

WOW. The fuller is SO CLEAN compared to mine...they've really improved their grinding processes/quality control. It's lovely. Congrats!
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Ursus
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Ursus »

It's a beaut, I love the green. I wouldn't worry about the pommel either, it lends character. Imagine how it would look after having been lugged around ME being slammed into various hard materials. Personally I age or blue all my steel hilt parts as they will slowly go that way from repeated handling and weather exposure, plus they don't stand out as much in the woods. Either way congrats! You've the beginings of a fine little collection there.
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Rifter
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Rifter »

Valliant's stuff is always quite god I too own one of theirs. I might have him or Fable Blades make me a custom Ranger blade. Looks great man, nice stuff. And wives always are never happy if we spend money....only when they get to. Peshaw lol, its a good buy
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Manveruon
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Manveruon »

Rifter: Sarah, in fact, just bought a bow that was actually MORE expensive than this sword, so there's that, haha. Honestly, what I'd love one day would be to have a hand-and-a-half sword made for me using Bristol fittings, like this guy did:
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I think it looks wicked, and I'd love to have a longsword for ranging, but I do still love this little guy. It's the type of short sword an archer might carry anyway, which suits my purposes just fine. If you don't mind my asking, which of the other Valiant swords do you own?

Ursus: Excellent points, all. I was considering aging the fittings somewhat, but at the moment I kind of like them how they are. Still, it may be on the agenda in the future. For now, I'll see how it ages on its own and go from there.

Elleth: As for handling characteristics, I'm afraid I don't have a ton of info for you just yet. I will say that my initial impression is that the Bristol seems a little less tip-heavy than the custom, and thus a little livelier in the hand - however, it also seems just as heavy, if not almost slightly heavier than the custom, overall. Unfortunately, I have never actually gotten the chance to put the arming sword through its paces, and I don't really practice WMA (though it's certainly on my list of things I need to learn), so I'm afraid I can't give a more nuanced answer to that at the moment. At the very least, I plan to try and take both of them out for some cutting when it gets a little warmer, but I couldn't tell you when that will be.

Otherwise, I would be happy to post more specific stats on both swords (because it occurs to me that I promised to post more info about the arming sword way back when but never got around to it) in the near future, including weight, balance point, COP, etc. And then, I think it's well past time I tried to make myself attend some cut-and thrust practices with my local SCA group. It's not a perfect analogue for arming sword, but it's a lot closer than the training I'm working with now (which is nothing).
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Manveruon
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Manveruon »

Oh, on another note, would someone mind moving this post to the reviews section? I figure it fits better there than in the weapons section.
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Greg
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Greg »

You'll have to buy a special formula to age those parts, because Valiant uses stainless on their fittings, fyi.
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Manveruon
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Manveruon »

Yeah, I saw a guy over on Sword Forum International post that he used Caswell stainless steel blackener for his. Seemed to work pretty well. Still not 100% sure that's what I want to do, but it does create a nice antiqued finish.
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Manveruon
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Manveruon »

And here's what I did today! It took WAAAAAAAY longer than it should have, but the suspension is done! Can't wait to wear this beauty on my next excursion!
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Eric C »

Manveruon wrote:Oh, on another note, would someone mind moving this post to the reviews section? I figure it fits better there than in the weapons section.

Um... yeah. I just tried to move it for you. But it didn't work. I'll figure it out unless someone else moves it before I do. Or it could stay here. It looks good here. :mrgreen:
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Elleth
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Elleth »

Oh that is nice!

What exactly is going on where the straps grab the scabbard? I could never figure that out looking at pictures.
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Re: New Toy!

Post by JeffCee »

Purdy! Does it handle like a bastard or more like a typical arming sword? I love how light it is!
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Greg
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Re: New Toy!

Post by Greg »

The Bristol is DEFINITELY an arming sword. The fishtail leaves a bit of extra room, but it really floats plenty nicely to be used in one hand.
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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