$265 budget longsword - the classic Cold Steel Hand and a Half Sword

Рет қаралды 6,251

Күн бұрын

#sword #coldsteel #cutting
The Cold Steel Hand-and-a-Half Sword has been awhile for a long time now, and it's one of the more popular budget swords on the market today, coming in at around $265. In this review, I take a close look at all of the components and point out a variety of compromises made that allow for the low price. I do some cutting, compare it to a couple other swords in the same price range, and finally render a verdict on whether I think it's worth the asking price.
Thank you to sword friend Brian for gifting this sword to the channel!
This sword on Amazon: amzn.to/3EHkyXT
Sword measurements photo gallery: photos.app.goo.gl/8EDa3rQFLjw...
00:00 Intro
00:06 Background
03:26 Scabbard
06:14 Hilt
12:44 Blade
19:41 Cutting
23:32 Handling & Comparisons
34:04 Potential Improvements
36:15 Bottom Line
38:38 Outro
Corrections
01:55 Mistake on my part here - While Windlass makes Cold Steel's sabers and their Man-at-Arms versions of European swords, Cold Steel's primary forge for this and other Medieval European style swords is likely Huanuo Forge (aka Dynasty Forge).
14:32 Again, note that this was not produced by Windlass (see previous correction).
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Пікірлер: 42

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

Important correction: While Windlass makes Cold Steel's sabers and their Man-at-Arms versions of European swords, Cold Steel's primary forge for this and other Medieval European style swords is likely Huanuo Forge (aka Dynasty Forge).

@michaelrizzo5523 9 ай бұрын

I've noticed a definite difference in blade quality and edge geometry between the Windlass vs Chinese made CS swords. Kudos for identifying the actual Chinese forge!

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

@@michaelrizzo5523 Thanks goes to @FortuneFavoursTheBold for correcting me on this!

@Psycho-Ssnake 7 ай бұрын

I never would have guessed dynasty forge does the non maa cs blades, pretty interesting. There's a sword that is non historical, very much awkward in my opinion but also nice looking and has some unique features. It is a windlass model in the battlecry series so I feel like serious sword reviewers don't even want to bother with it but I'm still very curious to see a detailed review with it. I hope you or Kane Shen can get one and take a lengthy close look at the Agincourt.

@BWDuty605 9 ай бұрын

Watching that was awesome, this is the second sword that I've previously owned that you've reviewed! Some of the scuffs and most of the spotting are probably from my lack of care. It was my first "real" sword and I had no idea how to care for them at the time. It performed way better than I expected in the review, and you shared many of the thoughts that I had on it. Overall I felt that it would have been a fun sword to mess around with after the edge was cleaned up, but in my opinion "overbuilt". I feel like it has the bulk and cross section (thus stiffness) of a thruster without a very good tip for thrusting, and the width of a cutter without a thin enough blade for optimal cutting -- so kind of not the best combination. Still an awesome value though! Everything on the sword just seems a bit too bulky to me. The grip.. yeah, couldn't agree more. I think it's a big part of why the sword feels just.. not right. I basically bought this sword because I had two Albions on order and was itching so bad for a *real* sword to fill the void. After the first Albion arrived I decided to begin my collection, and here I am 14 Albions in (not counting the three that I've sold).

@f4rhodesia273 9 ай бұрын

Awesome to see, The Man at Arms version of this was my very first sword and I was quite pleasantly surprised by it. Great review because you approached it from the mindset that its an ultra budget sword edit: as for the edge, you were spot on about the joy of sharpening it yourself. Mine performed similarly out of the box, however because the actual edge bevels were pretty solid, Getting it dialed in was a breeze.

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@Greenmick6982 9 ай бұрын

Great video! I cant wait for that Valiant Armory Irish Leaf Blade sword review video. My purchase may depend on it. Keep them coming!

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

I'm really looking forward to reviewing it as well. I have a backlog of swords to review (nice problem to have!), so not sure when I'll be getting to this one yet.

@Greenmick6982 9 ай бұрын

We'll be waiting, Kyle, my dude...and watching too. Great stuff. @@alientude

@bruceallen6016 3 ай бұрын

Interesting video. Have a friend that compared Cold Steel swords to Ruger vs S&W. Maybe not as refined, but tough and works well. 😉 Appreciate the link to the product. 😎

@highlanderNC-mr8fe 3 ай бұрын

Beautiful view by the way sir 14:43!

@guloguloguy 7 ай бұрын

THANK YOU, FOR THIS REVIEW!!! IMHO: WITH SOME DIAMOND HONING, THIS WOULD BE A WONDERFUL TRUCK SWORD!!!....

@alientude 7 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@sinisterswordsman25 7 ай бұрын

This sword is legendary for a reason, it can compete with swords x3 the price. A little sharpening and you've got a potential competition cutter. Not bad for 300ish$ bucks. It's not gonna win any beauty contests but if someone who wanted their first sword asked me what could they buy that's not to expensive, that they can unbox and start cutting with? I would probably tell them to consider one of these. Or save up for a BA Alexandria lol. Coldsteel all things considered is actually better than most budget European sword makers simply because at least they come sharp. Again historical accuracy, aesthetics and handling are not really important in this price range, sharp and durable are. Imo

@got6977 2 ай бұрын

They might call it Hand and Half Sword but this is clearly Two Handed Longsword.

@Snarlacc 6 ай бұрын

My Gale Wind Ming Jian Starts off a bit less wide @35mm and 6,8mm thick but ends similar @27mm and 3mm thick 5cm from the tip, taper is uniform. It is shorter though with 76,5cm blade, 98cm over all. The tip is extremely similar, but I think the Jian is a bit rounder. It seems quite similar but more stout, I do have other Ming Jian and the blade is almost the same dimensions.

@traveller7845 8 ай бұрын

Honestly this is my style of sword, love the review. You need to review more anime- I mean Japanese swords 😁

@outlawsamurai47 9 ай бұрын

I guess I got the old model wait my cold steel bastard sword or hand and a half sword was made by windless I should look into them

@bestkoolaid1835 9 ай бұрын

I have an older cold steel hand and a half and my hilt looks significantly shorter.

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

Yes, I believe they changed the grip length at some point. I'm guessing the Man at Arms Hand and a Half Sword probably has about the same length as the older one.

@bestkoolaid1835 9 ай бұрын

@@alientude good to know, my “leather” on it had to be changed years ago. Awesome video!

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

@bestkoolaid1835 Thanks!

@ArtietheArchon 9 ай бұрын

do you touch up the edge when you get these or no

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

I do not.

@ArtietheArchon 9 ай бұрын

@@alientude just my 2c i would recommend a very brief "nothing fancy" pass with a stone on a blade before reviewing it just to clean it up from whatever mishandling may have happened in shipping. I know you want to be consistent and honest with your evaluation but it might actually be more fair that way

@chrisfields8077 9 ай бұрын

That one looks like Huanuo made one one, not a windlass one. Huanuo makes a lot of cold steel swords. Or at least they used too

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

Yes, I put a correction note that it's Huanuo, as well as pinned a comment. Hope people see it!

@chrisfields8077 9 ай бұрын

@@alientude oh! I missed that myself! :)

@DuxLindy 9 ай бұрын

seems like a good buy if cost is a barrier to entry for some folks

@alientude 9 ай бұрын

Exactly!

@jakelilevjen9766 7 ай бұрын

Do you think it would hold up as a practice/sparring sword for HEMA?

@alientude 7 ай бұрын

Presuming you blunted it first (because as not-sharp as it is, it's still waaaaay too close to sharp for sparring), and figured out a way to make the tip safe, I personally wouldn't trust the hilt construction for something that requires so many impacts.

@jakelilevjen9766 7 ай бұрын

@@alientude Would the Hanwei be better?

@alientude 7 ай бұрын

@jakelilevjen9766 Hanwei makes a lot of models. You'll need to be more specific. Also, when you say better, do you mean for sparring?

@jakelilevjen9766 7 ай бұрын

@@alientude I do. I was referring to the one you compared the Cold Steel to. I think it may have been the Tinker? I would blunt the edges and round the tip. Would like to use something other than my Angus Trim for sparring.

@alientude 7 ай бұрын

@jakelilevjen9766 You're in luck - the Hanwei Tinker longsword is available in a blunt version with rounded tip, designed for sparring. Kult of Athena doesn't have the blunt one in stock, but you can buy the sharp and a replacement blunt blade and swap the hilt between the two blades, since they're designed to disassemble and reassemble. Below are the links to the mounted sharp sword, and the blunt bare blade, at Kult of Athena. You might also be able to shop around and find a mounted blunt sword. Sharp: www.kultofathena.com/product/hanwei-tinker-pearce-sharpened-longsword/?koa=74 Blunt blade: www.kultofathena.com/product/hanwei-tinker-longsword-blade-blunt/?koa=74

@highlanderNC-mr8fe 3 ай бұрын

HONSHU BROADSWORD - 1060 HIGH CARBON STEEL BLADE or this?

@alientude 3 ай бұрын

I have no experience with that Honshu sword, so I can't really give a response based on anything other than the most superficial of details. To me, the Cold Steel sword looks better, aesthetically, so I would go with that. But again, absolutely no experience with that Honshu.

@cantremember6794 3 ай бұрын

Get the cold steel better weight an pob