I handed mine yesterday to someone that is a relatively experienced HEMA saber fencer and he was quite impressed with the handling.

Superb review thank you.

Excellent review and some fanTAstic cutting! Thanks for the shoutout! I like the discussion about the number of topics that I didn't talk about in my review like the scabbard and the sharpening job. I am happy that your sword doesn't come with any real defect. My scabbard is curiously a lot heavier to be historically accurate, and the leather washer is fit well (I still cut it out and tossed it anyway). But it's great to have a sword that handles right, because they replicates the antique original down to a T. This is what they should have done all along on all of their models. Mine has some defects in the hilt, but due to how great the handling is and how accurate it is, I still love it. It feels lightweight but due to the balance the sword does a lot of work for you and the edge aligns pretty easily perhaps due to the curvature.

Great review. Very fair and balanced. You pretty much answered all my questions about this sabre. I ordered one of these from MR but it’s back ordered so it’s anyone’s guess as to when I’ll actually receive it. I do have the Cold Steel version of this sabre and I like it a lot.

Actually Windlass has always produced well heat treated sword blades . The problem with Windlass was the lacking of acurate distal taper and whippiness of the blades.

Awesome review! Yup, I have those plastic inserts on many of my CS/Windlass scabbards, and the ones in my old CS 1796 scabbard eventually just fell out, having been secured by a few squares of that tacky foam used for hanging posters.

Le Marchant advised that only the last 6 to 8 inches of the blade be sharpened. This was to enforce using the optimal part of the blade for cutting and to stop troopers getting their swords hopelessly embedded in the body of an enemy, by cutting with the central portion of the blade.

Excellent review Kyle. Cover nuts to bolts and everywhere inbetween! For all that you claim to not have experience with a sabre you do some fine cutting, so thank you for sharing it regardless, and showing what someone even with less experience can expect from this sword. While some antiques can show rippling in the blades, I agree that 'Windlass level rippling' is a distinct manufacturing characteristic and could help distinguish a new from old sword (might be hard to tell from a photograph, but in person it should be apparent to an experienced eye). Trust your instincts! Yes, the hole through the knuckle bow was used for the sword knot. The langets projecting forward from the top of the guard are intended to interface with the throat of the scabbard to help secure the blade; I've never heard of using a thumb on them, but hey it works for you! Also very disappointing to hear about the odor coming off of the blade. That should not be something new sword owners have to contend with. Did the Royal Armouries swords have the same issue?

Thank you for the review. I checked my scabbard, and yes, sure enough, there are white plastic inserts (looks like some kind of nylon) as well as some light rust. Since I received the sabre relatively recently my guess is that my example also belongs to the second batch. While I am at it, the "finish" on my scabbard also seems kind of rough, with quite visible "whirls" and marks from a polishing wheel. The leather covering of the swordgrip is a bit of a bummer as well, since it is quite thin, soft, and not properly attatched to the wood below/ not properly pressed into the grooves. I am no novice to replacing grip coverings, but because of the backstrap-construction this would/will prove to be a bit more of an undertaking. It seems like Windlass did not anticipate the massive interest in this product and had to, somehow, cope with the amount of orders (which consequently relates to a seeming loss of quality in some aspects of the product) The sword handles quite well and seems nicely tempered (gotta love that distal taper ;D). Interestingly, my example came with a sharpened backedge as well. All in all still a very nice product and valuable addition to the reproduction-sword-market (Would love some proper 1796 HC and Spadroon reproductions as well, HINT HINT) . PS: Where I am from (Germany) its retail price ist currently below the Cold Steels offerings, so no need to bother with those.

Interesting review, I personally don't really care about the scabbard. It's kinda shady that windlass is cheaping out on them but I'm pretty sure the reason they made them heavy in period was to keep them from bouncing around like crazy on horseback so... just saying as long as the sword is good the scabbard is like bonus for display and safe storage. I'd let that one slide personally. And I will when I buy one lol. It handles well and cuts beast, that's enough for me. I'm optimistic that Matt Easton will be a good influence on windlass and we're going to getting alot of aggressively not bad stuff from them from now on. 🤘 appreciate the effort you put into your videos thanks. I wonder who sent it to you?

THANK'S FOR YOUR EXCELLENT REVIEW, AFTER WATCHING THIS I FELT ABLE TO CHOOSE FROM WHAT APPEAR TO BE THE BEST QUALITY SWORD AVAILABLE. I CHOSE THE L K CHEN . QUITE A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE BUT I HOPE IT WILL BE WORTH THE PRICE AND THE WAITING TIME (9 MONTH'S, APPROX.) REGARDS Kit.

Present price of such talwar sword made from rail track is 4000 Indian rupees , if made from truck leaf spring , price is around 2500 rupees , windlass is a costly one

Great review! I really want this sword, but I'm a little nervous about the QC. I would hate to get a bad one.

Hi! I have seen some small black dots and lines on the blade, is it okay for sabre?

Just oil the washer

Ciao ma per un combattimento leggero puo essere usata?

beautiful polish on that saber