Flawless Victory! The new Balaur Arms Knights Templar sword is a collaborative model between Kult of Athena and LK Chen. In this video, I put the sword through its paces and show every aspect of it, from the historical authenticity of its design to all the details of its fit and finish.
I'm confident that by the end of this video, you will reach the same conclusion as mine that this is currently by far the best model on the sub-$800 reproduction market to represent Templar swords, from its faithfulness to the originals of Oakeshott Type Xa swords hailed from the late 11th to early 12th century, with a 35" blade with a historically-accurate 3.5" short grip, but coming in at only 2.5 lbs and a point of balance 6" (15 cm) from the hilt. The masterful mass distribution is ensured by the excellent distal taper from 5.7mm at the base of the blade, to 3.4mm at midpoint, 2.1mm at the termination of the long fuller, down to 1.5mm at 2" from the tip. It also features the correct lenticular cross section, true to most swords of the High Middle Ages, with a beautiful singular bevel terminating to a well-apexed edge. The sharpness and bevel are so well one that at test cutting, the mat cut in half refused to fall down even after a few seconds. The hilt components are also well designed to feature the correct tapering in thickness. The cord impression and risers on the grip leather wrapping also make it extremely ergonomic, and enable a comfortable handshake grip around the tapered wheel pommel with edges rounded.
The heat treatment of the blade is so evenly applied that whenever there's a impact--whether with the target or when you knock on the blade with your finger, there's a harmonic ring tone that reverberates long and loud. It also tells you the harmonic balance about this sword, and how the nodes are in the perfect place and how sound the hilt is constructed. The blade is fairly rigid for such a length, but properly flexible in the last 1/3 of the length below the tip, made from a high carbon, high manganese, and high silicone spring steel.
As if it doesn't check enough boxes, the sword also comes with a well-made scabbard with a slender wood core, and bold red leather wrapping. The throat is enveloped by rainflaps adorned with a golden Jerusalem Cross, and the chape also comes with perforated cross symbols paying tribute to the Templar motif. The scabbard retains the sword perfectly well with zero rattling, but the unsheathing is quite smooth despite the blade length.
I can't say enough good things about this sword, if you are interested, head to Kult of Athena www.kultofathena.com/product/...
00:00 Intro
01:48 History of Knights Templar
06:28 Arms & Armor of Templars
07:28 Period Swords Contemporary to Templars
09:21 Typology of this Templar Sword Model
11:51 Cross Section
14:13 Distal Taper
16:12 Comparison to Other Types
20:21 Usage Alongside Shields
21:13 Fit & Finish
31:30 Steel & Heat Treatment
34:19 Test Cutting!
39:07 Final Conclusion & Scabbard