Production Sword Review: Del Tin 2130
A review of the of the Sword of St. Maurice, Turin

by Gus Tim, SFMO Senior Staff Writer

DT 2130, a sword inspired by the St Maurice sword of Turin. This sword represents a time when knights wore mail armor, and cutting swords still reigned supreme. The Del Tin version is a little shorter than the original, the hilt being very close but the blade being 1.57 inches shorter than the original. It also is just a bit heavier than the original, 3lb 1 oz to 2lb 14 oz. This is not out of reason, in fact it is very good for a reproduction. As things go, the Turin St Maurice sword is larger than the average sword of its type (Oakeshott type X).

The vital statistics:

Total length: 38.5 inches
Blade length: 32.87 inches
Weight: 3lbs 1oz
Center of percussion: 22 inches from guard
Balance point: 6.4 inches from guard
Blade width at base: 2.08 inches
Blade width before curve to point: 1.36 inches
Blade thickness at base: .178 inches
Distal taper begins halfway down blade

In dry handling, this sword handles like the cutting sword it is. The grip is quite comfortable, in a cradling sword of way (a bit tight between guard and pommel). The sword tracks very well, once used to it, it is very easy to strike the target where intended.

In a recent cutting test, in some 5.2 mm plywood, this sword did surprisingly well. My best DT cutting sword - a modified Museum Replicas Limited / Del Tin Saintese sword - was used as my baseline. I struck the target twice to establish some my standard data. Both cuts penetrated into the target 7.25 inches deep. Then I unlimbered DT2130. The 1st cut sank into the target 8 inches. The second 8.3 inches, and the third 8.2 inches. This sword became the best Del Tin 12th/13th century cutting sword I had experienced.

Why does DT2130 perform as well as it does. The biggest factor is that it has very little vibration on contact. The way it tracks helps, but the biggie is that it has far better harmonic balance than most production swords.

In my view, for anyone wanting a high performance 12/13th century cutting sword, this one may be hard to pass up.

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