Sixteenth Century
Two-Handed Sword - Del Tin 2162
by Atrim, SFMO Staff Writer
This sword is Del Tin's version of the German/Swiss style two-hander.
German it may be, but there is supposed to be one
hanging in Edinburgh castle. There are a few in Sweden, and this version
is copied from one in Venice.
If you want an eye-catching conversation-starter/stopper, this item may be
just what you are looking for. For the two week period this sword was
kept at the shop for evaluation, nearly every visitor that walked in saw
it in its corner and would remark something like "What in the hell is
that?"
The Del Tin 2162 stretches 63.5 inches from the tip of the blade to the
top of the pommel. The 47 inch long, 2 inch wide blade features a 7 inch
long ricasso which ends in two side lugs. The blade's cross-section is a
flattened hexagon and of the three narrow fullers, the two outside ones
stretch halfway down the blade and the center one travels another 15
inches towards the tip. The steel guard stretches 17 inches from end to
end and has two massive ring guards (one on each face). The ends of the
guard are capped with balls .800 inch in diameter, and the guard and rings
are accented with a "twisted rope" appearance. The long black leather
wrapped wooden grip is topped by a large steel "scent stopper" pommel
accented with deep twisted grooves.
More key points:
width of straight blade 1.93 inches
Balance point from guard 7 inches (in center of lugs)
Center of percussion from guard 30 inches (21.5 in from center of
lugs)
There are some people who think the lugs are mere decoration, or at most
an aid in parrying. But it appears there is a much more important reason
for them. In every other sword I have tested or played with, the center
of percussion (C.O.P.) is 22 inches, give or take a half an inch from the
guard.
On this sword the cop is 30 inches from the guard, 21.5 inches from the
center of the lugs.
Handling this sword with both hands on the grip, sword hand against the
guard, off-hand on the pommel, one can't escape the feeling that this
sword is slow and ponderous. Move the off-hand out on the blade just on
the other side of the lugs and this sword becomes easy to control, fast
and quick (the balance of the sword is between your hands).
In thrusting tests, with both hands on the grip, the sword experienced a
little vibration and flex, but
was effective. shortening the grip as before this sword became the most
effective thrusting weapon I
have yet experienced in medium hard targets.
In chopping, using the walls of a 1/4 inch plywood box (the walls are 1/4
inch, the box was approx 4 ft x 3 ft) as a medium, I used a sharpened 13th
cent sword to establish a standard. Three good vertical chops and my
average was 7.5 inches deep. Taking the two-hander with both hands on the
grip as described earlier and the sword's beginning position a little
beyond vertical. The next three strokes went 8.5 inches, 10.5 inches, and
10.75 inches. It seemed to me that some of the force of the blow was lost
in vibration. Shortening the grip as described earlier, and starting with
a nearly vertical position, the first stroke was kind of wussy, only
sinking into the target 8.5 inches. The next three went 14.5 inches, 17.5
inches, and 17.25 inches. Vibration was unnoticeable with this grip. All
handling and testing was done with leather gloves reinforced on the
palms.
In summary, this sword is a great showpiece, a great conversation piece, a
great decoration, a great martial arts workout tool, and a highly
destructive weapon (we have yet to discuss how effective the pommel is).
In my opinion, it is a true bargain for all that you get.
Atrim alias Graham Angus (Gus) Trim works in his small
machine shop in a concrete cave facing a beautiful asphault field in North
Kent, Washington. When not working he can be seen banging, testing,
and/or sharpening a sword in his cave, or defending said field and cave
from various targets, of which the most dangerous are flying pizza
boxes.
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