Anybody got the MRL/Windlass Operative's sword from Serenity?

[DavidS]

Im referring to this one http://www.museumreplicas.com/imagelib/0500962_L_000.jpg

I got to handle this sword this past weekend at MRL, and it seemed pretty lightweight , fun to twirl around.... Windlass makes decently functional stuff.... not great, but better than stainless steel UC stuff....
just wondering about the "correctness" of this sword..... isnt it missing a cutout in the blade?

 

[SmilingOtter]

Dude, you were at the sale too? I probably walked right past you!

Yeah, the MRL version (and my cheap BudK version) have four "dashes" and three "dots." To be accurate it should have five dashes, four dots.

 

[DavidS]

yup i was there.... here i am trying on the BROWN COAT!!!

it was a fun sale........ i ended up buying a "captain pirates hanger" which is a dead ringer for The POTC Sparrow cutlass...... i also got some parts from the warehouse that will eventually be a sword once i make a handle ect...

 

[SmilingOtter]

The only thing I brought back was their most recent catalogs... My sword collection is (currently) sufficient, but a friend had never been up there before, so it was a great excuse for a road trip. (We're down in Macon.)

That said, there were a couple of rapiers I got to play with that may eventually find their way home with me some time...

 

[DavidS]

so no one has this sword?

 

[Phil Elmore]

Windlass makes decently functional stuff

No, they really, really don't. To be blunt, Windlass' blades are crap. That sounds like a crass, superficial statement, but the fact is, they're poorly made and poorly assembled. Perhaps quality has improved over the years, but the unholy alliance between Museum Replicas and Windlass does nobody any favors.

 

[DavidS]

well their quality actually HAS improved...
if you look thru their current catalog youll see that have pretty much axed all their old designs and have totally new stuff......
Currently i put Windlass stuff BELOW paul chens euro line...... which is pretty low on the totem pole, however, Windlass' lineup is sorta weird.....youll handled one sword of theirs that has every kind of flaw imaginable.... just totlally useless, then youll pick up another and , wow.... its not that bad...

their biggest problem beyond quality control is that their blades do not exhibit enough distal taper...... they cheat this by just making the entire blade thin.... which results in a "floppy" blade...... Usually their shorter bladed swords are their better swords...... they just havent figured out how to do the long stuff yet.

I WONT say all of their stuff is junk, because they have come a long way........ when MRL started out they had Del Tin blades..... great stuff.... then windlass came along and EVERYTHING was crap..... however they have been steadily increasing in quality over the years, so im giving credit were credit is due....... not a whole hellava lot of credit...... but i think we can all aggree than the Kingdom of heaven swords are alot better than the UC LOTR swords...