AMAZINGLY disappointed

[Sal Bertucci]

Well, I bought a sword to do some test cutting with. It wasn't an Albion, but I thought it might have been good enough just for some cuts. All I had were some water bottles so I took them out. I ended up beating them more than cutting them. Then to top it off 5 water bottles later the cross guard started loosening up on me. I think I'm just going to return it and save up for something good later. Totally ruined my workout today though.

[Brent Lambell]

To be honest Sal, that is why I have promised myself that I will only buy Albion when I can, I think it is worth the extra cash. Even an Albion can have a flaw, but I think for the money, they are the best buy around. At least it sounds like you are able to return the blade, there is a silver lining....

[Jaron Bernstein]

Well, I bought a sword to do some test cutting with. It wasn't an Albion, but I thought it might have been good enough just for some cuts. All I had were some water bottles so I took them out. I ended up beating them more than cutting them. Then to top it off 5 water bottles later the cross guard started loosening up on me. I think I'm just going to return it and save up for something good later. Totally ruined my workout today though.

While test cutting once I saw a MRL sword break off cleanly at the cross and narrowly miss Jeff Gentry. I would hesitate to test cut with anything that isn't of sufficient quality for safety reasons.

[Benjamin Smith]

I've had similar things happen: The blade fly clean out of the hilt, the cross loosen up, the wood in the grip expand, then cracked then broke the leather on the grip, shaky pommels, the works.

Buy quality, in this art it pays to buy quality. Besides nobody does as much research on real swords as Peter Johnsson, if you want a design based on historical information he's your man. Heck many of the Next Generation line at Albion are extremely close to specific models, just not close enough to be called a recreation of one.

[Stacy Clifford]

Albion has without a doubt the best quality, but their prices have been shooting up so fast over the last couple of years that even their cheapest stuff is getting hard to afford. Another maker of good quality blunts (though not so much sharps) is Lutel. Their designs are not as accurate and well-researched of course, but their weapons are well made, well balanced and tough, excellent for sparring. My only complaint about mine is that the pommel can come unscrewed, but it's not a big issue as everything else is tight. Average prices for most of their swords are between $400-$500 once you do the currency conversion from Czech. They used to have a long waiting list (several months), but it looks like that's down a bit these days.

Basically I would still say Albion is your first and best choice, but Lutel is a tested and reliable second choice with pretty stable pricing. Oh, and really nice scabbards come with every sword at no extra charge.

[Brent Lambell]

A member of our study group has a Lutel and all in all, I am impressed. The balance and handling are not as solid as the Albion Liechtenauer we use, but I agree with Stacy that Lutel is a solid piece nonetheless. His particular piece has a complex figure-eight crossguard which is great in some ways, but also trains poor protection of the hands with such a large shield there. The weak of the blade is quite flexible, which helps keeps thrusts safe, but sometimes seems odd for a longsword of its typology. Otherwise, I like it.

I have personally busted an MRL during test cutting at the guard, well, about an inch below the guard. Someone called it a torsion break stating that it might have broken even in solo drills, it was not the impact but the kinetic forces of swinging it that busted the tang. That was a scary mental dramatization - the image of my daughter watching me drill and then suddenly an errant blade goes flying off in her direction.

It is observations like these and many others that has made me a loyal Albion fanatic for the foreseeable future.

[Shane Smith]

Before you blame the sword, be certain you are not part of the problem. I have seen plastic bottles filled with water cut with a blunt (!) Lutel by my friend and fellow SFS Matt Anderson on many occassions as a joke. I have also seen bad cuts and made bad cuts myself when starting out that looked more like I hit the bottle with a bat than a sword...heck, I even blew the twist-on lid off a bottle once LOL! The guard on my old Deltin 5143 started rattling and I tightened her back down.

Over the years, I've found that on light targets like that, failure is almost certainly an edge alignment issue and not a hardware problem. I can cut such a light target every time with anything even remotely resembling a broad, decently edged cutting blade be it by MRL, Deltin or any of my cherished Albions.