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Have you had the opportunity to test any competitors? I know about LK Chen, more interested in the smaller manufacturers.

Adding here a recent statement from the Darnal family: "Dear Patron Customers, Well Wishers and Friends I am Nisha Darnal, daughter of the late Purna Darnal, and I am writing to inform you that our family has recently completed the traditional 10-day rituals following my father's passing. During this challenging time, I want to assure you that our commitment to our customers and the craftsmanship of handmade khukuris and knives remains unwavering. I am pleased to announce that I will be continuing my father's legacy, working closely with the GGK team to ensure the same level of excellence and dedication that our customers have come to expect from us. Our team is fully committed to upholding the high standards of quality and craftsmanship that my father was renowned for. Please be assured that we will continue to provide the same level of service and attention to detail that has earned us your trust and loyalty. We value your continued support and look forward to working with you in the future. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are always here to assist you. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this difficult time."

The "ing" in the German town "Solingen" is pronounced like the "ing" in the english word "to bring" ;) Anyway, nice review!

18:58 Jeez, that is indeed disappointing. I guess I shouldn't try cutting meat whenever I get mine? I even wanted to try cutting bone with it. Do you think it was just yours that came with a defect or maybe I should test out mine anyway?

how do you clean a cheap blade without knowing the metal type an possibly damaging it just cleaning it?

Rest in peace, Purna Darnal. It was a nice idea to have a tribute discussion about his work.

I pray his family get along ok without him, I know how hard it can be. As a custom blade maker myself, I must say that this is a huge loss to the art & our community as a whole.

Thank you Alientude and others for making this video. Such a tragedy to have to leave at the peak of his skill levels. I never had a chance to commission anything from him but saw on SBG and CZcams reviews his progressively more and more impressive work. Condolences to his family and friends.

Would anyone know if Great Gurkha Khukuri is still selling knives?

Apparently Fafnir forge makes an accurate reproduction of viking swords for under $300

Would like to see a review of Tod Cutler’s type XV or XIV swords

Very interesting Guard Design. I check out your video on it. Like a KriegsMesser On Steroids....Sorry about your Friend...

Wait... You mean just over 39 inches... Not 29

Damn it... I LOVEEEE that blade .. I would do anything to find a GOOD SWORD.. WITH THAT BLADE PROFILE. it's exactly what I have been looking for since I started liking swords

I suspect you are one of the few reviewers that actually went honest on the one handed use of this weapon. It’s only some 5-8cm away from a two hander like a Claymore

Moonlight sonata is perfect for this video

My goodness what a beauty

Too bad hearing about his business practices. Both for you and for myself. I was on my way contacting him for an order, I'm planning a blade very similar to yours and I noticed he is one of few who can do that type of geometry.

I quite like it. I definately want something similar, but it seems Cloudhammer mostly had Katana in S5 and everything else is slim pickings or de-listed entirely. Katana are _okay,_ by I sitll like western swords after all, especially hand and a half.

Google translate gives the proper pronunciation, something like Doh-jeh the accent is on the Ò

I have this very rondel and it is great. I get more people wanting to discuss this weapon than any other part of my kit. As for where the parts come from. Well in the middle ages swords, daggers, basically the the stuff you could buy, was usually from someplace else. I do not care what country is the origin provided that what I get is well made and what I expect. This dagger is also very inexpensive for what you get. All in all a very nice item.

Yr in in the desert???!!!😮

Hittori Hanzo: "If you meet God, the sword will cut him." Me: "So... like an Albion?"

About what I was expecting. That sheath is pretty sad looking though lol damn. And over 3lbs is just too heavy, maybe for a basket hilt broadsword 3lds is ok cause a lot of the weight is in the hand and not putting a ton of leverage on the wrist. How's the arthritis after this one? You what I'm going to say now lol? Hanwei. 🤘💀 great review as always! It's a pretty cool looking sword I like the cross guard and pommel they're pretty cool and the brassy colour is a nice touch. Another near miss by honshu. Maybe they can do better next time.

Your comment regarding storing swords in a leather scabbard will support rust and corrosion. However I would not store my swords in a wood lined scabbard. Perhaps there might be less interaction between the sword and the substances in the leather but wood can still attract and absorb moisture, esp in humid climates. Also, regarding leather scabbards, I wonder how many people preserve their scabbards as much as they care for their swords? Leather conditioning is the first thing I do when I get a sword with a leather scabbard. I never store my swords in a scabbard. Great review. You are pretty thorough - I like that. Cheers!

I've been thinking of buying one of these custom katanas from romance of men but it would be my first time buying any sword so I wanted to see if romance of men was worth the money. Thank you for the review, it helped me so much

Have you tried using small wooden/bamboo sticks to hold tatami pieces together, like at around 21:29? I got a few dozen from Amazon for a few bucks. I also had some edge rolling on a diff. hardened katana by cutting the thickest part of a plastic protein container. The neck/cap regions are probably too tough for most blades with no niku or apple seeding.

That sheath looks like the ones Windlass makes. Any info whether the entire sword was made by Windlass? The blade also resembles one of my Windlass swords, maybe a bit cleaner lines though.

Hey Kyle. Just wanted to mention that you could always engrave those crosses into the blade yourself. Obviously you shouldn't have to do that, especially for the price you paid, but you already have the sword and it seems like the maker isn't interested in doing it himself, so if you still really want them on there you can make it happen. I've engraved a couple of my own swords with just a standard $40 dremel engraving tool from Amazon. Practice on some scrap metal pieces for awhile first if you're nervous about messing it up, but honestly the cross design you want is very simple to draw with just straight lines, it wouldn't be that difficult to do. (Speaking from experience having done an entire longsword in curvy tengwar elvish script from LoTR.) Draw the designs on where you want them with a fine tipped sharpie (you can clean it off and redo it if you don't like your first attempt) and when you're happy with the size and placement just trace over it with the engraver tool and clean off any excess marker left after you're done. Boom, engraved.

Thank you for the review. Super underrated channel

Ordered based off yours and Mathew Jensens review. It's amazing what 150 can get you in the sword world

The handle looks really long. Is that scabbard even meant for that sword?

When MRL & Del Tin had their breakup the "early claymore" MRL was selling was the Del Tim version but once the fallout occurred Windlass started making their version of the sword. It looked the same but definitely wasn't as good; overly heavy from no edge or distal taper & fairly thick blade. That's the only example but there may be more items that there did this to.

Windlass has also made weapons for their "Battlecry" line that are just blackened versions of their regular weapons. Their Arkansas toothpick is one recent example.

If I recall correctly Windlass offered a Black Prince sword in the late 90s. But I think it had a different pommel.

As of today June 28 2024 MRL has the Black Prince back up & for sale.

I would have to rehilt it & make a new scabbard for it to be acceptable but b/c I make a lot my own stuff anyway that part is not that big of a deal. However for just a little more $ I could get a much better bare blade than that @$ my base so probably not for me sadly.

Excellent points! I personnally hate when swords feature a fuller that crosses under the guard.