Historical Looks, Modern Craftsmanship: Albion Vassal
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- #sword #medieval #review
A huge thank you to my friend Brian for loaning me this sword!
Falchions are commonly misunderstood as heavy chopping weapons intended to be used against armor. In reality, they were all but useless against anything but the lightest armor - textiles such as gambesons. Chain and especially plate would have rendered them mostly useless.
In this video, I take a close look at the Albion Vassal, compare it to the Thorpe falchion which partially inspired it, do a deep dive into its nooks and crannies, test it's cutting ability against water bottles, pool noodles, and tatami, and compare it to a couple other swords. In the end, I render my verdict on whether or not it's worth the $1548 asking price.
Thorpe falchion image source: norwichcastle.wordpress.com/2...
Thrope falchion reconstruction drawing courtesy of James Elmslie.
Cluny falchion reproduction by James Elmslie courtesy of @MatthewCross2.
Wallace Collection falchions:
wallacelive.wallacecollection...
wallacelive.wallacecollection...
Various falchion pictures sourced from: www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthr...
Microphone clipped to a dagger blatantly stolen from @DanielGreeneReviews.
Sword measurements photo gallery: photos.app.goo.gl/8EDa3rQFLjw...
00:00 Intro
01:07 Historical Overview
06:03 Hilt
11:51 Blade
16:38 Cutting
20:42 Handling & Comparisons
28:30 Bottom Line
32:30 Outro
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Great review as always! I ordered one in exactly the same specs before the price increase.
Love love love those older Atrim Thorpe falchions. I appreciate the honesty of this review.
Thanks!
Awesome overview Kyle, and great comparators as usual. Always appreciate anytime the Thorpe gets some screen time. It’s interesting that the Sterling Armory seems to “outperform” the vassal and I’d be tempted to get bogged down in the minutia of their designs to see what’s working and what’s not dynamically…
I agree with your assessment on whether it worth it or not. No one is going to dispute Albion's quality, but they're no longer the only good choice in a price range they used to dominate. It's the bittersweet result of other makers upping their game to the poibt that they offer comperable pieces for less. That Sterling falchion is gorgeous and i would have guessed it was more expensive than the Albion.
Your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites, I love seeing reviews of swords that I normally wouldn't take a second glance at, but through your videos I gain a great appreciation for. Personally I look forward to seeing the historical overviews, the cutting videos, and the close inspections the most. Your attention to detail is remarkable
Thank you for the kind words!
Awesome review as always, and you're very welcome! I'm thinking the Baron and the Bayeux might need some attention some day 😁. IMHO the Bayeux is ridiculously underrated, I've never seen a review on it and I absolutely love the way it handles. I even (somewhat) agree on the "is it worth it" segment. After the price increase, heck even before, that's a decent chunk of change. I'm in love with my Vassal though, because I think it's absolutely gorgeous!
I've been curious about the Bayeux for a long time. I second that!
Great review, and I think that's a fair assessment. I do think that's one of the best looking Falchions out there. But the price increase makes me a bit hesitant.
Fantastic review as always. I really like Falchions, and I've had my eye on the Vassal for a long time. The other Falchion I'm considering is the Valiant Armory Castillon.
I've certainly lusted after the VA Castillon falchion many times! FYI, Sonny told me it will rarely be available because it's a lot of work doing the grinding.
great review Kyle! Even tough I agree with everything you said about falchions, you might want to reference some sources. I know many people expect sources cited when giving information about history so it would increase your credibility as well. Cheers!
I'd love to see Albion do a 1a falchion someday. That's one I would probably buy, the shape is just aesthetic gold
That would be very cool.
Now that's a Bowie knife. 🤪☘️
Just adding to Kyle's point about Falchions being used against lightly armoured opponents. I wonder if they were carried by nobilty in a more civilian EDC role? Something similar how the Rapier was used in later centuries. The highly decorated examples may point to this as well. This is just speculation as I know very little about Falchions or their use.
It does seem like falchions are a good canvas for high levels of decoration. Plus with their use case, it makes sense a sword specialized for ending the poors would be dripped out
Civilian life sword-carry is more of a post-medieval thing, unless you're talking about long distance travel. Most noblemen would wear a dagger in day-to-day life.
Albion is like Rolex though, you are paying for the brand name as well as the quality. One of the things that makes Rolex so expensive is the knowledge you can drop a used Rolex on the watch market and be practically guaranteed to sell it for near or even more than you paid retail for it and sell it fast. Rolex is basically a currency in the watch space. Albion sells like hot cakes on the secondary sword market, so even if you pay more for them they are a good store of value that can be quickly liquidated. Albion raised their prices because they can't keep up with their order backlog as it is.
I've always thought the asymmetrical fullers serve as a guide for sharpening- the long fuller terminates before the false edge, and the short one at the edge of the ricasso. The big issue for me with the vassal, like with many repro throrpes, is that it's a good ten cm shorter than the original. That's the problem with Albions- their designs are as much what the average enthusiast thinks a sword should look like, as they are based on actual examples.
Asymmetric fullers are for removing weight where possible while keeping stiffness. Just got the end, I don't know if I would say that. I love every Vassal I've held and will have one at some point. Great piece even at 1500 or even more.
Interesting, thanks for the info. I certainly didn't dislike it, just that I think there is better value out there for falchions of this type, including from you.
My next sword will be a falchion
@jamesouellet9769 Any idea which model?
The sterling armoury one
this will be functionally very similar to a bowie knife scaled up to sword proportions and weight
Falchion = single edged cross hilted arming sword