Albion Squire

Albion certainly lives up to its name as the apex of top-of-the-line swords, both with regard to historical accuracy and performance. The NextGen Squire could literally have come right out of the thirteenth century. This is a Type XVI, which is my personal favorite of all the Types, both because I think it is the most aesthetically pleasing, and because it tends to get overlooked in favor of its older and younger siblings, the XII and the XVIII. It represents one of the first "cut-and-thrust" sword designs, coming about during a period when plate armor first began to appear, and "pointies" were becoming as important as "sharpies." This Squire has a black wrap around a ribbed grip, both accentuating its laconic elegance and sneering at its dandier sister, the Prince (which I couldn't afford, even with it being on sale and winning the Name That Sword Contest). It has a perfect satin finish- neither gaudily shiny nor riddled with grind marks, and displays a serious attention to detail without being overdone. There are two criticisms I have: there are casting pits in the hilt components, and the seam of the grip wrap is not at all smooth. In fact, the leather actually separated at one point, and I had to use super glue to get it back on! There's no overlap, so the wood core was exposed in places. These aesthetic issues are common to all the Albions I've handled, and really need to be addressed. It handles beautifully for a one-hander, and delivers powerful thrusts, sometimes unintentionally (oops). Peter Johnsson's genius with edge geometry also allows it to sail through light targets with ease, even though it's not incredibly sharp. I'm extremely pleased with this sword!

July 2006: Finally got my scabbard after about eight months of waiting. It looks great and fits like a glove. It's nothing special, just the plain jane model, but I've added some pictures at the end.

Stats:

Steel: 1075
Weight: 2 pounds, 8 oz.
OAL: 39 1/4"
BL: 32 1/4"
BW, base: 2 1/4"
PoB: 4 3/4"
CoP: ~20 1/8"
Grip Length: 4 3/8"
Cross Type: 2
Pommel: J (Wheel, central hub)

...and here are some hasty pics of my Albion Next Generation Squire ...








































Albion

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