The Ultimate Battle Ready Medieval Sword?"Review of Gen2's Black Prince..."The Black Prince, a battle ready medieval sword if ever there was one, was first recommended to me by my friend Jason at Arms of Valor.
Jason said that it was of all the swords they sell at AoV, the Black Prince was his personal favorite. And even though I was a little hesitant at first, the first time I held this sword in my hands I began to start to understand why he admired it so much...
There is no doubt about it, there is nothing 'fancy' about this straightforward hand and a half battle ready medieval sword.
The crossguard is perhaps it's most distinctive feature, with the tips of its long quillions dramatically bending at 90 degrees towards the blade. And the wheel pommel contains a smaller, perfectly round disc of steel inset with a simple, evenly spaced cross.
But apart from these minor "flourishes" this sword is completely without ornamentation. Even the real leather handle wrap is without a central riser, seamless and looks quite unremarkable. The scabbard, often an area which in my opinion is always more of an afterthought on generation 2 swords, is a simple wooden job covered over with real leather and an adjustable frog. It's essentially good for storage and display purposes, though not particularly great for wearing.
Now as far as calling this sword the “Historical” Black Prince, as you can clearly see when compared side by side with pictures of the historical sword suspected to have once been in the tomb of Edward, Prince of Wales (“the Black Prince”) the Generation 2 version is considerably beefier in every way, with a thicker blade and much thicker handle/tang construction than the original. So calling it “Historical” is, well, a bit of a stretch…
As soon as I picked this sword up and started to get a feel for it - it is immediately apparent that this sword cries out to be used! While it weighs in on my kitchen scales at 4lbs/4oz, making it at around 1 to 2lbs heavier than any historical sword of this size, the point of balance is only 5” from the cross guard, which is within acceptable limits for a battle ready medieval sword of the hand and a half variety. And when you lift it above your head, it truly feels ALIVE – poised to sweep down and strike with tremendous force.
"This sword is an absolute joy to wield..." It cuts through the air with a speed and determination which is unfathomable when you first look at it. Obviously due to the extra weight it isn't going to be as fast or maneuverable as the historical originals were, especially mid cut. But then again this is a battle ready medieval sword, not a historical replica.
Naturally enough, with a strong blade and a razor sharp edge, light targets like water filled plastic bottles were childs play. With literally zero resistance, the blade just sailed on through.
So now came the fun part - ensuring that this sword was truly a solid beater...
So for to test it out, I placed a solid length of firewood on my trusty woodblock and brought the blade straight down in one easy strike!
As you can plainly see from the video above, the firewood literally exploded from the impact! But if that wasn't enough, I slammed the blade deeply into the side of the woodblock to boot.
Such feats are all in a days work for this battle ready medieval sword. The worst damage the extra thick and durable blade has suffered from levels of abuse that are truly unthinkable for a historical sword is a few minor scuff marks and scratches on the blade, but no chipping or loosening of the handle. In fact, I have literally split dozens of logs in this way and chopped it into the woodblock countless times and this battle ready medieval sword is always happy for more...
The Black Prince has changed a lot since its first incarnation...
So much so that it is now firmly in a league of its own.
I suppose that the jury is still out if this is the 'ultimate' battle ready medieval sword...
But in our sub US$300 price range, I don't think that there is another battle ready medieval sword that even comes close...
Where I Bought this Sword... I bought this sword from Arms of Valor, check it out on their website here
10% DISCOUNT FOR ALL SBG VISITORS! Enter the coupon code SBG in the 'redeem coupon' field of their checkout, click on the button and Arms of Valor will generously take 10% off the price (dropping the price down to just US$215.10, which is the best deal for this sword anywhere on the net)! Plus you'll also be helping me out as small portion of each sale earns SBG some referral credits to help offset the costs of running my site - all while buying this sword at the lowest possible price from a GREAT vendor! Truly a Win-Win Situation if ever there was one...!
I should also mention that, apart from offering these swords to SBG visitors at the best price around – they also offer some excellent customisation options, not just on Gen2 swords, but on all the quality medieval swords they stock. From simple hilt re-wraps to full scabbard customisation, you don’t have to settle for a plain vanilla model, for a small additional cost they can turn your sword into something truly unique.
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I hope this information on what may well be the ultimate battle ready medieval sword has been helpful. To return to Medieval Swords from The Ultimate Battle Ready Medieval Sword? Review of Gen2's Black Prince..., click here.
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In fact, if anything it really does look a little bland...
But actually, that didn’t matter much to me at all…
My confidence in the new version has been bourne out by Bill Tsafa's demanding tire pell durability tests. Bill purchased the new version and subjected it to 2000 full power blows to his pell, with the result that it is still as good as new and shows no signs of fatigue.
