02-09-2014, 07:35 PM
A basic finished gladius from Matt Lukes costs less and he offers "composite blades comprised of both low-carbon wrought iron and medium-carbon steels," and highly accurate hilts.
I am not in ANY WAY knocking Albion or anyone else, in fact I have a Mark Morrow Mainz and am quite happy with it and have a matching Pugio on the way. When I asked Mark if he could use a cheaper lower quality steel for my Mainz he said he only uses the good stuff as that's what his customers ask for. From a business point of view that makes a lot of sense, why make stuff with limited market appeal.
The issue I note among my good friends devoted to accurate ancient reenacting is that the quality of some modern blades that yield surgical scalpel sharpness is way better than what I'm told the ancients actually had.
For the most part the kids don't care, they just like stabbing a bale of hay I usually set up.
No doubt having a very very sharp blade is cool, but is it accurate? I tend to explain to whoever is handling my gear that some of it is probably made of better quality metal than what was available to the ancients.
I am not in ANY WAY knocking Albion or anyone else, in fact I have a Mark Morrow Mainz and am quite happy with it and have a matching Pugio on the way. When I asked Mark if he could use a cheaper lower quality steel for my Mainz he said he only uses the good stuff as that's what his customers ask for. From a business point of view that makes a lot of sense, why make stuff with limited market appeal.
The issue I note among my good friends devoted to accurate ancient reenacting is that the quality of some modern blades that yield surgical scalpel sharpness is way better than what I'm told the ancients actually had.
For the most part the kids don't care, they just like stabbing a bale of hay I usually set up.
No doubt having a very very sharp blade is cool, but is it accurate? I tend to explain to whoever is handling my gear that some of it is probably made of better quality metal than what was available to the ancients.
Joe Balmos
