MAA Italian Long Sword , Black

Absolutely love this sword! This is a specialized design though, specifically made for Armored Combat, which means it is a Thrusting sword. Can you cut with it? Yes! The sword is very sharp. That being said. If you plan on putting it through the Forged in Fire durability test, you will more than likely break it. This is NOT a competition cutter. Swords are NOT meant to cut trees (with the exception of the wood splitting sword, but even then your cutting with the grain not against it) or anything harder than cutting targets, cloth or flesh. This sword is great for Half-Swording and other Armored Combat techniques laid out in the treatises of Fiore and Meyer. It comes in at a little over 2 lbs and is very nimble for a 47" sword. The blade is stiff with very little give, again this is made for fighting someone in armor. As far as the Bluing goes, If you want to spend an extra $60 for the polished version to beat the heck out of it be my guest. I personally love the unique look it has. It maybe called "bluing" but it's black, bluish black, but mostly black nonetheless. Every blade that I ever had with bluing is black. It's coated with black oxide to prevent rusting, but I always wipe down my swords with oil after every use. If you want an actual blue blade don't look for bluing. The only complaint I have is the leather wrap around the handle, which can slip up the handle from the pommel when used, but I can deal with that. Other than that its is well made. Everything is snug. Nothing is loose or rattling and I feel safe performing a Zwerch or Prellhau, but I also wear a Longsword rated fencing mask. Please wear safety equipment when using any sword, even a blunt sword can give you a bad day. Overall it's a great sword and well worth the money.

Got this sword as a birthday gift to myself. This blade came with an edge made for heavy target cutting, sorry backyard water bottle ninjas! Lots of reviews and resellers list that this sword has a wobbly guard, however, the one I received had zero guard wobble whatsoever! I was debating between this one and the polished version, finally decided on ordering this, and love the blackened finish! The sheath seemed to have a powdery substance in it (probably to keep the leather from rotting) and each time the blade is unsheathed it has a coat of this powder on it. The blade also has a good amount of flex to it! The XVa type blade makes this better suited for thrusting and half-swording, so in other words more of a stabbing type blade design. The fish-tail pommel is extremely comfortable to grip, in fact, your pivoting hand wants to grip it naturally. This is a heavy sword but well balanced allowing for excellent point control. It should be noted there is a ricasso on the blade extending roughly 2"-3" from the guard making point control even better by placing one finger in front of the guard. This is Cold Steel's 1055 carbon steel so despite the bluing it's still necessary to oil the blade to keep it in tip-top shape and to prevent accumulation of rust. If Cold Steel made another variant of this sword with a ferric chloride etch I would buy it in a heartbeat! I haven't cut any heavy targets with this sword yet so I will update on the performance of the blade when I do

Very nice good size balance is a tiny bit off because there is minimal to no distil taper its passable as a sword for cutting edge is a bit steep id recomend sharpening i personally used mine for cutting practice over a few months it did well enough eventually i found i didnt like it as much as some of my ther swords so i took tge edge off and rolled tge tip being careful not to ruin the temper and it has made a wonderful sparring sword (full armor of course to reduce risk of injury) i can say allot of good and a bit of bad about it but all in all its well priced and very functional. Hope this run on paragraph helps you traveler!

This sword is well worth the $175 I paid for it. Everything is tight and the scabbard fits well. The leather wrapped handle stitching isn’t very well done but it is functional. I wasn’t a fan of the black finish on the blade, cross guard, and pommel. I wrapped them in toilet paper, soaked it in vinegar, and the finish came right off. I used more vinegar and salt to put a mild patina on to prevent rust. The blade is not super sharp and I may use my work sharp to put a better edge on it. However, I don’t plan to use it so I’m not sure it matters. It is shown next to the Hanwei Tinker Great Sword of War.

Exactly as advertised. So solid! Nothing on this rattles or is remotely loose. Straight and solid razor sharp sword. Nice flex on it. Balance point is 3.5-4 inches above the cross guard. I bought it to blunt it and use it for practice but now that I see it, I don't have the heart to do that to this beautiful weapon. I agree with the prior reviewer, be prepared to clean it when it arrives. They really greased it well to keep it safe for storage and transport.

I've heard stories of Cold Steel swords having a fair few QC issues, but I've also heard that they've been cleaning up there act recently (as of June 2016), and can report that mine came perfectly fine, as expected, no loose guard, decently sharp blade, no real issues in packaging, good layer of grease to prevent rust in shipping, but was not a hassle to remove and re-oil. Now the actual product itself is fine, as expected, but don't expect the greatest sword you've ever seen in your life (unless this is your first sword), for this price, some corners did need to get cut. It has a nut pommel construction as opposed to threaded or peened, but it functions. The leather on the scabbard is faux. And some aren't going to be a fan of the black color, I personally like it, it makes it stand out in my collection, but that is definitely up to personal taste. Basically, if you've been looking at this sword, know what it is, know that there may be QC issues, but also know that this is a real, (high-carbon, tempered steel, full tang), theoretically battle ready sword for less than $200, which is still a damn fine deal.

Pluspunkte: + Sehr gut ausbalanciert + Sieht gut aus + Hält einiges aus Minuspunkte - War mit sehr viel Fett überzogen

Absolutely gorgious of a sword! Overall In my collection of about 15 swords, from practice hema swords, to reenactment and even display sword, at just 3lb, this feels extremely nimble! At a point of balance of roughly 4", this sword WANTS to move. Surely it cannot be welded one handed, but for more 2 handed techniques and cut, it's much more than what I can ask for. Given that this is a cold steel weapon, I can never expect to get something so nice. Blade Absolutely wonderfully narrow and nicely tapered. We can see an obvious profile taper, and a slight distal taper. There is an SLIGHT secondary bevel, perhaps just from the sharpening service, but it does not detract from the Apple seed cross section. A nice smooth black coating all across (not convinced that it's bluing, seems like some sort of paint) It came SUPER OILED UP. Kinda gross but very common in the hema world. The point of balance is just at 4.5" or so. Very nimble. Cross guard: Solidly form! There are no rattling parts, I might just lucked out but it is tightly fitted. The fitting from the cross guard to the blade is VERY tight. Though when you have the blade in the scabbard, there is a slight gap now it doesn't PERFECTLY fit. Please see images. The leather wrapping is very tight, narrow handle. I have medium size hand and I love how narrow everything is. For test cutting, it definitly wear gloves though. The oval handle has a lot of response in terms of where the edge alignment is. Everything seems nice and true, no turning or twisting. Pommel: A classic fish tail pommel that's rare on lower end ticket items, but this is a beauty! It had a nice weight, doesn't dig into your palm when swung, but I am curious why it is..a philip head bolt. Odd. Didn't dare to remove it though. Sorry guys Cross guard Oh this is just a treat. Haven't seen much swords that has such an elegant guard, and because it is naturally curved, doesn't dig into your wrist at all! Overall, a real treat to have. And for a backyard test cutting, seems like a steal! I have not had the pleasure to cut many things with this just yet, let along any cutting competition due to the recent covid situation. But by far, even a comparison to my absolutely favourite sword of Alexandria from Dark sword armor, this Italian long swords holds its own ground, ESPECIALLY for its price. Ps. Watch, I type all this amazing comment out and be hilarious if the sword broke from hitting a water bottle. Haha. Doubt that'll be the case but will update again.

There is nothing to dislike about this. It balances well as a one handed sword (better than the CS 1917 Cutlass), and works well with two hands. Nothing rattles, there are no fit and finish problems. The pommel is attached by a nut, which is fine by me. The blade thrusts well, it is pointy but not whippy. Complaints: It is moderately sharp, could be a bit sharper. The scabbard is fine, although the V-shape doesn't fit the V on the crossguard as perfectly as I would like. Nothing that would merit a 4 star review. So I was favourably surprised. If you want to do a bit of cutting with a late medieval sword, this will do well. I'm calling mine "Liam Neeson".

Sehr schönes Teil. Die Klinge ist viel schlanker als gedacht, aber gerade deshalb liegt das Schwert wunderbar in der Hand. Leider war eine Macke in der Parrierstange, darum 0,1 Sterne Abzug.

Apart from the 4 ghost delivery dates, the 3 weeks delivery wait, and the completely mashed shipping box, all was ok. The sword was well wrapped inside the box so it was in perfect condition. Everything is tight and solid, the leather on the handle is stitched perfectly and the sheath was initially a bit bent, but has since straightened out and still has the plastic inserts attached. This sword is light and nimble and can be used with one hand comfortably, definitely a thrust centered sword.