Windlass Archers Falchion

DISCONTINUED

This sword has been discontinued and is no longer in production or available, but is preserved on the site for informational purposes.

The Windlass Archers Falchion was the ultimate backup weapon. As most medieval archers were conscripted from the peasantry, they needed a sword that was easy to use, requiring no special training - and a sword that could kill their opponent with a single blow.

This replica is one of Windlass Steelcrafts finest pieces. And in this review by Jesse Haushalter, we get a hands on look.

Windlass Archers Falchion Review

Review by Jesse Haushalter, Cudahy, USA

Steel
Weight
Point of Balance
Price Range

1065 Carbon Steel
2lbs 4oz
3"
US$150 to $199

I've been collecting quite a few katana as of late, and after some contemplating I decided that in order to round out my collection, and experience a broader range of swords i needed to buy a western type blade.

I chose Windlass Steelcrafts because I simply adore how accurate they look. I was also looking for a lighter one-handed sword, one that i can swing around and can change direction with ease. I finally settled upon the Archer's Falchion ($157.50) because I loved it's simple elegance and wicked blade. It's a chopper, and a quick one at that!

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

I ordered my swords (archers falchion, along with a scimitar) from swords of honor and found them to be extremely polite and very customer friendly. I had to wait a while to receive my order though, mainly due to the blade being on back order, and I opted for the sharpening service (+$25) which added another 5 days onto the delivery time.

The package arrived in a nice big cardboard box, which was adorned with a special sticker (see photo) it makes me smile!

After using a carving knife to tear open the box, I meticulously pulled my purchases free from their cardboard prison. Setting them out into sweet freedom!

The swords were packaged in cardboard that had been cut to fit around the sword. This struck me as a little bit odd, but also an effective to package a sword. (sorry no photo)

SWORD STATISTICS

Blade length: 21''
Hilt length: 6'' (including pommel)
Overall length: 28''
guard width: 6 and 3/4''
POB: 3''
Weight: 2lbs 4oz

DESIGN FIT AND FINISH

THE BLADE

The blade of this sword is magnificent. It is extremely well polished (almost to a mirror) and has a very slight noticeable grain which i find attractive. The blade came pretty sharp actually, more so than I expected, though I could see the secondary bevel. It was able to cut paper pretty easily. So overall I'm pretty happy here. No complaints..

The blade's polish is exquisite. I can my lamp in it's reflection, and the blood grooves/fullers are even and well executed.

HANDLE AND HILT

The handle is hardwood wrapped in leather, and the leather stitching is pretty well done. Especially considering some "other" windlass models had that ugly white stitching showing.. Overall it's a very comfortable grip. The only issue I have is that it does have a tendency to twist in your hand.

There's a metal spacer in the handle, and if find it to be quite attractive as well as functional. These fittings appear to be made of stainless steel, but I can't be too sure. however, they're very well polished. The pommel has been weighted to counter balance the swords normally blade heavy balance, and in my opinion they succeeded.

The pommel is clearly peened, and while I think that they could have done better, it's still a very attractive, and sturdy pommel. I've experienced no rattles at all.

THE GUARD

The guard on this sword is a little wide in my opinion, though I'm used to wielding katana so this is no surprise. I've found that i have a tendency to jar this thing into my wrists when I swing this sword, and since then I've learned not to bend my wrists so much and let my arms do most of the work. It seems to have fixed the problem. Overall I consider this to be a very beautiful guard and it seems to fit the sword perfectly despite being a little too wide.

THE SCABBARD

The Scabbard is the typical windlass style, a hard wood sheath with a thin leather covering accented with metal throat and tip. I like the simplicity of these fittings as they convey a subtle elegance to this normally brutal weapon.

HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS

While weighing in at 2lbs 4oz this sword is a breeze to wield, I know that 36oz is heavy for a 28'' sword, but because of the pommel counter balancing the sword's weight distribution. The blade feels well balanced and easy to use. The archer's falchion can be used as either a one handed or a two-handed type of weapon. (though for the two-handed use one would have to "pommel" grip it. (or whatever the term is.)

Overall I find this to be an excellent chopping weapon and I think that it could easily split smaller pieces of wood though I myself didn't test this out.

Now on to the "Fun" part.... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

CUTTING TESTS

I decided to go easy on this sword, it being a historical replica and all. So I chose to use it on water bottles, and water bottles only. (at least for now) Now do I consider this to be an effective cutting tool? I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Definitely an effective cutter. It tore through these water bottles with barely any resistance. On the battlefield this would have been a fearsome melee weapon indeed, and now I see why archer's carried this particular weapon as a side arm.

Anyways here's my cutting video... (it's sideways and kind of short, but my camera only has a 25 second length..)

Well bearing that in mind.. ENJOY!

CONCLUSION

This is definitely an awesome blade. It's well balanced so it's a blast to wield. The blade geometry makes it an excellent chopper as well as an effective cutter, and it's extremely attractive appearance all combine to make one well-refined falchion.

I would recommend this to anybody who is looking for a nice one handed blade, or anyone who is interested in historical replicas in general. Overall it's a great buy.

~Jesse~

PROS