Windlass Steelcrafts "Towton"
Hand and a half Sword

Back in 2005, many considered the original Towton hand-and-a-half sword to be one of the finest swords of its type available at its respective price point.

There's no doubt that the Towton was certainly one of the most popular entry level swords; thanks in part to numerous favorable reviews featured on sites such as My Armory.com and Sword Forum International, where this hand-and-a-half sword was compared most favorably with swords costing twice as much.

But this sword had not only just impressed the sword buying community...

Indeed, even Chris Howard - Canadian based distributor of Windlass Swords from Reliks.com - mentioned in his interview with Sword Buyers Guide in January 2006 that of all the swords he stocks the Towton was his personal favorite and he often showed it to people when they wanted to see what a 'real' sword looked like.

So with all this excitement, it was only natural that I had to get myself one to see what all the fuss was about first hand...!

Unfortunately, I almost left it a bit too late. Windlass are a somewhat infamous for discontinuing swords (and sometimes bringing them back again) and I only just snatched one up before they disappeared from the market for years.

But now with their return, let's see if this indisputably attractive hand and a half sword still holds its own over 2 decades later..

Windlass Steelcrafts Towton Sword Review

Review by SBG Editor in Chief, Paul Southren

Steel

Weight

Point of Balance

Price Range

1065 Carbon Steel

2lbs 11oz

4" from guard

US$379

When I first received the Towton I was immediately struck by just how elegant this hand-and-a-half sword looked.

The blade itself is long (36") with a fuller running down most of its length before terminating to a very fine point.

The pommel is a perfectly finished, evenly spaced and clearly defined octagonal lobe that really is a piece of art. A capstan nut secures the peened and threaded tang, securely binding the swords assembly together.

And the synthetic leather handle wrap is nicely stitched on one side with a cord riser separating one hand from the other, though there is a little too much room for the off hand and not enough for the dominant right hand at the top.

The Quillions are long and delicately waisted, terminating in two slightly oval shaped ends that give this hand-and-a-half sword an almost "elvish" feel.

Truth be told, this is not at all as silly as it sounds considering that this sword is only inspired by the battle of Towton (circa 1461) and not a replica of any historical original...

"Even the scabbard of this sword is really quite exotic looking..."

The pointed shoulder of the hand guard fitting snugly to the lip of the scabbard. And there is a delicate 'ace of spades' style flourish on one side of the chape, which is finished off at the bottom with a small ball like protuberance.

My only real problem with this hand-and-a-half sword was the assembly of the blade into the shoulder of the hilt, which quickly became apparent to me on my first few practice swings soon after receiving it...

Any time I rapidly changed the direction of a strike there was a disconcerting "tink-tink" rattling sound within the hilt that made me hold back.

On closer examination, I discovered a gap large enough between the shoulder and the tang to slip a small coin into, which was causing the blade to clang against it every time it was stressed. A little research soon revealed to me that this problem was not at all uncommon with Windlass Steelcrafts swords (and indeed, I had even experienced it later with high end Albion Swords!). Thankfully, it is not the end of the world and is easily enough fixed by shimming - such as by inserting and super gluing a small coin or piece of metal in the gap.

In my case though - since I was looking for a permanent solution that would not ruin this beautiful swords overall appearance, I shimmed it with an application of some fast setting polymer epoxy resin and the problem was fixed. As a result, the "tink-tink" sound is history, the shimming is barely visible and the end result is - as you will see shortly - a hand-and-a-half sword that handles remarkably well, though still with one more niggling flaw...

Performance and Handling

Though it weighs a respectable 2lbs and 11oz, with a point of balance around 4" from the cross guard, this sword handles like a dream and is totally awesome for general hand-and-a-half sword training...

In the official 'blurb' for this sword put out by Windlass Steelcrafts, the sword is described as "a lightning fast cutting weapon" going on to say:

"In the hands of an able swordsman this sleek sword would wreak havoc on the lightly armoured infantry of its day. On foot it could be used with two hands, delivering terrible cuts and thrusts. From the advantageous horseback position its perfect balance and weight still allowed for one-hand blows of equal devastation to anyone within its considerable reach."

Overall, I think this statement is actually pretty much on the money!

This hand-and-a-half sword is best described as "lightning fast". And it's weight and balance certainly facilitate its use either one or two handed. In fact I enjoy switching between both when I train with it, and the loud swooshing noise that it makes as it rends the air one handed is very impressive and enjoyable.

The only problem is, the blurb's description of delivering 'terrible thrusts' has two meanings...

And unfortunately, despite the fact that it IS a good cutter, I found it a rather 'terrible' thrusting sword - the blade simply not rigid enough to deliver a decent penetrative thrust (a feature also noted in the My Armoury Review)...

Even in an unsharpened state, it could cut a wide cabrdboard box with no issue.

If fully sharpened, it would make a really nice cutter, able to cut at range with the tip and forcefully at the center of percussion. But when I try to thrust, it goes in but seems to get stuck as the blade widens and can only really penetrate around 8 inches or so.

Of course, against an unamored opponent, you don't need to pierce a vital organ very deeply to end the fight. But trying to half sword this version against the weak points in armor would just tickle your opponent - and is indeed a bit of a let down overall..

Conclusion

Overall I think that for US$379 this hand-and-a-half sword has its good points and bad.

Aesthetically, it is one of the best looking, most beautiful swords I have seen in this price range. Performance wise, it is highly recommended for hand-and-a-half sword training as it superbly balanced, extremely fast and handles very smoothly.

My only real issues with this sword is its thrusting ability, which for such a dramatically pointed sword should be much more effective than what it is, but it flexes too early.

With a slightly stiffer blade and tighter assembly at the handle, this sword could easily be mistaken for a hand-and-a-half sword that sells for US$700+.

As it is, while this flaws are acceptable for a sword at the price point it retails for - if Windlass were to seriously address these issues I fear that they might put a lot of higher end sword production companies out of business!

UPDATE & WHERE TO BUY

Windlass was listening apparently..

The latest version of this sword is thicker bladed but has distal taper so the weight and handling remains the same, but they seem to have solved the whippy blade issue and proudly market it as their 'signature series'.

As noted, the price is $379.95 but you can save $37.99 using the coupon code below on ALL Windlass swords.