The Two Handed Medieval Sword (#1332) by Darksword Armory
An mid-priced, good quality longsword with tons of cutting power and a dark, brooding aesthetic
Formally called the Gothic Longsword, this 15th Century sword looks ready for war. Everything from the tip to the pommel looks sharp and menacing and its blade is ready to cut through the thickest targets
OVERALL RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Disclaimer: Darksword Armory sent us this sword as a test sample free of charge. While we sometimes receive swords for review, it does not sway our opinions on the quality and function of a sword, nor its worth to customers. I try to provide my opinion on if the items we review are worth the cost AND to whom they might be best for.
Not a scholar? Not to worry. We made a video.
What is it?: This sword is based on the Type XVIIIB Longsword referenced from the Oakshott Typology list. This sword was very prevalent in the 15th century and was almost exclusively carried by wealthier warriors. It was developed to keep up with the advancements in armor. More on blade shape later!
It features a coffin-shaped grip which is great for keeping your edged aligned and sports a shiny, almost mirror-polished cross guard and fishtail pommel that add to the Gothic aesthetic. I personally love the fishtail pommel as initially, I trained in Liechtenauer swordsmanship to where grasping the pommel is not taught. But in the later systems taught by Fiore dei Liberi, grasping the pommel was common. I found doing this helped me keep my edge true to the target and always resulted in clean cuts.
The hilt is leather wrapped and well sealed to the core so no flappy parts to lift when cutting. The ridges under the wrap really do help to keep your hands from slipping. The sword also comes with a high quality scabbard that is wooden cored and leather wrapped. I always love that DSA provides a scabbard with their swords as this is less common with Euro blades (or you get a floppy sheath).
The sheath also has the option to (for a higher price) be integrated with a belt system that does hold the sword in place very well. I did find that the leather on this belt was of good mid-grade quality so it wont be as fancy as a dedicated sword belt but will still function well and feel good. If you already have a sword hanger as a part of your outfit or gear, don’t bother buying the belt option.
SPECS
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Blade: 5160 High Carbon Steel. Dual Tempered to Outer 60 HRC, 48-50 HRC at the core
Crossguard and Pommel: Mild Steel -
Total length: 50″
Blade length: 38″
Blade width at base: 2″
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Total Weight: 3 Lbs 7 oz
POB: 5 Inches from Cross Guard
Distal Taper: 8mm to 4.5mm
How does it Feel?: Average. What I mean by this is not average in quality, but in the middle between feeling “lively” and “tip heavy”. The further out the point of balance is on a sword, the more tip heavy it will feel. It will cost a bit more energy to swing around BUT it will cut through targets easier than a sword with a POB closer to the hands. Conversely, a sword with a POB closer to the hands will feel “lighter” and faster. The tip of the sword will feel more controllable at the cost of less energy being transferred into targets. This is the reason axes cut so well. Most of their mass is at the end of the tool.
The DSA two handed medieval sword lies right in between lively and tip heavy. It delivers a huge amount of force to targets (to which you can feel when you swing) while also having a moderate amount of tip control and speed. I found that this sword did fatigue me after about an hour of working with it which was less time than I usually spend with my feders. But an hour of work is still a good sign that this sword is well balanced for what it is intended for.
The DSA Longsword in flug guard
The Blade: This sword features a Type XVIIIb blade. As stated before, these kinds of sword evolved with the times due to advancements in armor technology. The blades were made to be stiffer, aided by a diamond cross section used for punching through gaps in plate. The longsword features a blade that is less flexible than swords inspired from earlier periods and came with an edge that is sharp, but it does have a micro secondary bevel that is visible in sunlight. It has good distal taper, going from about 8mm to 4.5mm (ricasso to tip respectively). It came “battle sharp”, that is, sharp enough to cut through intended targets but not sharp enough to cut paper or shave. When talking with DSA about this, they told me that their intentions were to ship the swords as sharp as would be needed for combat as historically, most combat swords were not razor sharp to protect their edges from chipping as easily.
Subtle Secondary Bevel
How Does it Cut?: Extremely well! As of October 2022, we have put roughly 170 bottles and fruits up against this DSA longsword and I can say with confidence that it is a good cutter. With a true Appleseed edge profile, this thing would be a monster against tatami. Due to its balance, length, and POB, this sword zings through bottles, thin or thick. Fruits might as well have not even been there as you cant really feel the sword slide through. It just unzips them apart. We have not tested these on tatami just yet (due to prices) but it is in our plans. My smaller students had a harder time cutting with this sword due to its length but everyone of standard male height (5’5 and above), loved the blade.
Thrusting was easy as well due to the stiffer blade and point profile. That being said, the length of the sword made tip control for piecing bottles a bit more challenging. When we tested the DSA Sovereign, its shorter blade made aiming the tip much easier. But because both of these swords share type XVIII style blades, both went through these targets with ease.
Cutting a 2 liter bottle
Cutting a pineapple. Pina Colada time!
Durability: I did some very light torture testing on the blade just to see if I could make the edges chip or roll. I cut through 1” green branches, which the longsword lopped with ease! I then took a 4x4 of dry pine and chopped into it relatively hard. Pine is very soft compared to most wood so I did not expect the sword to be damaged at all. But this is still something I would consider abusive to swords as they were not designed to slam into blocks of wood like this. Many swords I’ve done this to have shown signs of warping and bending after doing this.
We slammed the sword into dead hardwood to see if we could damage the edge
The Results: As shown below, the sword looked quite dirty and grimy after all was said and done. Though I polished and cleaned it later, you can see from the picture that the edge suffered no damage that you can see. The sword is still perfectly straight without warping and the edge only suffered minor dulling and a single burr which I have since cleaned off (which had to be felt by hand). Once polished, the sword looked almost as if I just pulled it from the box. No deep scratches. Bravo on that heat treat Darksword Armory!
Sap and dirt from testing the blade
Criticisms: For the most part, I love this sword. But there are a few points that I don’t like that I feel need mentioning. My main dislike is the triangular shape at the center of the cross guard. I use a thumbs-up grip a lot and having not only a pointed center at the cross guard, but raised embellishments on top of it, makes it more difficult to use cuts like the zwerk, krumphau, ect. Secondly, unlike the DSA Sovereign sword we were sent to test, this sword had a more prominent secondary bevel. I know profiling a blade to an apple seed geometry is expensive and takes time. But it does make a difference in cutting and in my opinion, puts a sword in an entirely new quality bracket.
Not a fan of the angled cross guard for thumbs up grip
Better view of the cross guard with its triangular termination
Conclusion: I teach longsword. Therefore I had been looking for an accessible, high quality, forged longsword to cut, teach, and compete with. Currently, there are only a few options to choose from that are within a sub 800.00 price range that are worth looking at. This is one of them. This sword is not at Albion levels of quality but it isn’t a wall hanger either. It feels well put together, balanced well, and sharpened enough to cut through tatami and other targets. It looks dark, mysterious, and menacing while also appearing clean and not over the top. It comes with a high quality scabbard and is fashioned from quality steel and materials. Aside from my personal criticisms, I really enjoyed cutting with the sword. I say if you are looking for a good quality sharp longsword for a reasonable price, the DSA Two Handed Medieval Longsword should be at the top of your list.
