The Sovereign Sword (#1322) by Darksword Armory
A boujie-looking, battle-ready sword for the stand-out protag OC or HEMA fencer that needs to feel just a little special.
The Sovereign will catch anyone’s eye and people will beg to hold it when you bring it out. It is ornate as it is functional and its 5160 High Carbon Steel, Type XVIII blade is strong and ready for cutting.
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?: The Sovereign Sword is an interesting mixture of historically plausible parts that DSA classifies as an Arming Sword. Arming swords are one-handed medieval swords, often used with heater shields and bucklers. Having handled these kinds of swords before, I am used to the typically shorter grip and pointier tip that many arming swords possess. The Sovereign falls within the blade-length parameters of many historical arming-swords, but feels more like a short bastard or hand-and-a-half sword. Honestly, it’s mostly the extended, vortexing “writhen” pommel which allows for two-handed use and the slightly more forward balance point that makes it feel this way. Arming and bastard swords appear in the Oakshott Typology list as sort of mixing so there was sometimes blade and grip styles that evolved into one another.
The sword comes with a well-made scabbard that has a wooden core and metal chape. For an additional cost, you can opt to have DSA’s leather belt system integrated into the scabbard so it is ready to wear out of the box.
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: Solid Bronze -
Total length: 41″
Blade length: 32″
Blade width at base: 2″
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Total Weight: 2.5 Lbs
POB: 5 Inches from Cross Guard
Distal Taper: 7mm to 4mm
How does it Feel?: It has a more forward POB than I’m used to for a one-handed sword. I was completely able to stop the sword where I wanted it one-handed and had reasonable tip control, but doing so for a while fatigued me. Using this sword with a buckler or shield for prolonged periods of time would definitely be challenging. I did find that the blade had good distal taper when measured, but its 5 inch forward POB makes this sword more of an authoritative cutter than a lighting fast stabber. Other arming swords with a POB closer to the guard will feel a bit livelier in the hand but this sword is not sluggish by any means.
Used with two hands, the sword moves around freely and fast. While no where near as powerful as a longsword, its arming sword-sized blade cuts through the air without resistance. Again, the way this sword feels between using it one or two-handed is reminiscent of a bastard sword more than an arming sword. This in-between size caught the attention of my female students who not only loved the looks of the sword, but could not put it down when test cutting.
One Handed Use of the DSA Sovereign Sword
Two Handed Use of the DSA Sovereign Sword. The Blade is shorter than a longsword
The Blade: Like the Two Handed Longsword we reviewed from DSA, this sword features a Type XVIII blade. These kinds of blades are characterized with a diamond cross section shape and a durable tip. With the evolution of armor in the 15 century, stiffer blades became more prevalent to allow for the popping of mail and other armor types. The Sovereign features a blade that is less flexible than swords inspired from earlier periods and came with an edge that didn’t have an ugly secondary bevel. It has good distal taper, going from about 7mm to 4mm (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. I spoke with Chris of DSA about this and he stated 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.
Tip of the Darksword Armory Sovereign Sword after shoving it into gravel and dirt
How Does it Cut?: EASILY! As of this review, we have cut over 100 various bottles filled with water with the Sovereign. Its grip and good edge geometry made it easy to cleave through bottles without much resistance. At the thickest, we were able to slice cleanly through extra thick protein containers, Arizona tea bottles, and even a XXL Cat Litter bucket. Now I will say, you will need to do your part with edge alignment to get this sword to work for you. It will not be as forgiving as a katana if your edge alignment is off. But with a little practice, you should be able to cut cleanly through pool noodles, bottles, or tatami with one or two hands with this sword. I would trust it in cutting competitions.
Thrusting is where I saw the most promise. Due to its stiff blade and tip shape, we got to really get stabby with the Sovereign. It passed through all the same bottles and harder targets with easy and often surprised me on how little pressure I had to put to get it to penetrate deep.
The Darksword Armory Sovereign single cuts cleanly through an XL Protein Canister
Durability: After cutting, I did some light torture testing on the sword. I used it to cut through up to 1 inch green branches to which it did so without complaint. I then found a log of dry hardwood in our firepit so I decided to chop into it with the Sovereign. These were lighter, one-handed cuts but the log was so hard that the blade had trouble biting into it. I knew this would more-than-likely damage the edge to the point that I would have to resharpen or de-bur it.
We slammed the sword into dead hardwood to see if we could damage the edge
The Results: What I brought inside was a dirty, dingy blade covered in sap, wood, and who knows what else. I was not expecting the sword to come out unscathed but after some light polishing and oiling, it was revealed that the Sovereign's blade suffered no dents, dings, or rolls. When I ran my finger over the blade, I felt no burs or hot-spots. While I’m sure it is not as sharp as when I pulled it out of the box, I could not tell a significant difference in the edge. I did find some light surface scratches on the blade but I had to look quite hard after using the polishing compound and a rag. Overall, extremely impressive!
The Blade Before Cleanup
The Blade after polishing with Flitz Polish and knife oil
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. Firstly, the sword came with a scabbard that was far too long for the sword. It was even longer than the the DSA longsword I reviewed earlier due to its length. Chris from DSA has since contacted me about the mistake and will be sending me a correct sheath.
My second 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. But I get it. It is a “drip at cost of function” which is right in line with knightly tradition. Looking good is just as important as living (sometimes more so). Other than that, I like everything else about the sword.
The Sovereign sitting higher than the Two-Handed Medieval longsword due to the an incorrect scabbard being sent
Conclusion: I really like this sword. It is the kind of sword that will catch attention when placed on a rack with hundreds of other swords. Its style and clean lines and bronze furniture make it impossible to forget. It makes a great hand-and-a-half sword for those out there looking for one but shines bright as a two-handed sword for those of smaller stature. If ordered sharpened, it will come ready to cut and comes standard with a scabbard (which is unheard of for Euro blades). At its current 2022 cost, it is well worth the money and is a must have for any original character for a Ren Faire, sword collector, or just a HEMA practitioner wanting to stun on the poor unwashed.
