Sword of Malta

I was surprised on how much I liked this sword.  Blade and assembly are great.  I think the hilt leather is ugly but that's an easy replacement and my opinion.  Sword is well balanced and feels good in the hands. The sheath is nicely designed but the metal fittings look and feel cheap. The sheath is also not wood as advertised. All in all, in this price range it is a five star sword.  If it costs more these issues would detract from the score.  This blade would make a great custom sword project.    

Overall, the weapon handles well but is slightly heavy for its type. Having said that, it handles better tan the Classic Medieval sword despite being about the same size and weight; the weight distribution on the Sword of Malta is better balanced, and isn't quite so blade heavy as the Classic Medieval.

The blade is not as stiff as I'd expect for a diamond shaped single handed blade. By way of comparison, its not early as stiff as the aforementioned Classic Medieval sword; lightly slap the flat of the Sword of Malta's blade with the top of your hand and you will see some distinct and significant vibrations. The leather grip and the scabbard are both nicely executed - well done on these points. While the weapon is a single handed sword, there is just enough of the grip and the large pommel available for physical touch for the off hand to wield the weapon in a hand and a half fashion.

Overall, a good sword. It could be made better by stiffening the blade to reduce the Windlass "whippyness" that unfortunately characterizes many Windlass blades, and by reducing the wight somewhat for better handling.  

Finally, and this isn't a reflection on the sword, but PLEASE use different packing materials when packing your products! The paper and packing that came with my Sword of Malta smelled like a chemical factory. I was literally getting a headache from it and the noxious odor persisted in my living room for several hours after taking the box and packing outside to the trash can. Seriously, it was horrible and that experience alone will make me think twice about ordering a Windlass sword direct. I should add that I own two other Windless swords purchased from vendors (Classic Medieval and Great Ouse River Sword, as well as swords from other manufacturers) and none of them have had this issue. Therefore, it must be an issue with how Museum Replicas itself packs their products. PLEASE fix this problem.  

The sword is what I expected, did not know it came with a belt, pleasantly surprised.  A nice  overall  package.

This sword did not come with a wooden scabbard as advertised, instead it only had the typical leather scabbard MW ships with many of their other swords.