Mercenary Schiavona Half Basket-Hilt Sword

Great Schiavona. This Venetian sword replica is accurate in design and balance. It has a sharp broadsword blade as expected and feels great in the hand. The basket guard is what I love about this sword. It looks great displayed with my other MR swords. I have had this sword for over a year and it is still one of my favorite swords in my collection. One of your best MR

I was not sure about this one when I ordered it but I am so glad I did. It looks even better in person. It feels good in the hand if a little blade heavy. This is not such a bad thing for a sword like this. I'm glad I took a chance on it.

Very nice, well made, attractive, solid. Perhaps a bit heavy.

This is one of my favorite basket hilt swords in my collection. The aging done on the basket hardware is very well applied, and the brass studs really add to the pinache. I love the triple fullered straight blade. It was a bit tight in the scabbard at first, but has eased on its flow in and out. Another very well put together piece by Windlass.

Very nice looking sword.  a Chef d'oeuvre !

The sword is perfectly balanced: POB 4-5" above the hilt. The basket is really beautiful. The blade at 33" is a bit shorter than many Schiavonas, but is well tempered. The sheath has beautiful engraving and is antiqued. The antiquing isn't perfectly even, but good enough for this price point.

I've always been a fan of the Italian basket hilts. Beautiful design, even if you're not a fan of the cat's head pommel. All the fittings and the sheath are well worth the money paid. The blades seem a little inconsistent though (I bought more than one). Most notable was the fullers, which tend to wander a bit. It's noticeable on a sword with a single fuller, but it becomes much more glaring on a sword with a triple fuller. Still, if you're a fan of the design, this is well worth the money. If details like the fullers bother you, you probably need to shop at a higher price point.

I bought this to use with my pirate gear and it is fantastic.  It is very menacing.

A very nice piece

With the Mercenary Schiavona, it was love at first sight:  the decorative antique rosettes add great visual appeal to the half-basket hilt, which by itself is quite handsome.  A full view of the sword shows the beautiful proportions of the triple-fullered blade, which is double edged, rather than backed, as some schiavonas are.  In handling the sword, I found it somewhat blade-heavy, especially since the relatively short grip does not provide as much counter-leverage, as my fish-tailed 15th-century mercenary sword's handle does; hence, this is a "muscle" sword, so get your Conan on, guys (or your Red Sonja, gals).  Even for my "medium" hands, the half-basket hilt feels like a tight fit, though there is plenty of room for a gauntleted hand.  However, if you have hands like Hoss Cartwright's, you might find it a bit snug.  None of the above comments represents a complaint:  these are admittedly my subjective impressions of a beautiful and obviously fully functional sword with great historic appeal.  Five stars!

Good balance, all the fittings are tight, sheath matches perfectly.  Well worth buying.

Excellent blade. Supremely balanced. Beautiful workmanship. I have the original schiavona and this piece is just as excellent if not more so. Can not wait to dawn it at the next pirate festival.