[Kai Lawson]

Gordon--

You're right. I should have said pivot points, not nodes (though from a physical standpoint, the two can be the same thing). The pivot node close to the hilt can be used to calculate the one closer to the tip, and in such a sense is somewhat arbitrary, especially as the point pivot node can be seen by picking up the sword itself. However, I find that the rear node by the blade can help give an indication as to mass distribution in the sword. The POB on the Alexandria is relatively close to the hilt, about 4-5'' out, but the pivot node that corresponds to gripping the pommel of the sword shows up a few inches hilt-ward of the blade midpoint. This, to my mind, seems to help explain the odd simultaneous handling characteristic of precise point control and noticeable, strong blade presence. That's certainly more of a personal interpretation (possibly illustrating more precisely the overall mass distribution gradient?), and could easily be confusing in my post above. I apologize for any confusion; it is difficult to accurately describe the dualistic nature of the blade. I was trying to put some sort of perspective to it in regards to other cutting swords, some of which I've noticed had pommel-held pivot points at or just past the blade half-way point.

Peter could surely explain all this better; he's the one who seems to be teaching us all about the various properties of these swords. I'm just do microbiology

[Paul Watson]

Thanks for the detailed responses Kai. Being located where I am the chances of pre purchase handling of a sword I want is almost nil so I rely heavily on information from people such as yourself.

[Kai Lawson]

Not to drag this topic from it's tranquil slumber, but I did some more cutting with the Alexandria yesterday, and as the day wore on and various swords were used to cut things, we became more adventurous in our designs, and I stacked two strange, thick-plastic formed milk jugs (not regular ones, these were more like an industrial milk supply carton) atop one another, and set the whole thing on a thick plastic bucket (industrial multi-gallon thing). I made a nearly vertical descending cut through the two jugs, with almost no resistance (none that I could feel). On high-speed camera playback, the blade can be seen descending through the jugs, through the thick plastic cap of one of them, and cutting into the bucket proper before almost shattering the bottom off. I could feel no difference from the above cut and a single, normal milk jug, and there was absolutely no visible damage to the edge anywhere. I am continually impressed with this blade. The owners of the originals must have felt like lucky men for a short time!

[Todd Hawkins]

Hello -

I received my Albion Alexandria in the mail yesterday and I have a question regarding its edge geometry.

Peter Johnsson described it as - edge like that of a cold chisel.
I had expected to see an edge like that on the drawing below (sorry for the poor skill in my drawing).
Instead it looks like an "ordinary" edge.

Am I interpreting this wrong?
Does anyone who owns one of these see something different on their edge?
I would like to better understand the edge geometry on this exceptional sword.

Thank you for your help.

[Ryan Renfro]

Hi Todd,

I don't have any experience with the Albion Alexandria, but I have had a chance to examine the XVIIIc from Leeds Castle now on loan to the Royal Armouries in some detail. Going off memory and pictures, I'd say that your illustration is a reasonably accurate summary of the edge geometry, although the main diamond section is much flatter. The secondary bevel is not big - somewhere between 1 and 2 mm. The transition between the secondary bevel and the main diamond section wanders a bit, but it isn't a very sharp angle for any of the close pictures I have and is a bit rounded.

Looking at the detailed pictures of the Albion online, it's hard to tell the geometry for certain with the nice, new satin finish, but it looks a bit more apple seed shaped and more evenly rounded than the Leeds Castle sword. It also has a sharper, more defined angle at the top of the diamond section. The Albion certainly looks better than the original.

This is very detailed nitpicking and is only based on one original of this type. The Albion no doubt retains much of the original structure at the edge while appearing cleaner and more appealing to the modern eye.

Here's a quote I found on this forum from Peter regarding Albion edges:

[Todd Hawkins]

Hi Ryan,

Thank you for the detailed information.
It was very helpful.

Regards,
Todd