Windlass Steelcrafts Pirate Captain Hanger Review

This is one in a series of independent reviews we are having conducted by sword enthusiast Mike Arledge. Mike has no guidelines as to his reviews, we have given him the opportunity to give his honest opinion on the products both good and bad. He receives no compensation and is doing this out of his love of swords in general. What follows will be the complete unedited review as posted by him on other sword discussion boards. We've only added a product picture and pricing information. We hope this type of detailed, hands on information will help you to make educated choices when purchasing a sword.
Kult Of Athena

	Windlass Steelcrafts Pirate Captain Hanger Stats: Weight: 1 lbs 15 ounces Overall Length: 32 and 1/2 inches Grip: 4 and a half inches Blade Length: 26 inches from end of guard Point of Balance: approx. 2 and ½ inches from guard Center or Percussion: approx. 18 inches from guard Curve of blade: approximately 1 inch Distal Taper At Crossguard -.5 cm At end of fuller - .5cm At tip - .4cm
	Retail Price:$160.00 KOA Price: $149.95 Click Here to Purchase This Sword

Initial Impressions:
Looks exactly like stock photos, perfect nautical/pirate appearance.

Appearance:
From what I understand, this is about as close as it comes out there on the market to a functional replica of the sword used by Jack Sparrow (Johhny Depp) in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It looks pretty close to the movie prop. I really like the way it looks. The color of the guard is really well done, and the Windlass Mirror Polish fits well with it for a change, and it would be really easy to antique this piece. The grip is a bit too shiny, but not bad at all. There are some minor flaws in its appearance, and they are: the fuller is uneven in a few spots, the edge is a bit thicker in some places-most noticeably near the tip, and finally when viewing the blade profile while holding the piece straight in front of you, the grind gives the appearance of making the blade look bent. Its not really bent, but optically it looks slightly that way. All of these are probably just slight bad luck, and not all pieces will have these problems. Also, the finish near the pommel nut is chipped a bit. But overall, I am happy with how the blade looks.

Handling:
The sword’s handling isn’t really dynamic. You would have a hard time using it to do stage fencing requiring rapier/fencing like moves. It is easy to control, but it’s a cutlass/hanger, and it is pretty short. I personally keep feeling like its missing about 5-10 inches. Also, the grip is slicker than I like, and it is hard to use a classic grip with the thumb facing forward, as my hand runs out of room. Its not easy to grip the pommel and still feel in control. However, it does thrust very well. I don’t really like using it for cutting movements. I feel it tends to feel like a chopper more than a cutter. It feels almost like swinging an esrima stick rather than an edged weapon. It does better to use no wrist movement when cutting. However, I think it would take a terrific edge and cut targets like milk jugs very easily. I would even think it could do tatami well, but that is just a guess.

What you should expect:
This sword costs $160 shipped. It’s a better piece than most Windlass models. I did not put this piece through any contact drills, but I think it would prove durable. I have heard of some people having the grip loosen after contact usage though. Just be careful at first judging its durability. I’d say if you want a useable replica of what is basically Jack Sparrow’s Cutlass, this is the piece to buy. There are probably better options out there though as far as cutlass’s go if handling is important. For the money, its really nice though, and it would get lots of notice at Faire’s or Halloween.