MAA Italian Long Sword , Black

Absolutely love this sword! This is a specialized design though, specifically made for Armored Combat, which means it is a Thrusting sword. Can you cut with it? Yes! The sword is very sharp. That being said. If you plan on putting it through the Forged in Fire durability test, you will more than likely break it. This is NOT a competition cutter. Swords are NOT meant to cut trees (with the exception of the wood splitting sword, but even then your cutting with the grain not against it) or anything harder than cutting targets, cloth or flesh. This sword is great for Half-Swording and other Armored Combat techniques laid out in the treatises of Fiore and Meyer. It comes in at a little over 2 lbs and is very nimble for a 47" sword. The blade is stiff with very little give, again this is made for fighting someone in armor. As far as the Bluing goes, If you want to spend an extra $60 for the polished version to beat the heck out of it be my guest. I personally love the unique look it has. It maybe called "bluing" but it's black, bluish black, but mostly black nonetheless. Every blade that I ever had with bluing is black. It's coated with black oxide to prevent rusting, but I always wipe down my swords with oil after every use. If you want an actual blue blade don't look for bluing. The only complaint I have is the leather wrap around the handle, which can slip up the handle from the pommel when used, but I can deal with that. Other than that its is well made. Everything is snug. Nothing is loose or rattling and I feel safe performing a Zwerch or Prellhau, but I also wear a Longsword rated fencing mask. Please wear safety equipment when using any sword, even a blunt sword can give you a bad day. Overall it's a great sword and well worth the money.

Got this sword as a birthday gift to myself. This blade came with an edge made for heavy target cutting, sorry backyard water bottle ninjas! Lots of reviews and resellers list that this sword has a wobbly guard, however, the one I received had zero guard wobble whatsoever! I was debating between this one and the polished version, finally decided on ordering this, and love the blackened finish! The sheath seemed to have a powdery substance in it (probably to keep the leather from rotting) and each time the blade is unsheathed it has a coat of this powder on it. The blade also has a good amount of flex to it! The XVa type blade makes this better suited for thrusting and half-swording, so in other words more of a stabbing type blade design. The fish-tail pommel is extremely comfortable to grip, in fact, your pivoting hand wants to grip it naturally. This is a heavy sword but well balanced allowing for excellent point control. It should be noted there is a ricasso on the blade extending roughly 2"-3" from the guard making point control even better by placing one finger in front of the guard. This is Cold Steel's 1055 carbon steel so despite the bluing it's still necessary to oil the blade to keep it in tip-top shape and to prevent accumulation of rust. If Cold Steel made another variant of this sword with a ferric chloride etch I would buy it in a heartbeat! I haven't cut any heavy targets with this sword yet so I will update on the performance of the blade when I do

Very nice good size balance is a tiny bit off because there is minimal to no distil taper its passable as a sword for cutting edge is a bit steep id recomend sharpening i personally used mine for cutting practice over a few months it did well enough eventually i found i didnt like it as much as some of my ther swords so i took tge edge off and rolled tge tip being careful not to ruin the temper and it has made a wonderful sparring sword (full armor of course to reduce risk of injury) i can say allot of good and a bit of bad about it but all in all its well priced and very functional. Hope this run on paragraph helps you traveler!

This sword is well worth the $175 I paid for it. Everything is tight and the scabbard fits well. The leather wrapped handle stitching isn’t very well done but it is functional. I wasn’t a fan of the black finish on the blade, cross guard, and pommel. I wrapped them in toilet paper, soaked it in vinegar, and the finish came right off. I used more vinegar and salt to put a mild patina on to prevent rust. The blade is not super sharp and I may use my work sharp to put a better edge on it. However, I don’t plan to use it so I’m not sure it matters. It is shown next to the Hanwei Tinker Great Sword of War.

Exactly as advertised. So solid! Nothing on this rattles or is remotely loose. Straight and solid razor sharp sword. Nice flex on it. Balance point is 3.5-4 inches above the cross guard. I bought it to blunt it and use it for practice but now that I see it, I don't have the heart to do that to this beautiful weapon. I agree with the prior reviewer, be prepared to clean it when it arrives. They really greased it well to keep it safe for storage and transport.

I've heard stories of Cold Steel swords having a fair few QC issues, but I've also heard that they've been cleaning up there act recently (as of June 2016), and can report that mine came perfectly fine, as expected, no loose guard, decently sharp blade, no real issues in packaging, good layer of grease to prevent rust in shipping, but was not a hassle to remove and re-oil. Now the actual product itself is fine, as expected, but don't expect the greatest sword you've ever seen in your life (unless this is your first sword), for this price, some corners did need to get cut. It has a nut pommel construction as opposed to threaded or peened, but it functions. The leather on the scabbard is faux. And some aren't going to be a fan of the black color, I personally like it, it makes it stand out in my collection, but that is definitely up to personal taste. Basically, if you've been looking at this sword, know what it is, know that there may be QC issues, but also know that this is a real, (high-carbon, tempered steel, full tang), theoretically battle ready sword for less than $200, which is still a damn fine deal.

It had pitted rust pockets on the pommel as soon as I pulled it out of the box, not really off to a great start. It is a good weapon over all. It is light in the hands but I am giving it three stars due to the poor quality of it being shipped to me.

I pull this thing out every chance I get to look at it and give it a few swings. The blade is beautiful, sharp, and oh so light. I was originally on the market for an Estoc, but being unable to find that, I saw this sword, and thought, hey close enough. I am not disappointed in the least! It is battle ready, full tang (It's a special one, the end of the tang is threaded, so you can potentially remove the blade with a flat-head screwdriver. Don't worry about it coming loose though, that baby is in there tight) and comes sharp, so be warned, this is no toy. the Sheath is decent, can feel a little on the cheap side, but looks high quality. My only complaint is that the grip is slightly uncomfortable, the leather grip has a seam going all the way down the side that your fingers or palm will be resting, and it gets a little annoying with extended use. Doesn't stop me from giving it a five star rating though!