Honshu Historical Claymore Review & Test Cutting (5 Feet Long Scottish Greatsword)

The Honshu Historical Claymore is a two-handed sword of mid-to-late 15th century or early 16th century Scottish style. Coming in with an impressive 44.5" long blade, and an overall 57.5" overall length, it weighs 4.8 lbs (2177g)--not just reasonable, but somewhat lightweight, while balancing around 4.75" from the hilt. That comes from the distal taper from 5mm at the base that features a long ricasso of rectangular cross section--bringing substantial amount of mass to the base, and gradually tapers to 3.5mm at midpoint, through the transition to a diamond cross section with a medium length narrow fuller. It then transitions into a diamond cross section without the fuller, and maintains that thickness more or less throughout the remainder of the blade until the tip. Given such a long blade length, and not a very broad blade (48.7mm at the base, and 28.7mm at 2" from the tip, with an even profile taper), it's not excessively floppy. When held flat, the blade does sag ever so slightly, and it flexes quite a bit when there's an impact on the blade, given that it's made of well heat-treated 1065 carbon steel, with the proper degree of spring temper.

The long ricasso is covered by black suede, which mirrors the blackened anti-rust finish on the blade, and the steel fittings on the hilt, even the black leather wrap on the grip. The crossguard features two upswept quillons with the terminations curved forward, which is inspired by lowlander style of Scottish two-handed swords, specifically the so-called "Robert the Bruce Sword", which was by no mean the actual personal sword owned by Robert the Bruce the Scottish national hero, but likely a heirloom sword of Clan Bruce from the 15/16th century. The pommel is a large octagonal scentstopper pommel with two grooves to reduce the weight. It counterbalances the blade adequately without adding too much weight, and is comfortable to hold onto. The wood core grip is wrapped with linen cord and then black leather covering on top. There are a few risers in addition to the cord wrap texture to help with the retention. The grip is tapered in width, and has a oblong cross section with flat surfaces on the sides to help with the edge alignment. A thoughtful design. But the circumference is a bit too large, with a 4.5mm width and 3mm thickness. I suggest reducing the width to 3.5mm or so to improve the retention.

It cuts quite well, and is somewhat easy to maneuver considering its impressive size. The secondary bevel leads to a polished apex so it doesn't impact the performance. The springiness is usually not an issue when cutting and thrusting, either. At times, I found myself wanting some more leverage from the hilt. Even though my two hands are separated well apart on the long grip with the scentstopper pommel, perhaps adding one or two inches grip length will make it even more maneuverable.

Other than that, there's really no complaint about the sword. It even comes with a leather sheath of the usual Windlass quality. It's not rigid without a wooden core, but the sheath is reinforced with a steel chape and a locket that conforms to the unique shape of the crossguard.

Overall, I like the sword a lot more than I anticipated. The mass distribution Windlass put on this model by leveraging the ricasso and the distal taper really makes its handling stand out from the majority of Windlass swords. If you are interested in this impressive two-handed greatsword of Scottish inspiration, head on to bit.ly/HonshuClaymore while there's another version with the usual satin finish and brown leather wrapping available.

Sword in question:
https://www.budk.com/Honshu-Historic-...