A Rapier that Cuts Better than a Two-handed Greatsword? LK Chen Saxony German Military Rapier Review

Can rapiers cut? With some rare exceptions, they can cut to certain extents. Can a rapier cut potentially better than a two-handed greatsword/zweihander/montante? Most can't, but this Saxony rapier by LK Chen can. Even though carrying the long slender blade and swept-hilt associated with the images of rapiers, its 40" blade isn't typical in the blade width--coming in at 36mm at the base (60-100% boarder than the stereotypical thrust-focused rapiers), with a hollow ground diamond cross section. It also has the correct base thickness (7.6mm) and distal tapering (from 7.6mm at the base down to 4.1mm at midpoint and 2.2mm near the tip).

Properly made rapiers like this are exceedingly are on the reproduction market. The majority are SCA-rated floppers that can be bent into a C-curl with minimal force, which make them unable to do any meaningful cut OR thrust, I showed a Windlass Christus Imperat rapier which starts at a laughable 4.7mm and tapers to 4mm--completely wrong mass distribution to handle like a telephone pole and flops like a noodle (sorry, Windlass, retire your old models, and pay the experts like Matt Easton to supply you with the correct stats and for proper designs).

The LK Chen Saxony rapier (or rather a Renaissance military sword, or long-bladed sidesword) has the scientific mass distribution thanks to the profile and distal taper plus the cross section, so that at the foible of the blade, it only carries less than 15% of the mass of the base. The result is an extremely nimble and precise sword for thrusts and wrist-powered rapier snap cuts. Experts and reviewers such as ‪@scholagladiatoria‬ ‪@Skallagrim‬ and ‪@UnsheathedSwordReviews‬ has told us as much, and my extensive test cutting on targets of different toughness confirms that. But the true potential unleashed by cuts with bigger wind-up after parrying truly shocked me.

I tested cuts on a 15% ballistic gelatin human thigh analog with a wooden dowel. The target has a 18" circumference, basically equals to a triple tatami-mat roll, but even more resistant. The Saxony rapier easily cut through the target time and again, especially zipped through the wooden dowel like a laser. Now I have tested the Albion Maximilian--a late 15th century Germanic two-handed sword and a renowned cutting sword when properly sharpened--on a ballistic gel thigh analog that's 20% thicker, and it could only cut 80% through, while the wooden dowel suffered some tearing.

This proves that this cut-and-thrust rapier by LK Chen cuts definitively better than the renowned Albion Maximilian, without a doubt. These cuts I used are not typical rapier cuts, but considering this was modeled after a military rapier original housed at Metropolitan Museum, you can probably launch these big cuts from horseback, or as a riposte after a successful parry. The potentially is there, and you have to ask how come a one-handed sword famed to be more about thrusting can cut this well. I would contribute it to the amazing hollow ground edge geometry, the proper rigidity, the extreme terminal tip velocity of this long blade, and the ease to reach it due to the mass distribution. Note that it comes in at 2.7 lbs (1280 grams) with a 40" blade and 46.5" overall length. The blade is 1" shorter than the two-handed Maximilian but the overall weight is only half as much. Again I'm not talking about the impact of swings, just the raw damage to large chunk of organic material.

It's not a surprise that it penetrates deeply with its thrusts. You feel a strong connection with the point of the blade even though the tip is 40" (over a meter) away from your hand. When I compare it to my Albion Kingmaker--a mid-15th century arming sword with a 32" type XVIII blade, they handle similarly, to my surprise.

The swept-hilt, the grooved pommel and the writhen grip with steel wire wrap and turks head knot are closely modelled after the original Saxony sword at the Met, and they are well implemented, and well shaped. My only gripe is the surface on the pommel and especially the swept-hilt. They are sand-blasted, which does not emulate the antiqued look on surviving examples at all, especially with the dull grey color of the stainless steel. There are a few spots of casting not cleaned off properly, but this is probably due to the sword being the first prototype, as subsequent batches shipped seem to have been fixed. I recommend well-polished mild steel fittings with a blackened finish on future batches. It's only due to this minor issue that I cannot give it a 10 out of 10, yet still this without a doubt remains my top recommended model of 2023!
https://lkchensword.com/saxony-german...

17th century German music background - Robert Hill.    / @roberthillearlymusic  

Review by ‪@UnsheathedSwordReviews‬
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