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Cold Steel Italian Long Sword – Man at Arms Collection

SKU: CS88ITSM Categories: , , , Tag:
(6 customer reviews)

$239.99

In stock

Longswords took precedence over single-handed swords on the battlefield in the latter part of the Medieval Era and Renaissance. Though single-hand swords were still popular for cavalry and for personal defense. Armor had advanced to the point that warriors could confidently dispose of their shields and focus on offensive reach and power. Now well-armored warriors could have both hands free for a fast, strong weapon.

The elongated handle allows for more leverage than a single handed sword, and it was common to grip the blade with gauntlets to control the tip and thrust the sword into weak points in the armor. Fighting manuals of the time even show techniques whereby the sword is gripped by the blade and the crossguard and pommel used as a weapon. Many, such as this example, had the elaborate quillons for protection and entrapment and elongated pommels that were both an extension to the grip, as well as a counterbalance.

This Cold Steel Italian Longsword is from their Man-At-Arms collection. The sharp 1055 High carbon steel blade is blued for a dark, protective finish and the hilt of steel is blued to match. The grip wrapped in black leather and the blade tang is screwed into place with a pommel nut. Comes with a black leather scabbard with a blackened metal chape and throat.

Overall Length47 1/4''
Blade Length35 3/4''
Weight3 lb 0.5 oz
EdgeSharp
Width42.9 mm
Thickness5.5 mm - 3.9 mm
PommelNut
P.O.B.4''
Grip Length9''
Blade [1055 High Carbon Steel]
Typelongsword
ClassBattle Ready
ManufacturerCold Steel
Country of OriginIndia

6 reviews for Cold Steel Italian Long Sword – Man at Arms Collection

  1. Doug M.

    Beautiful sword, but get the non-blued version instead. I fell in love with this sword when I first saw it, and felt compelled to buy it. That being said, the sword was a bit of a letdown. While it looks a dark grey in the pictures provided, don’t be fooled. The blade is an almost stark black, which was a turnoff for me. The guard is also fraction off center and the pommel is a tiny bit crooked. The edge was also fairly dull and did not impress with basic cutting. That being said, its still a very beautiful sword design, with an elegant pommel, graceful blade taper, and long grip. The shape of it, for me, is the perfect aesthetic design, but I would suggest going for the non-blued version instead.

  2. Damian Mountjoy

    Excellent sword. Love the bluing. This sword is fantastic. It’s balanced well and sword-sharp. It won’t cut paper, but a sword shouldn’t if you want the edge to stay nice. It’ll slay bottles and meat with absolutely no problem, and hold up very well. The pommel was a teeny tiny bit crooked, but since it’s a nut pommel, you can adjust it accordingly.

    The design is fantastic. I love the longsword look. It is fairly large though, certainly at least a hand and a half sword. Which is what a “longsword” should be.

    The color and finish of the blade is extremely similar to polished Obsidian, which I find to be gorgeous. I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up in the long run, but as of right now it looks great!

    The sheath isn’t bad either. Looks sharp and keeps it safe, just don’t store it in there. The thing is very tight, and I’m sure you’d get rust if you did.

  3. Thomas P.

    Great sword, for the price I managed to actually get this thing for $180 off of Amazon, which I would consider a steal for a functional high-carbon blade, especially of this size. That being said there are some concessions that had to be made, the scabbard feels to be faux leather (though the handle feels real) and fits noticeably loosely into it. The actual construction of the hilt furniture feels sturdy enough with the grip epoxied or otherwise attached to the tang.
    As for the black (because yes, it is black, not blue) coating, that is a bit polarizing. Some people love it, others don’t. I didn’t much care for it and thus spent a couple of hours sanding and buffing the blade, guard, and pommel so that it was just a plain steel. Though some will like the look of the black, or just that the coating will help to prevent rust to the steel.
    The actual sword itself, the design that is, has a very heavy taper and is made of 1055 rather than a spring steel, and is thus far more adept at the thrust than the cut, being rather stiff and lacking the mass at the CoP to really deliver devastating cuts, so this is perhaps another thing to consider.

  4. peter s.

    Love it! I read the reviews here and decided to purchase one because it fit in my budget at the time. If you are considering one read the other reviews. The sword I received arrived as near perfect as it could be. Nothing loose, everything in line. I didn’t have it sharpened but it sharpened it at home in no time. My wife and I prefer the black finish and it is truly black so if you don’t like that get the other one. We purchased this model as a cutter for outside use and are very happy with the handling, finish and quality for the price.

  5. Daniel

    Solid, but with issues Overall it’s a solidly built functional sword that requires almost no maintenance thanks to its bluing.

    The blade on my sword has 3 issues that may not be present on all of them:
    Edge geometry is really bad out of the box, almost 90° angle on the edge, it can’t even cut cardboard, but this can be fixed with grinding.
    Temper is soft, I can bend it with my hands and it stays that way.
    And finally it’s tip heavy, maybe that extra mass is because mine came practically blunt so this also could be fixed with grinding.

    The grip also has a couple of issues, it is wide and thin near the crossguard and the stitching sticks out so it’s not the nicest sword to hold in the hand.

  6. Ryan bennett (verified owner)

    I purchased this sword about a month ago and straight out of the box It was clear that it was a black coating not bluing of the steel , a few test cuts with the “factory* sharpening option proved the edge was wrong , not to mention 2 and a ¼ inches of the tip pinged off the 2nd cut , from close inspection it was a bad heat treat , I know now to spend more on longswords than I had with this poor tool.

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