The Fulham Gladius has a blade of unsharpened high carbon steel. The guard and pommel are of intricately carved wood and the grip is of carved bone. A guard-plate of brass it inset into the guard at that base of the blade.
The elaborate companion scabbard is crafted from wood and overlaid in red leather. The scabbard is lined in brass and inset with embossed plates on a single side that are richly adorned in Roman imagery and symbology, including Romulus and Remus with their Wolf mother – the mythological founding of Rome. The scabbard has brass hanging rings and an integrated sword belt of red leather and brass fittings.
Deepeekas Fulham Gladius is modeled on the remains of an original 1st Century Gladius contained within the collection of the British Museum. This Romano-British Gladius, deemed the Fulham was found either in or alongside the River Thames. All that remained was the blade with a broken tang, which was fitted within the frame and plates of the scabbard – the wood of the scabbard and the components of the hilt having long since decomposed.
The blade of this particular original is the founding example of the Mainz-Fulham type Gladius – a blade that seems to be a compromise between the straight-edged Pompeii style and the Mainz with its waisted mid-section and widened base and tip. The Mainz-Fulham has much of the characteristic geometry of the Mainz, but the blade edges are much more parallel and straighter in profile – the blade is also thinner the Mainz, but does retain the very long and sharply angled tip of the Mainz. This is a blade type that was surely a vicious thrusting weapon, yet it retains more than enough width to deliver effective chops and hacks. The long and thin tip was ideal for thrusting into chainmail and bringing impact and force onto a single ring, giving the sword thrust the possibility of splitting the ring.
The embossed plates on the scabbard are modeled after the well-preserved originals. The curator of the collection which includes this original Gladius believes that these plates may have been a mass-produced product.
Ilan Davidowitz (verified owner) –
Overall a really nice gladius, though unfortunately the pictures are a bit misleading. The red leather on the sheath and baldric is quite a bit brighter than depicted here and the leather is not great quality (a disappointment, since other Deepeeka swords I’ve gotten have included beautiful leather on the sheaths). Also, the blade is indeed a Fulham style as the name suggests, which means it does not look like the blade shown here, which is more of a Mainz type. So be aware!
Aside from these issues, the sword is gorgeous and high quality. The scalloped pommel and guard are very cool and the bone grip feels great in the hand. It’s super light and very well-balanced. If you don’t mind the discrepancies between the pictures and the product (or if KoA changes the pictures), then it’s an excellent gladius for the price.
Brendan –
I wanted to like this weapon but it had too many drawbacks.
Pros:
Inexpensive
Looks good
Good quality steel
Comes with both a scabbard and baldric (very few come with a baldric)
Cons:
The blade seemed crude. When looking down the blade at an angle it was uneven.
The scabbard while it looked nice had a metal throat that produced the rasping or scraping sound as you draw the sword. (You might feel that’s a plus as it sounds like the swords in the movies but don’t fall for it. That scraping is scratching the blade and dulls the edge)
At this price point I’m probably being too critical but I was disappointed.
Kult of Athena’s customer service gets five stars on the other hand.