First off this sword is amazing, I absolutely love it. Strong, sturdy, feels good to swing. However, the only thing that is keeping it from being perfect is, for me, the grip is too short. It seriously only needs like another 1.5 or 2 inches more length in the grip. It's a little close in my bare hand and I dont even have exceptional large hands. I have friends with big hands that wouldn't be able to grip this one comfortably. And if I wear protective glove or gauntlet it is too snug to be comfortable to weild.
I had the same problem with the viking sword from Blackfencer. Which makes sense, i think the Viking and Norman swords are the same mold just different handguards and pommel. And maybe it's just the sword I got? I know these swords are still done by hand through most of the construction process. So maybe the Norman sword model is fine I just had the bad luck on getting one with a shorter than normal grip? I hope that's the case. Blackfencer has done custom swords for me before, and I dream of asking for a Viking and a Norman sword with an extra 2 inches of length in the grips. But I feel like that's too minor of an alteration to be worth Blackfencer's and SoCal's time.
All in all, it's a fantastic sword that's just a couple inches short of being perfect for my hands. If you have particularly large hands be careful before you get the Norman sword as it may be too small for you to grip comfortably. Still, I highly recommend it.
