favorite 1h sword, use it on my shield alt & I have no problems with it, love the balance between slashing & stabbing. & it's very nice looking
& it whiffs and glances as much as any other 1h, mostly 1h whiffs or glances due to 1h animation & weapon arc hitting too early or too late in the animation. With proper footwork you can take down your chances of whiffing/glancing but it happens, & it happens to all weapons, I've been naked and had pole axes and 2h whiff off of me simply because they hit too early/late in the animation.
& all weapons have a chance to whiff off of walls or fences, you must watch out which direction you're swinging and make sure you don't get snagged on any objects or people, because if you're aiming at the middle guy of 3 with a right side swing chances are you're going to hit his friend on the right before you hit the guy in the middle, hitting the guy on the right whilst aiming for the middle guy would cause your weapon to whiff most likely, due to hitting too earlier in the swinging arc.
This happens to all weapons but is most noticeable with 1h, at least in my opinion.
I of course may be wrong, but this is what I've gathered through reading on the forums & playing.
Also, normal Espada is FASTER & SHORTER than the Italian sword, I don't know where you got the idea that it's longer & slightly slower.
Espada Eslavona
weight 1
requirement 10
spd rtng 100
weapon length 90
swing damage 26, cut
thrust damage 29 pierce
Italian Sword
weight 1.25
requirement 9
spd rtng 99
weapon length 98
swing damage 30, cut
thrust damage 26 pierce
maybe you're talking about the Long Espada
weight 1.25
requirement 10
spd rtng 98
weapon length 103
swing damage 29, cut
thrust damage 28 pierce
Which you probably are, coz that actually makes sense.
Just my 2 cents, sorry If I misinterpreted what you were saying xD
(& yes I use a shield with it, HUSCARL usually since all the other shields just break on me after a few hits, no issue with speed or damage.)