Jin-Shi Han Dynasty Jian
Nov 14, 2009 2:31:53 GMT
Post by sicheah on Nov 14, 2009 2:31:53 GMT
Figure I have some time this evening to write up a review. Here it goes:
Basic specification:
blade length: 80cm (31.5 inches)
blade width: 3.5cm (1.4 in) at guard, 3cm (1.2 in) at midpoint, 2.3cm (0.9 in) at 2 inches from tip.
blade thickness: NA (blade slightly tapers from guard to tip. Blade is not whippy)
handle length: 24cm (9.5 inches)
overall length: 112cm (44 inches)
point of balance: 17cm (6.7 inches) from end of guard
centre of percussion: approx 50cm (19.7 inches) from end of guard
weight: NA sorry (my guess is slightly over 2 lb…say 2.3 lb?)
Historical Overview
Han dynasty jian get its name from jian (double-edge swords) during the Han dynasty (circa 200BC-220AD), although the style of the jian was developed back as far as the Warring state period (300BC?). One can easily recognize the Han dynasty jian from the small guard, scabbard slide and the scabbard chape. Although they handle differently, the closest resemblance to a Han dynasty jian would be the Viking sword (the Han dynasty jian has slightly longer handle of around 9 to 11 inches long)
Here is a picture of Han jian from Thomas Chen website:
thomaschen.freewebspace.com/photo.html
My experience with Garrett at Jin-Shi
The Han dynasty jian I’ve ordered is the “chang jian” (long sword) variant. I order it some time around mid April from Garrett at Jin-Shi.com. I have great experience interacting with Garrett. Even though I know next to nothing about sword, he very patient in dealing with his customers and he reply to my email usually within 24 hours. Also since Garrett has plenty of experience with handling of antique Chinese swords, he know a lot about Chinese swords more than I do, so I am in pretty good hands. Since the swords are individually custom made, prices usually starts from upper $200.
The sword I ordered was the basic Han dynasty chang jian (1095 TH blade, 80cm blade and 24cm) handle and the fittings I used were similar to Swordsage’s Han jian. Like any custom sword, the downside is the waiting time and in my case, I have to wait a little longer for my jian. Nevertheless the jian was definitely worth the wait.
First impression
The sword arrived in a pretty nice sword box. Even though the sword-box was slightly damaged upon arrival, the sword is still intact.
Here is the size of the jian compared to my DF shobu (Han jian is about 2 inches longer)
After removing the Styrofoam and holding the sword, my first impression was the weight… it feels like a real sword unlike all wushu blades I’ve handled. When I unsheathe the sword, the blade was unevenly coated with oils and some wood splinters. I quickly proceeded to clean the blade and apply a first layer of silicone spray. What I discovered next was pretty amazing...
Blade
The polish was amazing. The blade is flawless and has fewer minor scratches than some of the more expensive sword I have. Needless to say I am very impressed. (By the way, the sword does not come with Japanese sageo, that was mine )
Despite my crappy pictures, I could see the reflection of my DF shobu from the blade. Talk about the polish:
Upon further handling, I notice a slight tip forward balance of the sword. Most Chinese jians have a slighty forward balance (with PoB of 5 to 6 inches from guard for a 28-30 inch blade) and this one is no exception. Here the picture of the sword balancing on a piece of wood:
The sword is sharp, real sharp (not razor sharp). It almost bit me when I am cleaning the blade.
Handle and sword fittings:
Unlike the later period Chinese jians, the handle on this Han dynasty jian is rather slim. Since I’ve got small hands, it fits me perfectly. The handle is pretty grippy, even though the wrapping is not as tight as I anticipated; I don’t expect it to unravel any time in near future. At this point I could not figure out the material used in wrapping the handle, but it has a slight plastic feel.
The fittings on were made of solid bronze with antique finish. I am not sure about the historical accuracy of the material of sword fittings; I am quite sure the fittings on high end Han dynasty jians fittings are made from jade. Alas those jade fittings are going to cost more than the sword.
Pommel:
Scabbard slide:
Scabbard chape:
Sword guard:
Scabbard:
The scabbard was well made. I was pleasantly surprised by beefy scabbard. Here is the scabbard mouth:
From the pictures, the finish on scabbard mouth was very good although not perfect. Scabbard mouth does not fit perfectly with guard. Not a big issue in my opinion:
When I was writing this review, I’ve noticed the seams where the two pieces of scabbard is starting to open up. Probably it was due to differences in weather.
Another thing worth mentioning is when I was sheathing the sword; the blade was rubbing the scabbard. According to Garrett, I need to rotate the blade slightly to find a “sweet spot” so that the blade with remain completely in a scabbard.
Not surprisingly, the blade rattles in the scabbard. This is not a flaw since the sword does not have a ricasso area for the scabbard to rest (analogous to habaki for Japanese katana, and tun-kou for later Chinese jians)
Another thing worth mentioning is that the placement of scabbard slide is upside down (from the pictures above). It could be fixed easily if I wanted to. I will just leave it as it is.
Final thoughts:
Despite some minor fit and finish issue, I am very happy with the sword as a whole. This sword is definitely worth the money and the long waiting period. If you have the funds and are interested in getting a custom made entry level Chinese jian or dao look no further to Garrett from www.jin-shi.com
Pros:
Affordable and functional (a little over $300 shipped, which is rare for a well made Chinese swords)
Polish much better than sword at this price range.
Nice forward PoB. Handles well
Great customer service.
Con
Very minor (mostly cosmetic) fit and finish issue
Waiting (to be expected for any custom made sword)
Hope this review helps
Edit: As SBG members, don't forget to ask for discount from Garrett
Edit: Added a few more pictures.
Basic specification:
blade length: 80cm (31.5 inches)
blade width: 3.5cm (1.4 in) at guard, 3cm (1.2 in) at midpoint, 2.3cm (0.9 in) at 2 inches from tip.
blade thickness: NA (blade slightly tapers from guard to tip. Blade is not whippy)
handle length: 24cm (9.5 inches)
overall length: 112cm (44 inches)
point of balance: 17cm (6.7 inches) from end of guard
centre of percussion: approx 50cm (19.7 inches) from end of guard
weight: NA sorry (my guess is slightly over 2 lb…say 2.3 lb?)
Historical Overview
Han dynasty jian get its name from jian (double-edge swords) during the Han dynasty (circa 200BC-220AD), although the style of the jian was developed back as far as the Warring state period (300BC?). One can easily recognize the Han dynasty jian from the small guard, scabbard slide and the scabbard chape. Although they handle differently, the closest resemblance to a Han dynasty jian would be the Viking sword (the Han dynasty jian has slightly longer handle of around 9 to 11 inches long)
Here is a picture of Han jian from Thomas Chen website:
thomaschen.freewebspace.com/photo.html
My experience with Garrett at Jin-Shi
The Han dynasty jian I’ve ordered is the “chang jian” (long sword) variant. I order it some time around mid April from Garrett at Jin-Shi.com. I have great experience interacting with Garrett. Even though I know next to nothing about sword, he very patient in dealing with his customers and he reply to my email usually within 24 hours. Also since Garrett has plenty of experience with handling of antique Chinese swords, he know a lot about Chinese swords more than I do, so I am in pretty good hands. Since the swords are individually custom made, prices usually starts from upper $200.
The sword I ordered was the basic Han dynasty chang jian (1095 TH blade, 80cm blade and 24cm) handle and the fittings I used were similar to Swordsage’s Han jian. Like any custom sword, the downside is the waiting time and in my case, I have to wait a little longer for my jian. Nevertheless the jian was definitely worth the wait.
First impression
The sword arrived in a pretty nice sword box. Even though the sword-box was slightly damaged upon arrival, the sword is still intact.
Here is the size of the jian compared to my DF shobu (Han jian is about 2 inches longer)
After removing the Styrofoam and holding the sword, my first impression was the weight… it feels like a real sword unlike all wushu blades I’ve handled. When I unsheathe the sword, the blade was unevenly coated with oils and some wood splinters. I quickly proceeded to clean the blade and apply a first layer of silicone spray. What I discovered next was pretty amazing...
Blade
The polish was amazing. The blade is flawless and has fewer minor scratches than some of the more expensive sword I have. Needless to say I am very impressed. (By the way, the sword does not come with Japanese sageo, that was mine )
Despite my crappy pictures, I could see the reflection of my DF shobu from the blade. Talk about the polish:
Upon further handling, I notice a slight tip forward balance of the sword. Most Chinese jians have a slighty forward balance (with PoB of 5 to 6 inches from guard for a 28-30 inch blade) and this one is no exception. Here the picture of the sword balancing on a piece of wood:
The sword is sharp, real sharp (not razor sharp). It almost bit me when I am cleaning the blade.
Handle and sword fittings:
Unlike the later period Chinese jians, the handle on this Han dynasty jian is rather slim. Since I’ve got small hands, it fits me perfectly. The handle is pretty grippy, even though the wrapping is not as tight as I anticipated; I don’t expect it to unravel any time in near future. At this point I could not figure out the material used in wrapping the handle, but it has a slight plastic feel.
The fittings on were made of solid bronze with antique finish. I am not sure about the historical accuracy of the material of sword fittings; I am quite sure the fittings on high end Han dynasty jians fittings are made from jade. Alas those jade fittings are going to cost more than the sword.
Pommel:
Scabbard slide:
Scabbard chape:
Sword guard:
Scabbard:
The scabbard was well made. I was pleasantly surprised by beefy scabbard. Here is the scabbard mouth:
From the pictures, the finish on scabbard mouth was very good although not perfect. Scabbard mouth does not fit perfectly with guard. Not a big issue in my opinion:
When I was writing this review, I’ve noticed the seams where the two pieces of scabbard is starting to open up. Probably it was due to differences in weather.
Another thing worth mentioning is when I was sheathing the sword; the blade was rubbing the scabbard. According to Garrett, I need to rotate the blade slightly to find a “sweet spot” so that the blade with remain completely in a scabbard.
Not surprisingly, the blade rattles in the scabbard. This is not a flaw since the sword does not have a ricasso area for the scabbard to rest (analogous to habaki for Japanese katana, and tun-kou for later Chinese jians)
Another thing worth mentioning is that the placement of scabbard slide is upside down (from the pictures above). It could be fixed easily if I wanted to. I will just leave it as it is.
Final thoughts:
Despite some minor fit and finish issue, I am very happy with the sword as a whole. This sword is definitely worth the money and the long waiting period. If you have the funds and are interested in getting a custom made entry level Chinese jian or dao look no further to Garrett from www.jin-shi.com
Pros:
Affordable and functional (a little over $300 shipped, which is rare for a well made Chinese swords)
Polish much better than sword at this price range.
Nice forward PoB. Handles well
Great customer service.
Con
Very minor (mostly cosmetic) fit and finish issue
Waiting (to be expected for any custom made sword)
Hope this review helps
Edit: As SBG members, don't forget to ask for discount from Garrett
Edit: Added a few more pictures.