Hanwei PK : A Review and Reworking
Jan 29, 2007 17:22:25 GMT
Post by Marc Ridgeway on Jan 29, 2007 17:22:25 GMT
One of the great Cinderella stories of recent sword releases is Hanwei,specificaly the practical series.
Recent competion from other affordable,functional swords caused dome of the industry giants to back up and reassess.
Most were left with two choices...drop prices, or step it up.
Hanwei chose to step it up.
The old version of the PK was a sliver of a blade, with a nonremovable tsuka.This was bad news for any who wish to dress up the sword.
Hanwei released their new line of swords last year, which included a reworked PK , with a better polish, a nice sugata (shape) , gunome hamon and a removable tsuka.
The PK is pictured here, as I recieved it, it is the third sword down, pictured with two Masahiro Bamboo and a Hanwei Wind and Thunder.
For a comparison of the the new PK with the old PK check out this page on Mike Femal Sensei's site... nihonzashi.com/ComparePracticals.htm
Here's the stats:
Weight: 2.3 lbs
Nagasa: 27 inches
POB : 4.5 inches from the tsuba
Tsuka : 11 inches
Motohaba :1.4 inches
Sakihaba : 1.1 inches
Motokasane: 6.5 mm
Sakikasane : 4.5 mm
Sori : .78 inch
Aesthetics
The sugata is shinogi zukuri with chu kissaki.
Fuchigashira are plain steel, and the tsuba is a plain maru gata (round) with kogatana ana(holes for fitting companion knives).
All are nicely blackened.
The kashira is detracted from by the fake nutsodome cast into it.{nutsodome...HA...pesky automatic censor... should be sempr!niodome}
The tsuka ito is a synthetic suede and the samagawa is synthetic as well.Although the diamonds are too wide, the maki is tight and even, however for most more experienced sword users, this tsukagawa must go.
Fortunately the tsuka is now removable to make the new PK an easy platform for customization.Mine was immeadiately redone...and the result is a beautiful and personalized sword.More on this later.
The polish is impeccable, with a high mirror shine on the shinogi -ji , a great satin finish on the ji that really brings out the natural grain of the steel, and a nicely presented hamon.
Handling Characteristics
At 2.3 lbs with a balance point of 4.5 inches, this is the quickest,best handling production sword I've seen.
It flows effortlessly through kata, and direction and momentum changes are fluid.
Simply put, this sword handles more like nihonto than any production sword I've held (yes heresy , I know).
Cutting and Durability
This sword has a wide mihaba and thin kasane. This is commonly known as Kotetsu geometry , and is very popular for cutting swords.
Combining this geometry with an absencse of hira-niku makes this a very sharp sword indeed. In fact, this sword is the sharpest thing I've ever owned, short of a razor blade. Just stupid , stupid sharp.
This comes with a price , however. Sharp = thin , and thin = fragile. This sword sails through soft targets.
An empty (dry) freestanding water bottle cut side to side is launched bt most swords, with the PK elite, it falls softly into two pieces.
One has to be very careful as to ones targets, however. There are two dings , and two chips in my blade from bottle mouths.This sword is simply too sharp to handle any abuse.
Conclusion
The PK is extremely upgraded from it's previous version. It is well made, attractive and functional, and should serve well as either a display sword or a light cutting sword.
The PK is also a great base for customization.I mentioned earlier I would elaborate on that.
Paul Southern sells the PK elite at SBG store, for the low price of $230.
Tsuka -ito can be found on ebay , or at various sites like shadowofleaves.com . Samegawa can also be found there , at Fred Lohman's site, and at implora.com . Scraps can often be purchased at implora for incredible prices implora.com/searchpelt.asp
You should be able to purchase the same and ito to rewrap your tsuka for $50 -$70 . With a little work, you can have a truly unique and attractive sword for under $300.
There are several referances for doing tsukamaki , and anyone can succeed with a little practice.
One tutorial is here
www.blacksmithing.org/nihonto/
The all time classic is Thomas Buck's
pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm
The very best and comprehensive tutorial I've ever seen is from a PDF file, which my friend Tommy Gilliam nicely transferred here:
gilliamgraphics.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=44
Now if you still don't feel; capable, for a little more money, you can have someone do it for you.
Some of the pros are very costly with extremely long wait times, but there are craftsmen offering GREAT service at GREAT prices with quick turnaround time; you just have to know where to look.
I am pleased to reccomend three:
Aaron Justice : homepage.mac.com/aaronjustice/Menu10.html
Paul Loatman : www.geocities.com/sanbonsugicustoms/TsukaMaki.html
Tommy Gilliam: okinawaoutpost.com/
For $260 - $350 you can have a nice,personalized sword that looks like a much more expensive one.
Thanks for reading.