Valiant Armory Chinese Han Sword (jian)
Aug 14, 2008 0:51:38 GMT
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2008 0:51:38 GMT
Valiant Armory Chinese Han Sword
Review by J. Ferron.
It was a little more than a week ago, about ten days after I placed my order with Knife Depot, that the package arrived. Who doesn't like to get home from work to see this familiar sight:
Shipping was prompt-ish, with tracking from the warehouse to the shipping dept of their operation. It was packed well and they even followed up with a questionnaire to see if I was satisfied with their service. I was. The service from Knife Depot was good - the sword, well...
Here's the breakdown:
Blade length: 30"
Hilt length: 12"
Overall: 42"
POB: 7.5"
Steel: 1060
I waited a full week before writing this review - I wanted to be as objective as possible.
That having been said, this sword is a disappointment.
The storage box is nice - similar to practice tai chi swords I've purchased:
The sword was rattling around in there though. Maybe because of rough handling during shipping. The styrofoam beneath the yellow satin liner is all busted up. Still, lay it in the box and you get a nice picture:
My first impression when taking it from the box was how heavy it seemed. Grasping it at the middle and unsheathing it, I was struck by how thin the handle is in my hand and how it was immediately obvious that the integrity of the whole was lacking. It rattles. The handle is loose.
In any case:
DESIGN, FIT & FINISH
The blade:
Out of the scabbard was coated in thick oil, as is the norm. When I wiped it off, a spotty and scratched-up blade was revealed:
It's not sharp. Someone made some sort of effort to sharpen it, for sure, but it's not sharp. If I run my thumb up and down the edge, there are places where it approaches being sharp and places where it's duller than a spatula - and not in the spots where that would be correct.
The Grip:
...is attractive. I like the wrapped rope look. Yet it's narrower than I had anticipated. I feels too thin.
Again, it's loose. Very loose. I gave it a test swing and I was alarmed at the shakiness of it.
The Scabbard:
...is my favorite part of this sword. That speaks volumes right there. The scabbard is supposedly rosewood. I don't know - does rosewood weigh a ton and a half? This does. It's wrapped nicely and has decent-looking hardware.
There is a lot of flash around all of the molded hardware - it's hard to capture on film yet easy to make it look like the details are all sharp. I won't use their own photo here, but you can see it at the Knife Depot site:
www.knife-depot.com/knife-133733.html
Here you can see a little bit of it, which prevents the sword from resting 100% in the scabbard:
I could take a file to it and you'd never know it was there. The rest doesn't impair function, but it doesn't look great either.
TESTING
For something that is supposed to be light and elegant, this sword is...unwieldy. It's extremely tip-heavy and it feels like a tire iron in my hand. I am utterly disappointed.
With its terribly loose handle and thin grip, I had to conclude that this sword would make a poor cutter at best. At worst it could become a spinning helicopter of death - and I'm not taking that chance.
CONCLUSION and SBG Ratings
Historical Accuracy: 3/5
Fit and Finish: 1/5
Handling: 0/5
Structural Integrity: 2/5 (the scabbard is nice)
Value for Money: 2/5 (Knife Depot had it for $133.45 after discount, but I see that the sale is over and it is now $179.)
OVERALL: 1.6/5 Take a pass on this one.
Review by J. Ferron.
It was a little more than a week ago, about ten days after I placed my order with Knife Depot, that the package arrived. Who doesn't like to get home from work to see this familiar sight:
Shipping was prompt-ish, with tracking from the warehouse to the shipping dept of their operation. It was packed well and they even followed up with a questionnaire to see if I was satisfied with their service. I was. The service from Knife Depot was good - the sword, well...
Here's the breakdown:
Blade length: 30"
Hilt length: 12"
Overall: 42"
POB: 7.5"
Steel: 1060
I waited a full week before writing this review - I wanted to be as objective as possible.
That having been said, this sword is a disappointment.
The storage box is nice - similar to practice tai chi swords I've purchased:
The sword was rattling around in there though. Maybe because of rough handling during shipping. The styrofoam beneath the yellow satin liner is all busted up. Still, lay it in the box and you get a nice picture:
My first impression when taking it from the box was how heavy it seemed. Grasping it at the middle and unsheathing it, I was struck by how thin the handle is in my hand and how it was immediately obvious that the integrity of the whole was lacking. It rattles. The handle is loose.
In any case:
DESIGN, FIT & FINISH
The blade:
Out of the scabbard was coated in thick oil, as is the norm. When I wiped it off, a spotty and scratched-up blade was revealed:
It's not sharp. Someone made some sort of effort to sharpen it, for sure, but it's not sharp. If I run my thumb up and down the edge, there are places where it approaches being sharp and places where it's duller than a spatula - and not in the spots where that would be correct.
The Grip:
...is attractive. I like the wrapped rope look. Yet it's narrower than I had anticipated. I feels too thin.
Again, it's loose. Very loose. I gave it a test swing and I was alarmed at the shakiness of it.
The Scabbard:
...is my favorite part of this sword. That speaks volumes right there. The scabbard is supposedly rosewood. I don't know - does rosewood weigh a ton and a half? This does. It's wrapped nicely and has decent-looking hardware.
There is a lot of flash around all of the molded hardware - it's hard to capture on film yet easy to make it look like the details are all sharp. I won't use their own photo here, but you can see it at the Knife Depot site:
www.knife-depot.com/knife-133733.html
Here you can see a little bit of it, which prevents the sword from resting 100% in the scabbard:
I could take a file to it and you'd never know it was there. The rest doesn't impair function, but it doesn't look great either.
TESTING
For something that is supposed to be light and elegant, this sword is...unwieldy. It's extremely tip-heavy and it feels like a tire iron in my hand. I am utterly disappointed.
With its terribly loose handle and thin grip, I had to conclude that this sword would make a poor cutter at best. At worst it could become a spinning helicopter of death - and I'm not taking that chance.
CONCLUSION and SBG Ratings
Historical Accuracy: 3/5
Fit and Finish: 1/5
Handling: 0/5
Structural Integrity: 2/5 (the scabbard is nice)
Value for Money: 2/5 (Knife Depot had it for $133.45 after discount, but I see that the sale is over and it is now $179.)
OVERALL: 1.6/5 Take a pass on this one.