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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2009 22:08:06 GMT
I've been having issues looking at the various production jian/gim available. It seems the only real options are Hanwei, Cold Steel, Kris Cutlery, and Jin Shi. Hanwei is supposed to have great handling, but they aren't meant for contact, apparently. Cold Steel looks pretty nice, but there's only one option under 300 dollars and it's a little bit heavy. The Kris Cutlery Gim II has a weird balance which apparently makes it not the greatest option, and their cheaper models are only for forms (To be fair, their new Jian III looks pretty nice). Jin Shi I haven't heard anything bad about, but apparently they're moving to all custom work from posts on here.
Is there anything I'm missing? There are always the custom companies, but there are a good deal of people that can't afford to order custom work (AKA me ;D). If Hanwei follows through on the rumors of a cutting model, they might fill a niche.
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Post by shadowhowler on Jun 29, 2009 23:29:52 GMT
I had a less expensive Kris Cutlery Gim sword awhile ago... around 125 or so, I think they still have one.
It was VERY simple looking, but it was balanced very well and cut well also.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 0:40:00 GMT
Hanwei is supposed to have great handling, but they aren't meant for contact, apparently. No. They're fine for contact. They're not fine for cutting. It's only a Little heavy. Handles well despite the weight, and is Great for cutting. Not so great for forms, though, but not bad for forms, either. I don't know anything about them. Jin Shi makes good stuff. Talk to him about prices. Yeah. I don't know anything about anyone else, either. |
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Post by sicheah on Jun 30, 2009 0:54:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 2:44:45 GMT
Those Jin Shi look really nice for the price, definitely. But by the time I have any money, I'll be surprised if they have any left. shadow, was it this one? www.kultofathena.com/product~item~KRSGMII~name~Kris+Cutlery+Gim+II+Sword.htm I read a review somewhere else that was less than stellar, but if you've had a different experience I'd love to hear it. If it's not too obnoxious, can I ask why a sword would be fine for contact but not for cutting? Is it the flex of the blade, the geometry, something else? I should probably mention this is all hypothetical right this second. For one thing, I have no money. For another, I only just started kung fu and haven't started learning weapon forms yet. And I'll probably end up with a Euro sword before a jian anyways. So I'm just curious as to why there seem to be so few options is all. Plus I figured any ideas would help out other people with the same question  |
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Post by sicheah on Jun 30, 2009 3:18:24 GMT
The way I see it is that the market for chinese sword, jian or dao alike, is not very large. If you look at Japanese katana for instance, the market is really really huge. That is also true to a certain extent for medieval euro swords. Since there is a large market for Japanese and euro sword, there is a ton of companies ranging from cheap chintana makers to true Japanese sword-smith exist to fill in the market demand. A large entry of companies manufacturing katana not only drive down prices of katana due to intense competition but consumers like us benefits with a great variety of katana to choose from. Same goes to euro swords. For Chinese sword market it is much-much smaller than Japanese or Euro market. Some Chinese sword collector collect them for display or gifts and some of us just collects them for backyard cutting. Hanwei Zheng-wu and Huanuo basically fills the niche for those who collect expensive and nice looking Chinese sword for display and performance (well Hanwei Chinese blades are not as "functional" as Zheng-wu or Huanuo). Companies like Jin-Shi KC and Cold Steel and Zhi-swords fills the niche for functional backyard cutting, but the market is not very big, so there is not much price competition between companies as compared to Japanese sword market. Also quite a large majority of people has the impression that whippy tai chi and wushu blades are suppose represent "true" Chinese sword and could be purchase at Chinatown for less than $50. That kinda hurt the appeal for Chinese sword in general. When more people realize that chinese sword are as functional as Japanese and Euro sword, the demand for authentic Chinese sword could grow in the near future... and it is good for us Just my lengthy 2 cents |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 5:05:12 GMT
If it's not too obnoxious, can I ask why a sword would be fine for contact but not for cutting? Is it the flex of the blade, the geometry, something else? What's obnoxious about it? Anyway, it's the ability to hold an edge. Most Hanweis, I am sure Can hold an edge, but they don't come sharp. The new ones listed in the other thread are made of a metal specifically designed to be unable to hold an edge. Great for fencing and sparring and forms. But cut like crap. As to why so few options for Chinese swords, there just hasn't been a market for them. It's just now developing. Hell, the market for Real swords is a pretty new one. Give it time. At the rate things are going, by the time you're ready to buy a sword, there'll probably be lots of options. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 5:23:20 GMT
Huh, I hadn't gotten the impression that Zhi-swords were that durable, at least from looking at their eBay store. Probably because practically all their listings mention Wushu and advertise medium carbon blades. There's definitely a lot of variation in terms of quality.
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Post by sicheah on Jun 30, 2009 5:30:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 5:49:39 GMT
Wow. That's really cheap. I don't think that scabbard is very happy, though. lol
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 14:48:26 GMT
Actually, Yrx your best bet might be to email Garrett at Jin-Shi to inquire about a custom. Most of his through hardened (1095 steel) custom pieces can be obtained for about the $300 or slightly below range. Even though Jin-Shi is going custom Garrett is really working hard to keep his prices down.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 21:24:54 GMT
Huh, I hadn't gotten the impression that Zhi-swords were that durable, at least from looking at their eBay store. Probably because practically all their listings mention Wushu and advertise medium carbon blades. There's definitely a lot of variation in terms of quality. I don't think they use the Wushu term to designate the floppy tai-chi things though, because they have a couple of swords that actually say "flexible steel" if it's floppy. Maybe they put the word in so that someone who's searching for keywords on Ebay will find their stuff...  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2009 5:24:21 GMT
I have just now heard of "Huanuo", and it's hard to find any information whatsoever on their swords. I did find this place, though: www.huanuosword.com/e/asp/english/index.aspInteresting site design, to say the least. Though, their order form is one tough nut to crack, with the broken English, lack of sensible text boxes, lack of functional payment, and general confusion. |
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Post by sicheah on Jul 9, 2009 5:50:29 GMT
If you are living in the US, you could get huanuo swords from seven stars trading: www.sevenstarstrading.com/html/huanuo/Huanuo jian unfortunately cost at least $500. A more expensive option would be ordering from zheng wu forge, really nice swords but way beyond my price range  zheng-wu.com/But if you want a functional sword but cost around $300, try getting one from Garrett at jin-shi.com. jin-shi.com/production.htm |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2009 6:45:10 GMT
Jin Shi still had some Jian yesterday.
I am going to pay for one in a couple of hours when my pay check deposit comes through.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2009 9:17:52 GMT
Good for you monkey. From what I have heard about Garrett's stuff you should be very happy. I'm still trying to get some $$$ set aside for a custom Dao I had inquired about but things around here keep breaking so I haven't been able to save up much yet. Once I get my dao I'm going to see about having Garret make me a custom Jian so I can have a matched set. ;D But all of that is probably months away as non-sword related life has been kicking my wallet's arse as of late.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2009 17:52:44 GMT
Personally, I can't wait to get my jin shi sword.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2009 18:38:53 GMT
Personally, I can't wait to get my jin shi sword. Neither can I, but I have to pay Garrett first. Hopefully, yours wil come soon so you can do a full review and get the rest of our fellow forumites turned on to Garrett's work, and respecting the Chinese sword. (katanas can bite my ....) |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2009 22:02:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2009 8:11:27 GMT
Yeah, something seems off about those listings, I don't trust it. Not when their prices a Seven Stars are so much different.
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