Hanwei Tinker Great Sword of War
Jan 4, 2010 23:23:00 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2010 23:23:00 GMT
HANWEI TINKER GREAT SWORD OF WAR – Reviewed by Luka
Historical overview:
This sword is a great example of a sword type Ewart Oakeshott named XIIIa in his typology. These were big swords intended for use in battle, for one handed from horseback and for two handed use when dismounted. Their grips usually range from 6 to 10 inches, while the blades are usually between 32 and 40 inches. Pommels are most often various wheel designs and guards mostly simple straight types. Early examples often has brazil nut pommel types. Swords of these type were most popular in the second half of 13th and first half of the 14th century although there are examples from as early as early 12th century and as late as the late 15th or early 16th century (rehilted with new hilts). Geographically XIIIa swords were most popular in German lands, but also in Spain and England and examples can be found in other countries as well. They were called simply war swords, or great swords and often also great swords of Germany. They were designed to increase the blunt force damage dealt to a warrior through the mail and later partial plate with their wide heavy blades and of course the cutting potential on unarmored opponents or those armored with textile defenses also increased. The geometry of the blades is lenticular and almost flat at the tip. Tip part of the blade was mostly quite thin and flexible and the tip is usually spatulate which is great for tip cuts on a textile defenses which are hard to cut with straight blade edges. Fullers are in most cases about half the blade length but can be both shorter and longer.
The package
I never remember to picture the box and packing so you won't see them. Standard Hanwei stuff anyway. And as I bought the sword in a shop, it doesn't even matter much.
The blade
The blade of the Great Sword is what many would classify as "whippy", but I think you can't make such a blade that isn't a bit whippy unless it's too thick or has very complex distal taper and even that I think includes very thick stock at the base of the blade and that's not ideal for a sword of this type. It has optimum thickness and distal taper (5mm to 3mm according to KoA). It is 91cm (36'') long and profile taper is 5.7cm (2.2'') at the base to 3.5cm (1.3'') 5cm (2'') from the tip. The fuller is 78cm (30'') long. The sharpness is what I would call medium sharpness and it has a narrow secondary bevel but the sharpness is even along the edges and quite enough to cut pretty well. For lighter targets greater sharpness would be welcomed but for heavier targets I think this kind of edge is actually optimal. Finish is satin, slightly brighter in the fuller. There were very few minor scratches along the blade so I consider the finish to be very good.
Fittings
The fittings are mirror finished and also had just a few little scratches and they were maybe not even there when the sword left the factory and happened later. The pommel is type J and the cross type 2. Typical for a XIIIa sword. The contrast between satin blade and mirror finished fittings is nice although I'm not a great fan of the mirror finish. But as historically many hilts were silvered I guess medieval guys liked shiny. Both cross and pommel fit nice and tight on the tang and are perfectly solid when the nut is tightened. Grip is wooden, covered with cord and chocolate brown leather. It has three risers in the middle. Not too thick which I am very happy about because some swords are a bit problematic to use with my very small hands. On the other hand, I think it's not too thin for the big handed people. The grip without pommel and guard is 23.5cm (a bit over 9''). The leather is glued on and the joining area is not too visible. I'm not a fan of a hex nut assembly but it is practical and it feels very solid when tightened good. Hilt parts are easy to disassemble and inside the pommel there were two steel washers against the loosening. (The pommel got a bit loose during the cutting but not enough to be felt during the handling.)
Scabbard
Scabbard fits the blade so well that it won't fall out if you turn it up side down. It has some leather in the throat for a tighter fit. I can't see what the scabbard is made of but it's probably fiberglass like other H/T scabbards. The color of the leather is very slightly brighter than the grip color but you don't notice it easily. Throat and chape are mirror finished steel. The whole scabbard feels a bit better made than my H/T Viking scabbard.
Handling
Handling is great for such a sword, mostly because of the good distal taper and very long handle. It handles much better than Del Tin 2142 which has similar weight and length but has shorter handle and longer blade and much less distal taper. Handling it single handedly from a horseback, like it would probably be used most often in the middle ages, would definitely be doable, recovery would be a bit slow but it wouldn't matter much as your target would have to be very lucky to be still standing after your blow. An you would probably give a passing blow as you ride by a foot soldier so even if you fail to knock him down you probably wouldn't be near him so that he could use your slow recovery against you. When cutting you easily get the sword to speed due to it's long grip and you don't feel any of its flexibility during the cut. But you do feel it when thrusting. Hanwei says the weight is 3lb14oz (1.75kg). I can't measure it but it's probably correct. It feels a bit lighter, especially when moving. The PoB is at about 5''.
Here are some more pictures of the sword, a few with customized Del Tin 2142 and H/T Viking for comparison.
Test cutting
All of the cutting is done with Hanwei's factory edge. It's definitely functional because I'm not a very good cutter and the sword still cut everything I put in front of it. Except one 1l bottle with very thick plastic. It was cut but the two parts left hanging on a little piece of plastic. The fact that you will see very few bottoms left standing (one 5l container and some carton tetrapacks) is I think way more my fault than this sword's or its sharpness. (I don't even use footwork.) Also sorry for more short videos and not one longer.
Conclusion
Although I paid about $430 (2150 Croatian kunas) for this sword I think it's worth it. For any sub $300 price this sword is a steal as it's the only accurate XIIIa (accurate except the hex nut assembly of course) in this price range and a very good one. I don't think it even need fancier leatherwork although custom colors would of course be a nice thing to choose. Not everyone will like this sword, it's a very specialized design, but those who have a „thing“ for big cutting war swords will love this one. And anyone who can appreciate a good example of a certain sword type will recognize that feature in this sword even if he doesn't like the type.
Pros:
Good historical accuracy except the hex nut assembly, great handling, probably great durability although I haven't done anything really abusive to it (but if my H/T Viking is a measure of H/T swords, durability is outstanding), everything nicely made and perfectly functional even if not perfect. (Remember, this is a sub $300 sword, at least in USA, if not in Croatia .)
Cons:
Narrow secondary bevel (not a big con though), hex nut assembly (con only for historical freaks, unfortunately me included). I can't think of anything else really.
All in all, a great sword for an affordable price. Don't hesitate to buy if you like cutting specialized war swords of high middleages or great heavy target cutters in general.
Historical overview:
This sword is a great example of a sword type Ewart Oakeshott named XIIIa in his typology. These were big swords intended for use in battle, for one handed from horseback and for two handed use when dismounted. Their grips usually range from 6 to 10 inches, while the blades are usually between 32 and 40 inches. Pommels are most often various wheel designs and guards mostly simple straight types. Early examples often has brazil nut pommel types. Swords of these type were most popular in the second half of 13th and first half of the 14th century although there are examples from as early as early 12th century and as late as the late 15th or early 16th century (rehilted with new hilts). Geographically XIIIa swords were most popular in German lands, but also in Spain and England and examples can be found in other countries as well. They were called simply war swords, or great swords and often also great swords of Germany. They were designed to increase the blunt force damage dealt to a warrior through the mail and later partial plate with their wide heavy blades and of course the cutting potential on unarmored opponents or those armored with textile defenses also increased. The geometry of the blades is lenticular and almost flat at the tip. Tip part of the blade was mostly quite thin and flexible and the tip is usually spatulate which is great for tip cuts on a textile defenses which are hard to cut with straight blade edges. Fullers are in most cases about half the blade length but can be both shorter and longer.
The package
I never remember to picture the box and packing so you won't see them. Standard Hanwei stuff anyway. And as I bought the sword in a shop, it doesn't even matter much.
The blade
The blade of the Great Sword is what many would classify as "whippy", but I think you can't make such a blade that isn't a bit whippy unless it's too thick or has very complex distal taper and even that I think includes very thick stock at the base of the blade and that's not ideal for a sword of this type. It has optimum thickness and distal taper (5mm to 3mm according to KoA). It is 91cm (36'') long and profile taper is 5.7cm (2.2'') at the base to 3.5cm (1.3'') 5cm (2'') from the tip. The fuller is 78cm (30'') long. The sharpness is what I would call medium sharpness and it has a narrow secondary bevel but the sharpness is even along the edges and quite enough to cut pretty well. For lighter targets greater sharpness would be welcomed but for heavier targets I think this kind of edge is actually optimal. Finish is satin, slightly brighter in the fuller. There were very few minor scratches along the blade so I consider the finish to be very good.
Fittings
The fittings are mirror finished and also had just a few little scratches and they were maybe not even there when the sword left the factory and happened later. The pommel is type J and the cross type 2. Typical for a XIIIa sword. The contrast between satin blade and mirror finished fittings is nice although I'm not a great fan of the mirror finish. But as historically many hilts were silvered I guess medieval guys liked shiny. Both cross and pommel fit nice and tight on the tang and are perfectly solid when the nut is tightened. Grip is wooden, covered with cord and chocolate brown leather. It has three risers in the middle. Not too thick which I am very happy about because some swords are a bit problematic to use with my very small hands. On the other hand, I think it's not too thin for the big handed people. The grip without pommel and guard is 23.5cm (a bit over 9''). The leather is glued on and the joining area is not too visible. I'm not a fan of a hex nut assembly but it is practical and it feels very solid when tightened good. Hilt parts are easy to disassemble and inside the pommel there were two steel washers against the loosening. (The pommel got a bit loose during the cutting but not enough to be felt during the handling.)
Scabbard
Scabbard fits the blade so well that it won't fall out if you turn it up side down. It has some leather in the throat for a tighter fit. I can't see what the scabbard is made of but it's probably fiberglass like other H/T scabbards. The color of the leather is very slightly brighter than the grip color but you don't notice it easily. Throat and chape are mirror finished steel. The whole scabbard feels a bit better made than my H/T Viking scabbard.
Handling
Handling is great for such a sword, mostly because of the good distal taper and very long handle. It handles much better than Del Tin 2142 which has similar weight and length but has shorter handle and longer blade and much less distal taper. Handling it single handedly from a horseback, like it would probably be used most often in the middle ages, would definitely be doable, recovery would be a bit slow but it wouldn't matter much as your target would have to be very lucky to be still standing after your blow. An you would probably give a passing blow as you ride by a foot soldier so even if you fail to knock him down you probably wouldn't be near him so that he could use your slow recovery against you. When cutting you easily get the sword to speed due to it's long grip and you don't feel any of its flexibility during the cut. But you do feel it when thrusting. Hanwei says the weight is 3lb14oz (1.75kg). I can't measure it but it's probably correct. It feels a bit lighter, especially when moving. The PoB is at about 5''.
Here are some more pictures of the sword, a few with customized Del Tin 2142 and H/T Viking for comparison.
Test cutting
All of the cutting is done with Hanwei's factory edge. It's definitely functional because I'm not a very good cutter and the sword still cut everything I put in front of it. Except one 1l bottle with very thick plastic. It was cut but the two parts left hanging on a little piece of plastic. The fact that you will see very few bottoms left standing (one 5l container and some carton tetrapacks) is I think way more my fault than this sword's or its sharpness. (I don't even use footwork.) Also sorry for more short videos and not one longer.
Conclusion
Although I paid about $430 (2150 Croatian kunas) for this sword I think it's worth it. For any sub $300 price this sword is a steal as it's the only accurate XIIIa (accurate except the hex nut assembly of course) in this price range and a very good one. I don't think it even need fancier leatherwork although custom colors would of course be a nice thing to choose. Not everyone will like this sword, it's a very specialized design, but those who have a „thing“ for big cutting war swords will love this one. And anyone who can appreciate a good example of a certain sword type will recognize that feature in this sword even if he doesn't like the type.
Pros:
Good historical accuracy except the hex nut assembly, great handling, probably great durability although I haven't done anything really abusive to it (but if my H/T Viking is a measure of H/T swords, durability is outstanding), everything nicely made and perfectly functional even if not perfect. (Remember, this is a sub $300 sword, at least in USA, if not in Croatia .)
Cons:
Narrow secondary bevel (not a big con though), hex nut assembly (con only for historical freaks, unfortunately me included). I can't think of anything else really.
All in all, a great sword for an affordable price. Don't hesitate to buy if you like cutting specialized war swords of high middleages or great heavy target cutters in general.