Hanwei Edward III
Oct 12, 2007 20:25:45 GMT
Post by YlliwCir on Oct 12, 2007 20:25:45 GMT
Review of the Hanwei Edward III by Richard Williams of Evansville IN USA.
I decided to get this sword because I wanted to try a Hanwei and this one
has gotten good mention. At first I didn't give this one serious consideration
because it was kind of pretty and I thought it might be fragile. I was assured
this wasn't the case so I went to Kult Of Athena website on 10/10/07 at 4:am and
paid $229 minus $25 (thanks Paul) plus the cheapest shipping $12.39 for a total
of $217.34. 30 hours later it arrived at my door, causing me to contemplate that
if I has paid for the speedy shipping it might have gotten here before I ordered
it. Kudos KOA on super fast shipping!
Here is the vendors discription;
Edward III of England was a warrior-king who is remembered in history for his
dramatic victory against the French at Crecy (1346) This sword is a replica of his
actual battle sword that has survived through the centuries. The style is typical
of a 14th century battle sword but the fittings are undoubtedly those of a king,
from the heavy gilding to the adder-skin grip to the beautifully enameled coat of
arms. The flattened diamond-section blade bears the emblem of the Order of the
Garter, badge of the Knights of St. George, founded by Edward. This well-balanced
sword may be wielded single-handed or hand-and-a-half style. Features a functional
carbon steel blade. Includes matching scabbard.
Overall Length: 42 1/2 In Blade: 33 1/2 In
Weight: 3 lb 2 oz
Sword presumed to belong to King Edward III;
Upon receiving, I was pleasantly supprized to see the sword wasn't gawdy at all. It
had an "old" look, (in a good way), as if it had been hanging on King Edwards wall.
Upon dry handling the Edward III felt well balanced to me. The fittings were tight and
it appeared to be a strong sword made for battle, my notion that it was fragile were
unfounded. I liked the swords appearance, it is kind of fancy without being outlandish.
The blade is securly peened;
The pommel is brass plated steel and has Edwards coat of arms on one side;
The other side features a faux jewel of some kind;
The grip has a covering of the skin of some creature? With what appear to be "brass" rings;
The crossguard is brass plated steel with decorative flowers and downturned on the ends;
The blade mates with the crossguard cleanly and evenly;
The hilt assembly as a whole;
In hand;
The blade is made of carbon steel;
The upper portion of the blade has the decorations mentioned in the vendor discription;
On the downside the blade didn't come sharp enough;
I was forewarned of this by the mild mannered forumite, it was indeed sharpish not sharp.
It was however rather pointy;
The scabbard is leather covered wood core with "brass" fittings;
Nice stitching on the back;
Some statistics: Overall lengt - 42 3/4 in.
Hilt assembly - 9 1/4 in.
Pommel dia. - 2 1/2 in.
Pommel thick. - 1/2 in.
Grip length - 6 in.
Grip - 1 1/2 in. across at guard tapering to 1 1/8 at the pommel.
Grip thick - 1/2 in. Grip is a roundish rectangle.
Cross guard - 8 in. across.
Cross thick. - 1/2 in. average.
Blade lenghth - 33 1/2 in.
Blade width - 2 1/2 in. at crossguard.
P.O.B. - 7 in. from crossguard.
C.O.P. - 10 in. from tip.
Weight - 3 lb. and a piece.
The testing;
I didn't have a lot of success with my cutting due to the dullness of the blade and my in
progress skill level. I sharpened the blade a bit although my sharpening skills are still
developing. I was going to sharpen some more before the test but I think this gives a truer
sence of the blade on arrival to customer. I believe when I get it sharp enough and more
time spend handling, this will be a good cutter.
(edit) I sharpened the sword to paper cutting sharp and did some more tests;
The sword performed pretty good even with my limited ability.
To sum up; Historical accuracy- 5/5
Fit and Finish - 3/5 A functional sword isn't finished if it isn't sharp
Handling - 4/5
Stuctual integ. - 3/5 Time will tell.
Value for money - 4/5
Over all - You do the math.
In conclusion, I think everyone should have at least one fancy sword in case you want to
get all dandied up and go to the ball. If it is capable of dispatching any brigands who
might accost you, mores the better.
Edward III (no wonder he was king).
I decided to get this sword because I wanted to try a Hanwei and this one
has gotten good mention. At first I didn't give this one serious consideration
because it was kind of pretty and I thought it might be fragile. I was assured
this wasn't the case so I went to Kult Of Athena website on 10/10/07 at 4:am and
paid $229 minus $25 (thanks Paul) plus the cheapest shipping $12.39 for a total
of $217.34. 30 hours later it arrived at my door, causing me to contemplate that
if I has paid for the speedy shipping it might have gotten here before I ordered
it. Kudos KOA on super fast shipping!
Here is the vendors discription;
Edward III of England was a warrior-king who is remembered in history for his
dramatic victory against the French at Crecy (1346) This sword is a replica of his
actual battle sword that has survived through the centuries. The style is typical
of a 14th century battle sword but the fittings are undoubtedly those of a king,
from the heavy gilding to the adder-skin grip to the beautifully enameled coat of
arms. The flattened diamond-section blade bears the emblem of the Order of the
Garter, badge of the Knights of St. George, founded by Edward. This well-balanced
sword may be wielded single-handed or hand-and-a-half style. Features a functional
carbon steel blade. Includes matching scabbard.
Overall Length: 42 1/2 In Blade: 33 1/2 In
Weight: 3 lb 2 oz
Sword presumed to belong to King Edward III;
Upon receiving, I was pleasantly supprized to see the sword wasn't gawdy at all. It
had an "old" look, (in a good way), as if it had been hanging on King Edwards wall.
Upon dry handling the Edward III felt well balanced to me. The fittings were tight and
it appeared to be a strong sword made for battle, my notion that it was fragile were
unfounded. I liked the swords appearance, it is kind of fancy without being outlandish.
The blade is securly peened;
The pommel is brass plated steel and has Edwards coat of arms on one side;
The other side features a faux jewel of some kind;
The grip has a covering of the skin of some creature? With what appear to be "brass" rings;
The crossguard is brass plated steel with decorative flowers and downturned on the ends;
The blade mates with the crossguard cleanly and evenly;
The hilt assembly as a whole;
In hand;
The blade is made of carbon steel;
The upper portion of the blade has the decorations mentioned in the vendor discription;
On the downside the blade didn't come sharp enough;
I was forewarned of this by the mild mannered forumite, it was indeed sharpish not sharp.
It was however rather pointy;
The scabbard is leather covered wood core with "brass" fittings;
Nice stitching on the back;
Some statistics: Overall lengt - 42 3/4 in.
Hilt assembly - 9 1/4 in.
Pommel dia. - 2 1/2 in.
Pommel thick. - 1/2 in.
Grip length - 6 in.
Grip - 1 1/2 in. across at guard tapering to 1 1/8 at the pommel.
Grip thick - 1/2 in. Grip is a roundish rectangle.
Cross guard - 8 in. across.
Cross thick. - 1/2 in. average.
Blade lenghth - 33 1/2 in.
Blade width - 2 1/2 in. at crossguard.
P.O.B. - 7 in. from crossguard.
C.O.P. - 10 in. from tip.
Weight - 3 lb. and a piece.
The testing;
I didn't have a lot of success with my cutting due to the dullness of the blade and my in
progress skill level. I sharpened the blade a bit although my sharpening skills are still
developing. I was going to sharpen some more before the test but I think this gives a truer
sence of the blade on arrival to customer. I believe when I get it sharp enough and more
time spend handling, this will be a good cutter.
(edit) I sharpened the sword to paper cutting sharp and did some more tests;
The sword performed pretty good even with my limited ability.
To sum up; Historical accuracy- 5/5
Fit and Finish - 3/5 A functional sword isn't finished if it isn't sharp
Handling - 4/5
Stuctual integ. - 3/5 Time will tell.
Value for money - 4/5
Over all - You do the math.
In conclusion, I think everyone should have at least one fancy sword in case you want to
get all dandied up and go to the ball. If it is capable of dispatching any brigands who
might accost you, mores the better.
Edward III (no wonder he was king).