Greg
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Post by Greg on Jan 7, 2011 17:07:43 GMT
I received a reply from Hanwei on the construction material. The blade is 5160, furniture is 300 stainless. I'll add it in to the specs.
Update: I also found some time to remove the rest of the grip and used a wire brush to remove the remaining glue and wood. I added pictures of the fully cleaned piece as well as some close ups of the bottom of the guard.
I also reuploaded all the pictures as an 800x600 resolution and replaced the thumbnails of the original post.
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Greg
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Post by Greg on Jan 8, 2011 4:07:43 GMT
Update: Added a picture of the sidewall of the sheath. There is a leather seperater which keeps the blade from cutting the stitches. Very nice feature.
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Post by thana357 on Jan 8, 2011 18:18:36 GMT
Awsome review Greg I think the poster that it came with give us a clue why the egde is not razor sharp . Look closely at the bottom left of the picture there were couple of Type 97 Japanese light tank and this Da dao will slice through the turret with correct swing Since I don't have to deal with Type 97 tank where I live I sharpend the edge using 400 grits sand paper and it cut a bit better now .
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Post by anonymouse on Jan 9, 2011 7:04:46 GMT
I was going to buy one before the little revelation about the tang. That pisses me off.
If only the blade were longer -- I'd extend the tang, shape it down and peen like a 1.5lb wheel pommel on.
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jan 9, 2011 17:18:26 GMT
seems to me a 1.5 pound pommel would be way too heavy. I am putting the finishing touches on a rattan great sword with a 46" blade and a 12" grip that weighs 4 pounds and the pommel on that "sword" only weighs 15 onces and I have a pob of 5" and what seems to be good harmonics. the pommel I got from Badgers Den showed up at my door weighing basically 2 pounds and it was waaaay too heavy for that really long 4 pound sword (of course with that pommel in there it was w 4 pound 12 ounce sword). when it comes to pommels, often, less is more (to quote Gus and Tinker).
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Post by chuckinohio on Jan 10, 2011 1:04:43 GMT
What exactly about the tang has you POed? That is a pretty substantial tang on that weapon, or are you referring to the pommel?
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Post by anonymouse on Jan 10, 2011 11:21:19 GMT
My understanding is that with dadao(plural?) the pommel is supposed to be formed from the tang. So I'm reacting to the fact that hanwei chose this method of construction. I never liked the cold steel version for similarly going ahistorical with the design.
Right now, I wish I could time travel back to when DGuertin was still selling spring-steel dadao for $150.
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Post by chuckinohio on Jan 10, 2011 14:33:04 GMT
I see, and it is a valid opinion from a historical viewpoint.
From a purely functional viewpoint, I dont think it would suffer from that construction method at all. That assumes that one can live with the knowledge that it is constructed that way.
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jan 10, 2011 16:44:59 GMT
well I can understaqnd that, I mean there's always that one thing you really want a company to get right but they rarely if ever do and even if it doesn't make the sword bad or dangerous it still annoys the snot out of you just knowing it is there. I understand even though this particular feature doesn't bother me.
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Post by nihontoman on Jan 10, 2011 17:50:43 GMT
I agree with anonymouse on the ring part. Strangely enough, I think that constructing the ring that way isn't just historically inaccurate, but it also isn't very "functional" I mean, it is clear, that that thing will break off if one uses it harshly and that won't happen with traditionally constructed one. whatever function one may think for the ring, traditional one will be usable for it, but there will be some cases, when non-traditional (hanwei's) ring will just fail. (I'm thinking about tying rope on the ring and swinging it ) also, even if it is hidden underneath the handle wrap, it is still cosmetically wrong. kinda reminds me of some ryansword katanas, that had their tangs fastened with nuts (I'm not implying that hanwei dadao could be compared with the inferior ryansword in terms of quality and functionality, though it is almost as annoying for the eye) p.s. I'm thinking about getting this one along with their new tactical katana. they both look like monsters...
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Post by bayareajohn on Jan 10, 2011 19:01:37 GMT
The ring pommel is totally acceptable IMHO. After all it is a $80 sword. I have the Warlord Dadao, think it was just OK at the beginning but I grow to like it a lot. This one military Dadao looks better then the warlord one. I am going to buy it base on this great review.
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Post by anonymouse on Jan 10, 2011 19:58:29 GMT
Granted that point. ---------------------------------------
To the OP:
How's the handling, swinging one-handed, held right up against the guard? Too heavy or what?
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jan 10, 2011 20:50:48 GMT
I had not trouble swinging one single handed but it was heavy so some people may have trouble with it.
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Post by chuckinohio on Jan 11, 2011 1:06:39 GMT
To echo Toms thoughts on its one handed use, yes it is still manageable, and recovery is not all that bad with it.
Holding it anywhere other than right against the guard one handed and recovery after a swing suffers for me.
To be honest, I don't know that it would fail even then. Maybe if you were beating it off of the side of a tank it would :lol:
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Post by anonymouse on Jan 11, 2011 7:57:50 GMT
I re-checked its listed weight on page 1 and, yeah. Even with a straight 'euro' blade that's skirting the line of wieldiness in a single-hander, but the dadao missing the counterweight of a traditional pommel means the bulk of this weight is in its blade. Alright. So now I'm fondling the idea of a chopped down wheel-pommel-ed modification, and my conceptual 'feel' is that the combined short OAL and rebalancing would bring about a sword more responsive to quick changes in direction and recovery strikes (not to mention pommel blows), and without the arm fatigue even at the cost of an additional 1 1/2lbs or so. Still wouldn't be a dueler though.
Opinions?
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jan 11, 2011 8:06:37 GMT
and additional 1 1/2 pounds? you think you are going to like this if you slap another pound and a half on the back end? maybe I misunderstood you there. I just built a rattan great sword with a 49" blade and a 12" grip the whole thing weighs 4 pounds and 5 ounces balances at 5.5 inches and moves pretty well for such a huge sword-like object. the pommel on that sword is only 15 ounces. I had to cut it down from the 2 pounds it showed up at my door weighing. I just cannot imagine any sword of any usable size benefiting from a 1.5 or 2 pound pommel it is nuts. the thing would have to weigh 8 pounds or so to balance right. yuck!
anyway I'm sorry to rant off topic like that. if you get one of these and modify the pommel/grip/hilt I'd love to see it and hear how it works out for you. sounds like a lot of fiddling on a sword that really only needs a better edge.
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Post by anonymouse on Jan 11, 2011 8:17:52 GMT
The 'or so' was my escape clause (not that it is a clause); I'm just theorizing without any specific weight in mind. So, no worries. How much would be appropriate, do you think?
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Jan 11, 2011 17:15:05 GMT
hmmm maybe I'm getting a better sense of where you are going with this because I just went back to examin the stats and think about pommels and it ocurred to me that if you cut it to bring the clipped point farther back you could turn this baby into a nifty falchion.
if you kept the same hilt length it I would start with about a 12 to 15 ouncer and start shaving weight off it while feeling and testing until the vibrational nodes got where I wanted them. hilt node should be under the index finger or under the guard.
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Greg
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Post by Greg on Jan 12, 2011 20:49:29 GMT
Sorry about being absent from the discussion here.
As far as single handed handling, it handles much like a single handed euro.
Sure the pommel doesn't weigh quite as much, but you aren't taking into consideration the additional weight of the handle that you aren't using single handed. Imagine rolling up the 7 inches of additional tang as well as the wheel pommel and forming it into a traditional euro pommel. It would be about the same size, if not a little larger. The reason for this is that Hanwei didn't skimp on the tang's mass, it's reassuringly thick.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my initial post, but the sword feels like it could use more blade presence. In my opinion, adding ANY weight, let alone 1.5 lbs, to the pommel would ruin this sword. 1.5 lbs would put the center of balance behind your primary hand giving it no blade presence at all.
Tom: Now that you mention it, I could totally see this puppy reworked into a falchion. But right now, I don't plan on doing it. If for some reason the pommel falls off (which after further examination of the weld, I find that next to impossible from normal use) then I'll shorten the handle and use a bit of the tang for a cold peen. Or heck, if another one magically shows up at my door, I'd go ahead and do the modification anyway, but when I have more disposable income, I'll definitely consider it as a project.
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Post by Sir Tre on Jan 12, 2011 22:18:14 GMT
the Specs on the new Dadao and the old Dadao are about the same. difference is the fittings and wrap. here is a video of one and two hand handling.
sorry but it is old vid from my reviews.
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