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Post by Barnaum on Jan 25, 2011 1:44:19 GMT
Hello All,
I was wondering what you guys thought in the way of who produces a heartier sword. I know CS has a reputation for making heavy swords, but how do they stand up against Paul Chen/Hanwei in the long run? Does anyone own a sword from both companies and have tested them against each other?
Particularly the military sabers/cutlass vs some of the Hanwei cutlass/sabers.
I am curious to see the results if such a test has been performed.
Thanks,
Barnaum
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Post by Elheru Aran on Jan 26, 2011 17:28:07 GMT
No comparison tests are out there as far as I know.
Quick off the cuff comparison, though:
Cold Steel:
--Likely more durable, their swords are definitely beaters.
--Often quite sharp right out of the box
--A fair range of Asian swords, not so many European yet but getting there
--Kind of... I don't know, slightly 'generic' feel sometimes? 'generic Euro longsword', 'generic Chinese sword', you know what I mean? Some of their stuff looks good though, gotta give them that.
--Bit expensive; $200-300 even at Kult of Athena. For only about $100 more, you can get a Valiant Signature Line that's prettier and just as functional, if not better, or a BYO Trim.
--The marketing. Oh god, the marketing! You're almost certain to get a DVD or a catalog or something or other that's full of the stupidest crap you ever heard about how THIS SWORD IS AWESOME and OUR STUFF IS AWESOME and YOU CAN TOTALLY DEFEND YOUR HOME WITH THIS GREATSWORD!!! (This is a known prejudice of mine, however; your mileage may vary... sorry about the editorializing, but I feel obligated to warn you)
CAS/Hanwei: (this is more or less about their Euro swords, but I'll address their Asian after)
-- Cheaper, in more ways than one, at least with the original CAS line. Probably better now. But you're going to get cheap scabbards (fiberglass core, I think), no belt or hangers, nothing else really; it's not a complete package. Of course, that's what you're NOT paying for, so it's a tradeoff right there.
--The Tinker line is generally well recommended, though.
-- For the price, they're cheap enough that if you decide to make one a project blade, and manage to spoil it somehow, it's not that much of a waste.
--Edges are, almost universally, pretty poor. They range from (very occasionally!) decent to (often) outright couldn't-cut-a-hunk-of-cheese blunt. Definitely something you'll have to address, either by contracting a sharpening service or doing it yourself.
Hanwei/Paul Chen Asian swords, as distinct from the Euro lines:
--Usually better quality
--Good range of values for purchase, from the Raptor line of katana, through the fancier folded and differentially hardened katana. Their Chinese swords-- jian, dao, etc-- are pretty good, as are their wushu-type weapons. They don't really recommend more than light cutting with any jian but the Roddell cutting jian, though...
--It has to be said that they do make a pretty good-looking sword when it comes to their Asian stuff. Take their Song dao and Kami katana, for example...
-- As far as I know, better edges all around with these-- almost *too* good (read: delicate and easily chipped sometimes), especially with katana.
The conclusion: For cheap Euro, go Hanwei/Tinker. For project blade, Hanwei. For cheap katana, Hanwei Raptor (unless you run into a great sale on Cold Steel). For a durable beater that will take a LOT of abuse, Cold Steel. For a *good* Euro... well, the Tinker line is actually pretty good and it's a great price, but CS will come sharp out of the box for certain and are pretty good too. It's like two guns-- buying a plastic-stocked .22 rifle over the counter at a gun shop, it shoots just fine, compared with buying a Winchester 30-06 with wood stock and all the greeblies from a custom gun shop. That particular decision depends on which one suits your style better.
Anybody else with more experience, feel free to correct me...
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Post by ShooterMike on Jan 26, 2011 17:43:31 GMT
I have owned two Cold Steel and nine CAS/Hanwei medieval swords. Some of the CAS/Hanwei swords have been used extremely hard and have never failed. One was heavily used and had a pommel failure that were correctible. One Hanwei sword had a flaw in the blade and cracked. The third that failed bent at the pommel attachment, but was also correctible.
Both Cold Steel swords broke in short order, suffering catastrophic failures. When looking at the underlying causes of breakage with the Cold Steel offerings it was obvious that they were going to fail due to inherent design flaws. I've never heard anything good about the durability of Cold Steel's Euro offerings. And the two I had confirmed that.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Jan 26, 2011 17:51:13 GMT
Huh, that's interesting. How long ago was this for you? My understanding was that CS swords had improved in recent years...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 21:32:37 GMT
I have a CS Warrior Katana and a Hanwei Katana. The Hanwei feels better to me and cuts better ( wider blade ) in my opinion. The CS was ( is ) sharper and feels like it's built sturdier. I would think the sabres are the same. I love my CS 1917 Cutlass.
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Post by Student of Sword on Jan 27, 2011 0:52:39 GMT
A through harden 1050 carbon steel for $294.95 is ridiculously overpriced ( referring to CS Warrior)? The steel is the cheapest possible steel you can find and the easiest one to work with. And even with the bohi, it POB is almost 7 inches. Nothing but unjustified marketing hype.
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Post by Bogus on Jan 27, 2011 3:03:42 GMT
My understanding is CS is "okay" but hasn't really improved all that much over the years, whereas Hanwei and a lot of other manufacturers have. Maybe CS is marginally better, they're definitely more heavily made, but bear in mind you can almost buy two entry level Hanweis for one CS. Personally I would go with Hanwei since a) they're cheaper for about the same quality and b) like another poster said CS swords aren't very interesting.
That said, if you want a cutlass/sabre I would recommend neither as AFAIK both companies' post-Renaissance era products are a joke. Windlass products in this category for the most part have a pretty solid reputation, I would at least take a look at them before making any decisions.
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Post by Barnaum on Jan 28, 2011 3:22:58 GMT
Thanks for the info.
I have taken a shine to the CS 1796 Saber, however if the CAS/Hanwei Revolutionary War Hanger is a superior blade. I would buy it.
Does Hanwei offer a calvary saber of any kind? I love Prussian Empire/Hussar weaponry.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Jan 28, 2011 15:29:32 GMT
Hanwei doesn't have many sabers, unfortunately, and the Revolutionary War hanger and their Dutch VOC Cutlass are their only Euro ones that I know of (discounting their pricey, if nice, Charlemagne Saber). The VOC Cutlass and Rev War Hanger are based around identical blades; even many of the fittings are the same.
The 1796 Saber from CS is actually one of their better known and liked products; it seems to be a worthwhile enough purchase if you're in the market for sabers. For other sabers I would go with Windlass, MRL or a custom builder though.
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