Hanwei Gladius Review
Jan 31, 2011 0:47:46 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2011 0:47:46 GMT
Hanwei Roman Gladius Review
I bought this sword because I go into High Schools and do presentations to History students on the development of the sword. When the students ask what I do for a living, it opens the door to engaging them in anti-gang dialogue. But I chose this mainly for historical accuracy. I picked it up from Kult of Athena for $270.
I bought this sword to "pair" it with a DelTin 1st Century BC Celtic Anthropomorphic sword. These swords would have been contemporary in Britannia. What attracted me to this particular sword was the segmented bone grip, the wooden pommel and guard, the wasped +20" blade length, and the particularly good scabbard. All compare quite nicely to historical examples of the Gladius Hispaniensis.
Gladius Hispaniensis found in Vindonissus ca 100 BC
Gladius Hispaniensis on Bas Relief in Rome
Gladius Hispaniensis ca 110 BC - British Museum
As we've all come to expect and appreciate from KoA, the sword arrived in a timely manner, well packaged and in good condition. This is the first sword I've ordered from KoA of which I was required to pay a customs fee for import into Canada ($18). Usually I only get dinged a $5 "handling fee" but us Canadians know that there's no rhyme nor reason to what our federal government asks us to pay for. (Yeah, that's a political comment, but I'm sneaking it in anyway.)
First Impressions
My first impressions were positive. The sword and scabbard are of higher quality than many Gladii I've seen. There were no obvious defects, although in dry handling, I noticed a disconcerting play in the grip, a common problem with bone-handled grips. The interior channel of a real bone is anything but tang-shaped. Manufacturers will often carve the bone to fit, or fill the space with adhesive. Removing the pommel nut was incredibly difficult. I had to apply so much force that I was sure I was going to twist the threaded tang off. When I finally got it to move, I discovered the reason for the stubbornness. In order to eliminate grip play (a failed effort in this case), Hanwei had filled the bone core with glue, only managing to do so on one side of the tang. Realizing that any attempt to fully disassemble this blade would be futile, I filled the gap on the other side of the tang with epoxy and replaced the pommel and nut. The tang was of decent width and appeared to be homogenous with blade and thread. It's a bit frustrating, because I've hilted swords with bone and the solution is simple. Grease the tang before filling the bone with glue. When the glue is almost set, move the grip up and down on the tang a few times to free it and the sword can then be disassembled with ease in the future.
Statistics
Overall Length: 30"
Blade Length" 22.5"
POB: 5"
Distal Taper: 6.4 mm to 5.6 mm
Width at Guard: 46mm
Wasp Differential: 3 mm
Pommel: Threaded
Components
The Blade: One criticism of this sword has been that the blade is too narrow to be historically accurate. And that's true if you think of it in Mainz typology (as errantly identified on the KoA site) rather than Hispaniensis typology. The blade is well within the parameters of historical Hispaniensis examples. I found the edge to be moderately sharp (the sword only comes sharpened) but after few minutes on the stone it was like a razor. This picture exaggerates the wasping due to image foreshortening, but the profile is actually quite subtle and the result is a beautiful look.
The Hilt: The pommel follows classical Roman form along with the wooden guard and brass guard plate. I'm not sure why manufacturers persist on producing guard plates with that little square cut into them to accommodate the riser, but I'm not really a fan of it. The wood appears to be Asian Kempas Hardwood. The quadra-segmented bone grip is quite nice (an enormous step up from the plastic some manufacturers use), but as mentioned above, is not without it's unique problems. I've been told by friends in China that typically this will be camel or water buffalo bone. Both are resistant to cracking.
The Scabbard: The scabbard is one of the most appealing features of this sword. The locket and chape are done in a well-crafted brass color. It needs to be emphasized that this is not thin-guage plate. These are substantial fittings with very nice casting work. When my sword arrived in thepost, the brass appeared dull, so I grabbed the old Nevr-Dull and gave the fittings a quick buff. That's when I discovered that the furnishings are constructed of heavy-guage plate and are actually copper with a ridiculously thin (a few molecules) electro-plating of brass on them. It doesn't make a lot of sense because copper is worth more these days than brass, but my polishing job removed much of the plate. In truth, the rosy color of the copper is quite attractive, but it was unexpected nonetheless.
Some time ago on this forum I came across a member asking if Hanwei had changed the fittings on their Gladius because the pictures on the KoA site showed a geometric pattern rather than the familiar equestrian image. I'm not sure why KoA chose to photograph it this way, but the geometric pattern is on the obverse side of the locket and chape.
The scabbard is leather over wood and the craftsmanship is very nice. Unlike most scabbards, the stitching runs down both outside edges of the scabbard in a subtle diamond pattern. The sword was probably a bit loose in the mouth of the locket when it was inspected at the Hanwei plant, so they added a little shim to the inside of the scabbard on both sides of the blade. I don't mind little adjustments like this, but it would be nice if they'd bevel the edge of the shim (as shown) so the tip of the blade doesn't catch on it. This was just another minor adjustment I had to do.
The Baldric: While a nice little bonus, I think Hanwei has mishandled this one. The baldric is an awkward affair that only uses three of the rings on the scabbard. It's non-adjustable, and has a weakness at the point where they've fashioned the "Y" on the harness. For some reason, rather than doing a simple lap joint, Hanwei has decided to cut a notch in the main strap and inset the incoming strap into that notch. They then placed two gussets of non-leather material over the joint. Altogether a fairly poor arrangement.
That said, the clasp on the baldric is unique, although I have my doubts as to the historical accuracy of this feature.
Handling Characteristics
Unfortunately I'm always at a bit of a loss on this one. I'm 6'1" and 245 lbs. I've got a Darksword Two-Hander that weighs over 4 lbs. and I think it handles just fine. I guess the thing that impresses me about this Hanwei Gladius is the way it feels in the hand. Once I solved the problem with the movement in the grip, this thing actually feels quite natural. I haven't cut with it yet because it's 30 below zero outside and there's five and a half feet of snow in my backyard, but dry-swinging this thing around leads me to believe it's an excellent little cutter.
Conclusions:
In spite of the flaws and weaknesses, I have no regrets about buying this sword. I'd like to see Hanwei putting a little more attention into quality control. Unless they're doing their own electroplating, they need to get on top of their supplier to do a better job for them. Fortunately the material beneath this brass plate was a gorgeous copper and not zinc. And as usual, their own in-house quality control problems seem to center around assembly. It usually only takes a few minutes to fix once the sword arrives, but it remains a frustration with Hanwei products. All that aside, I still think this is one of the best sub-$300 Gladii on the market.
Pros:
Historical accuracy
Gorgeous scabbard
Bone grip
Wasped blade
Cons:
Glued hilt
Poor electroplating
Poor baldric
The Bottom Line:
This sword is going to do exactly what I purchased it for. It's going to be able to stand beside my 1st Century BC Celtic Anthropomorphic and bring an era of desperate struggle between two nations to life for High School students. If you don't mind doing a little tinkering, I'd say go ahead an buy this sword. I think the value for money is high on this model.
I bought this sword because I go into High Schools and do presentations to History students on the development of the sword. When the students ask what I do for a living, it opens the door to engaging them in anti-gang dialogue. But I chose this mainly for historical accuracy. I picked it up from Kult of Athena for $270.
I bought this sword to "pair" it with a DelTin 1st Century BC Celtic Anthropomorphic sword. These swords would have been contemporary in Britannia. What attracted me to this particular sword was the segmented bone grip, the wooden pommel and guard, the wasped +20" blade length, and the particularly good scabbard. All compare quite nicely to historical examples of the Gladius Hispaniensis.
Gladius Hispaniensis found in Vindonissus ca 100 BC
Gladius Hispaniensis on Bas Relief in Rome
Gladius Hispaniensis ca 110 BC - British Museum
As we've all come to expect and appreciate from KoA, the sword arrived in a timely manner, well packaged and in good condition. This is the first sword I've ordered from KoA of which I was required to pay a customs fee for import into Canada ($18). Usually I only get dinged a $5 "handling fee" but us Canadians know that there's no rhyme nor reason to what our federal government asks us to pay for. (Yeah, that's a political comment, but I'm sneaking it in anyway.)
First Impressions
My first impressions were positive. The sword and scabbard are of higher quality than many Gladii I've seen. There were no obvious defects, although in dry handling, I noticed a disconcerting play in the grip, a common problem with bone-handled grips. The interior channel of a real bone is anything but tang-shaped. Manufacturers will often carve the bone to fit, or fill the space with adhesive. Removing the pommel nut was incredibly difficult. I had to apply so much force that I was sure I was going to twist the threaded tang off. When I finally got it to move, I discovered the reason for the stubbornness. In order to eliminate grip play (a failed effort in this case), Hanwei had filled the bone core with glue, only managing to do so on one side of the tang. Realizing that any attempt to fully disassemble this blade would be futile, I filled the gap on the other side of the tang with epoxy and replaced the pommel and nut. The tang was of decent width and appeared to be homogenous with blade and thread. It's a bit frustrating, because I've hilted swords with bone and the solution is simple. Grease the tang before filling the bone with glue. When the glue is almost set, move the grip up and down on the tang a few times to free it and the sword can then be disassembled with ease in the future.
Statistics
Overall Length: 30"
Blade Length" 22.5"
POB: 5"
Distal Taper: 6.4 mm to 5.6 mm
Width at Guard: 46mm
Wasp Differential: 3 mm
Pommel: Threaded
Components
The Blade: One criticism of this sword has been that the blade is too narrow to be historically accurate. And that's true if you think of it in Mainz typology (as errantly identified on the KoA site) rather than Hispaniensis typology. The blade is well within the parameters of historical Hispaniensis examples. I found the edge to be moderately sharp (the sword only comes sharpened) but after few minutes on the stone it was like a razor. This picture exaggerates the wasping due to image foreshortening, but the profile is actually quite subtle and the result is a beautiful look.
The Hilt: The pommel follows classical Roman form along with the wooden guard and brass guard plate. I'm not sure why manufacturers persist on producing guard plates with that little square cut into them to accommodate the riser, but I'm not really a fan of it. The wood appears to be Asian Kempas Hardwood. The quadra-segmented bone grip is quite nice (an enormous step up from the plastic some manufacturers use), but as mentioned above, is not without it's unique problems. I've been told by friends in China that typically this will be camel or water buffalo bone. Both are resistant to cracking.
The Scabbard: The scabbard is one of the most appealing features of this sword. The locket and chape are done in a well-crafted brass color. It needs to be emphasized that this is not thin-guage plate. These are substantial fittings with very nice casting work. When my sword arrived in thepost, the brass appeared dull, so I grabbed the old Nevr-Dull and gave the fittings a quick buff. That's when I discovered that the furnishings are constructed of heavy-guage plate and are actually copper with a ridiculously thin (a few molecules) electro-plating of brass on them. It doesn't make a lot of sense because copper is worth more these days than brass, but my polishing job removed much of the plate. In truth, the rosy color of the copper is quite attractive, but it was unexpected nonetheless.
Some time ago on this forum I came across a member asking if Hanwei had changed the fittings on their Gladius because the pictures on the KoA site showed a geometric pattern rather than the familiar equestrian image. I'm not sure why KoA chose to photograph it this way, but the geometric pattern is on the obverse side of the locket and chape.
The scabbard is leather over wood and the craftsmanship is very nice. Unlike most scabbards, the stitching runs down both outside edges of the scabbard in a subtle diamond pattern. The sword was probably a bit loose in the mouth of the locket when it was inspected at the Hanwei plant, so they added a little shim to the inside of the scabbard on both sides of the blade. I don't mind little adjustments like this, but it would be nice if they'd bevel the edge of the shim (as shown) so the tip of the blade doesn't catch on it. This was just another minor adjustment I had to do.
The Baldric: While a nice little bonus, I think Hanwei has mishandled this one. The baldric is an awkward affair that only uses three of the rings on the scabbard. It's non-adjustable, and has a weakness at the point where they've fashioned the "Y" on the harness. For some reason, rather than doing a simple lap joint, Hanwei has decided to cut a notch in the main strap and inset the incoming strap into that notch. They then placed two gussets of non-leather material over the joint. Altogether a fairly poor arrangement.
That said, the clasp on the baldric is unique, although I have my doubts as to the historical accuracy of this feature.
Handling Characteristics
Unfortunately I'm always at a bit of a loss on this one. I'm 6'1" and 245 lbs. I've got a Darksword Two-Hander that weighs over 4 lbs. and I think it handles just fine. I guess the thing that impresses me about this Hanwei Gladius is the way it feels in the hand. Once I solved the problem with the movement in the grip, this thing actually feels quite natural. I haven't cut with it yet because it's 30 below zero outside and there's five and a half feet of snow in my backyard, but dry-swinging this thing around leads me to believe it's an excellent little cutter.
Conclusions:
In spite of the flaws and weaknesses, I have no regrets about buying this sword. I'd like to see Hanwei putting a little more attention into quality control. Unless they're doing their own electroplating, they need to get on top of their supplier to do a better job for them. Fortunately the material beneath this brass plate was a gorgeous copper and not zinc. And as usual, their own in-house quality control problems seem to center around assembly. It usually only takes a few minutes to fix once the sword arrives, but it remains a frustration with Hanwei products. All that aside, I still think this is one of the best sub-$300 Gladii on the market.
Pros:
Historical accuracy
Gorgeous scabbard
Bone grip
Wasped blade
Cons:
Glued hilt
Poor electroplating
Poor baldric
The Bottom Line:
This sword is going to do exactly what I purchased it for. It's going to be able to stand beside my 1st Century BC Celtic Anthropomorphic and bring an era of desperate struggle between two nations to life for High School students. If you don't mind doing a little tinkering, I'd say go ahead an buy this sword. I think the value for money is high on this model.