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Post by whitefeathers on Mar 20, 2011 16:09:22 GMT
This one is long overdue. I'm doing two swords on this one as they're meant to be together. The Hanwei Practical Plus Katana and her partner Practical plus Wakizashi.
The PPK as its popularly known as, was my first sharp sword so she holds a special place in my heart. I got it from Nihonzashi early last Fall. When I first opened the box, I was just staring in awe at the beautiful black and gold sword resting there awaiting her master. After unsheathing she literally jumped to life. Eager and ready to serve. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I took a couple little short tentative swings. As I got more comfortable the swings got bigger and more confident. I soon realized that there was no turning back now. I was hooked. I couldn't put her down for the rest of the night. STATISTICS from Nihonzashi Blade length-27.25" Tsuka length-12" Overall length-40.5" Sori -.75" Point of Balance- 5.5" Weight-2lbs 5 oz
BLADE I couldn't believe how sharp it was. Being the first real sword I still was amazed at holding something so deadly but yet beautiful. I liked the two tone polish on it. The frosty hamon is just Ok. I don't hate it but I don't love it either. I haven't bothered to try to remove it. Three weeks into owning this sword I accidentally smacked the tip into the metal door in my apt. I had to get out the files and smooth it out. So the last 1/8 inch is dull. The mirror finish also has little scratches in it from rubbing around in the saya. All this stuff gives her character.
HABAKI/TSUBA/SEPPA The Habaki fit nice and tight to the blade. The tsuba also did too until a week or so later. Then things started to shift from swinging. The tsuba and the seppa could be moved around but didn't rattle. That bugged me so I fixed them. I'll say that I found the tsuba to be attractive and helped me choose this sword as it reminds me of the chrysanthemum.
MORE FITTINGS The fuchi and kashira are flowers of the dogwood tree. They were black at first but after much handling the black stuff wore off. The kashira was epoxied to the tsuka . The menuki are liondogs but a little hard to tell. TSUKA It came with the leather wrapping. The handle itself was the straight thick axe handle shape which doesn't work well with me so I did my first tsuka project. I took off the old stuff and did some light reshaping and shortening. I was afraid to take too much off, but it still made a big difference. I rewrapped it with black tsunami. I love the tsunami ito. So soft and provides a good grip, and it was easy to work with. Now it is still good and strong and not showing much wear. I almost forgot to add that it was a pain in the butt to remove the tsuka from the blade. SAYA
I like the coating on it, it doesn't show fingerprints and whatever it is there is a ton of it on there. I have now a bunch of deep scratches in it and they showed up white. A quick fix was some black nail polish. You can still see them but not from far away. The blade fit was ok with the habaki for about a week. It loosened up alot. I had to make shims to put in. And the blade rattles a lot in this saya. The sageo is some synthetic something and was really short. I wished the saya wasn't as thick. It feels too big when I wrap my fingers around it for resheathing.
HANDLING For at the time someone with no sword experience this thing felt alive in my hands. Also was a bit heavy. Now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing it doesn't feel too bad to me. I like how it feels agile and responsive. Quick direction changes are easy. I have not cut with it yet as I don't have the ability to here. Next chance to cut in class I'll be bringing this one to try. The WAKIZASHI STATISTICS Blade length- 20" Tsuka length- 6.75" Overall length-27.25" Sori-.5" Point of balance- 3.5" Weight- 1 Lb 10 Oz I got the wakizashi from our own Midori. Under her care she was called "Good intentions" for biting someone. Well she continues to hold her name. She has nibbled on my finger a couple times. I say nibbled as blood wasnt drawn but it was enough of a bite to leave a small cut on the skin. Despite her bloodthirsty nature she does have an elegant shape to the blade. Similar to the PPK but in smaller version. I won't be "reviewing" it much since Midori already did. I'll just write on how she has aged.
I call it "Little one" and she came to me in January . For being her 3rd owner, it is in decent shape. You can see signs of use. I forgot how old I was told it was but it is at least over 5 years old. The blade has a small dark stain on it a couple inches back from the kissaki from where she bit the first owner. That was his blood that wasn't cleaned off until later. It serves as a constant reminder that yep, it is a weapon and its dangerous.
It still has a very sharp edge and in sound construction. One of the seppas is loose and the rayskin is worn too. The leather ito has been worn in from handling, and the tsuka isn't as huge as the katana tsuka. I still would like it to be smaller though. With the leather all wrinkly and worn in, it provides a better grip than the leather ito when my PPK was brand new. I still haven't decided if I'm going to rewrap it or not as it is still good and tight. The fittings have all taken on a dark brownish color as they have aged. The habaki fit in the saya is loose, it will need shimming. It does suffer bad saya rattle like my PPK. The saya finish is the same tough stuff that is on the PPK's saya and the end of it is round. It also has a scratch along the side from some point in time. Poor thing has had a rough life. During its travel to me, the box was almost in two pieces. Thankfully it made it to me ok. The sageo is off of Midori's famous Rick James Shoes orange iaito. HANDLING Well I don't really know how a wakizashi is supposed to handle and It is the only one I have so I don't have something else to compare it to. It is light and fast to swing. Easy to control with even my weaker left hand. I have done some light cutting with it. It took me awhile to figure it out and get used to swinging it. It will cut clean through hanging sheets of newspaper if you have the right angle and speed. Wet newspaper rolls one inch wide proved a challenge for me and the sword. Midori stated in her review that she also had a hard time cutting with it.
PROS I have the set! Both quick, controllable sharp blades Now that my handle has tsunami ito on it, its great. Didnt make me poor CONS axe handle tsuka could do without the frosty hamon likes to rattle around in the sayas
Would I recommend these swords to people? Sure!
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Post by Lobster Hunter on Mar 21, 2011 8:12:29 GMT
When I first got into swords, I thought about getting a PPK but was turned off by the synthetic leather ito. I like your modifications. That waki sure is bloodthirsty. Be extra careful with that thing. Maybe it's... EVIL. :? +1
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Post by whitefeathers on Mar 21, 2011 21:53:52 GMT
I didnt like the ito because combined with the thick tsuka I was having a hard time gripping it when my hands started to get sweaty. And it just feels weird. My wakizashi better not be Evil. I dont want evil swords. PPK better keep her straight.
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Post by Larry Jordan on Mar 21, 2011 22:29:21 GMT
I have a several questions:
(1) What is the diameter of the tsuba? (2) How wide/tall is the tsuka? (3) What is the circumference measurement of the [wrapped] tsuka? (4) Is the circumference the same at all points along the handle? Or does it taper toward the kashira?
Thanks.
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Post by whitefeathers on Mar 22, 2011 3:35:34 GMT
Are you wanting these measurements from both katana and wakizashi? The measuring will have to be tomorrow, but i can answer #4 now. The katana currently does have a taper, but not as much as I wanted. Honestly i was just scared to take too much off. I took off the most wood from the middle section and attempted to have it taper back out to the kashira. Before I took the file to it, it was stick straight-no curves or anything. In those pictures you can sort of see the taper I tried to get.
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SanMarc
Senior Forumite
Posts: 3,193
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Post by SanMarc on Mar 22, 2011 3:43:23 GMT
Nice revue, I am looking in to the Wak for my Dashio with the Shinto that is coming, If it is too blood thirsty for ya let me know... I'll take it off you hands. Karma for a good revue...............SanMarc.
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Post by whitefeathers on Mar 22, 2011 3:51:28 GMT
Thanks, But I think I'll keep my Little One with me... Speaking of Shintos I cant believe I have had my 25th Ann. Shinto for a whole week now.
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Post by Student of Sword on Mar 22, 2011 4:03:17 GMT
I dislike the thick saya too. Unlike the tsuka, there is no quick fix to it other than replacing the saya. But I guess it won't make a difference if a person has big hand. I have one katana that cut me and I still keep it. It was carelessness on my part, can't blame the katana for my inattention.
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Post by Larry Jordan on Mar 22, 2011 4:25:26 GMT
Sorry I wasn't clear. Yes, the katana.
The original unaltered dimensions would have been a great baseline to have, but I'd settle for the post-reduction numbers. Are you pleased with the new/smaller dimensions? Or do you think it needs additional reduction?
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Post by Student of Sword on Mar 22, 2011 4:53:55 GMT
Larry,
Her hands are most likely smaller than yours. What best for her (or me) may not be best for you. Having the tsuka too small is equally uncomfortable as having it too large.
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Post by whitefeathers on Mar 22, 2011 13:12:55 GMT
You're right SoS. My palms are short and wide, and my fingers are thick and stubby. Thats why I have issues with the Hanwei katana tsukas and some of their sayas. While some people might not care about how thick the saya is, when you're practicing sword arts how it feels to you matters. Watching people with big hands/long fingers grab the koiguchi make it look so easy. The saya for my Hanwei Nami iaito isn't as thick as my PPK,PPW, and Raptor sayas and I am pretty comfortable with it. It actually has the slightest of taper on it. The saya for my first iaito the Munetoshi, is even thinner yet. That one was very comfortable for me to hold. I dont use that iaito anymore as it is very unbalanced and too heavy. The tsuka on my Nami is pretty much the same size as the PPK was before modification.While I wished it was thinner, I dont have problems as the ito isnt slippery, and of course sword is not as heavy. The ito is good and tight so I'm not going to mess with it. When it gets too gross or too loose, it will be getting slimmed down to the same size as my 25th Anniv. Shinto tsuka size. That is the most comfortable (to me) tsuka I have ever held. The wakizashi bite was my own mistake. During noto my body thought it was a katana so I extended my arm all the way out, and the tip sailed right past my finger. I must have had it at just the right angle for the very point to nibble on me. Larry, maybe ill measure my Nami for the unaltered dimensions as they are probably close. I'm ok with my PPK reduction surgery. I would have liked to have more of a taper and it to be a little smaller in the middle and the end. I'll settle with it for now as its much better than what it was before. Having it the same size as the 25th Shinto size tsuka would be great but my thinking is, that the PPK blade is heavier=heavier targets=probably should have more meat on the tsuka.
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Post by Larry Jordan on Mar 22, 2011 15:35:23 GMT
She's not the only one who has found the inexpensive hanwei sword handles too large. One thread ( Katana Hunter's Hanwei Practical Special Katana Review) revealed that the handle on his ultralight had NOT been inletted for the pseudo ray skin panels! I'm making no assumptions, that's why I am asking for hard numbers and not simply subjective impressions.
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Post by whitefeathers on Mar 22, 2011 17:36:09 GMT
PPK #1 tsuba diameter is 3.25 inches #2 tsuka width/tall is a hair over 1.5 inches up by the fuchi. at the smallest area its 1.4 inches. #3 the thickest circumference is one mm over the 4 inch mark on the ruler, and the thinnest circumference is one mm under the 4 inch mark. I tried to keep it even as possible with a strip of paper for the measuring part. Tricky when it wanted to sink down into the diamonds. The smallest circumference ended up being around where the 2nd mekugi is. I wasnt even measuring or anything when I was doing the reshaping, it was just by eye and feel. The tsuka length is maybe a 1/4 or a little more shorter than the original 12 1/4 inches. I would like to have had it another inch shorter. When you said that about the rayskin panels, I realized I had forgotten to re inlet for them, so that probably would have helped too. Oh well. Learning process. My Nami's measurments. the tsuba diam. is 3 inches ( i like the smaller tsuba ) tsuka height 1.6 inches and gradually tapers down to 1.5 at the end knot circumference at the fuchi is like 2mm wider than the PPKs widest one. tapers down to the same exact size as my PPK's narrowest points. I should measure my shinto too, but My lunch time is running out.
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Post by Larry Jordan on Mar 22, 2011 18:15:16 GMT
Thanks, whitefeathers. I appreciate you taking the time to take these measurements.
In order to come up with a concrete measure of "waist", I noted the handle circumference at three points on two swords recently: (1) immediately behind the fuchi, (2) the thinnest point of handle (waist) and (3) in front of the kashira:
=Kuramono (11") : (1) 104mm @ fuchi, (2) (-11) 93mm @ 6.25" from fuchi, (3) (+7) 100mm @ kashira =Shura (10.825"): (1) 109mm @ fuchi, (2) (-11) 98mm, @ 6.00" from fuchi (3) (+5) 103mm @ kashira
For your reduced grip PPK, the partial entry is:
=PPK' (12.25"): (1) 102mm @ fuchi, (2) 100mm @ ? from fuchi, (3) ? @ kashira
So, not much of a waist, as you indicated, but slightly smaller than the Kuramono at the extremes.
Perhaps we could impose upon the owner of a PPK to provide the circumference measurements of an unmodified handle. :?:
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Post by whitefeathers on Mar 22, 2011 22:27:17 GMT
You're welcome and to fill in At the kashira its the same as it is on the fuchi. 102mm and the smallest point starts at 5.50" from the fuchi.
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