Hanwei Banshee (warning: may contain photos)
Apr 20, 2011 17:41:36 GMT
Post by MOK on Apr 20, 2011 17:41:36 GMT
I recently ordered the Hanwei Banshee from Lamnia.fi, and received it last Friday; the delivery was fairly prompt, considering it wasn't in stock and they had to order it overseas.
So far, I've only encountered a few minor issues. No regrets about the purchase. Shootermike's review covers all the basics and a good way beyond, and I'm plain lazy, so I'll just concentrate on stuff I've noticed that he didn't mention.
This is a very good-looking little sword in a business-like, no-nonsense sort of way. While it's a clearly modern design, its origins in the South-East Asian dha are readily apparent.
I didn't think much of the pleather carrying sling that came with it - it's just a cheap after-thought, a nice little bonus, adequate until you can round up something better but no more - so I decided to make a carry system of my own. Traditionally dha are carried on a simple rope sling tied around the scabbard... but this is not a traditional dha, it's a rather more modern, "tactical" design. What would fit that... hmm... rope... tactical... tactical rope... oh, of course! PARACORD!
And I already had some of that lying around. Perfect! I was loathe to cut it, so I used the whole length I had, some twenty, maybe thirty feet. It looks good on the Banshee, is comfortable to carry, and best of all, if in the middle of zombie apocalypse I should happen to need a length of strong cord or line, I've got some right there!
The metal furniture on the sword and scabbard are all finished with some kind of matte grey powder coating. It's neat and has a nice texture to it, but it had already rubbed off in places. No biggie, it just makes the whole thing look that much more rugged and tuff, but I thought it worth a mention.
That's the metal throat. There's something wrong with it. Can you guess what? No? Well, let's have a closer look.
There, you see it now?
Just in case you're feeling slow today, I'll spell it out: IT CAME OFF. Apparently someone skimped on the glue. Oh well, it's nothing I can't easily fix with a dollop of epoxy. In the meanwhile, it allows us to view the scabbard's wooden core.
A little rough, but nothing really unexpected. It's out of sight, anyway. But pay attention to the edge of the black paint covering most of the scabbard.
It's over a millimeter thick. Yeah, I'll believe it's resistant to bumps and scratches! The thing is basically armored. Nice to know, and good on Hanwei! Also, it actually looks really neat on the surface, with an interesting splatter texture.
All in all, I LIKE this little beast. The blade is nowhere near as sharp as it could be, but it can still cut. Some quality time with my stones and hones and it'll be just perfect. I took the Banshee home to the backwoods with me over the weekend, and put it through all kinds of mild abuse like demolishing the cardboard boxes it came in, cutting brush and saplings, stabbing at logs and chopping firewood. It performed as well as the semi-sharp edge allowed - better than I had expected, in fact - and is none the worse for wear, with nothing to show for it that didn't come off with an oily rag. I didn't even manage to bend the tip with all the thrusting at big pieces of dead wood, and it did some respectable work on them.
It handles well in one hand. Two hands will totally overpower it if you grip it like a katana, hands wide apart, but if you shorten your grip a little you can fine tune the balance and make far more powerful cuts than you'd expect from something this compact. The 11-inch grip is oval near the guard and becomes round about halfway toward the pommel, but edge alignment didn't really seem like much of an issue to me. Many dha have entirely round handles anyway, and they've been used for centuries; I'd think they'd have changed it at some point along the way if it didn't work out somehow.
The Banshee now hangs out on the edge of my bookcase until I can find it a more permanent lodgings. I think I've made a wonderful new friend. Thank you, Shootermike and SBG in general, for introducing us!
So far, I've only encountered a few minor issues. No regrets about the purchase. Shootermike's review covers all the basics and a good way beyond, and I'm plain lazy, so I'll just concentrate on stuff I've noticed that he didn't mention.
This is a very good-looking little sword in a business-like, no-nonsense sort of way. While it's a clearly modern design, its origins in the South-East Asian dha are readily apparent.
I didn't think much of the pleather carrying sling that came with it - it's just a cheap after-thought, a nice little bonus, adequate until you can round up something better but no more - so I decided to make a carry system of my own. Traditionally dha are carried on a simple rope sling tied around the scabbard... but this is not a traditional dha, it's a rather more modern, "tactical" design. What would fit that... hmm... rope... tactical... tactical rope... oh, of course! PARACORD!
And I already had some of that lying around. Perfect! I was loathe to cut it, so I used the whole length I had, some twenty, maybe thirty feet. It looks good on the Banshee, is comfortable to carry, and best of all, if in the middle of zombie apocalypse I should happen to need a length of strong cord or line, I've got some right there!
The metal furniture on the sword and scabbard are all finished with some kind of matte grey powder coating. It's neat and has a nice texture to it, but it had already rubbed off in places. No biggie, it just makes the whole thing look that much more rugged and tuff, but I thought it worth a mention.
That's the metal throat. There's something wrong with it. Can you guess what? No? Well, let's have a closer look.
There, you see it now?
Just in case you're feeling slow today, I'll spell it out: IT CAME OFF. Apparently someone skimped on the glue. Oh well, it's nothing I can't easily fix with a dollop of epoxy. In the meanwhile, it allows us to view the scabbard's wooden core.
A little rough, but nothing really unexpected. It's out of sight, anyway. But pay attention to the edge of the black paint covering most of the scabbard.
It's over a millimeter thick. Yeah, I'll believe it's resistant to bumps and scratches! The thing is basically armored. Nice to know, and good on Hanwei! Also, it actually looks really neat on the surface, with an interesting splatter texture.
All in all, I LIKE this little beast. The blade is nowhere near as sharp as it could be, but it can still cut. Some quality time with my stones and hones and it'll be just perfect. I took the Banshee home to the backwoods with me over the weekend, and put it through all kinds of mild abuse like demolishing the cardboard boxes it came in, cutting brush and saplings, stabbing at logs and chopping firewood. It performed as well as the semi-sharp edge allowed - better than I had expected, in fact - and is none the worse for wear, with nothing to show for it that didn't come off with an oily rag. I didn't even manage to bend the tip with all the thrusting at big pieces of dead wood, and it did some respectable work on them.
It handles well in one hand. Two hands will totally overpower it if you grip it like a katana, hands wide apart, but if you shorten your grip a little you can fine tune the balance and make far more powerful cuts than you'd expect from something this compact. The 11-inch grip is oval near the guard and becomes round about halfway toward the pommel, but edge alignment didn't really seem like much of an issue to me. Many dha have entirely round handles anyway, and they've been used for centuries; I'd think they'd have changed it at some point along the way if it didn't work out somehow.
The Banshee now hangs out on the edge of my bookcase until I can find it a more permanent lodgings. I think I've made a wonderful new friend. Thank you, Shootermike and SBG in general, for introducing us!
