My new 9260 from Huawei
Apr 28, 2011 0:49:51 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 0:49:51 GMT
Hello all,
Today I will be reviewing my piece from Huawei. This is my first Kat from this maker. A while back i really got turned on by what i saw demonstrated by 9260 blades, like that on the Cheness Tenchi . I almost bought one but wanted something with a little more personal flare. After reading quite a few reviews and their feedback I decided to give Huawei a try. With the price comparison between other quality 9260 blades i was excited and a little nervous. At a price tag of just at $140 US.after shipping , I hoped I had found a Diamond in the dung heap. I placed my order on 4/21/11 (at like 2am) and received it today 4/27/11. Not bad for coming from China, and with a projected delivery date of the 29th at the earliest. ..SO here it is .
The blade style is Shinogi Zukuri with a full bo-hi. This is pretty common and staight forward so i'm not going to even try to get in to the History. I would probably get half of it wrong anyway. The sword has a nice feel and balance ,and is in my humble opinion a good representation of this style. The main differences from other production models are in the steel as this is through tempered with no hamon.
This is my first review on SBG. I have been collecting swords for years, but do not have much experience with swords outside th $500 dollar range. And no real Nihonto.
I slept in today and wasn't expecting a delivery, so i was happily surprised as the postman pulled up as i was having my morning smoke. No way i was getting my package 2 days before the earliest delivery date, but it was here! It arrived in a solid styrofoam container wrapped entirely in yellow tape. Upon opening it I saw that it had a Nicer than average sword bag,not the one from the picture, but nice. I actually like this one more so wasn't that upset but the one in their picture appears to be silk and this one is cotton. -1 point. Once i removed the sword from its decorative bag i was happy to see that the ito had been wrapped in plastic ,cool. The saya was also lined with a plastic sheath to protect it and the blade while in shipping, so my overall impression of their shipping was good and was working them out of their deficit of a unexpected sword bag.
. . So let me give you some stats.
Blade/Nagasa Length: 70.5 cm
Blade width: 3.2cm
Blade thickness: 0.76 cm
Handle/Tsuka Length: 27.5 cm
Overall Length: 103cm
Guard/Tsuba Width: 3 inches
POB (Point of Balance): 5 inches
Weight: between 2lb 5oz and 2lb 7oz( I will contact manufacturer and edit asap)
The Blade: So out of that saya and.. the blade was very nice . It was perfect in form,perfectly straight and perfectly even ,and the only complaint i could find was cosmetic and subject to preferance..no namon. I was fine with this as what i wanted was a mono-tempered beater and in my opinion no hamon is better than fake hamon. The weight of this sword was nice ,but i don't have proper scales so ,sorry, I'll have to guess. Its somewhere between my Bamboo and a Masahiro i have, so I'd say about 2lb. 5oz.--2lb. 7oz. The balance is good and it feels well constructed. It is sharper than i expected; one of the sharpest that i have gotten out of the box and I was impressed by that. The kissaki is "OK" ,looks counter-polished but could have been nicer. However, the blade has a nice thick mune/spine and feels sturdy. Now it's starting to beg to cut!
The Tsuka: On to the tsuka . Its got good and bad. The bad is that the ito does not alternate; although this is the first i have had with a "battle wrap" so i don't know if this is as common as improperly wrapped ito on other Kats. Also since the ito is white it shows dirt already and I have only handled since noon. The goodis that the tsuka follows the Nakago/curvature of the tang.The pegs are bamboo and are tapered correctly. The same/rayskin is one piece. The ito is nice and tight and the Diamonds are at least even.its all very tightly put together. So overall pretty much as i expected in this area.
The Tsuba: The tsuba is iron musashi, properly seated . Nice ,simple, not much to say.
The Fittings: The fuchi and kashira appear to be zinc-alloy and are as plain as they come. This is ok for me on a cutter, but I would want something a lot nicer on a showpiece. This sword does not have menuki. The seppa and habaki are brass. Habaki is of one piece construction and is properly seated. So fittings are simple but good.
The Saya: The saya is a matching white. It is the main "con" on the sword as it has a few blemishes in the lacquer. I don't know if I was able to capture them in my pics but they're there. Other than that it is good, with a good fit and no wobble
I am 5'10 and of a stocky build and for me the sword handles very well. I'll need to test it more by seeing how it cuts but the feel is right on. Its not heavy ,but not so light that it has that "flimsy" feel. The full bo-hi makes the blade sing its nasty little song as it parts the air. Man I love that sound.
My over all opinion of the sword is very good. I think it was well worth the money spent. It handles well ,feels sturdy, and the blade is very nice for a TH. I would like to see these guys step it up a notch on their saya and fuchi/kashira and with alternating the wrap. If they can do that they may be hard to beat at this price range. I would buy from them again and may do so on my upcoming custom project.
pro:
Sturdy blade
Good handling
tsuka that follows the tang
customer service/fast shipping
price
con:
Lacquer on saya
cheap fittings(except tsuba)
non-alternating ito
I would recomend Huawei for its blade and value in its price range. Also looks like the best option for a custom in the sub$300 price range
Today I will be reviewing my piece from Huawei. This is my first Kat from this maker. A while back i really got turned on by what i saw demonstrated by 9260 blades, like that on the Cheness Tenchi . I almost bought one but wanted something with a little more personal flare. After reading quite a few reviews and their feedback I decided to give Huawei a try. With the price comparison between other quality 9260 blades i was excited and a little nervous. At a price tag of just at $140 US.after shipping , I hoped I had found a Diamond in the dung heap. I placed my order on 4/21/11 (at like 2am) and received it today 4/27/11. Not bad for coming from China, and with a projected delivery date of the 29th at the earliest. ..SO here it is .
The blade style is Shinogi Zukuri with a full bo-hi. This is pretty common and staight forward so i'm not going to even try to get in to the History. I would probably get half of it wrong anyway. The sword has a nice feel and balance ,and is in my humble opinion a good representation of this style. The main differences from other production models are in the steel as this is through tempered with no hamon.
This is my first review on SBG. I have been collecting swords for years, but do not have much experience with swords outside th $500 dollar range. And no real Nihonto.
I slept in today and wasn't expecting a delivery, so i was happily surprised as the postman pulled up as i was having my morning smoke. No way i was getting my package 2 days before the earliest delivery date, but it was here! It arrived in a solid styrofoam container wrapped entirely in yellow tape. Upon opening it I saw that it had a Nicer than average sword bag,not the one from the picture, but nice. I actually like this one more so wasn't that upset but the one in their picture appears to be silk and this one is cotton. -1 point. Once i removed the sword from its decorative bag i was happy to see that the ito had been wrapped in plastic ,cool. The saya was also lined with a plastic sheath to protect it and the blade while in shipping, so my overall impression of their shipping was good and was working them out of their deficit of a unexpected sword bag.
. . So let me give you some stats.
Blade/Nagasa Length: 70.5 cm
Blade width: 3.2cm
Blade thickness: 0.76 cm
Handle/Tsuka Length: 27.5 cm
Overall Length: 103cm
Guard/Tsuba Width: 3 inches
POB (Point of Balance): 5 inches
Weight: between 2lb 5oz and 2lb 7oz( I will contact manufacturer and edit asap)
The Blade: So out of that saya and.. the blade was very nice . It was perfect in form,perfectly straight and perfectly even ,and the only complaint i could find was cosmetic and subject to preferance..no namon. I was fine with this as what i wanted was a mono-tempered beater and in my opinion no hamon is better than fake hamon. The weight of this sword was nice ,but i don't have proper scales so ,sorry, I'll have to guess. Its somewhere between my Bamboo and a Masahiro i have, so I'd say about 2lb. 5oz.--2lb. 7oz. The balance is good and it feels well constructed. It is sharper than i expected; one of the sharpest that i have gotten out of the box and I was impressed by that. The kissaki is "OK" ,looks counter-polished but could have been nicer. However, the blade has a nice thick mune/spine and feels sturdy. Now it's starting to beg to cut!
The Tsuka: On to the tsuka . Its got good and bad. The bad is that the ito does not alternate; although this is the first i have had with a "battle wrap" so i don't know if this is as common as improperly wrapped ito on other Kats. Also since the ito is white it shows dirt already and I have only handled since noon. The goodis that the tsuka follows the Nakago/curvature of the tang.The pegs are bamboo and are tapered correctly. The same/rayskin is one piece. The ito is nice and tight and the Diamonds are at least even.its all very tightly put together. So overall pretty much as i expected in this area.
The Tsuba: The tsuba is iron musashi, properly seated . Nice ,simple, not much to say.
The Fittings: The fuchi and kashira appear to be zinc-alloy and are as plain as they come. This is ok for me on a cutter, but I would want something a lot nicer on a showpiece. This sword does not have menuki. The seppa and habaki are brass. Habaki is of one piece construction and is properly seated. So fittings are simple but good.
The Saya: The saya is a matching white. It is the main "con" on the sword as it has a few blemishes in the lacquer. I don't know if I was able to capture them in my pics but they're there. Other than that it is good, with a good fit and no wobble
I am 5'10 and of a stocky build and for me the sword handles very well. I'll need to test it more by seeing how it cuts but the feel is right on. Its not heavy ,but not so light that it has that "flimsy" feel. The full bo-hi makes the blade sing its nasty little song as it parts the air. Man I love that sound.
My over all opinion of the sword is very good. I think it was well worth the money spent. It handles well ,feels sturdy, and the blade is very nice for a TH. I would like to see these guys step it up a notch on their saya and fuchi/kashira and with alternating the wrap. If they can do that they may be hard to beat at this price range. I would buy from them again and may do so on my upcoming custom project.
pro:
Sturdy blade
Good handling
tsuka that follows the tang
customer service/fast shipping
price
con:
Lacquer on saya
cheap fittings(except tsuba)
non-alternating ito
I would recomend Huawei for its blade and value in its price range. Also looks like the best option for a custom in the sub$300 price range