Hanwei Tinker Viking Sword
May 13, 2011 20:31:34 GMT
Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on May 13, 2011 20:31:34 GMT
Ok guys, ever since the big sale, ive wanted a Tinker Viking, I had picked up the Longsword with the intentions of buying the viking as well...BUT the bank account said otherwise. Anyway after alot of practice and cutting i decided the Longsword just wasnt for me, though it was an excellent sword and i did have fun with it. I decided i wanted to try the viking sword so i posted here to see if anyone wanted a longsword for the viking. Shadowhowler came through for me and offered up his Tinker Viking after weeks of trying to find a package large enough to fit the longsword to ship, i finally got her shipped out and today i recieved the Viking Sword via UPS shipping. Sean did an excellent job packaging the sword and there was no damage to the sword whatsoever. The only flaw i could find was in the scabbard. One of the metal pins that holds on the throat was missing, and another was halfway poking out. No biggie, i planned on making a new scabbard anyway On to the review itself....
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Damn this thing is a BEAST! while its a fairly light sword, the POB is deff towards the blade and it is a pretty beastly sucker, alot of blade presence. Though, not a bad thing IMO this is what i always pictured a viking sword to feel like. And like they say, if you can not lift this "grow stronger!" :lol:
EDIT: thanks to Sean (shadowhowler) for an awesome hassle free trade! i love the sword!
THE BLADE
Like all the tinker swords, this sword came with a secondary bevel. No biggie, the bevel on this one was actually big enough it made sharpening very easy as opposed to the Long Sword where it had an almost microscopic bevel. The blade was...how can i put this nicely..."Dull as CENSORED" Repeated dragging of the blade across the palm of my hand yieled no damage and didnt even leave little lines. I thought to myself "hmmm this is gonna take alot of work...." I did decide to cut with it first thing and to my surprise, it cut through everything i tried with little effort, probably due to the fact that its a pretty heavy blade, but i was happy to know it wont be hard to get it cutting like i want.
The blade polish is the typical tinker utilitarian polish, although on this particular sword, it wasnt as even as it could have been, there were some spots where it just wasn't polished evenly, again no big deal because i hand polish mine to a more dull finish anyway, and this is a cutter not a Mona Lisa :lol: The fuller is very even and pronounced, and polished a bit better than the rest of the blade, pretty nice in fact.
THE HANDLE
The handle is actually very nice, however. The leather grip is not stock. Sean had it wrapped in a nice soft brown leather, and did a damn good job if i dont say so myself. its very comfortable although, different than what im used to. After light swinging and some cutting i felt no "warm spots" on my hand so thats a plus, i also didnt experience the pommel digging into my wrist as others have reported. Might be my grip but its nice IMO. the fitings are done pretty well, theres some minor casting flaws(im nitpicking) overall they are attractive and functional, and nicer than the plain fittings on the longsword. The peen on the pommel is done very well and looks just like id xpect a real viking one to look, i do like the take-down construction as opposed to the penned construction, but i is done well on this sword. The fittings are rock solid and there is no rattle whatsoever.
THE SCABBARD
OK now i get to complain a bit, i dont particularly care for this scabbard. Since it was missing one pin and almost another, i assume that its not the greatest construction. The sword rattles very badly inside the scabbard every which way, and its borderline not as tight as id prefer, BUT for the price they charge for these...who am i to complain. it does serve its purpose. Ill be making a new one myself in the future. The leather wrap on the scabbard was well done, and the chape was pretty nice too. overall the scabbard is ok if it wasn't loose and rattly .
CUTTING
As i mentioned earlier, this sword is a damn good cutter. with its blatantly horrible blunt edge i successfully cut water bottles soda bottles and milk jugs. I flubbed one cut but i blame poor form and shoddy edge alignment. Ive sharpened one side of the blade and have yet to try it out but i know this is gonna be a darn good cutter!
HANDLING
Its a beast! very good blade presence and good balance although shes no lightweight. you will grow tired fast using this sword, but Grow Stronger! a Viking would love to have this thing in battle. I also forgot to mention that this sword has a darn good temper and flexes very well, although its not "floppy" like the longsword was.
OVERALL
I give this sword a 9/10 only because the scabbard sucks. The edge was very easy to sharpen and if i can do it almost anyone can, plus most people know by now, H/T's are not known for being sharp, and i expected the lack of sharp dge before getting it anyway. I would recommend this sword to anyone wanting a 1 hander thats a wicked cutter. Cant wait to try this thing on a pig corpse COLD STEEL STYLE! :lol: thanks for reading guys
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Damn this thing is a BEAST! while its a fairly light sword, the POB is deff towards the blade and it is a pretty beastly sucker, alot of blade presence. Though, not a bad thing IMO this is what i always pictured a viking sword to feel like. And like they say, if you can not lift this "grow stronger!" :lol:
EDIT: thanks to Sean (shadowhowler) for an awesome hassle free trade! i love the sword!
THE BLADE
Like all the tinker swords, this sword came with a secondary bevel. No biggie, the bevel on this one was actually big enough it made sharpening very easy as opposed to the Long Sword where it had an almost microscopic bevel. The blade was...how can i put this nicely..."Dull as CENSORED" Repeated dragging of the blade across the palm of my hand yieled no damage and didnt even leave little lines. I thought to myself "hmmm this is gonna take alot of work...." I did decide to cut with it first thing and to my surprise, it cut through everything i tried with little effort, probably due to the fact that its a pretty heavy blade, but i was happy to know it wont be hard to get it cutting like i want.
The blade polish is the typical tinker utilitarian polish, although on this particular sword, it wasnt as even as it could have been, there were some spots where it just wasn't polished evenly, again no big deal because i hand polish mine to a more dull finish anyway, and this is a cutter not a Mona Lisa :lol: The fuller is very even and pronounced, and polished a bit better than the rest of the blade, pretty nice in fact.
THE HANDLE
The handle is actually very nice, however. The leather grip is not stock. Sean had it wrapped in a nice soft brown leather, and did a damn good job if i dont say so myself. its very comfortable although, different than what im used to. After light swinging and some cutting i felt no "warm spots" on my hand so thats a plus, i also didnt experience the pommel digging into my wrist as others have reported. Might be my grip but its nice IMO. the fitings are done pretty well, theres some minor casting flaws(im nitpicking) overall they are attractive and functional, and nicer than the plain fittings on the longsword. The peen on the pommel is done very well and looks just like id xpect a real viking one to look, i do like the take-down construction as opposed to the penned construction, but i is done well on this sword. The fittings are rock solid and there is no rattle whatsoever.
THE SCABBARD
OK now i get to complain a bit, i dont particularly care for this scabbard. Since it was missing one pin and almost another, i assume that its not the greatest construction. The sword rattles very badly inside the scabbard every which way, and its borderline not as tight as id prefer, BUT for the price they charge for these...who am i to complain. it does serve its purpose. Ill be making a new one myself in the future. The leather wrap on the scabbard was well done, and the chape was pretty nice too. overall the scabbard is ok if it wasn't loose and rattly .
CUTTING
As i mentioned earlier, this sword is a damn good cutter. with its blatantly horrible blunt edge i successfully cut water bottles soda bottles and milk jugs. I flubbed one cut but i blame poor form and shoddy edge alignment. Ive sharpened one side of the blade and have yet to try it out but i know this is gonna be a darn good cutter!
HANDLING
Its a beast! very good blade presence and good balance although shes no lightweight. you will grow tired fast using this sword, but Grow Stronger! a Viking would love to have this thing in battle. I also forgot to mention that this sword has a darn good temper and flexes very well, although its not "floppy" like the longsword was.
OVERALL
I give this sword a 9/10 only because the scabbard sucks. The edge was very easy to sharpen and if i can do it almost anyone can, plus most people know by now, H/T's are not known for being sharp, and i expected the lack of sharp dge before getting it anyway. I would recommend this sword to anyone wanting a 1 hander thats a wicked cutter. Cant wait to try this thing on a pig corpse COLD STEEL STYLE! :lol: thanks for reading guys