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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2011 4:36:31 GMT
Hello all, welcome to my first post. Here are my impressions of my second sword purchase. It is the CAS Hanwei Roman Mainz Gladius. This is not necessarily a review but merely some thoughts in order to warn or educate others about this specific model. I looked for a while online for a relatively decent looking gladius for a decent price. I want only functional blades so I wanted something that wasn't a toy. I was going to get the Gen2 mainz based on reviews here but decided on this one due mostly to my ignorance on this subject. This msrp for this sword is $389 and there are more than a few places online selling it for near that price. So I thought I was getting a good deal to find it on ebay for $141 shipped. It is now obvious to me that a blade's MSRP price is not an indicator of quality or workmanship. From the wide angle this blade looks quite nice and seemed to me the most similar to historical examples in pictures and descriptions on the web, and I chose it for mostly those reasons. I wanted to zoom in and show you all some pics of what it looks like close up.   The blade: dull as a butter knife. unknown metal; I'm almost sure it SS. I made the fatal assumption that it must be carbon steel since it is marketed as "fully functional". I'll sharpen it up later and that will let me know.   The hilt: large gap between the blade and plate. the plate is inset into the wood at an angle and not perpendicular to the blade.  The handle: Loose out of the box. The top ringlet came unglued from the main handle as you can see. I think its actual bone, but not sure till I get it off. It does feel really nice if it weren't for the movement. I like the shape of the sculpted grooves - not too deep and not too shallow.  The Pommel: Its on as crooked as a politician. Very noticeable. More so than in the pics. There must be no quality control at Hanwei.   Wood is acceptable but nothing special. A one piece solid wood pommel would have been nice rather than a glued up one. You can feel the glued edge easily so it will all have to be sanded and refinished - again. Scabbard: Fit is a little tight but not too bad. I like the scabbard most of all on this sword. Seems to be real leather covered wood and the hardware is acceptable, and its pretty. The strap is imitation leather though. Shame.   Ok, so now I'm going to have to rebuild it from the hilt back. Any thoughts or suggestions? Is there a good way to disassemble without destroying stuff? Definitely going to fill the handle with epoxy assuming I can get it off. Final thoughts - This gladius is a definitely a wall hanger in spite of its marketing as fully functional and and extremely high retail price. If this is an indication of Hanwei quality, then I'd be ashamed to sell these things. Sorry to be so negative in my first post but its the truth. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2011 5:42:04 GMT
The Hanwei Roman Gladius is a closeout item. I am surprise you could still find one on ebay. Sorry to hear about the quality of your sword, but getting stuff from ebay is risky. In your case, the gladius is a lemon and should not left the QC in the first place. If there is a return policy on your gladius, you should ask for a replacement or a refund. But if you decide to keep it, try and disassemble the hilt and check the tang. If the tang is in one piece, then it's has the potential to be functional. You really have to change the grip before it can be used. Try getting some hardwood block or bone from the pet store (wood is much easier to work with, and bone dust is hazardous). Here's a tutorial you might be interested: www.larp.com/legioxx/gladhnts.htmlBy the way, a historically accurate grip is pretty short between 3 1/4 and 3 1/2 inch. Most production gladius, including Hanwei has a 4" hilt. Once you have finish with the grip, you might want to sharpen the blade and make the edges even. Might want to start of with a metal file and proceed with some sandpaper. There is a tutorial here somewhere... By the way, the Hanwei Roman gladius is not a Mainz, but closer to the earlier Gladius Hispaniensis. Again sorry for the condition of the blade. Again a refund or replacement would be ideal. Let us know the ebay vendor. Edit: Just wondering if you got your sword from this vendor: www.ebay.com/itm/CAS-Hanwei-SH2032-Roman-Gladius-Sword-New-Box-Free-Shipping-/250909226746?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6b5af6fa#ht_659wt_905I would not modify the sword in any way and get a replacement/refund. Besides $140 is too cheap and is an indicator of an inferior product/lemon. Back 2 years ago, the same sword sells for around $250+ shipping |
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ghost
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Post by ghost on Oct 24, 2011 6:09:11 GMT
whoa bummer man. This picture give me the willies:  Looks like a perfect setup for what Paul dubs, the helicopter of death I would not be surprised if it breaks upon a first swing... |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2011 23:47:40 GMT
Yes, jerrymander, thats the vendor. the only one on ebay where it could be found. There are other sword vendors that have these still, but like I said, the prices are up around the $325 mark.
But no worries, I was just contacted by a Mr. Pogue who works for CAS Hanwei and he has offered to replace the unit. He said that this sword is indicative of some problems they had with this model a while back. So I suppose I must have gotten my hands on a new old stock one that was inferior to the current ones. I'll try this first and perhaps it will work out in the end. We'll see.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2011 0:09:10 GMT
Best of luck to you. Though Hanwei's edge is not as refined as their katana's offering, their blade temper and geometry is usually pretty decent. It has the potential of becoming a really nice gladius hispanensis if you are interested in customizing the sword. In case you are wondering what the heck I meant by a hispaniensis, it's the sword on the extreme left: www.larp.com/legioxx/gladii3.jpg |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2011 19:30:15 GMT
Well, here is the replacement. There is no comparison to the difference in workmanship between this current model and the original one. Hanwei sent me a prepaid return label to return the old one. After a week or so I received my new sword. Kudos go out to Hanwei's customer services. They performed exemplary in my case. To the pics… From the wide angle, there doesn't seem to be much difference, but upon inspection, they can be clearly seen.  Blade looks about the same as before, but is MUCH sharper. However, "much sharper", in this instance means, "angles are ground better, but still dull". But thats ok, a swordsman sharpens his own sword. Its will be much less work than before to get it where it needs to be. The shoulder plate is inset quite well, being flush with the wood and perpendicular with the blade. There is also no gap between the plate and the blade as before. The wood quality is a vast improvement over the other one. Some sort of asian hardwood with a nice tight grain. Looks and feels solid.   The grip feels far better. No movement at all after much swinging. I believe its filled with epoxy or something. Maybe, maybe not. Probably meaning it won't be coming apart. Hopefully I won't ever have to.  You can see that the pommel is on perfectly straight, is one solid piece, and looks much better.  The scabbard looks the same as before - which is nice. There is only very slight tension on the blade, but since I'm in the humid south USA, this will probably fluctuate. This is it after a little hand polish and a bit of treatment on the leather. Baldric is still synthetic though.     Overall, this is a eye catching gladius hispaniensis. Feels quite solid in the hand. Swings well, but seems to be a bit heavy to me, but that could be just my inexperience with them. POB is 5-3/4" from the hilt. Time to sharpen her up and cut something. |
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Nov 6, 2011 20:01:04 GMT
Looks like Hanwei's customer service made everything right. I wouldnt be surprised if the ebay seller purposely sent out a lemon to get rid of it. Kudos to hanwei, and im glad you got your moneys worrth in the end
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bpogue
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Post by bpogue on Nov 7, 2011 12:46:12 GMT
Methos, Very glad you're happy with the Gladius now. Just FYI, this sword is available direct from Edge Fair. The sword that Methos got is from the Edge Fair stock, so no worries about receiving one like in the original post. Blake |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2011 23:37:57 GMT
Blake is the man. Thanks.
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Post by isotop235 on Nov 25, 2011 5:13:41 GMT
I recently purchased the same sword from the identical seller. Methos. Mine is close to your description with a 2 piece pommel. Mine however is not loose and seems sturdy. It is blade heavy and the handle is a bit narrow for modern hands...mine are not that large and I would feel more comfortable with a thicker handle. My version is sharpened...enough to make cut with enough speed but it not is razor sharp-which would nick on use. I took a half-hearted swipe at my end table and it took an impressive chunk out. The scabbard is the icing on the cake though. All in all for $140 I am happy. Had I paid $350 for it, I may not have been happy.
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Post by isotop235 on Nov 29, 2011 17:31:43 GMT
I had purchased the same sword from the same seller. The handle became loose within a week with no backyard use, it just started to shake, the tip was bent went it came out of the box, and a 1/4" piece was missing out of the hilt.
I contacted Hanwei and they basically told me my problem was not their problem. No Mr. Pogue came to my rescue unfortunately. I will no longer consider anything they sell. This product wasn't used it was new factory sealed and in two boxes the inner one from the factory sealed. I understand they do not make it any longer but this is bad kharma customer service. For an item that cost them dollars to make they lost out on future sales
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Post by Elheru Aran on Nov 30, 2011 19:10:53 GMT
Did you deal directly with Hanwei themselves, or the retailer that sold you the sword?
I would suggest contacting Blake Pogue directly here on the board, he goes by 'bpogue' I believe. I think you got old stock that was being marketed as new stock or something. The current version of their 'Mainz' gladius is in fact in production, so you really shouldn't have gotten that kind of reception from Hanwei...
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Post by RicWilly on Dec 1, 2011 19:45:47 GMT
If I buy a sword at a bargain price off Ebay, it is unreasonable to expect the original manufacturer to cover my ass if I get a lemon.
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Post by isotop235 on Dec 1, 2011 23:15:18 GMT
I checked and the seller is a regular retailer of many Hanwei swords. I had read the original post and had hoped I could receive the same customer service for the same sword from the same dealer....is that unreasonable? I bid on and won the sword at what I felt was a good price, but apparently according to you I should only receive customer service if I pay a certain price for it. I think if this retailer is selling off inferior quality stock, as well as their other product line then they(Hanwei) should be made aware. I did not purchase the sword "as is," but "new in box."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2011 4:03:46 GMT
Sorry man I gotta agree with Ricwilly here. Why should the original manufacturer be responsible to the action of a dishonest ebay seller. The ebay seller is selling item that are not as described, the buyer should press the seller for a return/refund, leave a negative feedback or bring up the case directly with the ebay folks. For all we know the seller might have bought these lemon stocks and trying to sell them as new condition. If that's true that's a real dishonest seller. Also if the price is too good to be true ($150 new as oppose to ~$250 back when they are in stock), it probably is.
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Post by isotop235 on Dec 10, 2011 10:17:08 GMT
Not one to give up, I disassembled the sword and filled the interior of the handle with epoxy resin, reassembled and left it to cure(24 hours). Once the dried, the sword is sturdier that before and seems much improved. So much so that returned to e-bay to purchase another-but all sold out. Oh well. On their design-Hanwei should have made a sloping shoulder into the brass plate instead of the 90 degree arrangement it has. Just IMHO anyway.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 6:53:24 GMT
Well, guys, I finally got around to polishing this thing. Here's some pics of the progression. I don't know if any of you have seen these gladius up close but the blade finish looks like a power wheel grind job with 40 grit paper. Dull, rough, satin finish - see above pics. I has deep gouges in the surface that are harder than I thought to get off. I never fully got down underneath them but its close enough for me. In hindsight I wish I had some 120 grit or so to start with. I only had 200 or 60. Since I've had it, this sword has never exhibited even one tiny discoloration on the blade. That and the hardness of it, make me think the material is certainly stainless. What I did was start off with a handheld orbital sander with 220 grit paper. Here's the result of the 220.   Then I went to hand wet sanding with some 400 then 600   Then with 1000 then 2000 grit.   Then a wheel buff with Mothers.   Then she poses for the crowd.   Took me about 2 hours or so start to finish. |
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