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Post by NightRaid on Jan 5, 2012 23:07:10 GMT
Hi all, pretty new here. Been looking for a good Jian sword, preferrably around the £300 mark and under. any suggestions? i've had a look at the Jin Shi stuff, but I don't know the exact price of one of those. had a look at the Hanwei Qi Jian and the Cold Steel Gim, but i still can't decide. I'm kinda looking for something that is fully functional, will cut with ease and looks good, but not too heavy for forms and such. Any advice or suggestions?
Thanks in advance
Side note: I also found a discontinued Cold Steel Chinese Broadsword/Sabre for sale at £299. Any thoughts?
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Post by Wes on Jan 6, 2012 0:11:11 GMT
Jin Shi is going to be within your price range. Contact Garrett and let him know what you are looking for and he'll get back with you with a quote. He has an order form you fill out with other options like wood choices, and blade geometry that affect the price, but I don't think I've had a quote more than $400 USD for a sword from him. Very reasonable.
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 0:14:17 GMT
how much would the estimated cost of shipping be? i live in the United Kingdom, so i may have to check with my import laws on that too.
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Post by Wes on Jan 6, 2012 0:18:30 GMT
Always check with your import laws lol. We have several members here that live in the UK though so one of them would be better suited to help you out in your smuggling endeavors
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 0:26:54 GMT
I'm highly tempted to get the Qi Jian, mainly because of its looks, balance and functionality, but one thing i question about it. Is it durable? for average cutting? dulled edge may not be too much of a problem for my, as I have quite a few stones that i could probably use on it. Also, an accusharp just incase.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 6, 2012 0:30:17 GMT
I wouldn't recommend using a sharp for forms practice, no matter how skilled you are. Get a really cheap wooden jian for that. Also, don't use an accusharp on a sword; it'll do more harm than good.
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Post by Wes on Jan 6, 2012 0:33:45 GMT
I have owned, and subsequently sold the Qi Jian. It is a very beautiful and unique sword. Light and nimble. I never did any cutting with mine but there are days when I regret selling it. You wouldn't be disappointed.
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 0:36:52 GMT
Thanks for the advice. the Jian i intend to get is mainly for cutting and a bit for decor, the forms practice is just a possibility. i was intending on starting with a wooden one anyways
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 0:38:22 GMT
was the edge good on it? because by the looks of it and the reviews i've read, i've seen very good points on it and not very many bad points apart from the edge being somewhat dull
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 6, 2012 0:44:48 GMT
I wouldn't know of a place in the UK to look, seeing as I live in the States, but I know wooden jian, which I find much preferable to wushu steel ones (in that they're actually solid and sturdy and not a piece of tin foil), are relatively easy to find and quite cheap; generally around 15$.
As for the Cold Steel Gim, everything I've heard says it cuts like a lightsaber and looks quite attractive, but handles nothing like a real jian should; seeing as that seems to be a somewhat common remark about Cold Steel's swords, I'm inclined to believe it. Another option to consider, if you haven't already, is the Hanwei Chinese Cutting Sword, aka, the Rodell Jian. The few people I know who have it have loved it and it was designed by Scott Rodell, a respectived CMA practitioner.
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 0:49:51 GMT
i've checked out the Rodell, i was quite impressed by it. the one thing that put me off it slightly was a video i saw of someone cutting a cardboard box, and instead of being a nice clean cut, it looked like the box tore. Probably a one-off, but it made me a little uneasy about it, plus i heard that it was rather large for a Jian.
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Post by Wes on Jan 6, 2012 0:54:15 GMT
The edge of my Qi Jian was it's one weakness. It really didn't have one. It might have cut something if you applied a lot of pressure and wiggled the sword back and forth very quickly, but for such a thin blade I would expect it to be razor sharp. It was so beautiful though that I didn't want to scratch up the mirror finish sharpening it myself.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 6, 2012 1:02:51 GMT
That may have been the person's technique, rather than the edge. Cardboard is also a very light, but, in my (extremely) limited experience, stubborn target; not to mention, the materials that make it up, such as glue, would resist cutting more than many targets preferred by sword enthusiasts.
Anyways, the Rodell is rather large; mostly in the hilt. Take the following with a grain of salt since this is not my area of interest anymore, but from my limited understanding, a jian is meant to be a one-handed sword that can be grasped in both hands (but not a true hand-and-a-half sword); the blade should be long enough so that, when held by the guard blade up (think of the beginning of a sword form in CSA), the blade should end at the middle of your ear. I remember hearing that the Rodell had been developed with Western practitioners in mind, particularly their larger frames and often larger hands. For me, it would make a quite comfortable two handed sword, but then, I have average sized hands. Some of our members *cough*Sean*cough* have meathooks for hands and would therefore likely find the grip to be perfect for them.
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 1:14:13 GMT
hmmm, fair enough. i may put the Rodell on my watch list for now. the only problem for me would be the hilt size, since i have rather small hands...
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 21:28:21 GMT
anyone got any info on Sino Sword made Jians? i just saw some of their products, and they look quite nice.
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Post by Wes on Jan 6, 2012 21:47:45 GMT
Sino swords/jkoo swords seem to be a hit or miss endeavor. We've got several members of this forum who have purchased their products and most seem happy with their purchase, but some of the products have been... attrocious at best. Their prices are reasonable, though.
As a note, any design you see on Sinosword's website, Garrett can probably pull off. I've inquired about several from him over the years.
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 21:49:01 GMT
right, cos i have my eye on one of the designs from Sino Sword that looks absolutely beautiful, but not sure about the craftsmanship. www.sinosword.com/ProductShow/?p ... jian-sword
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Post by Cole Chang on Jan 6, 2012 22:13:10 GMT
If you have small hands like me, you might nor like the Hanwei Cutting Jian. My local retailer had one in stock and I went to take a look. I could barely wrap my hands around the grip. Most specs talk about the length of the grip but not the circumference. This baby was big!
after looking around I decided on Jin Shi too. Its taken a loooonnnng time, but that's probably because he let mw slip a Xim jian order when he was planning a big order of Han jian. Take a look at his Han Jian. Lots of good reviews and its a sword that's meant for two hands!
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Post by NightRaid on Jan 6, 2012 22:44:39 GMT
I already saw, I loved the look of it. only thing is, will I be able to get the hilt shortened? i'm not a fan of two handed weapons, since I find the extra length of the hilt to be clumsy for me. hand and a half would suit me brilliantly.
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Post by Cole Chang on Jan 7, 2012 0:19:12 GMT
I bet you can. I asked for the grip of my Xin Jian to be longer than normal. Problem is, you'll have to custom order it and it will take a while. Garrett's got a bunch of standard Han's in stock now.
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