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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 25, 2012 21:54:00 GMT
Kumdoalan(is it okay if I just call you Alan?) The Musashi iaito is adequate for light duty practice. It is going to wear out faster than a higher price iaito, so it will need replacing faster. The balance and weight will likely also be off. I would be careful of re-sheathing as well. Not about being cut, but the saya on the super-low price Musashi offerings is a bit flimsy. Fit and finish are a little rough, but this is a beginner tool to be used, not really a status symbol that the cutting sword also acts as. So, I'd say the Musashi is good for a temporary beginners tool.
If you can afford it, I'd advocate that you get either a Cheness or Hanwei iaito. They run about $150 to $200, but will last a great deal longer and have a much better finish. Hope this helps.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 26, 2012 0:16:30 GMT
I'm ready to spend $150 got a link?
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 26, 2012 0:20:38 GMT
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 26, 2012 0:23:11 GMT
I never talk about my teachers...
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 26, 2012 0:28:37 GMT
That looks great!!!!
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 26, 2012 0:30:09 GMT
Sweet.
Another option is a company called Zhisword. They are not great, but they are fairly inexpensive and the quality is at least on par with the price.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 26, 2012 0:35:56 GMT
I'm interested. got a link?
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Post by SlayerofDarkness on Apr 26, 2012 0:44:31 GMT
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Sam H
Member
Posts: 1,099
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Post by Sam H on Apr 26, 2012 0:49:35 GMT
I never asked you to talk about your teachers. I'm just thinking that for one who has been studying championship level Kumdo for 6 yrs would be the following:
1. a bit more knowledgeable about swords specific for his use than what you are
and
2. be more apt to consult and trust his teacher(s) regarding swords he should purchase for use in his specific art considering Kumdo stylists DO prefer a different geometry in their swords than Iaido or Kenjutsu stylists.
I just find it fishy that for one who is in a championship level course of study in martial arts you display an amazing lack of knowledge about something that is so integral to your art. I also find it rather disturbing that you would rather consult a forum full of strangers than consult your teacher(s).
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 26, 2012 1:20:14 GMT
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 26, 2012 1:24:06 GMT
Actually I'm posting on a kendle fire. and typing with a fat finger sucks
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 26, 2012 1:30:16 GMT
Here's another link to an affiliate of Zhiswords. More Iaito to consider. www.buyiaito.com/5-iaitoAnd a short review on one of the Iaito from them. forum.sword-buyers-guide.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5226Just to say, I've never owned anything from Zhisword other than a sword bag, so I cannot attest to their quality next to the Hanwei. There is, however, many more options to choose from there.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 27, 2012 17:40:52 GMT
It helps a great deal... I just walked in the door from being on the road working for the last week, and Im finally getting a chance to sit down at my own computer and catch up on the latest forum posts...
I am going to really study what Hanwei sells in this area to see if I can find one that I think will work for me..
Thanks!
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 27, 2012 17:42:25 GMT
This is the one that i think Im going to pull the trigger on!
I have to talk about this with a few of my friends, but the sword seems to be what I am looking for right now, and seems built to last...
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 27, 2012 18:04:04 GMT
Kumdo is not really a steel sword art.. Kumdo is the Korean form of Kendo and in Kendo we never once dealt with steel swords.
There are connected sword arts to both Kendo and Kumdo that I got to see some of that were dealing with drawing a wooden sword and doing cuts in the empty air...
But I never once in my 3 years in real kendo or 7 or 8 in Kumdo had a sword dropped in front of me and told to "Switch to steel"
In Kendo and Kumdo we only learn how to strike in armor a few targets in a forceful manner to score a point. No talk at all of cutting mats with a sword.
The topic never came up.
I know that may seem hard to understand, but its the truth...
It was only due to my best friend of mine reaching the rank in Kumdo of "Teacher" (whatever that word is in Korean?) that he started a new class for doing real cutting. So it was only really at the start of this April that i suddenly became aware that none of us knew squat what was out there in the market and how to order a sword on-line.
I at first turned to YouTube for answers, as I tend to do when learning new stuff.
Off of Youtube I found a guy named Kevin who has up a few videos about how to clean a sword. He seemed to know what he was talking about so i sent him a message and this site of SBG came up and thats why I came here to learn and ask advice.
In my own private life I have forged a few Katana. I could post a photo of my swords...LOL (another topic?)...mostly I had issues with the quench (its a long story) but that was years ago before I was even first interested in Kendo.
So I own a Whisper 3-burner gas forge, and a small power hammer, and in my backyard woods there is a collection of blades that i tossed out the window in anger when they failed in the quench.
So in some ways, I know about as much about steel as any guy on the forum.
But when it comes to sitting down at a computer and doing searches for a Japanese sword made in China?.....Im very ignorant.
I dont know the names of the popular sword makers.
Idont know the web-address of a good sword seller.
I dont have much experience in ordering things off of eBay.
I also do not claim to be an expert at cutting with a sword, and so as I go along you will see other topics started by myself asking how you people do things compared to how Im taught... I love to compare notes.
I know a LOT about Kumdo....less about Kendo... I know a few things about working hot steel into a sword....and not much at all about swords on the internet.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 27, 2012 18:11:52 GMT
I talk "to" a lot of people in real life
I talk "about" very few people on the computer.
So you should never assume that just because you did not real a post about it, that it never happened.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 27, 2012 18:21:30 GMT
I just sent an email to the sword dealer i got my nice T-10 from and asked about getting a Hanwei Iaito?
I wanted to try to stick with that same seller as he did a great job and i wanted to give him my business because of it.
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Post by Krelian on Apr 27, 2012 20:23:28 GMT
I think one of the things that probably caused a bit of confusion is that it's often hard for the uninitiated (read: most of us here on SBG) to know what Korean sword art a person is studying or referring to. There is Kumdo which is very similar to Japanese Kendo and then there is another named (I believe) Haidong Gumdo/Kumdo which is more like Japanese Iai or Kenjutsu but often with a hira-zukuri style blade instead of the more common shinogi-zukuri. I think some members may have interpreted the art you study to be the latter.
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 27, 2012 20:33:13 GMT
I have bumped into that stuff only in YouTube videos... I have no information about it. I know no people who have spoken about it.
There are tons of sword arts out there my guess, and new ones start up all the time Im sure.
I can only speak about the things I have been taught and seen in person, and so far I can say that the kendo and Kumdo I have learned are centered around the use of a split bamboo sword on targets while in armor.
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Post by kasim18 on Apr 27, 2012 21:04:05 GMT
if its for gumdo/kumdo, wouldn't this make more sense? not sure if you want a specifically Japanese sword or if the korean sword might be better www.swordsoftheeast.com/munetosh ... sword.aspx
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