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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 2:58:51 GMT
Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, and need some advice. I've been looking for a fully functional, 'battle ready' tactical wakizashi. From what I've seen on the forum and elsewhere, it seems as though my best option would be the CAS Hanwei Tactical Wakizashi. However, I can't seem to find it anywhere! Kult of Athena is sold out, trueswords and swordnarmory don't seem to have them in stock. I know there's also the munetoshi tac-wak, but from what I've read it's a lower quality copycat of the hanwei. Are there any other options, or does anyone know of a place that has the hanwei in stock for under $200? Any advice would be appreciated!!
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 21, 2012 3:04:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 8:27:58 GMT
I'm also new to this forum. It's funny how we're both interested in the same wakizashi. I just purchased it from SwordCompany.com for approximately $100 + $30 shipping to Canada - 4% (coupon code = major4) Here's the direct link: store.swordcompany.com/stacwak.htmlIt doesn't say it's Hanwei, but both the picture and specs match the Hanwei one. This is the cheapest I could find and also in stock. Here are some other options: Munetoshi Tactical Wakizashi - I also looked at this one. It's $90 + shipping on SwordnArmory.com, but it's made out of 1060. I think SwordnArmory sells the same one for $80 on eBay. www.swordnarmory.com/Fully-Funct ... h-4811.htm I think it's available in bo-hi & no-hi version Cobra Steel Wakizashi - Available at Kult of Athena for $59 + shipping. I personally don't like the look of it. It's 1085. www.kultofathena.com/product.asp ... +Wakizashi Munetoshi Bonsai - I absolutely love it. It's T10 but I think it's around $135 + shipping on SwordnArmory.com. I didn't get it because some review said tsuka is loose or something and requires fixing. I'm a noob and I don't want to go thru the trouble of taking it apart, not yet anyway. I also want something practical that I can rely on when needed, such as during zombie apocalypse (j/k but for self-defense at home & camping). I'm just gonna end up getting some Iaito daisho for display. I think Bonsai is available in 2 colours. www.swordnarmory.com/Munetoshi-B ... -239rd.htm Hopefully this helps...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2012 4:56:35 GMT
Never mind, my order was canceled because it's out of stock.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2012 19:42:01 GMT
There are other styles available on the 'Web. I've seen them on Google Images. Would you have accepted a substitute?
--Lee
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Post by chrisperoni on Apr 27, 2012 19:53:18 GMT
just an fyi- SwordCompany (SC) is the International counterpart to TrueSwords (TS). If you see something on TS and they won't ship to you, check SC. If SC doesn't have on their website email them the TS item# and they'll add it (if it's in stock lol)
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Post by Kumdoalan on Apr 27, 2012 19:57:21 GMT
I just got to ask...
"why?"
Why do you want one of them things? What is the attraction? What is the image of them you have they draws you to them?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2012 22:50:52 GMT
Well, I know for a fact, something similar can be issued to elite Special Forces for counterinsurgent killing of 'bad guys' quietly. Think of a machine made, black blade tanto with the usual shape, but 20-25" long. I saw one on sale in an army surplus store in Tucson, AZ. They wanted about US $100.00 for it. I knew a Special Forces veteran who was trained to use a sword effectively. Guys like him might be attracted to the retail items in the market place.
For myself, I have a replica tanto for self protection in my apartment. This is legal in the state of California, just as a carving knife is legal in the kitchen. Taking one outside while it's concealed under a jacket or in any kind of bag is a "concealed weapon", by the law. I would own a sword the same way, cheap as it is, but only to defend myself after it was sharpened. And I was trained to use one with kenjitsu.
--Lee
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 8:59:06 GMT
Like the 1060 Munetoshi one I mentioned? I don't know, it's almost the same price as the Hanwei but Hanwei's seems to be a bit better in quality.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 17:36:15 GMT
Yes, I agree, price can be a show-stopping letdown for me. It depends on what you want to do with the sword? 1060 & 1090 katanas are not recommended for heavy cutting. Spring or tool steel is. A lot more money for the second type.
I going the self-protection route, so an intruder's body with muscle and bone to contend with doesn't necessarily need a tough blade---especially for an abdomen slice. A short, 17" well-sharpened stainless steel wakizashi for room interiors and a long, 11" tanto for hallway fights would be enough for me, if it came to that. If the intruder is more heavily armed than that, as with a gun, then a sword is a really serious tactical disadvantage!
My Sensei wants to only deal in legal, 100+ yrs old museum pieces. That makes them expensive and less valuable for self-defense, unless you can find something exceptional? I've never heard of someone using a museum quality sword as a defensive weapon.
--Lee
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 20:10:57 GMT
I've always been told stainless steel is too brittle for sword length use, what makes you recommend stainless steel?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 20:47:47 GMT
I would only use it in shorter lengths like a tanto or a short wakizashi on soft targets, if I use it at all. Like a home-invading intruder. Longer lengths found in katana, for instance, may cause breaking the blade from hard,brittle steel. Here's the referencwe I'm looking at: www.sword-manufacturers-guide.co ... teels.html In one video, the sword salesman cuts his arm with the point of his sword by whacking it hard enough against a steel workbench. --Lee
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 23:58:53 GMT
My point was, that why should you even risk the setbacks of having a longish stainless steel blade at all? All reputable manufacturers are doing decent and proven 5160, 9260, T10, 1090/1060/1050 etc. blades, I haven't seen but one custom swordsmith offer sharpened stainless steel shinken, and they were much more expensive (and I still wouldn't trust them without extensive testing and reviews).
By all means do venture into pressed United Cutlery SS swords if you please, and I'd love to see some research on how horrid they actually are, but I would definitely not go about recommending or talking in positive tone about them without actual research, lest some poor newbie actually believe forum discussion without evidence and just get one and find it propel into someone's eye.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2012 15:30:22 GMT
Neither would I. I only consider stainless steel in, say, a wakizashi, because it's commonly available and therefore inexpensive. I'm in near-poverty, as defined by the American Gov't. Another point is that my only intended use will be for home and personal defense against intruders, if need be. I think even a 1065 steel blade, as long as it was as sharp as reasonably possible, would make quick work of a robber's body because the only parts of the body of serious consequence easily available to the defender as a threat are the arms and forearm bones. A katana is unweildy inside a house by it's long length, right? Probably why the wakizashi was invented? My point is: A razor sharp, long tanto or short wakizashi should be enough against and intruder. And only an intruder. I don't go looking for trouble. www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... less-steel Yes, the steel in question is inexpensive, but my original argument still stands. This steel is said to be easy to sharpen. My tanto went through a mechanical sharpener 5-6 times at a hardware store and then the salesman gave me my money back. The blade of my dagger was only slightly affected. A tanto made of even this stuff should carve a slice into an aggressive attacker, should he be that stupid to accost me and I---or you--- know how to use a tanto effectively, as well. I'm confident I have hard, cheap replicas probably made of some high-chrome, or otherwise heat-treated steel that cost very little. But I sharpened them to cut paper easily and if I hit an attacker with one of the bigger pieces, he'll probably stop attacking. I also intent to take Tanjitsu classes in due course. --Lee
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2012 19:46:00 GMT
Wakizashi is still stretching it as far as durability and length go, even your first source stated that it's unwise to get in longer lengths than 12". Say your "attacker" has a lead pipe, if he hits you near the tsuba, the blade is more likely to snap, ouch too bad you didn't get an actual sword. As for your affordability argument, I understand if you're going to actually forge/mill your own swords, it might be a good practice. If you're going retail though like 99,99% of people do, it shouldn't even be taken into consideration. I'm not going to repeat myself for the third time and neither do I have any intentions to take sharp toys at all these people who spontaneously kick down my doors and jump in from windows. If I did though, I wouldn't ever consider stainless steel, which is why I find your stance absurd.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2012 21:30:04 GMT
I'm short on time on this computer. I agree with you, completely. Cost is my main concern. If you take home more than US $12,250/yr., then you're better of than I am. And, I live in San Francisco. I have to find bottles and cans to make ends meet. If I could afford a better weapon, I would.
I'll help prove your point: Say he's got a 2X4 or 1X3, about 2 feet long. Wood is easier to find than steel or lead and is easier to wield. Okay, I see you point. I'm going to learn Tangjitsu and then Kenjitsu in a way I can't easily describe. I can give you an opinion: I've talked to Special Forces veterans who befrended me and taught me some mental exercises involving both visualization and meditation. In that way, I can do as I say as I will do. It's the easiest way to put it in the English language.
I should be taught the basics of quick-kill and weapons disarming techniques in the future. Other than that, I can't tell you what I experience and feel. You may or may not believe; it's up to you.
--Lee
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2012 21:52:27 GMT
I apologize my purposefully immature tone, I got slightly frustrated. I get your point, I'm on about $400 a month too, being an university student and stuff. I've only had about an year of Escrima with my JKD training, and I have very limited understanding of bladed weapons and combat so I shouldn't lecture people.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2012 23:51:08 GMT
Sure, it's okay. No big thing. I deal with crazy losers where I live. They test my patience regularly. I don't expect to be attacked and if I am, I'll take the fight to him. I have 2 tantos to work with.
--Lee
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2012 16:24:32 GMT
You might want to consider other types of weapons if budget is an issue. Some of them could be more cost effective. I'm no self-defense expert, but I'm thinking a pepper spray and a machete combo.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2012 18:19:54 GMT
Good, you have a point for outside-my-apartment defense confrontation(s). For that what I have now, just as a 22"--24" wakizashi or a larger katana might be better in terms of stand-off reach. The company I've bought from in the past offers a retail katana for US $25--40, depending on the seller. I can get a 17-18" short wakizashi for $14.99 and a 22=23" goes for $2 more. Also, many machetes aren't designed to stab, right? Stabbing would be as good as cutting of an arm if the wound was deep enough. Each of these is a decorative replica and would require thorough sharpening.
Mace inside an apartment would require me to have and wear a gas mask. It would work, but the mask would limit my vision to some extent. Moreover, a katana in a hallway (there are 3 going to the front door of my building) would be potentially unweildy without enough room to swing the blade in an effective arc.
Nevertheless, your idea about the mace outdoors is better now that I think about it. The katana approach would also be lengthy enough to negate the advantage of a blunt club. Anyone who can use a sword proficiently; even a standoff as a threat to warn someone visually, would have some advantage, IMO.
--Lee
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