Hua Wei 9260TH Shobu ("eBay Forges," Part 2)
Sept 30, 2012 20:52:48 GMT
Post by Kuya on Sept 30, 2012 20:52:48 GMT
Introduction
After seeing so many new people ask and post about eBay sellers, I decided to do a head to head comparison from the three most frequently asked about during my short time here: ST-Swords (AKA ST-Nihonto), another seller that goes by multiple accounts named "Yao" that has his own website named "Hanbon Swords," and this Hua Wei. I am not a rich person, so I decided to keep the price range under $250, which is an expected price for a decent functional starter katana that isn't your plain super cheap beater. This sword's final price with shipping was $228.
Full Disclosure
I'm a rookie when it comes to the sword scene. This review may not agree with the majority of established veteran sword enthusiasts. I don't get free swords sent to me, so my reviews are from a more realistic buyer's viewpoint. I was offered to borrow a Hua Wei to review from Marc Kaden Ridgeway, but it was over $300. I didn't think it would have been fair to review a sword that was 20-25% higher in price, but it was a very generous and kind offer!
Initial Impressions
As I do with every sword I get my hands on... just in case... I held it aloft and... nothing.
The sword came in old-school polystyrene wrapped in layers of yellow packing tape. Seems that it's the standard way of sending swords from the eBay Chinese Forges, as every one of the katanas ordered from them came in such packaging.
First thing that hit me was the saya, which I ordered to be the "wengewood" style from Hua Wei's description. Other vendors use "hualee, rosewood, natural, etc." for the descriptor. Whatever it actually is, it looks pretty nice. Then I noticed that the color scheme was very much on one side of the color wheel in terms of tones and shades. There really wasn't much contrast to the whole thing. It's not a bad aspect, as it blends well and isn't a loud and flamboyant. When I unsheathed the blade, I was greeted by a very well polished mirror finish.
Statistics
Blade Geometry: Shobu Zukuri
Overall Length (without saya): ~101 cm, ~39.75"
Nagasa Length: ~ 71 cm, ~28"
Handle Length: ~27.3 cm, ~10.75"
Blade Material: 9260 Spring Steel
Tsuba: Brass
Fuchi/Kashira: Brass
Menuki: Brass
Blade Width (at Habaki): ~32 mm, ~1.25"
Blade Width (at 5 cm , 2" from tip): ~22 mm, ~0.9"
Blade Thickness (at Habaki): ~8 mm, ~0.31"
Blade Thickness (at 5 cm, 2" from tip): ~ 6 mm, ~0.25"
Weight (without Saya): ~1.1 kg, ~2.4 lbs
Point of Balance: ~15.25 cm, ~6"
The Blade
The blade is of Shobu Zukuri geometry, but of the "more rare" (according to Cheness, at least) needle-tip where the shinogi goes all the way to the point of the blade, as opposed to the more common scalpel-tip which looks like a Shinogi Zukuri without a yokote. I'm very much in love with this style of blade, as it flows better than the more common Shingi Zukuri style. All the lines and curves are in a common direction, and there's no perpendicular yokote line interrupting the graceful flow.
There are no "cosmetic only" features on the blade either. No fake hamon, no cosmetic yokote, no enhanced hada pattern. Well, there is one cosmetic feature if you count the fact that it's mirror polished instead of just a smooth satin finish. But that can be seen of as a functional feature in that (according to what I understand of fellow forum member Jakeonthekob's posts) the finer and shinier polishing steps use a higher level of grit and shrinks the "pores" of the metal even more to help fight against rust and whatnot.
Lots of niku on the blade make it a bit heavier feeling than most other katanas of this length. Thus far, this is the "meatiest" blade I've come across. There are no waves or dips and bumps felt when one runs his or her hand/fingers along the face of the blade while wiping it down or oiling it up. A thing that bothers me is that in cross section pictures of the "shobu" style Hua Wei uses, it makes it look very diamond shaped (like the "shobu section" of Marc Kaden Ridgeway's Kamuri Otoshi made by Hua Wei), but the shinogi-ji plane on this sword is only slightly slanted as is a normal Shinogi styled katana.
There is a defect on the blade, however. It seems that the tempering wasn't done properly at the forge, and some of the blade was cooled differently than the rest. About 1/5 down the blade away from the habaki, there is what looks to be a "hamon" of sorts that goes across the blade. It looks to be identical on both sides. A hypothesis is that when the blade was being quenched, it was either not put in all the way or there was a bit of hesitation or a pause when it was being thrust in. Another hypothesis is that it's a product of the polishing method used on the blade. Either way, it seemed that the blade would still be safe to cut with as any other sword of its type/forging. It's a pity, because other than that big glaring flaw, the blade is shaped and polished quite well and evenly.
The habaki has big gaps around the ji area of the blade, which I've come to expect as normal for this price range. The only two katana I've had/seen in person with well-fit habaki around the blades are from Dynasty Forge and Munetoshi.
The Handle
Brown (that's kinda orange-ish) ito over black samegawa panels. It has a taper and slight curve as well. The fuchi/kashira, and menuki are your standard mass-market Artsfeng katana fittings. They're brass with a wind/cloud dragon theme (yay... dragons...). The ito is alternately crisscrossed, but is also not as tight as it could be. The end knots are a bit neater than the ones on the Hanbon, but the ito isn't flush with the kashira and actually wraps over part of its ha and mune sides. The samegawa panels aren't bad, and the bumps look a little bit bigger than the ones on the other two, but that may be because they weren't sanded down as flatly.
The diameter and circumference of the tsuka is on the large side. It's not as enormous as a Cheness SGC, but it's bigger than the handle on a Dynasty Forge Musha, Kris Cutlery 26/29, and Budo. The taper and slight curve do help it out in regards to positioning in the hands and aesthetics. It really isn't "too big" for me or what I would think is the average sized male hand, but for those with smaller hands, it may be an issue. Personally, I like the size and feel of it.
As per what I've found to be the normal and proper way to put them in, the mekugi pins were not ground down to be flush with the rest of the core and samegawa.
Overall, the tsuka seems to be what's par for this eBay Forge "genre" of katana, but compared to a slightly more expensive sword, the overall work put into it doesn't hold up. The samegawa on the Chenees SGC I have is worse and the core came cracked, but the ito wrap is still very very tight after a lot of use, and it's also flush with the fuchi and kashira. And the Dynasty Forge Musha Class has better samegawa, tighter wrap, neater knots, and is also flush with the end fittings. But both of those swords are a $50-75 step up in the price scale, so it's not fair to compare them.
The Guard
Your standard Artsfeng brass tsuba. It's the one with the twin dragons in swirly clouds. I chose this over the original "tanto" tsuba the sword came with, because the tanto tsuba just didn't look right on such big meaty blade. As with the phoenix alloy tsuba on the Hanbon Yao Katana, I don't see what the issue is with Artsfeng tsubas. Even many Ronin Katana ELITES have Artsfeng koshirae on them. If a person thinks they're good for a highly praised $800 line of sword, then that person should also think they're good enough (if not more than good enough) for anything cheaper (especially ones in the sub-$500 range), and shouldn't be complained about.
The Scabbard
I love the saya. The "natural wood" style is very pleasing to the eye, and the darkness of the stain (Or is it just how the wood is naturally colored?) gives it a very earthy feel. Hua Wei charges extra for this saya, because it also comes with black lacquered bull horn fittings (koiguchi, kurikata, and kojiri) instead of just having the saya wood painted over on their cheaper "standard" saya. This saya is thicker and heavier than the saya of the other two swords that were purchased as part of the comparison, and when you knock on it with your knuckles, the sound is more solid and deep. It has a tight fit, but not too tight. It won't fall out of the saya when held upside down, and there is only the faintest bit of rattle when held at the kurikata and shaken vigorously.
The sageo used, however, is made from ito wrap material instead of actual sageo stuff. Since I don't use sageos anyway, I don't mind this, as it allows for the coloring, luster, and texture of the sageo to match with that of the ito in a more uniform fashion.
Handling Characteristics
It's more blade heavy than the other two eBay swords in this comparison, but it's not as unwieldy as my Cheness SGC. Directional changes aren't as easy and fluid as with other katanas I've used. On the flip side, if you like the more substantial "blade present" feel, it would most likely appeal to you. It's not as heavy and "like a crowbar" as a Cheness SGC, however, so using it during an extended cutting session shouldn't wear anyone out, but the extra bit of heft will make it a different experience.
Test Cutting
All swords in the comparison were put up against the same type of targets, for an as close as possible performance comparison as I could manage.
First target was a 2-liter soda bottle. It cut through easily, but sent the bottle halves flying.
Second target was a single roll 36" x 60" beach mat rolled along the 60" length to make the roll 36" tall and as thick as possible. No problems cutting through here, but the top/cut-off portion of the sword landed considerably further away from the stand/post.
Third target was a double roll of 36" x 60" beach mats rolled the same direction for thickness as the single roll beach mat. Made the first two cuts easily and with no drama, but once I got to the point where I wanted to "save some mat" for more cuts, I wasn't able to do any "pickle slicing" at all."
Final target was the Sunday New York Times w/ Advertisements soaked and rolled up. There was a significant amount of "shock" felt, even more-so than I feel on Kris Cutlery swords. The first cut failed, as I didn't swing it hard enough. It was the normal amount of force I used on previous swords and my regular beaters (KC 29-II, Cheness SGC), though. After adjusting for more power, there were no other failed cuts.
Conclusions
With Hua Wei, you don't get as much "flash for your buck." This sword would have cost much more if it had the "catchphrase goodies" that other swords come with. The quality of materials don't seem any better, but the blade's construction felt a bit higher end (save for the blemish). The shinogi and mune lines/ridges are well-defined but they aren't so sharp and machined looking, and the overall polish (again, save for the defective weird line thing) looks deeper and better than any other I've seen under $300.
Pros
+ Good level of polish.
+ Great saya.
+ Curved tsuka.
+ Ballanced well (weightier, but not overly done).
Cons
- Blade came either cosmetically blemished or not evenly tempered.
- Sloppy ito wrapping at the end.
- Customer service is very cold.
The Bottom Line
The first and biggest con listed above was gathered from fellow SBG members who I feel know more about swords and bladesmithing than I do currently. Regardless of what it is, it shouldn't have slipped through quality control.
You get what you pay for. While this katana excelled over others in this price point in certain areas, it came at a trade-off in quality in other areas. The only reason I would buy from Hua Wei again, is because they are able to do certain things with their blades that other eBay forges haven't caught up with yet (good bo-hi). This company seems to not care so much about their customers as the other two currently compared with. It's like they are under the (correct) impression of, "We know we're good, and that other people are going to buy our swords anyway, no need to gain customer loyalty."
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
Comparison Conclusion
With these "eBay Forges," you get what you pay for. They don't seem to be as bad as others make them out to be, but if you aren't willing to spend a lot of money, you can't really expect perfection and excellence in the katana scene. Each forge/brand had their ups and downs, excelling in certain things and failing in others. I've come to the following conclusions regarding these three forges compared to each other.
If you want more flash for your buck, I would go with Hanbon Swords for katana that are aesthetically pleasing and still work well in cutting. They have a lot of theme and tsuba choices, and they offer the catchphrase goodies (Differentially Hardened, Folded Steel, etc.) for less. For . Their customer relations are also on another level compared to the other two forges.
If you want more quality in construction, and are willing to pay for it, go with Hua Wei. They are (currently) the only of the three that can do proper termination on bo-hi, and with the right communication, they can make you a quality custom blade if you want something different than what they have in stock.
If you want something unique and different, I would go with ST-Swords. They have all kinds of different blade styles available without having to do a custom order. They also have some fittings that aren't available with the other two forges (black habaki, handachi/hondachi style, white frosted/webbed/silver-polished koshirai, etc.) and if you browse their "higher end" they have a LOT more saya choices, and some of them are really nice looking. My luck with their saya fit was abysmal, though. ST-Swords also had very good customer service, but unfortunately the mistakes weighed them down. To me, their blade quality is as good as Hua Wei's (if not a tiny bit better, but their bo-hi can't touch Hua Wei's), but the fit and finish on everything else wasn't quite up to par.
When taking into account what I have observed the community and new people inquiring about the eBay forges want, the overall winner in this comparison is Hua Wei. They're not as good looking, and they cost more, but they seem to be put together better and people in this price range and new to the scene want something to cut with. However, out of the three swords, I'm only keeping the one from Hanbon Swords. That sounds like a win to me too.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3