TFW Chinese Butterfly Swords review
Oct 9, 2012 18:13:26 GMT
Post by Nox on Oct 9, 2012 18:13:26 GMT
Traditional Filipino Weapons (Chinese Butterfly Swords)
Hello everyone, this will be my first review so forgive any mistakes.
I thought I would start with the most recent purchase of mine.
Have you ever bought something for someone else? maybe as a gift and when you finally receive it and put your hands on it you think ( Man, I should have got one for myself!) well this is how I felt about the Chinese Butterfly swords from Traditional Filipino weapons. A few weeks ago my friend, my girlfriend and I (who are all backyard cutters and practice chinese martial arts) decided we should each get a new sword for the fall season to train with. My friend bought the cold steel chinese warsword (dadao) which...well didn't end so well, the blade came blunt and with a cardboard sheath :/ (but that's another story) anyways after that I began to look online for a good pair of butterfly swords , at first I was going to buy the cold steel butterfly swords, but I decided not to after the whole dadao thing. After a few searches online I came across traditional filipino weapons, my girlfriend really liked the look of their Butterfly swords and I have to say I did also, so I ordered them for her. It seemed like maybe a day or two after I ordered the swords from their site they arrived, I was really surprised how fast the shipping was.
Historical overview
Butterfly swords (also called Baat Jaam Do, in Wing chun) are pretty well known in chinese martial arts, most famously Wing chun and Shaolin. Some other martial arts styles also use them. They are usually wielded in pairs, and used as bladed extension of hand to hand techniques.
There are many different types and styles of Butterfly swords, some have wider and longer blades than others, some have different handle placements and such, though the styles usually change depending on the kung fu style. This particular pair seems to be the most practical I have encountered, and I could imagine an ancient Shaolin monk, or kung fu teacher weilding them. One other thing to note is that these blades are razor sharp from guard to tip, traditional butterfly swords are said to only be sharp from the middle of the blade to the tip, and generally had a more round and wide tip for slashing and chopping rather than thrust and stabbing. The TFW butterfly swords are made with a thinner tip profile better for stabbing.
Full Disclosure
I purchased these at full price, and is my first purchase from this particular company and this style of weapon.
Initial Impressions
As I mentioned above shipping was fast, very fast. The pair of swords came pretty well packaged, the blades were oiled and had a plastic wrap covering them. When I first took them out I noticed they had a bit of heft to them, which was a surprise to me only having handled the wushu practice butterfly swords, these felt very different and very solid.
After I took a moment to adjust to the weight and balance I started doing some free style swings and slashes with them, I have to say these are some of the most versatile swords I have ever held, the balance between offensive and defensive movements is just right and I can see these swords being useful against a variety of other swords and weapons.
Stats
Blade Length: 16"
Grip Length: 4.5"
Overall Length: 21"
Guard Width: 5.5"
POB : 3" from the guard
Weight: about 1.5 lbs each
The Blade
The blades are 16 inches long and a quarter inch thick at the base. Two light fullers are ground into the front sides of each blade giving an otherwise plain blade a bit of style. Polished to an almost near mirror finish, with very sharp edges, almost as sharp as my hirazukuri katana with a similar blade profile. unlike many other swords of this style again such as the cold steel version, these taper off to the tip instead of staying the same width throughout the blade.
Blade material (taken from the traditional filipino weapons site)
5160/D2 blended steel, nitrate treated and tempered to 58~60 on the Rockwellhardness scale
As some of you might have guessed the blades are pretty ridged and have no flexiblilty due to the thickness and the blades being on the short sword side of 16 inches.
The Handle
I really like the way theses handles feel, though they are flat on one side, they are still decently comfortable and help with edge alignment (well for me anyways) The grips are carved Kamagong, they feel pretty smooth and have a nice finish and dark look to them.
The Guard
The guard is one of my favorite parts on these, and I have to say it is a plus that they are not brass, which is one of the reasons I favored these over the cold steel butterfly swords. The guards are made of steel which gives the swords a nice silver mirror finish look that goes well with the blade and the wood grips, a lot of the weight is from the guards and they would make excellent knuckle dusters if used for punching techniques. They are also pretty wide and protect a good portion of the hand. On the top sides of the blades the guard is raised similar to a sai to trap other weapons, and unlike most of the other butterfly swords I have encountered I think these could actually do it without breaking or bending the guard in anyway.
The Scabbard
The scabbard is made of wood with a thin layer of black leather glued over. The scabbard on their site seems to be made entirely of a thicker leather without a wood core, which I would have prefered. The swords do fit together really nice and snug in it, and I can easily turn it upside down without the blades falling out, so that is a plus. On the down side the wood used seems a bit light, just a tad heavier than cardboard. I would not recommend squeezing it too hard with your hands or putting a lot of preasure on it.
Handling Characteristics
At first these seemed a bit heavier than I had imagined butterfly swords to be, but after an hour or so they felt pretty good and light weight, though since most of the weight is in the guard it took some getting used to since I normally use swords with a point of balance that is more towards the tip. That being said they are not too light not to heavy, they feel pretty good and balanced with one in each hand. I actually injured my left wrist at work recently and any other sword was pretty painful to hold in that hand, however these felt fine due to the balance and the weight distribution.
Test Cutting
So far only my girlfriend has cut some water bottles with these, and from what I seen, with ease. They go through bottles like butter. I hope to get some cutting in later and take a few pics of the cuts, possibly a video if I can find power cord to my camera.
Conclusion
Well what else can I say, I really like these swords, and am pretty happy with how they feel and how they are built , shame they are not mine though, but she loves them just as much or more than I do, so it's all good. I am considering trying a few other swords from TFW, mainly their take on Chinese jian.
Pros
- Very solid
- Simple design that is very practical
- versatile and durable
- well made carved grip
-no brass, screws, or cheaply made grips
-best looking and built swords of this type around the $300 range
Cons
- scabbard seems a little fragile
- flat side of the handles may be uncomfortable for some.
The Bottom Line
These are a great pair of butterfly swords. Tough, durable, razor sharp, and if you want to get into using two swords at once I think these are a good place to start. I would also have to say that I reccomend these to any swordsman, not only those of you who practice kung fu or chinese martial arts and such, I think they would be just as weildable by someone who does not practice chinese martial arts.
Hello everyone, this will be my first review so forgive any mistakes.
I thought I would start with the most recent purchase of mine.
Have you ever bought something for someone else? maybe as a gift and when you finally receive it and put your hands on it you think ( Man, I should have got one for myself!) well this is how I felt about the Chinese Butterfly swords from Traditional Filipino weapons. A few weeks ago my friend, my girlfriend and I (who are all backyard cutters and practice chinese martial arts) decided we should each get a new sword for the fall season to train with. My friend bought the cold steel chinese warsword (dadao) which...well didn't end so well, the blade came blunt and with a cardboard sheath :/ (but that's another story) anyways after that I began to look online for a good pair of butterfly swords , at first I was going to buy the cold steel butterfly swords, but I decided not to after the whole dadao thing. After a few searches online I came across traditional filipino weapons, my girlfriend really liked the look of their Butterfly swords and I have to say I did also, so I ordered them for her. It seemed like maybe a day or two after I ordered the swords from their site they arrived, I was really surprised how fast the shipping was.
Historical overview
Butterfly swords (also called Baat Jaam Do, in Wing chun) are pretty well known in chinese martial arts, most famously Wing chun and Shaolin. Some other martial arts styles also use them. They are usually wielded in pairs, and used as bladed extension of hand to hand techniques.
There are many different types and styles of Butterfly swords, some have wider and longer blades than others, some have different handle placements and such, though the styles usually change depending on the kung fu style. This particular pair seems to be the most practical I have encountered, and I could imagine an ancient Shaolin monk, or kung fu teacher weilding them. One other thing to note is that these blades are razor sharp from guard to tip, traditional butterfly swords are said to only be sharp from the middle of the blade to the tip, and generally had a more round and wide tip for slashing and chopping rather than thrust and stabbing. The TFW butterfly swords are made with a thinner tip profile better for stabbing.
Full Disclosure
I purchased these at full price, and is my first purchase from this particular company and this style of weapon.
Initial Impressions
As I mentioned above shipping was fast, very fast. The pair of swords came pretty well packaged, the blades were oiled and had a plastic wrap covering them. When I first took them out I noticed they had a bit of heft to them, which was a surprise to me only having handled the wushu practice butterfly swords, these felt very different and very solid.
After I took a moment to adjust to the weight and balance I started doing some free style swings and slashes with them, I have to say these are some of the most versatile swords I have ever held, the balance between offensive and defensive movements is just right and I can see these swords being useful against a variety of other swords and weapons.
Stats
Blade Length: 16"
Grip Length: 4.5"
Overall Length: 21"
Guard Width: 5.5"
POB : 3" from the guard
Weight: about 1.5 lbs each
The Blade
The blades are 16 inches long and a quarter inch thick at the base. Two light fullers are ground into the front sides of each blade giving an otherwise plain blade a bit of style. Polished to an almost near mirror finish, with very sharp edges, almost as sharp as my hirazukuri katana with a similar blade profile. unlike many other swords of this style again such as the cold steel version, these taper off to the tip instead of staying the same width throughout the blade.
Blade material (taken from the traditional filipino weapons site)
5160/D2 blended steel, nitrate treated and tempered to 58~60 on the Rockwellhardness scale
As some of you might have guessed the blades are pretty ridged and have no flexiblilty due to the thickness and the blades being on the short sword side of 16 inches.
The Handle
I really like the way theses handles feel, though they are flat on one side, they are still decently comfortable and help with edge alignment (well for me anyways) The grips are carved Kamagong, they feel pretty smooth and have a nice finish and dark look to them.
The Guard
The guard is one of my favorite parts on these, and I have to say it is a plus that they are not brass, which is one of the reasons I favored these over the cold steel butterfly swords. The guards are made of steel which gives the swords a nice silver mirror finish look that goes well with the blade and the wood grips, a lot of the weight is from the guards and they would make excellent knuckle dusters if used for punching techniques. They are also pretty wide and protect a good portion of the hand. On the top sides of the blades the guard is raised similar to a sai to trap other weapons, and unlike most of the other butterfly swords I have encountered I think these could actually do it without breaking or bending the guard in anyway.
The Scabbard
The scabbard is made of wood with a thin layer of black leather glued over. The scabbard on their site seems to be made entirely of a thicker leather without a wood core, which I would have prefered. The swords do fit together really nice and snug in it, and I can easily turn it upside down without the blades falling out, so that is a plus. On the down side the wood used seems a bit light, just a tad heavier than cardboard. I would not recommend squeezing it too hard with your hands or putting a lot of preasure on it.
Handling Characteristics
At first these seemed a bit heavier than I had imagined butterfly swords to be, but after an hour or so they felt pretty good and light weight, though since most of the weight is in the guard it took some getting used to since I normally use swords with a point of balance that is more towards the tip. That being said they are not too light not to heavy, they feel pretty good and balanced with one in each hand. I actually injured my left wrist at work recently and any other sword was pretty painful to hold in that hand, however these felt fine due to the balance and the weight distribution.
Test Cutting
So far only my girlfriend has cut some water bottles with these, and from what I seen, with ease. They go through bottles like butter. I hope to get some cutting in later and take a few pics of the cuts, possibly a video if I can find power cord to my camera.
Conclusion
Well what else can I say, I really like these swords, and am pretty happy with how they feel and how they are built , shame they are not mine though, but she loves them just as much or more than I do, so it's all good. I am considering trying a few other swords from TFW, mainly their take on Chinese jian.
Pros
- Very solid
- Simple design that is very practical
- versatile and durable
- well made carved grip
-no brass, screws, or cheaply made grips
-best looking and built swords of this type around the $300 range
Cons
- scabbard seems a little fragile
- flat side of the handles may be uncomfortable for some.
The Bottom Line
These are a great pair of butterfly swords. Tough, durable, razor sharp, and if you want to get into using two swords at once I think these are a good place to start. I would also have to say that I reccomend these to any swordsman, not only those of you who practice kung fu or chinese martial arts and such, I think they would be just as weildable by someone who does not practice chinese martial arts.