CASHanwei Dao

I'm not to sure which one you're talking about Kuya as their are many daos that match your description. There are two daos that follow your description that I can think of- the luiyedao and the yanmaodao. Try looking at Linda Heenan's website, she has a very thorough information on almost each dao. here is the link www.chinese-swords-guide.com/chinese-swords.html

According to the GRTC article, the luiyedao and yanmaodao are classified by the curvature of the blade. I don't think it has much to do with the handle or the fittings it came with because they were always many different varieties. Both blades look "katana-ish" but were used in very different times in Chinese history.

The Beile dao matches the description of a yanmaodao. Too bad that Hanwei video did not show us closeups of the blade after that demonstration. If Mr. Rodell sells the Beile dao on his company website, then I assume it's a pretty good blade!

Well I think it's wrong to assume that the "basic" dao was the luiyedao or yanmaodao. Those swords were used mostly by the Imperial Army and for officers. The martial artist however used a lot of different daos, including the popular nuiweidao or the ox-tail dao (sometimes called a broadsword).

Dao can mean simply knife but can be translated as saber. The one that Mr. Rodell made design plans for was the luiyedao, the willow leaf saber.

The most common or popular dao are the liuyedao (willow leaf sabre), this was used by the Chinese military for a very long period in their history, it's a classical military weapon, and the niuweidao (oxtail saber), this is the "kung fu sword" you see martial artists using in their forms, it's a civilian weapon and is more point heavy than the willowleaf.

Hi Blackthorn, congratulations again on your sword. Now that is one hell of a dao and is a perfect example of a luiyedao! Make sure to write us a review so we can all drool at its beautiful detail

When I handled the Practical Gongfu, I was very disappointed with its scabbard because it pretty much defeated its own purpose by having a giant slot like that. Isn't the purpose of a scabbard to protect your blade and to safely carry it around? It may look cool to draw but again its form over function.

Scott Rodell has REALLY tough standards for swords, that's why I trust him designing a dao. Though I guess your right, that I'm pretty hung up 'bout it all and trust me, I HAVE been waiting forever! I think there is a lot of potential in the CMA market though. I wouldn't use vaporware as an example because it can also imply that a release date was announced...I would say the sword is in development hell just like Indiana Jones 4 hahahaha! :ugeek:

Where did you get yours and how much for it? So the blade doesn't even bend when you apply pressure to the tip on the ground? wow that is a surprise to me. Really impressive then.

it also came with a nice CAS baseball cap lol. the scabbard does kinda suck, they should have just made the neck wider. Although, the wide necked scabbards typically included with the average wushu-type nuiwedao always leave the hilt of the sword able to rattle around in the scabbard. This is (obviously) because the sword is less wide near the hilt than it is towards the end. As a result, the sword is not held securely inside the scabbard and will very easily slide out when held upsidedown or even inverted sllightly past horizontal.

By contrast, this Hanwei oxtail scabbard actually holds the sword securely enough so that i can hold the sword completely upside-down and it doesnt fall out of the scabbard or even move. If i then, while still holding it upsidedown, shake the scabbard with medium force the sword does come loose. at this point, yeah it sucks. i think placing a small length of bungee between the two belt rings that live on either side of the slotted area will help limit the amount of lateral movement of the blade when this happens. Its nice when a sword will stay in its scabbard/saya very securely even when held upside down. The lack of this quality makes this sword slightly less than perfect.

As was mentioned above, the slotted scabbard is actually not that bad and does make it easy to get the super wide tip portion of the blade seated in the sheath. My main complaint about it is that it would seem like it would be effectively useless for protecting the blade from oxidation. On the other hand, we are oiling our swords daily anyway right? right?

The sad thing is that now i already want to impulse buy the other oxtail that hanwei sells (which has a complete scabbard) and see how nice it is in comparison.

for your reference, here is the listing for the "hanwei oxtail dao" (different that the hanwei practical kung fu dao)
www.cashanwei.com/product/oxtail-dao/sh1011

I number crunched between the two when making my original purchase. My 'practical' version is about $30 less, which did not affect my decision. I got this one because it has a longer blade, while at the same time weighing slightly less. Not needing to take care of brass is also a plus. I need to slow down on sword purchases for a while or i would have already ordered it this morning.

I should also point out that there is another one of those undated "Ye Olde Sworde Review" on SBG that seems to cover what is essentially this same other hanwei nuiwedao:
www.sword-buyers-guide.com/dao.html
The review says it is discontinued, but it seems to have just changed names and is no longer available except directly from hanwei. I wish i could still buy it for the $100 that Jay Ferron paid for his. Hell, I would buy 100 of them and get rich selling them for $220 on ebay.

Makchingyuen i remember that you usually like a small amount more decoration on chinese swords. This sword has plain black fittings. I also remember that, all other things being equal, you prefer a heavier sword. The other hanwei oxtail dao has the brass fittings and is also a bit heavier. Look deeply into my eyes while i use my mental kung fu to make you order swords online

Hey Rafael! Congrats on your new nuiweidao! Have you tried cutting with your sword? My concern is that the blade is too thin because looking at Mr. Paul Southren's review the blade makes a "dinging" noise like a bell after every cut. Even on light cuts like plastic bottles ... r_embedded

I just saw the Dynasty Forge yanmaodao at the SBG store and at a recent thread. I think that if the manufacturer keeps that blade profile but give it simple fittings and use monosteel for the blade, the price would be much more affordable for many people and people would be willing to buy it. In most Japanese Swords and WMA, a lot of money goes into the fittings more than the blade itself.

Now when I say simple, I mean plain but also complete. For example, many highly valued Japanese swords have simple but ornate fittings. This doesn't mean that they are missing the tsuba, the koshirae, or parts of the saya. It's all there, but kept simple. That's why a lot of people love their PPK, the Practical Pro Elite, or the DF Musha more than something from Thaitsuki Nihonto or something gaudy like artsfeng.

I thought the fittings on the Yan Mao Dao were quite simple, thats too gaudy??

I prefer a well made Folded blade personal, or better yet a Sanmai blade, but thats much much more expensive. I really like the Dynasty forge Yan Mao Dao, It really hard to wait to get it.....I'm try very hard because the Missus will kill me if I buy it too soon.