Tang comparison

Wow, first one looks a bit iffy... What is it? HSTS? Second one is sinosword, right? Third one... Rodell cutting jian?

By the way, how did you get the flower rivet out of the sinosword handle? I thought it was some kind of hollow rivet, acting as a see through mekugi pin... Did you have to destroy it or how did you get the handle off?

can you maybe tell us which is which- be good to make some use of otherwise randomish pics. Personally this is a very useful set of pics for me so thank you- I have found the tang and grip to be the most worrysome issue with production jian. Also can you advise if the grips are simply hollow tubes or if they are properly shaped and fitted around the tang-- sword for sword again would be great to know.

The holes are for pegs/pins/rivets as in a katana. However often the wood used is just poor quality stuff and not a proper smoked bamboo peg. Hopefully the op can illuminate us with details

I fixed my post, I thought I had named which was which earlier guess I forgot.

The grip on the hanwei cutting Jian is shaped around the tang, so are the other two, but not as well. The sinosword grip will kinda wobble and turn a bit without the peg in, and even so the only thing that really keeps it tight is the nut on the bottom.



Yeah originally there was the flower rivet, but I replaced it with a mekugi I had lying around. Once I took the sword apart the first time the rivet bent. The HS jian has a similar rivet type thing that goes through the second hole for extra reinforcement, it's made of brass.

The cutting Jian is the only one without holes or pegs, but is still put together the best and feels really sturdy. The build reminds me of a few euro swords, infact the whole sword kinda feels like a Jian shaped euro sword to me, but I like that.

I'll try to post some pics of the grips when I get a chance.

I took it out with a small knife, it was really stuck in there and it was kinda cheap so I figured I would just put in a peg.
To be fair to the HS jian I will say two things, the thread on the bottom in basically only to keep the bottom piece of the grip on. The sword is pretty sturdy with just one peg let alone two and does not have to rely on a nut for it's durablility like the other two. Also I know it might not look it, but the tang is pretty thick even though it's not wide. It's about twice as thick as the hanwei.

I had thought about maybe adding a peg to the Cutting Jian, but for now it seems pretty sturdy.
Mak you should think about getting one eventually, then we can see your take on the infamous cutting jian.

thanks for the updates and info - karma incoming

it's too bad about that HS - the tang is all jacked up at the shoulders with what looks like either uneven grinding or maybe solder material from welding. It's the worst off of the three for sure- thinnest tang, longest threaded rod section- which is welded on to boot. Both the HS and Sino are no good in my eyes as they have sharp right angles at the shoulders, which is a real problem point with stress cracking. The Sino tang at least has the threaded portion cut from the tang itself, if I am seeing it right..

The Hanwei tang really is done right- has a nice radius at the shoulder, wide, and is clearly one piece with the shortest section of threads cut from the actual tang. Reminds me a LOT of the tangs from the ht tinker line- which makes sense really. And as you pointed out, having the best fitting grip is to me at least, a sign of better quality and a sturdier hilt altogether. No need to pin it. How does the pommel attach? Is it slotted/keyed to the tang?

Actually its hard to tell because the blade collar is covering the shoulders, but looking really close, it looks like the Sinosword tang has rounded shoulders

Thanks for posting this, Nox. Very informative.

yup - only the hanwei would I consider a real grip. The other two are unfortunately just wood tubes around a sword. too bad too because I like the ht jian blade.

Thats disappointing with the Sinoswords one, I addressed this concern to Mr. Kane when we were hammering out the details, and he showed me how the grip on mine will look, and it looked very snug on the tang. That could just been for that particular model. But I specifically told them I wanted a snug fitting grip and he said they could do it, so I hope mine won't be like this.

I just asked about the shoulders too, asking for a picture of one of their tangs, focusing on that particular area where the blade and tang meet.