Swordsmith668 Chinese Jian
Oct 15, 2013 18:36:46 GMT
Post by Chuck Ladd on Oct 15, 2013 18:36:46 GMT
Greetings! This is my first sword of real quality, so bare with me if the review is not up to par.
I bought this sword from Swordsmith668 after doing research through here and other places. He recieved very good reviews for costumer service and his Katanas all seemed to be of good quality. I paid $296.00 through ebay for this sword with free shipping. Shipping was quick enough considering and Yao's communication was top notch.
This is the stats if the sword:
Weight: Roughly 2.5 pounds, I'm not sure on the exact as my scale broke
Length: 39 inches
Blade Length: 31.25 inches
Grip Length: 5.375 inches
POB: 6 inches from guard
Over the sword looks very pretty, and will easily serve my purpose of just training through forms and strikes.
I had higher hopes for the over all construction but that proved to not be the case. The guard is of a very flimsy material, and the blade does not seat in it well. It took some work to center it as I put it all back together. It is also mostly hollow.
The handle is one piece, though the tang mostly fills it so there is only a little shake when loose.
The pommel itself is very hollow with a lot of space after attached.
The tang is full, but it is attached through the handle to the pummel by a single nut on the outside.
The blade itself did not come especially sharp, though an attempt was made to sharpen it as a traditional Jian. The first section was indeed the sharpest, but it was not sharp enough to cleanly cut paper. The middle section and third section by the hilt lowered in sharpness from there. I could easily sharpen it, but that doesn't help my purpose for it now. It was also stated in the sale it would be sharpened to that level.
There was also some minor blemishes along the blade, but for the most part they easily polished out.
Over all the blade will serve the purpose I needed it to serve. I was hoping I might be able to do some cutting with it in the future, but I doubt it's ability to do anything more than soft targets at this time. That being said I would give it a 3/5 stars.
There might be better Jian out there in that style for under $300.00, but they are very few.
I bought this sword from Swordsmith668 after doing research through here and other places. He recieved very good reviews for costumer service and his Katanas all seemed to be of good quality. I paid $296.00 through ebay for this sword with free shipping. Shipping was quick enough considering and Yao's communication was top notch.
This is the stats if the sword:
Weight: Roughly 2.5 pounds, I'm not sure on the exact as my scale broke
Length: 39 inches
Blade Length: 31.25 inches
Grip Length: 5.375 inches
POB: 6 inches from guard
Over the sword looks very pretty, and will easily serve my purpose of just training through forms and strikes.
I had higher hopes for the over all construction but that proved to not be the case. The guard is of a very flimsy material, and the blade does not seat in it well. It took some work to center it as I put it all back together. It is also mostly hollow.
The handle is one piece, though the tang mostly fills it so there is only a little shake when loose.
The pommel itself is very hollow with a lot of space after attached.
The tang is full, but it is attached through the handle to the pummel by a single nut on the outside.
The blade itself did not come especially sharp, though an attempt was made to sharpen it as a traditional Jian. The first section was indeed the sharpest, but it was not sharp enough to cleanly cut paper. The middle section and third section by the hilt lowered in sharpness from there. I could easily sharpen it, but that doesn't help my purpose for it now. It was also stated in the sale it would be sharpened to that level.
There was also some minor blemishes along the blade, but for the most part they easily polished out.
Over all the blade will serve the purpose I needed it to serve. I was hoping I might be able to do some cutting with it in the future, but I doubt it's ability to do anything more than soft targets at this time. That being said I would give it a 3/5 stars.
There might be better Jian out there in that style for under $300.00, but they are very few.