Hanwei Raptor Nanbokucho Review
Sept 6, 2014 2:08:36 GMT
Post by Billybob on Sept 6, 2014 2:08:36 GMT
Introduction
My initial interest in the katana was based in logic. All swords are designed to do roughly the same thing, sever limbs and disable armed combatants. The katana, when properly wielded, has the same lethal properties and the only inherent difference I could put my finger of logic on was that a katana weighs less than most swords of a similar reach; which means that it should be faster. Once my interest was sparked a friend gifted me a folded hand forged clay tempered katana (it was nothing super fancy, don't worry). I was very excited to get it out and see what I could do, and the first time I attempted to cut with it I gave it 2 sets, 1 torq and a rolled edge. After nursing my sword back to relative health and coming to the realization that I was not Luke Skywalker I did some research and found out that I needed a beginner sword. This is when I started scouring these forums, and did so for a couple of months, bouncing around between different idea's of what I thought would survive me. Through hardened spring steel should do the trick. I purchased the Hanwei Raptor Nanbokucho because of the reviews people had given in regards to its durability and fittings and this particular model because I had heard that someone of my height and build might be more comfortable wielding a sword of 29"+ and big hands will probably be at home on a big handle. I have split a lot of firewood, so the "ax handle" analogy was actually appealing. I purchased this sword from Kult of Athena for $270 and it was at my doorstep in less than a week in excellent condition.
Historical Overview
This sword is named for a time period, which means that it is modeled after the swords of that time period. I am not knowledgable enough to verify to its authenticity. I know that this is not a nihonto and also that I am not a samurai warrior. It is a Chinese regurgitation of a katana and I am cutting coke bottles in my backyard. Through hardened spring steel in a katana is almost as historically inaccurate as Mel Gibson shooting a M-14 at Englishmen in braveheart.
Full Disclosure
I am a newbie to swordsmanship. I have no affiliation with any sword manufacturer or retailer. I purchased this sword from Kult of Athena at a bargain price but paid no less than the next guy. My 15 years of working in a machine shop and life long knife collecting are my only attributes that would be applicable to swords.
Initial Impressions
Ordered the sword end of day on a Friday, shipped Monday and was at the house when I got off work Wednesday. Package was in good shape and it was protected enough to take a few good knocks, which it fortunately did not. Initial handling impressions were more intoxicating than expected. Had grease on the blade. Everything was tight. Fit the saya like I had hoped it would. No blemishes. I felt like I got a lot of workmanship for my $270+shipping. Not perfection, but perfect for me to cut my teeth with.
Specifications and components
Nagasa 30"
Tsuba 13.18"
Weight 2lb 15oz
5160 through hardened spring steel. Leather wrap around what I feel is a very pronounced oval shaped tsuka. Blackened iron and steel fittings. The kissaki is very long on this model.
Blade
The blade was polished to my satisfaction. The kissaki had some irregularities in it; an asymmetrical tip and a "wavy" grind (or polish, I don't actually know the term) but it is quite sharp none the less. The curvature of the blade is aesthetically pleasing. The entirety of the blade was also quite sharp. The polish on the main portion of the blade is very nice, not at all what I was expecting for a budget sword.
Tsuka
It has ray skin panels (or so I think it's just panels, if it's fully wrapped in ray skin I'd be impressed more than I already am). A very comfortable leather wrap, I am under the impression that this might not be historically accurate. I care not one bit, it's feels great in my hands. Most would say its a bit long at 13.18", but it feels great to me.
Tsuba
Black iron tsuba with birds of prey theme. I get the impression that it will successfully keep my hands from sliding onto the blade...
Fuchi-kashira
Blackened steel, also with birds of prey motif.
Saya
The textured saya is easily gripped. Slight amount of play in the kissaki end of the sword. I am not disappointed for the price tag. Not sure if it has horn or not. It wouldn't surprise me either way.
Handling and test cutting
I was not expecting to get such smooth cuts so quickly. It feels great in my hands and the exaggerated oval shape of the tsuka makes alignment easier. I have no experience yet am getting smooth clean edges on soda bottles and milk jugs. If I can manage to get proper blade alignment it all stays in place and I feel nothing as the blade passes through, I believe they call that a static cut? It is fast and large, exactly what I wanted. I am sure faster could be attained with a smaller sword, or if I was 6" shorter and minus 50 lbs this sword might feel like a crow bar, but it has a surprisingly elegant feel in my hands for a sword on the heavy end of the spectrum. I am excited to acquire some mats to get more in depth feedback from my cuts instead of just slicing coke bottles and milk jugs. I even took a few swings at something I knew I couldn't cut (hardwood broom handle) just to see how it handled a bad cut (did make it through on one of 3 tries), nothing but a smudge in the polish; the edge is unphased. I was under the impression that this blade was in the neighborhood of 50 on the Rockwell C scale(the cutting edge might be slightly harder, maybe by a point or two, only because the heat will dissipate quicker upon quenching due to less material for heat to draw from but I really was expecting it to be a little dull by now) which as a knife collector makes me laugh because if it is below 59 HRC I won't wast my time with it. Let me assure you that from a working standpoint the difference between 50 and 60 HRC is massive. Only kitchen knives and fish filleting knives are acceptable at 50 HRC or less IMO and require sharpening frequently (or "reshaping" since I am being technical). It would seem that swords are more different from knives than I initially thought, especially in the area of edge geometry.
Conclusions
I like this sword a lot. It has surpassed my expectations in every way. I know that I got more than $270 worth of workmanship and metallurgical expertise. Pretty enough to hang on the wall. Sturdy enough to use it the way you'd want to. The only thing I'd ask for is an optional Bo-hi, but on a sword that is designed to endure newbie cutting I can understand why they didn't.
Pro's
Surprisingly good looking for is price point
Through hardened spring steel durability, and still as sharp as I would want
Saya looks and fits nice
Tsuka feels great
Surprisingly good edge retention
Con's
If historical accuracy is what you want then this is not the correct sword to purchase
Kissaki is not symmetrical
Bottom Line
I couldn't imagine this sword not having a place in a swordsman's arsenal. Even if you have several very high end pieces I would think this sword would still have a purpose. If the size is too large for your taste there are several models in this line to chose from, this one happens to be the longest in both Nagasa and tsuka. I feel that as a beginner I bought the right sword.
Many thanks to the members of this forum, and the sword buyers guide itself, for helping me sort through all of the good and viable options available in the entry level katana market.
My initial interest in the katana was based in logic. All swords are designed to do roughly the same thing, sever limbs and disable armed combatants. The katana, when properly wielded, has the same lethal properties and the only inherent difference I could put my finger of logic on was that a katana weighs less than most swords of a similar reach; which means that it should be faster. Once my interest was sparked a friend gifted me a folded hand forged clay tempered katana (it was nothing super fancy, don't worry). I was very excited to get it out and see what I could do, and the first time I attempted to cut with it I gave it 2 sets, 1 torq and a rolled edge. After nursing my sword back to relative health and coming to the realization that I was not Luke Skywalker I did some research and found out that I needed a beginner sword. This is when I started scouring these forums, and did so for a couple of months, bouncing around between different idea's of what I thought would survive me. Through hardened spring steel should do the trick. I purchased the Hanwei Raptor Nanbokucho because of the reviews people had given in regards to its durability and fittings and this particular model because I had heard that someone of my height and build might be more comfortable wielding a sword of 29"+ and big hands will probably be at home on a big handle. I have split a lot of firewood, so the "ax handle" analogy was actually appealing. I purchased this sword from Kult of Athena for $270 and it was at my doorstep in less than a week in excellent condition.
Historical Overview
This sword is named for a time period, which means that it is modeled after the swords of that time period. I am not knowledgable enough to verify to its authenticity. I know that this is not a nihonto and also that I am not a samurai warrior. It is a Chinese regurgitation of a katana and I am cutting coke bottles in my backyard. Through hardened spring steel in a katana is almost as historically inaccurate as Mel Gibson shooting a M-14 at Englishmen in braveheart.
Full Disclosure
I am a newbie to swordsmanship. I have no affiliation with any sword manufacturer or retailer. I purchased this sword from Kult of Athena at a bargain price but paid no less than the next guy. My 15 years of working in a machine shop and life long knife collecting are my only attributes that would be applicable to swords.
Initial Impressions
Ordered the sword end of day on a Friday, shipped Monday and was at the house when I got off work Wednesday. Package was in good shape and it was protected enough to take a few good knocks, which it fortunately did not. Initial handling impressions were more intoxicating than expected. Had grease on the blade. Everything was tight. Fit the saya like I had hoped it would. No blemishes. I felt like I got a lot of workmanship for my $270+shipping. Not perfection, but perfect for me to cut my teeth with.
Specifications and components
Nagasa 30"
Tsuba 13.18"
Weight 2lb 15oz
5160 through hardened spring steel. Leather wrap around what I feel is a very pronounced oval shaped tsuka. Blackened iron and steel fittings. The kissaki is very long on this model.
Blade
The blade was polished to my satisfaction. The kissaki had some irregularities in it; an asymmetrical tip and a "wavy" grind (or polish, I don't actually know the term) but it is quite sharp none the less. The curvature of the blade is aesthetically pleasing. The entirety of the blade was also quite sharp. The polish on the main portion of the blade is very nice, not at all what I was expecting for a budget sword.
Tsuka
It has ray skin panels (or so I think it's just panels, if it's fully wrapped in ray skin I'd be impressed more than I already am). A very comfortable leather wrap, I am under the impression that this might not be historically accurate. I care not one bit, it's feels great in my hands. Most would say its a bit long at 13.18", but it feels great to me.
Tsuba
Black iron tsuba with birds of prey theme. I get the impression that it will successfully keep my hands from sliding onto the blade...
Fuchi-kashira
Blackened steel, also with birds of prey motif.
Saya
The textured saya is easily gripped. Slight amount of play in the kissaki end of the sword. I am not disappointed for the price tag. Not sure if it has horn or not. It wouldn't surprise me either way.
Handling and test cutting
I was not expecting to get such smooth cuts so quickly. It feels great in my hands and the exaggerated oval shape of the tsuka makes alignment easier. I have no experience yet am getting smooth clean edges on soda bottles and milk jugs. If I can manage to get proper blade alignment it all stays in place and I feel nothing as the blade passes through, I believe they call that a static cut? It is fast and large, exactly what I wanted. I am sure faster could be attained with a smaller sword, or if I was 6" shorter and minus 50 lbs this sword might feel like a crow bar, but it has a surprisingly elegant feel in my hands for a sword on the heavy end of the spectrum. I am excited to acquire some mats to get more in depth feedback from my cuts instead of just slicing coke bottles and milk jugs. I even took a few swings at something I knew I couldn't cut (hardwood broom handle) just to see how it handled a bad cut (did make it through on one of 3 tries), nothing but a smudge in the polish; the edge is unphased. I was under the impression that this blade was in the neighborhood of 50 on the Rockwell C scale(the cutting edge might be slightly harder, maybe by a point or two, only because the heat will dissipate quicker upon quenching due to less material for heat to draw from but I really was expecting it to be a little dull by now) which as a knife collector makes me laugh because if it is below 59 HRC I won't wast my time with it. Let me assure you that from a working standpoint the difference between 50 and 60 HRC is massive. Only kitchen knives and fish filleting knives are acceptable at 50 HRC or less IMO and require sharpening frequently (or "reshaping" since I am being technical). It would seem that swords are more different from knives than I initially thought, especially in the area of edge geometry.
Conclusions
I like this sword a lot. It has surpassed my expectations in every way. I know that I got more than $270 worth of workmanship and metallurgical expertise. Pretty enough to hang on the wall. Sturdy enough to use it the way you'd want to. The only thing I'd ask for is an optional Bo-hi, but on a sword that is designed to endure newbie cutting I can understand why they didn't.
Pro's
Surprisingly good looking for is price point
Through hardened spring steel durability, and still as sharp as I would want
Saya looks and fits nice
Tsuka feels great
Surprisingly good edge retention
Con's
If historical accuracy is what you want then this is not the correct sword to purchase
Kissaki is not symmetrical
Bottom Line
I couldn't imagine this sword not having a place in a swordsman's arsenal. Even if you have several very high end pieces I would think this sword would still have a purpose. If the size is too large for your taste there are several models in this line to chose from, this one happens to be the longest in both Nagasa and tsuka. I feel that as a beginner I bought the right sword.
Many thanks to the members of this forum, and the sword buyers guide itself, for helping me sort through all of the good and viable options available in the entry level katana market.
