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Post by AlvaroWang on Oct 20, 2014 22:11:57 GMT
Hello! I would like to know if anybody ever purchased this guy's swords… www.topwoodendummy.com/martial-arts-products/There is a Dao that I am interested in, but since I am new to all this, I would like to know if you would trust this tang Attachments:
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Post by AlvaroWang on Oct 21, 2014 8:15:20 GMT
*edited due to some photos
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Oct 21, 2014 9:06:35 GMT
It's at the bottom end of what I'd consider acceptable. What's at the end of the tang matters, too. Probably a welded-on section of threaded rod, on which a washer and small nut will hold the grip on, and the pommel will be glued over that. If the weld is good, then OK, but not great. Probably too much space inside the grip. Fill with epoxy or similar. Fittings will be zinc-aluminium alloy - OK, but not great. It would be better if the end of the tang was threaded, rather than having a welded-on rod, but welded-on is normal at the bottom-end of these swords. Even better is two-nut construction, with a large nut at the end of the grip, and then a small nut holding the pommel on. Brass fittings would be better again. Brass fittings and two-nut construction can be had for about $300, e.g., 2011.zhiforge.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=505 and ... 20Dao.html or for somewhat more, a pretty classy dao: www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=DF025 so I'd be looking for this kind of sword you are asking about for about $100. But this could be OK for you. OK for forms as is. Fill the grip with epoxy and should be OK for light cutting. |
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Post by AlvaroWang on Oct 21, 2014 9:32:12 GMT
Great, thanks for your input!
So, having the sword in hands, how do I evaluate if there is too much space inside the grip? Suppose I take the pommel off, if the handle wiggles in any way should I consider it with too much space?
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Oct 21, 2014 10:54:40 GMT
Take off the pommel, take off the nut and washer holding the grip on. If it wiggles, especially if it wiggles a lot, fill it. Probably after taking off the pommel and nut, you can just look and see if there's lots of space (and there probably will be).
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Oct 21, 2014 11:09:36 GMT
I can't say I like the transition from blade to tang, it looks like it was chewed out with a blunt cold chisel but at least there is some curve there. If nothing else it says "this is hand made!"
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Post by Arthur Dayne on Oct 21, 2014 21:45:14 GMT
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The shoulders of the blade look like some gremlin took a bite out of it. The tang looks very badly shaped too... save your money and find a better made product instead of wasting it on a subpar one just to save some money. You'll enjoy a higher quality Dao later in life.
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Post by LiamPBoyle on Oct 21, 2014 23:07:43 GMT
I'm inclined to agree with the member of the kingsguard. Do not walk away from this dao, run. Save up until you can afford something a little bit better. Than again I used to practice 13 saber with a discount store machete because that was all I could afford.
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Post by AlvaroWang on Oct 23, 2014 1:41:20 GMT
The thing is, I live in a place where taxes are really high, so, it gets quite difficult, but ok!
I will give it a little more thought, but, for what it seems, it is most likely to suck big time, but there is a chance it might work for light cutting….
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Post by Arthur Dayne on Oct 23, 2014 1:57:41 GMT
I understand the feeling. Sometimes I browse Kult of Athena and think about getting another $100-$200 sword or search on ebay for a bargain during break hours at work... initially you'll save money if you get a cheaper sword but later on when you look at it sitting on the table, against the wall or on a display rack you may tell yourself, "I could fill that space with a better sword, maybe I should sell this off and use the money to buy a better sword" or something along those lines.
Even for a "beater" sword where I will primarily cut with, I would still recommend spending a bit more and waiting until you can find or afford a better quality sword because you'll have that peace of mind of good heat treatment, solid blade & tang and good hilt assembly. Think of it as insurance so you don't get hurt or end up with a sword that gets bent/chipped too easily.
When I was looking for a Chinese style Jian to cut/play with I ended up getting the Hanwei Cutting Jian which wasn't exactly cheap at $265 after shipping but it was affordable and good quality. Then I ended up spending $400 on a really nice one from Huawei which is quite nice.
Would Dynasty Forge or Kult of Athena ship to your location? Some of the good Daos like Dynasty Forge's products are sold at KOA too, pricey but great quality.
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Post by AlvaroWang on Nov 30, 2014 15:23:16 GMT
After some consideration, I bought the sword.
As expected there is nothing even near in quality around where I live. For safety reasons I ordered it unsharpened.
While I was playing with it, I stabbed a coke bottle full of water tied to a tree. I underestimated the sword and it went throgh the bottle and I kinda pierced the tree. Checked the blade. Intact, didn't even feel the blade bending.
I was extatic. Called a friend of mine. 1.90m. Strong as hell. He asked if he could try to hit another bottle tied to the tree (this time hanging) using baseball style. I said: go ahead, my child.
Things went downhill. I used too thin of a rope, the bottle flied some meters, the blade was bent. I got sooo frustrated, but to my surprise it was very easy to unbend it. I was so shocked with what happened that I do not know what to make of it.
Did we exaggerate? (Given we knew it was unsharpened, hitting a two liter bottle?)
One theory is that when he hit, he hit where the bottle had an angle, setting the blade alignment off.
Not satisfied, after we unbet the blade, we tried again hitting at 90 degrees, when I hit it was ok. But when that unfortunate friend of mine tried again, he bent it again.
Now I need some explanation from you guys who are way more experienced than I.
What the heck happened?
Some hypothesis:
He was way stronger than I, so his force was way too much.
His blade alignment was still off (even though to the naked eye he wasn't.
The second time, even though he aligned the hit, the blade was already weakened. That is why the blade bent again.
Last hypothesis:
I should have never tried to hit a two liter soda bottle with an unsharpened sword full force.
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Post by soonann on Dec 2, 2014 15:46:13 GMT
the blade was not heat-treated or they did a poor job. Properly heat treated blade should not bend so easily.
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Post by Jayhawk on Dec 3, 2014 3:20:12 GMT
Ouch...I have a $65 USD dao from Sword and Armory that was recently used to split baking pumpkins thrown at my son's head...and that his fencing master declared "one well made sword". That sword should not have bent from a water bottle unless it wasn't heat treated properly, and even then I'd expect a sheet metal sword to be able to cut through a 2 liter bottle!
Eric
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