Cold Steel Hand and a Half Polypropylene Traininer Review
Dec 28, 2014 20:36:40 GMT
Post by LiamBoyle on Dec 28, 2014 20:36:40 GMT
Introduction
Since officially starting a HEMA/WMA/General Sword Arts training club in the mid fall, my wife was wanting to get me a better training weapon. She had been talking about getting me the Penti type III federschwert from Purple Heart. However, the unintentional use of mobile phone ass armor, and a $150 mobile device insurance deductible blew the budget for that. So she looked over my Amazon.com wishlist and saw the Cold Steel Hand and a Half training sword listed: Cold Steel Hand & A Half Training Sword with Polypropylene Handle with Blunt
So, this was my consolation prize. I do think it was very sweet of her to still get me something sword after my "mistake" with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3, all pictures for the review were taken with my replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (yes, I love my phablet).
Historical Overview
So this is Cold Steel's attempt at creating a Longsword trainer. Given longswords saw use from the late 13th to early 17th centuries en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longsword and cover a variety of Oakeshott types en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakeshott_typology this is not an easy undertaking. What they seem to have produced is a non-historical longswordish object to be used for training.
Full Disclosure
I do not work for Cold Steel, Amazon.com, or any of their competitors. Given this was a Yuletide gift from my wife, that my have me looking at this a bit more positively than I would had I purchased this for myself.
Specifications:
MFR Spec
Blade Length: 34"
Overall Length: 44"
Material: Polypropylene
Weight: 31.7oz (1.98 lbs)
Handle: 10" Long
My Measurements
Overall Length: 45"
Blade Length: 34 1/8"
Weight: 2lbs even
Blade width @ ricasso: 1 7/8"
Blade width @ 1 1/2" from tip: 1 3/8"
Blade thickness @ ricasso: 7/8"
Blade thickness @ 1 1/2" from tip: 7/8"
Grip Length (Pommel to Crossguard): 6 3/8"
Hilt Length (Crossguard to end of Pommel): 9 3/4"
Crossguard: 8" point to point, 1 3/8" across, 11/16" thick
Pommel: 2 1/2" long, 2 3/8" diameter, hexagonal faceted scent stopper / faceted pear type
Handle shape: 1 3/4" diameter to 1" diameter flattened oval to round.
Center of Balance: 9" from crossguard
Center of Percussion (pommel slap test): 25 1/2" from crossguard
Initial Impressions
Here's the unboxing video as recorded by my metamour's (*insert negative descriptive expletive here*) iPhone
The sword came in three pieces the blade/handle, crossguard, and a thick rubber band to help hold the crossguard down.
My first thoughts upon assembling this thing and giving it a few swings were: "heavy beast of a whompin' stick," "baseball bat," and "great goddess this thing moves like a pregnant yak" (no insult to yaks intended).
I immediately took a dislike to the tip that it had from the manufacturer
Much too pointed for a training weapon. My though is that training weapons should be designed to disperse the force of a thrust, not concentrate it. This lead to my first modification of this thing
About 5 minutes with some 60 and 120 grit sandpaper was able to round down the tip nicely. I might round it down even further for safety and training purposes. It does have some flex in the thrust but not much
This is a marked improvement over a wooden waster (no flex in the thrust) but I was still having to press down pretty hard to get this much flex.
With it weighing out at only 2lbs, it is not actually heavy but the 9" POB means, to me at least, it feels very blade heavy.
The Handle
The grip length of 6 3/8" is a bit short for me, and I am only an M/L in glove size. I would like to be able to get both hands on the grip without having to have my lower hand on the pommel. The edges on the pommel do dig into my hand and wrist a bit, so I consider gloves pretty mandatory with this trainer.
Handling Characteristics / Test Bashing
With such a forward POB and the short grip leverage based techniques like Duplieren and Mutieren where you're pivoting against the opponent's blade are a bit difficult to pull off. This goes for a majority of Taiji based techniques as well. However, 20 minutes of swinging this thing around doing basic cuts certainly give your arms and wrists a workout.
Thrusts from pflug (plow, middle guard) were not to difficult to pull off and the blade seemed to track fairly well, albeit a bit slowly. Thrusting from Ochs (Ox, upper forward guard) was quite a bit more difficult and it was anything but easy to get the point where I wanted it. That being said, "whippy" is not a word I would use to describe this weapon. It is more than rigid enough to hold a straight line when you need it to, getting the point online quickly seems to be the difficult part.
Here are the results of some thrusting practice on a few of the shipping boxes
As you can see, somebody had left and ABS plastic (lego plastic) storage chest out by the dumpster. I couldn't resist the free target.
After one Zornhaw (strike from the shoulder going down along the diagonal)
After a single Twerchhaw (Cross Strike - that helicopter looking strike the German Longsword guys do)
Attacking some dead branches, this one is about a 2 1/2" diameter, I believe this is Birch, but I'm not certain.
A smaller branch
Hitting a dead Hickory tree:
And the results of my stepdaughter doing a half speed strike against one of our wasters
Conclusions
Given that these can be picked up at anywhere from $30 to $50 US you can outfit an entire club for the cost of a single Albion Liechtenaur or Meyer from the Maestro Series, they may be worth it for the absolute beginner. That being said, this DOES NOT handle like a real sword, and I would not spar with one of these without serious safety equipment. At least a 3 weapon rated or HEMA specific fencing mask, Gauntlets, Fencing Jacket/Gambeson, Fencing pants (I took a mild hit to the leg through my sweat pants yesterday and while not bruised I'm definitely feeling it), Groin protection, and rigid protection for the elbows and knees.
It handles poorly for drills, but it is usable for those on a budget. However, for pell work - this thing shines. Given this is a Cold Steel product anything short of giving this to a lion for use as a chew toy is not going to break this thing.
Pros
Indestructible - in all seriousness short of a Nuclear blast, I don't think anything will break one of these
Price - This is the cheapest synthetic Longsword trainer on the market by about $50 US
Shipping/customer service - I didn't mention this in the review, but Amazon is known for it's quality in these areas, my wife and I have been shopping through Amazon.com for a long time and have yet to be disappointed with their service.
Cons
Poor balance
Grip is much too short
Unsafe for sparring (between the point, and the fact this will break bones when swung with any amount of force, I cannot in good conscience recommend this as a sparring weapon)
Suggestions for Improvement
Round out the point to disperse force from thrusting
Add some distal taper to aid the balance and prevent this thing from hitting quite so hard
Lengthen the grip area before the pommel to at least 7 1/2" - this will also aid the balance.
The Bottom Line
If you are on a shoestring budget and need a usable waster, one could do a lot worse than picking up one of these. I give this high marks for affordability and durability. As for anything else, the Rawlings synthetics, and the Penti synthetics are preferable.
Since officially starting a HEMA/WMA/General Sword Arts training club in the mid fall, my wife was wanting to get me a better training weapon. She had been talking about getting me the Penti type III federschwert from Purple Heart. However, the unintentional use of mobile phone ass armor, and a $150 mobile device insurance deductible blew the budget for that. So she looked over my Amazon.com wishlist and saw the Cold Steel Hand and a Half training sword listed: Cold Steel Hand & A Half Training Sword with Polypropylene Handle with Blunt
So, this was my consolation prize. I do think it was very sweet of her to still get me something sword after my "mistake" with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3, all pictures for the review were taken with my replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (yes, I love my phablet).
Historical Overview
So this is Cold Steel's attempt at creating a Longsword trainer. Given longswords saw use from the late 13th to early 17th centuries en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longsword and cover a variety of Oakeshott types en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakeshott_typology this is not an easy undertaking. What they seem to have produced is a non-historical longswordish object to be used for training.
Full Disclosure
I do not work for Cold Steel, Amazon.com, or any of their competitors. Given this was a Yuletide gift from my wife, that my have me looking at this a bit more positively than I would had I purchased this for myself.
Specifications:
MFR Spec
Blade Length: 34"
Overall Length: 44"
Material: Polypropylene
Weight: 31.7oz (1.98 lbs)
Handle: 10" Long
My Measurements
Overall Length: 45"
Blade Length: 34 1/8"
Weight: 2lbs even
Blade width @ ricasso: 1 7/8"
Blade width @ 1 1/2" from tip: 1 3/8"
Blade thickness @ ricasso: 7/8"
Blade thickness @ 1 1/2" from tip: 7/8"
Grip Length (Pommel to Crossguard): 6 3/8"
Hilt Length (Crossguard to end of Pommel): 9 3/4"
Crossguard: 8" point to point, 1 3/8" across, 11/16" thick
Pommel: 2 1/2" long, 2 3/8" diameter, hexagonal faceted scent stopper / faceted pear type
Handle shape: 1 3/4" diameter to 1" diameter flattened oval to round.
Center of Balance: 9" from crossguard
Center of Percussion (pommel slap test): 25 1/2" from crossguard
Initial Impressions
Here's the unboxing video as recorded by my metamour's (*insert negative descriptive expletive here*) iPhone
The sword came in three pieces the blade/handle, crossguard, and a thick rubber band to help hold the crossguard down.
My first thoughts upon assembling this thing and giving it a few swings were: "heavy beast of a whompin' stick," "baseball bat," and "great goddess this thing moves like a pregnant yak" (no insult to yaks intended).
I immediately took a dislike to the tip that it had from the manufacturer
Much too pointed for a training weapon. My though is that training weapons should be designed to disperse the force of a thrust, not concentrate it. This lead to my first modification of this thing
About 5 minutes with some 60 and 120 grit sandpaper was able to round down the tip nicely. I might round it down even further for safety and training purposes. It does have some flex in the thrust but not much
This is a marked improvement over a wooden waster (no flex in the thrust) but I was still having to press down pretty hard to get this much flex.
With it weighing out at only 2lbs, it is not actually heavy but the 9" POB means, to me at least, it feels very blade heavy.
The Handle
The grip length of 6 3/8" is a bit short for me, and I am only an M/L in glove size. I would like to be able to get both hands on the grip without having to have my lower hand on the pommel. The edges on the pommel do dig into my hand and wrist a bit, so I consider gloves pretty mandatory with this trainer.
Handling Characteristics / Test Bashing
With such a forward POB and the short grip leverage based techniques like Duplieren and Mutieren where you're pivoting against the opponent's blade are a bit difficult to pull off. This goes for a majority of Taiji based techniques as well. However, 20 minutes of swinging this thing around doing basic cuts certainly give your arms and wrists a workout.
Thrusts from pflug (plow, middle guard) were not to difficult to pull off and the blade seemed to track fairly well, albeit a bit slowly. Thrusting from Ochs (Ox, upper forward guard) was quite a bit more difficult and it was anything but easy to get the point where I wanted it. That being said, "whippy" is not a word I would use to describe this weapon. It is more than rigid enough to hold a straight line when you need it to, getting the point online quickly seems to be the difficult part.
Here are the results of some thrusting practice on a few of the shipping boxes
As you can see, somebody had left and ABS plastic (lego plastic) storage chest out by the dumpster. I couldn't resist the free target.
After one Zornhaw (strike from the shoulder going down along the diagonal)
After a single Twerchhaw (Cross Strike - that helicopter looking strike the German Longsword guys do)
Attacking some dead branches, this one is about a 2 1/2" diameter, I believe this is Birch, but I'm not certain.
A smaller branch
Hitting a dead Hickory tree:
And the results of my stepdaughter doing a half speed strike against one of our wasters
Conclusions
Given that these can be picked up at anywhere from $30 to $50 US you can outfit an entire club for the cost of a single Albion Liechtenaur or Meyer from the Maestro Series, they may be worth it for the absolute beginner. That being said, this DOES NOT handle like a real sword, and I would not spar with one of these without serious safety equipment. At least a 3 weapon rated or HEMA specific fencing mask, Gauntlets, Fencing Jacket/Gambeson, Fencing pants (I took a mild hit to the leg through my sweat pants yesterday and while not bruised I'm definitely feeling it), Groin protection, and rigid protection for the elbows and knees.
It handles poorly for drills, but it is usable for those on a budget. However, for pell work - this thing shines. Given this is a Cold Steel product anything short of giving this to a lion for use as a chew toy is not going to break this thing.
Pros
Indestructible - in all seriousness short of a Nuclear blast, I don't think anything will break one of these
Price - This is the cheapest synthetic Longsword trainer on the market by about $50 US
Shipping/customer service - I didn't mention this in the review, but Amazon is known for it's quality in these areas, my wife and I have been shopping through Amazon.com for a long time and have yet to be disappointed with their service.
Cons
Poor balance
Grip is much too short
Unsafe for sparring (between the point, and the fact this will break bones when swung with any amount of force, I cannot in good conscience recommend this as a sparring weapon)
Suggestions for Improvement
Round out the point to disperse force from thrusting
Add some distal taper to aid the balance and prevent this thing from hitting quite so hard
Lengthen the grip area before the pommel to at least 7 1/2" - this will also aid the balance.
The Bottom Line
If you are on a shoestring budget and need a usable waster, one could do a lot worse than picking up one of these. I give this high marks for affordability and durability. As for anything else, the Rawlings synthetics, and the Penti synthetics are preferable.