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Post by danmasamori on Apr 2, 2015 20:53:51 GMT
I am a pretty down to earth easy going guy, it takes alot for me to get to my breaking point, but it's finally happened. I am completely DONE giving Hanwei any of my business. My lovely wife god bless her soul, bought me a PC Tonbo for our anniversary, we usually don't do presents, but apparently she had been secretly saving to get me this sword I expressed interest in awhile back. So I came home from work today to receive this awesome gift, super psyched, I unbox and disassemble to find this: So here's Hanwei's "Legendary Quality" It's split seam yes, but what really pisses me off is the fact that they knew it was split and added a shim in the interior against the ha side and crammed a bunch of glue on the exterior, "duhh it's fixed now" this is NOT the QC I'd expect for a $900+ sword, or for any sword that's made to be functional for that matter. If this was an isolated incident, I could shrug it off, but honestly this has happened several times now with other purchases, cracks and splits shimmed or spackled with glue, I 've sent several out to Frankthebunny over the years and found out later that there was a spackled crack or split I missed, those were the ones I was stuck with and had to shell out additional coin to have new tsukas made. Hanwei increases their pricing and lowers their QC and in return I have to shell out $$ to ship this crap back to the vendor and what was supposed to be a wonderful happy moment was ruined. I've probably spent close to $10,000 with Hanwei since I started JSA in the late 90's, but no more, I doubt they will care but I just needed to vent...
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 2, 2015 22:15:38 GMT
I feel your pain man, sorry for your frustration.
-Josh
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Post by danmasamori on Apr 2, 2015 22:23:29 GMT
I feel your pain man, sorry for your frustration. -Josh I know you do man ;) Thanks.
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Post by Aurélien on Apr 2, 2015 22:31:59 GMT
Hanwei blades and koshirae are really cool. But their tsuka... for sure, only a dishonest man (or a man who never disassembles his swords) could disagree with you. Nonetheless, despite some similar "tsuka surprises", I keep sending my money to Hanwei... and start sending my Hanweis to Josh!
Anyway, forget this sword for now, and share a good time with your beloved wife - don't let Paul Chen waste your anniversary!!
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Post by danmasamori on Apr 2, 2015 22:46:52 GMT
Hanwei blades and koshirae are really cool. But their tsuka... for sure, only a dishonest man (or a man who never disassembles his swords) could disagree with you. Nonetheless, despite some similar "tsuka surprises", I keep sending my money to Hanwei... and start sending my Hanweis to Josh! Anyway, forget this sword for now, and share a good time with your beloved wife - don't let Paul Chen waste your anniversary!! Iam already passed it, not gonna ruin our anniversary, just ruined the gift a bit. The venting helped and the frusration left shortly after angerly boxing it back up....just awaiting the vendors response now.
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Paul
Member
Senior Forumite
Posts: 1,771
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Post by Paul on Apr 2, 2015 22:59:45 GMT
I have purchased 3 hanwei katanas over the years and all had issues requiring me to send them back ($100 a pop), haven't purchased one since.
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Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Apr 2, 2015 23:04:46 GMT
We need to get companies like Albion to start making Katanas, but than again would most of us be able to afford them. Never been a big fan of Chinese made goods but it's getting where we don't have any chose anymore.
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Post by Aurélien on Apr 2, 2015 23:23:22 GMT
Chinese-made products can be as good as European- or American-made ones. The origin of Hanwei products has nothing to do with their level of quality. In fact, if Hanwei was American, we would pay something like $3000 for a Bushido katana, for exemple. And the tsuka would probably suffer of the same quality issue... A quality issue easily avoidable, if the EUROPEAN/AMERICAN guys who sell us those Chinese swords decide to do their job honestly by doing REAL qc of what they give us...
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Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Apr 3, 2015 0:18:10 GMT
That's what I said would we be able to afford them. But I have to disagree on the quality of Chinese goods. I have owned American and Japanese made electronics that lasted eight to ten years with no problems. Now that we have a chose of Chinese or Chinese I have yet to buy one that last more then a year to a year and a half. And I'm buying name brands like Sony, RCA and such. Same thing with sump pumps, Chinese about a year, the American made one I have now is going on five years now with no problem. I've also found the same thing to be true with auto parts. Maybe the Chinese are smarter then we are, things that last you don't get to resell as often. All I know if I had to go to battle with a sword it won't be a Chinese made one it will be one of my Albions.
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Post by Afoo on Apr 3, 2015 1:55:47 GMT
I will paraphrase something I heard from top gear - if you take the cost of a sword, that is the cost of materials, labour and transportation. If you compare a product from the states vs one from China - the chinese one will have a greater transportation cost, and that cost has to come out of somewhere. By definition then, any chinese product will be worse than the American product of the same price point, as you will have to compromise on either the materials or the labour.
Long story short, I agree with Gunnar. Yes, you CAN get high quality Chinese stuff, but it will cost you more than the equivalent North American product. Yes their labour costs are cheaper, but you get what you pay for...
Hope the vendor comes through for you though - let us know what happens?
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Post by danmasamori on Apr 3, 2015 2:12:48 GMT
Hope the vendor comes through for you though - let us know what happens? Sure will, luckily the wife purchased from a well known vendor...
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Post by Afoo on Apr 3, 2015 2:50:31 GMT
Who was this vendor? Just so we can add to our communal knowledge and experience pool?
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Post by Aurélien on Apr 3, 2015 3:37:50 GMT
I will paraphrase something I heard from top gear - if you take cost of a sword, that is transportation. If you compare a product from the states vs one from China - the chinese one will have a greater transportation cost, and that cost has to come out of somewhere. By definition then, any chinese product will be worse than the American product of the same price point, as you will have to compromise on either the materials or the labour. Wrong math : you're forgetting that American and Chinese average salaries are far from being equal... Same thing for the costs in electricity, water, infrastructures, local taxes, etc... At the same price point, the Chinese products should be of BETTER quality. But they aren't. Because import/export business men always want to increase their benefit margin. Even if it means to produce low quality on purpose.
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Post by Afoo on Apr 3, 2015 4:06:29 GMT
I will paraphrase something I heard from top gear - if you take cost of a sword, that is transportation. If you compare a product from the states vs one from China - the chinese one will have a greater transportation cost, and that cost has to come out of somewhere. By definition then, any chinese product will be worse than the American product of the same price point, as you will have to compromise on either the materials or the labour. Wrong math : you're forgetting that American and Chinese average salaries are far from being equal... Same thing for the costs in electricity, water, infrastructures, local taxes, etc... At the same price point, the Chinese products should be of BETTER quality. But they aren't. Because import/export business men always want to increase their benefit margin. Even if it means to produce low quality on purpose. Well, my point is that you pay lower salaries for what could be argued as lower quality of work - less trained/skilled labourers using old and out-dated machinery and manufacturing techniques
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Post by danmasamori on Apr 3, 2015 4:15:32 GMT
Who was this vendor? Just so we can add to our communal knowledge and experience pool? Swords of the East...
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slav
Member
Senior Forumite
Katsujin No Ken
Posts: 4,457
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Post by slav on Apr 3, 2015 4:19:58 GMT
Hanwei's blades have potential. Good crisp geometry and usually very nice hamon etc. under the frosting. If I were to go for one, I'd buy it in Shirasaya and mount it out properly myself.
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Post by danmasamori on Apr 3, 2015 11:43:13 GMT
The more I think about it, the more I wonder if I am too picky? I'd say somewhere in the realm of 70% of production pieces I buy end up having tsuka issues, so much though that I enter into any purchase with the knowledge that the tsuka will need to be replaced before even receiving.
IDK, maybe I should just jam some JB Weld putty into the split and live with it....
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Post by Bryan Heff on Apr 3, 2015 12:14:27 GMT
I don't know much about Katanas...but one thing that some of the better Euro swords have (Albion for example) that makes a world of difference in the wood core is a cord under wrap. I have done quite a few handles myself based on that technique and that cord wrap makes the wood core nearly indestructible to cracking. The hundreds of tightly wrapped cord "circles" locks that core. Even if the wood wanted to crack, with all that force pushing it back in towards the tang channel (if that makes sense)..it just can't, and even if it did crack, I don't think it would compromise the construction all that much.
Anyway...sorry to hear you got a defect. Sucks big time when a high dollar item arrives and you find stuff like that. Really no excuse when you start getting into the higher tiers of quality. That is part of what you are paying for supposedly.
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Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Apr 3, 2015 12:20:41 GMT
No, no, no, that's what producers of shoddy goods want us to do, " just live with it ". That's why our landfills are getting loaded with junk that has to be replaced every year instead of being used for ten years. If it was made in the US you would demand it be taken care of, why not for import goods. Lets not become known as the junk buyers of the world. I heard a story which I can't say for sure it true, that when China first can into the world market Germany looked at their goods and said no thanks we'll come back in ten years to see what you're offering then. Maybe some of our German members can say if this is true or not.
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Post by danmasamori on Apr 3, 2015 12:52:18 GMT
Don't think I'll have a choice but to return it. My wife just texted, she e-mailed them again, she's pissed that they haven't responded yet. It hasn't even been 24 hours...lol
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