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Post by Croccifixio on Jun 2, 2015 9:20:23 GMT
Last I heard about these ( in this thread), the consensus was that their new katana (the Ume 26' and 28') were far from their old offerings from the Philippine forge. Apart from the criticisms on the looks/fittings, has anyone ever bought their new katana and tried them to see if the blades held up? The old KCs were really good cutters even if they weren't all that pretty. All in all, should I stick to Hanwei/Huawei for my katana fix? The thing with Huawei is that I'm not a big fan of their sub $300 swords (at least in their aliexpress store), and I'm also not a big fan of the Practical fittings (though I am leaning towards getting a Practical XL since the wider blade appeals to my need for more blade presence.
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Post by stannmiranda on Jun 3, 2015 5:07:32 GMT
I'd love to hear some info on this subject as well. As you can see from my sig, I'm a long time KC fan but Im wondering about what the new stuff is like especially if theres a new forge involved.
It would be interesting to get a timeline together of what models were produced when and where. I know that the last blade I ordered from Cecil was amazing came with bo-hi. I'm pretty sure it was the KC29III. Its the one with the red saya in my sig. Looking through the KC site this past week it doesn't seem like any of the general production blades have the bo-hi which I really liked aesthetically.
Anyone who gets the KC29V let us know some info!
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Jun 3, 2015 5:21:03 GMT
What I've heard is that they are good, though they don't seem to be striking fancies like the old ones. Blades mentioned have good lines, with a fairly aveage cross-polished kisski. Respectable durability. Blade geometry is more in line with what you normally see from common Chinese forges, rather than the more unique style used before.
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Post by Novice_Surgery on Jun 3, 2015 15:50:08 GMT
I bought one of the new series blades. It was a 26" nagasa bare blade, its definately a far cry from their older offerings. It has slight sori and the hamon is excellent. Its suguha but with lots of cloves and ashi. habaki fit coulda been a little better. I mounted it and it was pretty good in handling and it did come sharp enough to cleanly glide through paper. For the price of 125$, it was a good buy for me when I was trying to get into mounting my own katana. Im actually remounting it shortly with my imrpoved skills so ill have a second crack at her before I sell the complete weapon.
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Post by Croccifixio on Jun 4, 2015 1:26:59 GMT
I bought one of the new series blades. It was a 26" nagasa bare blade, its definately a far cry from their older offerings. It has slight sori and the hamon is excellent. Its suguha but with lots of cloves and ashi. habaki fit coulda been a little better. I mounted it and it was pretty good in handling and it did come sharp enough to cleanly glide through paper. For the price of 125$, it was a good buy for me when I was trying to get into mounting my own katana. Im actually remounting it shortly with my imrpoved skills so ill have a second crack at her before I sell the complete weapon. From what you're saying... Does this mean you'd recommend them? Say, over a hanwei practical at the same price?
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Post by blackchapel on Jul 17, 2015 5:46:12 GMT
What's wrong with Huawei's sub $300 swords? Something wrong with the blades? I was thinking about buying a 9260 spring steel one off of AliExpress. I was under the impression they were rather good(for such a low price).
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Jul 17, 2015 6:11:32 GMT
What's wrong with Huawei's sub $300 swords? Something wrong with the blades? I was thinking about buying a 9260 spring steel one off of AliExpress. I was under the impression they were rather good(for such a low price). From what I have heard, they are excellent for the money.
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Post by blackchapel on Jul 17, 2015 6:19:07 GMT
From what I've read, it seems most members on here think Huawei is pretty respectable. I've never owned a katana before so I think starting out with one of the cheaper Huawei's is my best bet. Won't be so upset if I chip it, or the blade takes a set.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 6:43:53 GMT
The Hanwei and Huawei blades are a safe bet for a decent sword.
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Post by Robert in California on Jul 17, 2015 16:42:50 GMT
Huawei blades are good. Furniture varies....alloy for the cheaper, but if one asks, iron etc is available for a little more money. Huawei does do custom swords....but turn around in 2015 is much slower than it was in 2014. On custom blades where the blade size, material, shape, hamon is specified by the customer. Right now, with Hauwei, quickest way to get one of their swords is to go to Ebay or Alibaba and buy an already made and ready to sell&ship sword. RinC (my custom Huawei blade with my choice of furniture, etc ordered Dec14....jacky recently messaged me that he will let me know when it is ready to ship...I'll post when I get any more updates....on the other hand, my two Huawei's are excellent swords and that makes me willing to endure the wait.)
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Greg E
Member
little bit of this... and a whole lot of that
Posts: 1,302
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Post by Greg E on Jul 17, 2015 17:21:20 GMT
I have 3 Huawei katanas and 1 wakizashi. I have found them to be worth the money and are slightly better in finish and workmanship than Hanbon. Hanbon is still OK as well.
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Post by blackchapel on Jul 18, 2015 1:29:30 GMT
Thanks for the opinions guys. Sorry, if I derailed the thread a little. Decided I'm gonna start out with one of their cheaper 9260 blades for now. Thanks again.
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Jul 18, 2015 3:09:43 GMT
I found the KC Chinese made swords very average. Probably good and strong enough but the furniture and fittings and blade itself lack anything special imho. They are not made the way the 5160 series swords were (and are, again) and are just like many other one size fits all constructed swords. Decent, average, can buy one like it anywhere. The positive side would be that you'd buy it from a great company with great people and exceptional cs. Regarding Huawei, I've purchased swords under $300 a few times and was very satisfied for the price, though most were in shirasaya. As Robert mentioned, the fittings are same old same old but can be upgraded or I believe you can even send in your own and they'll put them on your sword for you. I find most of their blades to be above the rest as far as geometry, hamon, balance, polishing and overall aesthetics are concerned and I haven't personally experienced or heard of any major heat treatment or durability issues. None of the Longquan swords in this class are perfect but I find Huawei consistently superior to the rest and I'll keep buying from them until there is an issue. The Hanwei Pk, PPK, and so on are excellent swords for beginners to advanced practitioners and also those looking to customize. They are the trusty, if not a bit plain Jane, steak knives that are your go-to workhorses you keep throughout your bachelorhood and up until your wife throws them away years later without your knowledge and replaces them with fancy ones that rust or break or just bother the heck out of you They don't let you down even when they're old and tired.... like Robert -Josh
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Post by Croccifixio on Jul 22, 2015 8:24:20 GMT
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