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Post by Jayhawk on Jun 15, 2015 19:43:22 GMT
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jun 15, 2015 20:12:50 GMT
It's not a jian; only the tip is double-edged. Assuming katana-like construction, and reasonable heat treatment, should be OK for cutting with. For taiji sword: the grip isn't a standard jian grip, don't know about balance. It should work as well as the standard straight "ninja" sword. Not a Tang style sword, except in a very superficial way. These usually have (unhistorical?) cylindrical grips, with a hole drilled through the middle. So too much empty space in the grip core. Assuming the tang is otherwise OK, then epoxy fill, and off you go for cutting. Cylindrical grip might make it a poor forms sword. Also, not the correct shape for a normal jian grip. Long grip might get in the way. Might benefit from epoxy fill of the hilt. At this price, excess space in the grip core is normal. Looks OK. It's on the heavy side of jian. On the light side. Not good for cutting. Don't know how well it would survive cutting. Good if you want a lightweight forms sword. |
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Post by Jayhawk on Jun 15, 2015 20:24:07 GMT
That first swword, the ebay one, looked un-jian like to me, too, but the price was good.
On the second sword, I had concerns about the hilt being wrong for tai chi as well.
The third is heavy...I wonder if that is truly without the scabbard?
Anyone know of any other good options in the $150 or below price range?
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Post by Jayhawk on Jun 16, 2015 1:22:50 GMT
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jun 16, 2015 1:50:58 GMT
These ones look OK, for the price: The first is a pretty normal jian. The 2nd is very light. The 3rd is heavy. Unless you want a really light or heavy one, get the first. You're not likely to find a much better sub-$100 jian. As before, might want to do an epoxy fill of the grip. But I'd avoid this, because I really don't like cylindrical handles, it's unhistorical, and it's ugly: |
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Post by Jayhawk on Jun 16, 2015 1:56:05 GMT
The first one is the one I liked the looks of best. I'd still like to hear from WLE site to see if they know of anything about the tang and if it'll hold an edge (I assume it will since it's tempered, but it never hurts to ask).
They have one with two tone fittings in the same model, so sizes available are 28, 30 and 32 inches. Being only 5'8" - any recommendation on size?
Thanks,
Eric
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jun 16, 2015 2:08:08 GMT
Zhisword has a bunch of cheap jian, but the cheap ones look comparable to the WLE ones, and shipping from WLE is probably cheaper.
I haven't seen a really cheap jian or dao with a good hilt. The cheap ones usually have too much space in the grip core. Quicker and cheaper to make that way. Tangs are usually on the thin side. Put those two together, and filling the hilt with epoxy is good - helps support the tang, and stops it from moving in the grip core. The fittings are often zinc-aluminium alloy. If brass or steel, that's a good step. Warning: sometimes, "brass" means "brass coloured", and you get brass-coloured zinc-aluminium alloy.
If you double the budget, then there are better jian in the $200-$300 range. E.g., the Hanwei Chinese Cutting Sword, which is good, but perhaps a bit too long for some; the Cold Steel Gim, which though ugly is otherwise good (balanced a little close in, but is still well-balanced), possibly the TFW jian which looks OK from pics and specs.
But an $80 jian + epoxy is certainly cheaper, and might do everything you want.
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jun 16, 2015 2:27:46 GMT
They have one with two tone fittings in the same model, so sizes available are 28, 30 and 32 inches. Being only 5'8" - any recommendation on size? The usual standard (tip reaching the top of the ear) would usually translate to 31" blade for you. (See height-blade length table at www.shopwushu.com/Selecting-Your-Sword-Size.html ). But some same bottom of ear is better, which would be about 28". I don't think it really matters. Shorter is easier. But 32" shouldn't be too long; what you learn to do with a long jian is easy to do with a shorter one (with the exception of out-reaching an opponent, but that's a different issue). |
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Post by Jayhawk on Jun 16, 2015 3:59:33 GMT
Thanks for all your help! I'm leaning towards the $80 and epoxy (or making a new handle...gotta do something fun with my new dremel).
Speaking of cheap Daos...I did the review of the Qin Dao from SwordnArmory, and the hilt fit great on it with no spare space. The tang wasn't as pretty as I'd like, but beefy and the sword/hilt have been used to cut pumpkins thrown at my son's head by his fencing master. It's a shockingly good sword, but at the price it's likely luck was involved in my particular sword being particularly good.
So I'm willing to take a risk on a lower priced sword. Plus, I'm selling Irish whistles on another forum right now (thinning that herd to make room for swords), and the $80 jian will allow a new Vespa tire as well off the whistle profits.
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