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Post by Derzis on Sept 11, 2015 0:03:05 GMT
I have no idea how THAT is a firm still on the market Shishi. I mean, in the real world, when someone says it will be delivered in X days, this is part of the contract between you and the provider of the service. When the dead-line is not met, things are getting rough - in other areas things like this can end in court. BUT at the end, the provider of that service is still in business because he is outside (not in Canada or US) and guys are still taking the chance thinking 'will not happen to me'. And guys are happy if they get their money back ... and you teach them to send regards to the provider's family. Interesting for me as outsider - since I don't buy many swords. I use one at a time.
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Post by Shishi on Sept 11, 2015 0:33:04 GMT
I have no idea how THAT is a firm still on the market Shishi. I mean, in the real world, when someone says it will be delivered in X days, this is part of the contract between you and the provider of the service. When the dead-line is not met, things are getting rough - in other areas things like this can end in court. BUT at the end, the provider of that service is still in business because he is outside (not in Canada or US) and guys are still taking the chance thinking 'will not happen to me'. And guys are happy if they get their money back ... Yeah. They make the best ebay china kats but they should be out of business. Noooo! Lol I get what you're saying though. Maybe I'll confess, jacky may be Overly optimistic wih his expected deliveries, but I know the work is brilliant, and it's worth the extra wait. That's me though. I don't want people getting the wrong idea about huawei. Their swords are bomb, but the waiting/communication involved with custom orders tends to be stressful enough to give you nightmares. Attachments:
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Post by Croccifixio on Sept 11, 2015 2:07:35 GMT
There's a reason why so many custom makers in this business aren't really able to deliver consistently on the date they agree on. There's a reason why so many bladesmiths nowadays - and amazing, skilled, and fast ones at that - do not take commissions or at least do not agree to full customization.
If I wanted a custom sword from most makers, I'd honestly just give the smith a general time and general things I'd like and let him or her be creative and run with it. Their artistic senses require that kind of freedom, otherwise it will seem like a chore to them and that fact will result in a subpar or extremely slow product (if it's ever done). Many don't really get into the business to get rich, or because it's the only job they can get. Most just do this out of love for the craft and art.
Of course, you also have those amazing smiths who are just happy to do the work, and churn out things incredibly fast, and accurate to your specifications! Just in this forum, you have Fallen, Digs, Chennessfan, Tom Kinder and others who make these things so fast it puts others to shame. You have Brendan and Banzai whose artistry can improve upon even your own fantasy, and still deliver within deadlines. You have John Lundemo who needs no introduction. So yeah, many swordmakers take their own sweet time, but if you aren't willing to wait, that's ok because there are other supremely skilled ones who work fast, well, and aren't as afraid of deadlines as the others.
And honestly? I don't know the Chinese smiths well enough to be assured of all that.
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Post by Derzis on Sept 11, 2015 2:39:25 GMT
And there is a reason why some are taking orders even if they know they can't deliver on the time they say. Give a 8-12months waiting time and you will lose clients that like your work, but not enough to get one of your production blades. Say them 3-4 months and you get the order in. Let them having nightmares ...
Again, I don't talk about blades per se, but the way of doing business.
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Post by munk on Sept 12, 2015 2:26:25 GMT
Well, to Jacky's defense he isn't late on my sword yet. On top of that, my design is probably one of the more difficult (most difficult?) that I've seen Huawei take on. I've already been turned down by one manufacturer, and short of finding an individual to forge the sword, I just don't have many options. Luckily for me, Huawei accepted the order and just so happens to be one of the better eBay katana makers. That's a pretty good start! I suppose it's too early for me to lose faith that he'll come through, just a little concerned with the stories of year-long waits that were prefaced with unanswered emails (and my recent emails having not been answered yet). BUT, should Huawei pull this off, it's going to serve as a poster child for what they can do, and I'll do my part to let people know. It might seem like a "problem project" but problems are just opportunities in disguise! It's a chance for them to really flex their muscles and win over some of the doubtful who might be on the fence about ordering from them. After all, if they can make my sword what's the worry in having them make a more normal custom katana? Don't let me down Jacky! I'll sing your praises if you can get 'er done  |
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Post by munk on Sept 20, 2015 15:32:15 GMT
Got my custom menuki in the mail yesterday. Haven't heard back from Jacky yet, but he may have been waiting for an update on these before reaching out. I'll see if he responds to my update about shipping out the menuki. Dimensions: .5" wide x 2.25" tall x 1/8" thick Materials: Solid Brass Model: Over 10,000 facets went into the final 3D model, all individually drawn by myself (not including those that were required to build the internal framework of the shape) Price: $28 shipped 3D Model Screenshot After a little sanding/polishing to remove the print lines |
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Post by MessengerofDarkness on Sept 20, 2015 15:40:53 GMT
Nice looking Menuki, they should look good once mounted. I'd also let Jacky know that you plan on doing an in-depth review of the ko-katana online here so that they're a bit more likely to get things done quicker. I'm currently commissioning ST-Nihonto to make me a custom L6 katana, and Sheng's been very quick and reply-fast with me. Someone else here, who is also commissioning Sheng, is waiting a bit more time than me to not only have his done, but also to just hear back from him.
The difference is that I let Sheng know that I would be publicly reviewing his product and the other gentleman did not. If you did tell Jacky that already, then disregard this. XD
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Sept 20, 2015 21:55:03 GMT
Wow, nice job Munk. Those are pretty long, they will span 5 hishi (using average 10mm ito).
I wanted to ask you for some help/advice on printing menuki closer to your other set, the rectangular set you posted earlier. I'll shoot you a pm.
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Post by munk on Sept 21, 2015 0:54:49 GMT
Sure, no problem.
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Mikeeman
Member
Small Business Operator
Posts: 2,904 
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Post by Mikeeman on Sept 21, 2015 14:59:08 GMT
Wow. Those look awesome. You could probably sell those for a lot more than it cost you to have them made. Just sell them to me for production costs first.  |
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Post by munk on Sept 22, 2015 0:53:03 GMT
Well, not if you count the time it took to make it lol.
This particular design was quite the pain in my ***. It was enough to cause my trusted 3D designer co-worker to crumple in defeat about halfway through. But by then I was too set on the design...I ended up I downloading some plugins that were supposed to do a lot of the heavy lifting for me, but only produced ridiculous 'coo-coo for cocoa puffs' results with random spikes, folds, and twists. So I eventually accepted that this wasn't going to get done unless I did it the hard way, and sat down and drew each little teeny facet by hand until the shape was complete.
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Post by MessengerofDarkness on Sept 22, 2015 1:26:00 GMT
They kinda look like a cool weapon that Batman would use. :D
Great job with them! ^_^
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Post by munk on Sept 23, 2015 4:39:18 GMT
It's a stylized fang, probably should have mentioned that earlier haha
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Post by munk on Sept 25, 2015 1:00:39 GMT
Got a hold of Jacky the other day. Let him know the menuki were finished, ordered japanese silk for the tsuka, and asked him to slim the tsuka down a little on the sides for better ergonomics. He was very accommodating |
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Post by munk on Nov 3, 2015 0:30:59 GMT
Hey all, I have an update on the sword. I reached out to Jacky asking about that status of the sword now that we are past the 60 day mark he quoted. He sent some pics of the blade in it's early state (no choil, polish, sharpening, etc.), but mentioned that the sword would need special customization for various components (habaki, saya, etc)...which I thought I had explained in my original email to him. So I'm not sure if he is just now realizing what I meant or imply he needs more time (which I'd gladly give). Side Profile (you can see the red mark where the top of the tsuka will be)  Edge shot showing the termination of the blade bevel, per request  Spine shot  |
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Post by Croccifixio on Nov 3, 2015 0:57:51 GMT
At least you clearly see the progress!
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Nov 3, 2015 5:24:20 GMT
Getting a stock removable blade I see.
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Post by munk on Nov 3, 2015 12:58:41 GMT
Just a 9260 TH, nothing fancy (except the choil, I suppose). Hope Jacky can make the custom parts it'll need.
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Post by Robert in California on Nov 3, 2015 16:15:54 GMT
I ordered my custom Huawei katana from Jacky Cheng about late November 2014.
It arrived yesterday with all details to my specs except my request for more niku to make it suitable for harder targets.
Jacky is a VERY nice guy, but a small shop, so he can take on a custom order today, make a guess at turnaround time and then next week get two more orders and become unable to get everyone's 'rush job custom' done in time.
Bigger outfits can do faster turn-arounds.
I am ok with this new custom blade with standard blade shaping since a hard targets blade would have more meat and so I wanted bohi to compensate for the additional weight.
The bohi blade Jacky made had a tiny ha-giri (very small crack in the blade cutting edge in one spot) so he made a new blade w/o bohi which was a success and we went with that.
I was careful to maintain good manners and patience with Jacky because I find with skilled folks, one gets best quality by not pushing too hard.
So I have a beautiful new longer katana that still has the comfort and agility of my other Huawei custom katana.
And am asking Jacky about a custom wakizashi....he seems pretty busy now, and a bit reluctant to take on another of my custom jobs, but I told him to take all the time he wants.
We shall see if he takes the job on, given no time pressures.
RinC
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Post by munk on Nov 4, 2015 1:14:46 GMT
Congrats! I too asked for niku on my blade so we'll see how that turns out (won't be the end of the world if it doesn't happen). Do you have any pictures you can post? I'm very curious with how it turned out.
Jacky does seem like a nice guy, and I too try to remain patient given that it's probably is a small operation (and the high quality would seem to warrant cutting him some slack). So I've made it a point to give him plenty of room to work without me "looking over his shoulder" all the time. Being a graphic designer, I can relate to the effects of too much pressure in terms of quality on a project. I often find that those who push too hard for speedy turnaround times will get a lesser quality product (you often have to compromise on the finer details in order to hit the accelerated deadline).
But interestingly enough, I find that those who don't push at all tend to suffer from similar problems, believe it or not. As one might expect, projects with little-or-no urgency usually take a back seat to the projects that have more urgency. The problem is that, with someone who is ALWAYS busy, there is ALWAYS a project with more urgency than that "no rush" project. After being deferred and deferred, eventually you just bang something out because 1) you realize that it'll never get done unless you can do it between those "urgent" projects, and 2) it's already been so long that you feel a certain pressure to deliver as quick as you can. The end result is hasty work either way, and the problems inherent with that.
The key is finding that delicate balance between allowing enough space/time for quality work to be done, but not so much that the project doesn't seem like a priority, or doesn't warrant one's full attention/dedication.
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