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Post by Shishi on Mar 21, 2016 19:41:19 GMT
I may be back someday. Attachments:
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 21, 2016 20:03:31 GMT
Uuhh...okay?
I guess that o-kissaki is nice? I dunno, I just got to look at it now. Been doing other things. Aliexpress is a pretty horrible site for me, it doesn't run well and it's hard on my eyes, so I don't browse it often. Go figure?
Anyway, swords, right?
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Post by Shishi on Mar 21, 2016 21:26:05 GMT
Yeah peace out
not attacking anybody, but this used to be a nice forum.
very interesting thoughts on the matter.
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Post by shogun on Mar 21, 2016 21:44:24 GMT
Hauwei is a good hauwei to go. For off the shelf . I wish I didn't click that link.
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Post by Shishi on Mar 21, 2016 21:47:52 GMT
Shogun, shogun-a give me a little hope for this place yet. Still, I gotta take a break.
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Post by Kiyoshi on Mar 21, 2016 23:07:17 GMT
It isn't that your opinions aren't valued, it is more that it wasn't really what the thread was for. Perhaps you'd get more responses as its own thread than at the end of one that was relatively finished up.
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 21, 2016 23:57:56 GMT
Well, it was a valid input. The o-kissaki blade that I saw could certainly be considered relevant and discussion-worthy in relation to the topic of the thread. Only reason I hadn't commented on this vein was that, simply, I hadn't had the chance yet. It's the weird dramatic goodbye that kinda made commenting on it when the opportunity arose...awkward.
Anyway, I said before that of any modern supplier, I've seen the most talk of niku, funbari, and yokote from people who've bought from Huawei. It's just that not all their swords seem to reliably include these things at the level those of us who like them can really appreciate.
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Post by Croccifixio on Mar 22, 2016 1:03:30 GMT
Why so sensitive? Sometimes posts take quite a long time to be read. Different timezones. Different areas of activity. Different interest. Don't judge the forums just because you didn't get a quick reply.
And Huawei gets so much love here. It's strange that you see the opposite. They're basically the number 1 recommended ebay katana and possibly the number one recommended katana overall at the $300 price range here in the forums.
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Post by Shishi on Mar 22, 2016 1:54:10 GMT
Why so sensitive? Sometimes posts take quite a long time to be read. Different timezones. Different areas of activity. Different interest. Don't judge the forums just because you didn't get a quick reply. And Huawei gets so much love here. It's strange that you see the opposite. They're basically the number 1 recommended ebay katana and possibly the number one recommended katana overall at the $300 price range here in the forums. May have come off super sensitive, but most times I bring up huawei, I get wicked push back, I've been called condescending for no reason, hence the not valued opinion thing. Sorry bout the drama folks. We're all good. This thread has been derailed enough. I'll keep my hands in my pockets for the most part, and off the keyboard, but I can't help checking out the eye candy here from time to tome. ps: I'm rather fond of the ko-kissaki kat back there as well. $369, half decent fittings with kojiri, DH, geometric yokote, polished kissaki, nice boshi and all that.
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Post by Kiyoshi on Mar 22, 2016 1:57:47 GMT
Why keep your hands in your pockets? We like swords as much as the next guy (or more). If you find a cool sword, make a thread about it. We may be slow to reply at times but we'll get to it eventually. I for one read threads a lot at work and don't reply until a day or so later because I'm swamped.
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Post by Shishi on Mar 22, 2016 2:04:08 GMT
I don't expect everyone to reply immediately. Jeese. It was bout day and a half, got nothin, figured y'all were tired of me ranting on about huawei..... I wanna read this thread from the beginning, I want knowledge.
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Post by zabazagobo on Mar 22, 2016 6:21:58 GMT
Shishi, if there's a forum member who everybody is annoyed with for always ranting about Huawei, odds are it's probably me. On that note, here's another round of me talking about Huawei!
As for the blade you linked to, it looks like another solid blade from Huawei geometry-wise. Jacky's shinogi zukuri geometry has steadily improved over the years to the point where I might want to purchase another...but that would be my sixth sword from Huawei, which is a bit much...I mean really, I could have bought a MAS for the cumulative price of all those swords easily.
The lines look crisp to be sure, the thickness of the blade seems to taper slightly from habaki to kissaki, but it looks like a pretty flat bevel (typical to most Huawei pieces) with little niku. Without handling it in person I could be totally wrong about the niku though, it can be hard to tell at times depending on the angle in the photo. But considering how the shinogi looks relatively flat, it doesn't seem to have as "robust" a geometry as something like my Hanwei Bushido.
Quick question: aren't there two kinds of niku to be considered, one for the ji and the other for the swelling about the shinogi?
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Post by Kiyoshi on Mar 22, 2016 6:35:05 GMT
According to the connoisseurs book of japanese swords, the two types are ha and hira niku. Ha niku is niku just in the cutting hamon area. The other is hira niku which is when the whole ji is a clam-shell shape. This is the kind of niku most people think of when they think niku. The ha niku is often harder to see since it can be all the way near the edge.
As far as people not liking huawei, I'm probably among the minority that thinks their reputation is over inflated and they aren't really that special. After all, they do their stuff like most other eBay sellers, order form a factory and send them off. If they have any better quality, it's either perceived or they buy better stuff from the factories. Most people on this forum recommend them above the other vendors despite the communication issues.
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Post by zabazagobo on Mar 22, 2016 7:01:43 GMT
Thanks Kiyoshi, I really should pick that book up at some point, thanks for the reminder. So, as a quick vocab quiz, the Huawei in question would have poor hira niku and poor ha niku, although the hira niku is more pronounced, right?
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Post by Kiyoshi on Mar 22, 2016 7:08:43 GMT
No problem. It's a great resource. That and the craft of the japanese sword were very insightful.
As far as I know, only a store was linked. Which sword are you referring to specifically?
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Post by Croccifixio on Mar 22, 2016 7:50:38 GMT
Huawei just "gets" it. I know that they're not a forge, and that they probably source their blades from the forge of Zheng (source of many other vendors such as Ronin, Musashi, etc), but Huawei get the aesthetics of a katana more than any other ebay vendor. The fact that they offered hishigami as part of their normal production; the fact that they rarely go crazy with fittings (like those overly ornate habaki and tsuba other vendors put on their blades); the fact that they offer different levels of polish (their high polish is amazing - though I have a feeling they lightly etch areas of the blade for the hamon-popping effect) show me that they understand what the sword-crowd want in their katana.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have the "production" katana from Hanwei, Ronin, and Musashi (the three most popular production brands from my observation). They also "get" it, but in a different way. They understand what sells. They understand which blades work, which ones don't. You won't really go "wrong" with them, but they rarely stand out (only certain blades from them stand out IMO). I prefer Huawei's designs to theirs at the $300 price point, but it's fair to say that they have outstanding katana as well.
In any case, I've also derailed this thread enough. I'll go play with my heavy niku katana a bit and see if there's a way to improve the geometry :P
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Post by Kiyoshi on Mar 22, 2016 7:58:07 GMT
Fair enough, they do order more specific things on their swords and a lot of it is what we normally ask for (niku, black on black, their acid polish, etc). The main problem I have with all eBay vendors though, he has too, and that is communication. I like hanwei specifically as their blades are just nice to me. I like their steel, I like their temper, all in all, great imo. Too bad they have terribly huge fittings and axe handle tsuka, lol. However, they are better at a higher price point and musashi shines at a lower one (sub $150) and ronin are tough but not for someone who uses swords like I do.
If you get anywhere with it, be sure to make a thread or at least send me pics. A beast like that with some cleaner geometry lines would make for some great eye candy.
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Post by Shishi on Mar 22, 2016 10:59:47 GMT
Awesome. I'll never leave again. This is perfect discussion that I find constructive and interesting.
Just something I might add is the tang itself, sets huawei in a perhaps slightly higher class than many of the ebay vendors, at least that I have dealt with. I'll whip up a picture of a huawei tang, versus, one of those red and black pattern steel katana, I just happen to have and not mounted yet. I was planning on putting up for sale locally, because it's not really my area of interest, but I know some people like it. First I have to pop the mekugi from a huawei. One moment please.
The tang of hanwei is 100% as high standard and probably higher, although I only have one, the Liondog. Even the hanwei rapiers, a thicker tang than expected, significantly aiding the handling. My brother prefers that type of sword.
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Post by Shishi on Mar 22, 2016 13:52:13 GMT
I know the red and black swords are a poor comparison but there is a significant difference in thickness, I've seen similar thin tangs on katana from other ebay vendors. You usually get what you pay for in a way. With huawei, to me, it feels like much more. Attachments:
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Post by Croccifixio on Mar 22, 2016 14:23:34 GMT
Oh and sometimes Huawei source their blades from smiths such as Zheng Qi Ren who's got a good rep for tough blades. That ability to find those sources set them apart. And yes they seem to be the only ones offering wide niku katana.
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