Post by pellius on Aug 13, 2016 20:31:58 GMT
I'm still pretty new here. I hope I put this in the right sub-forum. There wasn't a TLDR board.
So I had some brush to clear that would normally call for a bush ax, machete etc. However, having newly discovered the joy of cutting with a sword, I decided to use my eBay wakizashi and TFW Itak Tagalog #1 to lay low the flora uprising.
The waki is an inexpensive bo hi TH 1060 blade with an inexpensive traditional type mounting. It has an "artificial" hamon consisting of a polish applied perpendicular to the ha. It cost less than a hundred bucks brand new shipped from China. It was sold by vendor 201liche/Hero Sword. Surprisingly, perhaps, it came solid, attractive and scary sharp. Eventually I'll do a review.
Anyway, I had been wanting a "wilderness" sword that I could take camping and hiking and such. It would need to be short enough to carry, long enough for fending unfriendly fauna and zombies, tough enough to cut a trail and (light) firewood, and sharp enough for miscellaneous knife duty. In other words, it had to be magic.
This lept to mind one day as I was giving a suspicious side-eye to the encroaching wilderness at the back fence line. So I grabbed the waki and set about cutting. It was incredibly fun and super effective. No negative feedback into the wrist. Forgiving of bad edge alignment. No undue fatigue. Even on substantial oak limbs and such; it eagerly chewed through all of it.
Afterward, I Googone'd and Windexed the blade - it was still discolored and starting to rust. I quickly set about polishing it (by hand) with Mothers, and it came shiny showroom clean. (It also took a nice fillet from my finger - be careful kids!) Unfortunately, the wrap started to come unwrapped. I prolly should've lacquered it first. However, the blade was pristine. No chips, dents, rolls or otherwise.
I snagged the Itak from a forumite thru the classifieds section in a very pleasant and easy transaction. (Proper credit/feedback given in that sub-board.) Although it had been wielded by two prior owners, it came to me truly "as new." I got this one with "wilderness" in mind. Again, one day I'll do a review.
TFW touts the historical design of the Itak Tagalog as an agricultural implement that was pressed into military service. It is 5160 spring steel with D2 tool steel mixed in for some reason. The blade has a satin polish applied perpendicular to the edge. It might be my imagination, or maybe it's the chromium in the D2, but the blade is just plain gorgeous. Also worth mentioning - the scabbard is plain and borders on unattractive, but fits the blade absolutely perfectly. No rattle or wiggle. None. The blade is held securely but is effortlessly drawn.
Having had such a good time hacking with my waki, I took that gorgeous blade out back and put a powerful hurting on the local plant life. It performed well. The blade was very lively, with good presence and a powerful stroke. However, the profile of the blade turned out not to be as useful as the wak. The profile hollows between the mune and shinogi (I don't know the western terms) and then tapers to the ha with an appleseed shape. It worked fine for smaller targets, but tended to turn the blade down into the wood grain on thicker branches. That lead to more wrist and forearm fatigue and meant slower work and dislodging the blade a lot.
I was worried that gorgeous polish was gonna be all barked up. After cleaning the blade and polishing with Mothers, I was relieved to find it pristine and beautiful. Everything was solid and still "as new."
So, in summary, both blades took the abuse without a shrug. I should've prepped the waki tsuka better. The wak was much easier and effective to (mis)use. The Itak could've taken much more abuse. With a little care, both blades came sparkling clean. The wak cost less than a third of the Itak price (if bought new). The Itak can actually be sold used. Subjectively (i.e., imho), the Itak maaaaaaybe can pass for a camp knife/machete if you squint or see it in the scabbard; the waki appears to be 100% zombie slayer even to the casual eye.
The verdict: despite the raw performance of the wak, I would put the Itak in my backpack.
Thanks for looking.
So I had some brush to clear that would normally call for a bush ax, machete etc. However, having newly discovered the joy of cutting with a sword, I decided to use my eBay wakizashi and TFW Itak Tagalog #1 to lay low the flora uprising.
The waki is an inexpensive bo hi TH 1060 blade with an inexpensive traditional type mounting. It has an "artificial" hamon consisting of a polish applied perpendicular to the ha. It cost less than a hundred bucks brand new shipped from China. It was sold by vendor 201liche/Hero Sword. Surprisingly, perhaps, it came solid, attractive and scary sharp. Eventually I'll do a review.
Anyway, I had been wanting a "wilderness" sword that I could take camping and hiking and such. It would need to be short enough to carry, long enough for fending unfriendly fauna and zombies, tough enough to cut a trail and (light) firewood, and sharp enough for miscellaneous knife duty. In other words, it had to be magic.
This lept to mind one day as I was giving a suspicious side-eye to the encroaching wilderness at the back fence line. So I grabbed the waki and set about cutting. It was incredibly fun and super effective. No negative feedback into the wrist. Forgiving of bad edge alignment. No undue fatigue. Even on substantial oak limbs and such; it eagerly chewed through all of it.
Afterward, I Googone'd and Windexed the blade - it was still discolored and starting to rust. I quickly set about polishing it (by hand) with Mothers, and it came shiny showroom clean. (It also took a nice fillet from my finger - be careful kids!) Unfortunately, the wrap started to come unwrapped. I prolly should've lacquered it first. However, the blade was pristine. No chips, dents, rolls or otherwise.
I snagged the Itak from a forumite thru the classifieds section in a very pleasant and easy transaction. (Proper credit/feedback given in that sub-board.) Although it had been wielded by two prior owners, it came to me truly "as new." I got this one with "wilderness" in mind. Again, one day I'll do a review.
TFW touts the historical design of the Itak Tagalog as an agricultural implement that was pressed into military service. It is 5160 spring steel with D2 tool steel mixed in for some reason. The blade has a satin polish applied perpendicular to the edge. It might be my imagination, or maybe it's the chromium in the D2, but the blade is just plain gorgeous. Also worth mentioning - the scabbard is plain and borders on unattractive, but fits the blade absolutely perfectly. No rattle or wiggle. None. The blade is held securely but is effortlessly drawn.
Having had such a good time hacking with my waki, I took that gorgeous blade out back and put a powerful hurting on the local plant life. It performed well. The blade was very lively, with good presence and a powerful stroke. However, the profile of the blade turned out not to be as useful as the wak. The profile hollows between the mune and shinogi (I don't know the western terms) and then tapers to the ha with an appleseed shape. It worked fine for smaller targets, but tended to turn the blade down into the wood grain on thicker branches. That lead to more wrist and forearm fatigue and meant slower work and dislodging the blade a lot.
I was worried that gorgeous polish was gonna be all barked up. After cleaning the blade and polishing with Mothers, I was relieved to find it pristine and beautiful. Everything was solid and still "as new."
So, in summary, both blades took the abuse without a shrug. I should've prepped the waki tsuka better. The wak was much easier and effective to (mis)use. The Itak could've taken much more abuse. With a little care, both blades came sparkling clean. The wak cost less than a third of the Itak price (if bought new). The Itak can actually be sold used. Subjectively (i.e., imho), the Itak maaaaaaybe can pass for a camp knife/machete if you squint or see it in the scabbard; the waki appears to be 100% zombie slayer even to the casual eye.
The verdict: despite the raw performance of the wak, I would put the Itak in my backpack.
Thanks for looking.