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Post by wazikan on Jul 13, 2017 18:02:04 GMT
so I want to get a sword made. I really like the straight double jian style Japanese blade that is on the KOA Japanese menu under the other Japanese swords Ive been looking for a while and cant seem to find anything. so I was going to ask Jackie to make one. whats the best way to get in touch with her? I tend not to do too much business through ebay. is that the only way?
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Post by zabazagobo on Jul 13, 2017 18:20:52 GMT
I've never ordered a ken before, but if you shoot Jacky a message either by using the contact seller option from his/her (it? Darn gender ambiguous names) account page, that should work. Or maybe try using the "ask seller a question" option on the han jian listing, asking if he/she/whatever can forge a ken, saying something about wanting a traditional Japanese style straight-sword.
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Post by midbloom on Jul 16, 2017 15:59:18 GMT
yes, ebay is the only way you can contact her. though she doesn't respond immediately all the time. i think this is a part-time thing for her and that she has a full time job elsewhere. she's based in hongkong and has contacts in longquan who make quality fittings and darn good blades. just don't expect japanese nihonto level quality and polish job.
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Post by Rain on Jul 16, 2017 19:22:04 GMT
I purchased a custom made ken type sword from jacky at huewei ebay. 9260 steel with a spring temper, rosewood handle/scabard. two hand sword, they were selling this plain type once in a while that i liked the look of. I wanted one a little longer and a bit more robust. I only asked for a certain length of blade and handle, and that it would be for matt cutting. since these are hand forged i feel this is best for the smith, this way they can forge blade for good handling and cutting. no sense me trying to micro manage blade width, thickness and so on. Came with very nice clam shell geometry and length asked for. As I remember Jacky is a man with a family.
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Post by William Swiger on Jul 16, 2017 19:48:31 GMT
From what a couple people have told me who went to China is that Jacky is a younger woman. She has an EBay shop and is also on that Asian selling site. She has some swords for sale that for the most part are past customer "custom" orders. She has been selling one of my custom ones from a few years back as an in-stock item. Have been told she takes special orders and has a local forge make them. Same forge that makes the EBay ones. Once you have a custom sword made, keep an eye out for it to be offered on EBay. She pays the forge and shipping and her money comes from the difference from what the customer pays.
At the end of the day, it really does not matter. Jacky is not a forge owner or smith and is a middleman.
I will say that the products Jacky sells are better than any other katana I have purchased directly from China.
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Post by zabazagobo on Jul 16, 2017 22:00:51 GMT
Thanks for clearing that up, Mr. Swiger. As you said, it really doesn't matter, but it's at least good to know how to refer to a person I've done a lot of business with (and now feel rather stupid for getting her gender incorrect) the last four years.
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Post by William Swiger on Jul 16, 2017 23:49:36 GMT
This was just what I was told. I personally cannot verify but the sources are trustworthy.
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Post by stopped1 on Jul 17, 2017 1:25:31 GMT
Well, if the paypal email is to go by, it is a lady's name sophie.chenyan@gmail.com
Doesn't matter, I get beaten by girls regularly at kendo and the sensei of my iaido sensei is female too.
Even if you go forge direct you are not better off. About 10 years ago when some chinese forges listed swords on ebay (they were listed In chinese and paypal was not a method of payment) and I got hold of two of them (I can read and write In chinese so its a bit easier) and had a few folded steel katana with true hamon and good kissaki/yokote (not that common then). They were a pain to deal with and got things wrong too (ordered and paid for ONE clay temper and folded steel, ended up getting a mono steel with hamon blade and a TH folded blade. ). I gave up doing forge direct very quickly.
A good middleman is as good as dealing with a forge.
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Post by zabazagobo on Jul 17, 2017 16:43:49 GMT
And the funny part is that I never thought twice about that email address. I keep feeling dumber by the minute haha
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Post by chrisperoni on Jul 17, 2017 17:03:55 GMT
Always thought Jacky was a guy lol.
I had them make me a custom Ken blade which I further customized. Find an auction that has basically what you want (or a starting point) and message her through that auction. She can make up a specific order for you. Get it sent to you through PayPal messaging when you finalize and pay.
I asked for folded t10 with a specific habaki. Modded the rest of it or made my own parts.
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Post by chrisperoni on Jul 17, 2017 17:06:39 GMT
The blade btw is stunning in person. The hada, hamon, nie and nioi, the bohi, the lines...
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Post by Robert in California on Jul 27, 2017 1:58:35 GMT
One must have superior patience to order custom from Huawei. Worth it...yes. But much patience is needed normally. RinC
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Post by Robert in California on Jul 27, 2017 2:00:05 GMT
p.s. On custom Huawei orders, I end up paying via PayPal directly to Jackie's PayPal account rather than thru Ebay. RinC (never been a problem....Jackie is bad on customer email/messages response, but very, very honest)
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Post by wazikan on Jul 27, 2017 22:57:01 GMT
im used to anything custom with blades taking a long time. I have waited up to 5 years for custom knife orders. some people have crazy backlogs
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Post by stopped1 on Jul 28, 2017 0:04:01 GMT
I rather wait than two weeks turn around time. Anything under 3 week prossibly means they pick a blade off the shelf thats close enough and profile it to suit. Even the saya can take weeks. I was sent a custom blade pic last month and seller told me at least 2 weeks more for saya because it has been raining all month and takes days before the glue would cure for further priming and painting. (Real japanese lacquer cures better when moist but not in a $500 sword)
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Post by seanyx11 on Aug 1, 2017 4:05:31 GMT
Anyone skilled enough can definitely do it in 2 weeks though. I had a custom koshirae made for my Rick Barrett blade and it only took 3 weeks. That's including making custom fuchi, kashira, tsuba, habaki, tsuka, and saya. This wasn't just basic stuff either, very intricate carving on the fittings and pretty complicated negative stencil work on the saya with crushed pearl.
So, when these people talk about it taking 6 months to 1 year for custom work, it makes me laugh. They have already used the money from several others that have paid them for their work, and they need more money to finish the work they currently have. So, they take your money and use it to finish the sword that's already been waiting for 6 months, and then they wait another 6 months or whatever to get a new customer to pay for yours lol.
The only way I'm waiting 6 months to 1 year or more for any polishing or custom koshirae, is if I send my nihonto to Japan to have each part done by a specialized craftsmen. A Togishi who apprenticed for 10 yrs to polish it. A sayashi to make the saya, etc.
Anyway, Jacky @ Huawei just finished a semi-custom katana for me about a month ago and it turned out awesome. It originally only took 3 weeks to finish, because they had to make a new saya with gloss black lacquer instead of their normal ishime lacquer. Then, the day they were shipping it, Jacky was shimming the koiguchi and split the saya. So, it took another 3 weeks or so to make a completely new one at my request (instead of fixing the one they split), but Jacky hooked me up with some Rattan wrap on the saya for free because I had to wait so long. Very good customer service, though it may take a day or two to here back from an email, but this was usually because of the time difference. If I wanted another Chinese sword, I'd definitely buy from them again.
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Post by benvk on Aug 2, 2017 4:37:55 GMT
Anyone skilled enough can definitely do it in 2 weeks though. I had a custom koshirae made for my Rick Barrett blade and it only took 3 weeks. That's including making custom fuchi, kashira, tsuba, habaki, tsuka, and saya. This wasn't just basic stuff either, very intricate carving on the fittings and pretty complicated negative stencil work on the saya with crushed pearl. Can I ask who made the koshirae for you?
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Post by seanyx11 on Aug 9, 2017 20:09:00 GMT
Sorry Benvk. I haven't been on here in a while, so I just now saw this, I apologize. Wally Hostetter made the koshirae for me on that Rick Barrett blade. He's a funny old dude and is works very fast. He doesn't charge anything up front either, so you know he's not going to just sit around and take his time on the work. PM me if you have any other questions about it.
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Post by benvk on Aug 11, 2017 18:17:05 GMT
No worries, thanks for getting back to me.
I googled Wally Hostetter and found his website. Quality work for sure but I can't afford his prices unfortunately.
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Post by shepherd214 on Aug 11, 2017 22:45:50 GMT
The blade btw is stunning in person. The hada, hamon, nie and nioi, the bohi, the lines... How does this sword handle if I may ask? Point of balance, weight, agile and light or more of a dedicated two handed heavy cutter?
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