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Post by elbrittania39 on Jan 20, 2018 18:49:21 GMT
I don't know whats with all this sudden hate for TFW. They have a long history of making great blades for the price. They made a mistake with the Panabas and they seem to be acknowledging it and taking action. I have no doubt that when they release the Panabas 2.0 it will be a strict upgrade.
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Post by bebut on Jan 20, 2018 19:24:25 GMT
I was looking at their sales catalog, not their Facebook.
I hope they re-design it for everyone's benefit. No previous beef with the company and I had been looking at their espada y daga and their Celtic, but when a product has design, material, and workmanship problems all in one sword it tends to raise a red flag.
As an ethical concern, I'd recall/fix them, although this would probably be cost prohibitive in this country. Another fix would be to yank the handles and sell them as project blades only.
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Post by elbrittania39 on Jan 20, 2018 20:49:11 GMT
I was looking at their sales catalog, not their Facebook. I hope they re-design it for everyone's benefit. No previous beef with the company and I had been looking at their espada y daga and their Celtic, but when a product has design, material, and workmanship problems all in one sword it tends to raise a red flag. As an ethical concern, I'd recall/fix them, although this would probably be cost prohibitive in this country. Another fix would be to yank the handles and sell them as project blades only. Reviews of every other product I've seen from them, including the espada, has had nothing but praise. The Panabas problems seems to be an anomaly more than rampant negligence. The new price is pretty much what I'd expect to pay for just the blade. |
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Post by howler on Jan 20, 2018 22:10:14 GMT
I don't know whats with all this sudden hate for TFW. They have a long history of making great blades for the price. They made a mistake with the Panabas and they seem to be acknowledging it and taking action. I have no doubt that when they release the Panabas 2.0 it will be a strict upgrade. Yup. Growing pains with the only two hander in their lineup. All they need to do is enhance a few elements at the handle/blade juncture, and they are good to go. Btw, that rat tail is basically a "no tail", so why not add a few measly inches? |
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Post by howler on Jan 20, 2018 22:13:56 GMT
I was looking at their sales catalog, not their Facebook. I hope they re-design it for everyone's benefit. No previous beef with the company and I had been looking at their espada y daga and their Celtic, but when a product has design, material, and workmanship problems all in one sword it tends to raise a red flag. As an ethical concern, I'd recall/fix them, although this would probably be cost prohibitive in this country. Another fix would be to yank the handles and sell them as project blades only. Reviews of every other product I've seen from them, including the espada, has had nothing but praise. The Panabas problems seems to be an anomaly more than rampant negligence. The new price is pretty much what I'd expect to pay for just the blade. I believe that this is what most people are saying as of now, that it's an anomaly to the two handed Panabas only. The fix should not be that hard to accomplish. |
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Post by Jordan Williams on Jan 21, 2018 6:24:26 GMT
design, material, and workmanship problems all in one sword it tends to raise a red flag. I'm curious, because I may have missed something and I'd like to have that corrected if need be, but what were the workmanship and material issues? It seems to be mostly design based, as it would have probably never came up if it was a longer tang. |
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Post by cearball on Jun 2, 2019 18:28:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2019 18:43:22 GMT
Alternative use for the Panabas blade: glaive head. You could make a wicked polearm from that thing. I was thinking the same thing. I basically did this with a dadao blade and the result was wonderful. The wood I used will crack or split when hell freezes over. I still have not taken it outside to massacre some bottles or a tree stump. I think I want to give it to someone who will. |
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Post by randomnobody on Jun 2, 2019 20:37:45 GMT
I don't know how I missed this thread initially, but my impression of the original panabas design was always that I would love it as a single-hander; not so much a two-hander. I don't know how unique or common Skall's problem might be, but it's good to see TFW making the effort to address it. This new model is...well, overbuilt to an extreme, but I guess the handle won't break?  |
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Zen_Hydra
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jun 3, 2019 1:33:18 GMT
I don't know how I missed this thread initially, but my impression of the original panabas design was always that I would love it as a single-hander; not so much a two-hander. I don't know how unique or common Skall's problem might be, but it's good to see TFW making the effort to address it. This new model is...well, overbuilt to an extreme, but I guess the handle won't break? It's so overbuilt that I have lost all interest in having one. If the stubby tang is the traditional method of constructing one, I think they should have found a solution that made that work (perhaps a different handle material). |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2019 1:42:56 GMT
I don't know how I missed this thread initially, but my impression of the original panabas design was always that I would love it as a single-hander; not so much a two-hander. I don't know how unique or common Skall's problem might be, but it's good to see TFW making the effort to address it. This new model is...well, overbuilt to an extreme, but I guess the handle won't break? It's so overbuilt that I have lost all interest in having one. If the stubby tang is the traditional method of constructing one, I think they should have found a solution that made that work (perhaps a different handle material). Right. Swords fail. Period. Skall puts these swords through the most punishing tests possible. Tropical hardwoods don't travel particularly well and sometimes they dry out, become brittle and break on you. Sometimes there are hairline fractures or splits inside the wood that weaken over use until they break. While it is disappointing that this failure occurred for Skall, given his large profile, it could just be a fluke. While the new model is overbuilt, they could dial it back a bit. Reduce the tang a little, change up the distal taper a little bit and voila! Or they could go back to the old way and reinforce it a little more. He could have made a new handle with the previous model. Sword handles are often the first things to go. A man at arms could replace a wood handle multiple times over the life of the sword, am I right? |
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jun 3, 2019 2:02:35 GMT
It's so overbuilt that I have lost all interest in having one. If the stubby tang is the traditional method of constructing one, I think they should have found a solution that made that work (perhaps a different handle material). Right. Swords fail. Period. Skall puts these swords through the most punishing tests possible. Tropical hardwoods don't travel particularly well and sometimes they dry out, become brittle and break on you. Sometimes there are hairline fractures or splits inside the wood that weaken over use until they break. While it is disappointing that this failure occurred for Skall, given his large profile, it could just be a fluke. While the new model is overbuilt, they could dial it back a bit. Reduce the tang a little, change up the distal taper a little bit and voila! Or they could go back to the old way and reinforce it a little more. He could have made a new handle with the previous model. Sword handles are often the first things to go. A man at arms could replace a wood handle multiple times over the life of the sword, am I right? Yes. Absolutely. I think this is a case of Skallagrim's influence being detrimental. Filipino weapons are well outside his wheelhouse (and he is more sword enthusiast than expert anyway). |
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Post by howler on Jun 3, 2019 2:09:36 GMT
They really went overkill with that handle, when all they had to do was add a few more inches (ok, maybe several inches) to the rat tang, as the original was ridiculously stubby. Maybe an easy fix, if possible, would be to skeletonize the handle. Still looks pretty wicked.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2019 2:16:40 GMT
They really went overkill with that handle, when all they had to do was add a few more inches (ok, maybe several inches) to the rat tang, as the original was ridiculously stubby. Maybe an easy fix, if possible, would be to skeletonize the handle. Going overkill was probably a covert way of telling Skall off, don't you think? You want a tough as nails sword? All right then. Now it's unwieldy and unsightly. Increasing the size of the tang, securing with epoxy and adding a few iron or brass rings would do the trick. Asians have been using resin for centuries to fit tangs. It has worked for them. Does anyone know what the panabas would be used for clearing brush, i.e. what kind of brush? He really punished that sword. Perhaps he just pushed it beyond its limits. |
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Post by Jordan Williams on Jun 3, 2019 2:41:20 GMT
Like he pushed the replicas of an Austrian presentation sword and a Japanese parade sword to their limits and wrote them off as unsafe or unwieldy? Yeah....
Or like how he misunderstood feints in fencing and wrote them off?
I like watching him cut tatami or the ZGB heads but I sure wish he would do more research.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Jun 3, 2019 2:42:49 GMT
Going overkill was one of the only ways TFW could avoid the moronic outburst of people who never touch an item, know nothing of its use, never intend to use one, but get riled up anyways.
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Post by pellius on Jun 3, 2019 13:53:39 GMT
Way back at the dawn of time when I was but a lad, I was clearing the back pasture of the homestead with a full-on bush axe. Dad really cared for his tools, so I very clearly remember the axe handle breaking where it met the axe head.
Dad just shrugged it off, saying such things happen with tools when they are used, and bolted the head to a new handle. (Then, back to work, of course.)
Anyway, I still don’t see the one particular single instance of a “failure” as grounds to condemn the item or its construction, and I still applaud a maker acknowledging the failure, discounting contemporaneous (probably perfectly fine) stock, then upgrading the design.
Again, I’ve used my TFW itak a lot for clearing brush, chopping wood, and the like (because I enjoy it, not to necessarily test or abuse it), and it has performed flawlessly. Especially for an inexpensive third-hand sword. I like their products (if not their general marketing strategy).
Just mtc. Again.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2019 15:43:21 GMT
The tang was a little small. That I concede. Still, I think I would prefer the old model to the new model. Skall is a thoughtful guy and I appreciate his reviews, but he sometimes is not informed and just goes way too far. I'm also getting a little sick and tired of his groaning. Just quit groaning and say what you want to say without hesitation or reluctance. He groans more than Tina from Bob's Burgers, although Tina is funny.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Jun 3, 2019 17:37:16 GMT
Speaking of groaning...
He spent from 1:56 to 5:02 speaking about the blade steel and it's marketing, taking about 3 minutes to say; "TFW claims to use a blend of 5160 and D2 steel, which has raised controversy in the community as they heat treat at different temperatures. I asked about this and they said they use the D2 in a powdered form. Personally I think they do not need to use the D2 as 5160 is a good steel in and of itself. As well as this, I find their marketing hype to be unnecessary, such as in their hyping up "quenching", a process every functional sword should go through, and the use of a word that I don't know the meaning of because I admit to not be a metallurgist". Now, that last part could be left out. It took me 36.38 seconds to read that. There's only about 3 useful things in it.
Sorry guys, I know I'm bashing here but come on. This is just video fluff so he can hit the 10 minute mark to get some cash without actually doing anything.
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Zen_Hydra
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jun 3, 2019 17:39:54 GMT
From what I have seen, most antique Filipino blades (weapons and tools) have quite short tangs.
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