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Post by pellius on Jan 15, 2020 15:26:03 GMT
Just a quick courtesy heads-up. The Rodell Cutting Dao is currently out and available. Personally, I’ve been waiting three years for it to be released, and had started to doubt it would happen in such a tumultuous sword market. I’m very pleased they were brought to market.
Seven Stars Trading Co. has some ready to ship, as does Therion Arms. I haven’t seen them at KoA (yet). As a bonus, the SST price seems to eschew the recent CAS price hike, and offers the Dao for about $320, the old long-standing (but now mostly extinct) “discount” price for the Cutting Jian.
The Therion Arms price is a bit higher (as are most of their prices), but not too bad. I should add that my dealings with TA have always been great.
Just for what it’s worth.
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reptaronice1
Member
Tell Me... Friend... When Did Saruman The Wise Abandon Reason For Madness?!
Posts: 2,366
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Post by reptaronice1 on Jan 15, 2020 15:39:01 GMT
Just a quick courtesy heads-up. The Rodell Cutting Dao is currently out and available. Personally, I’ve been waiting three years for it to be released, and had started to doubt it would happen in such a tumultuous sword market. I’m very pleased they were brought to market. Seven Stars Trading Co. has some ready to ship, as does Therion Arms. I haven’t seen them at KoA (yet). As a bonus, the SST price seems to eschew the recent CAS price hike, and offers the Dao for about $320, the old long-standing (but now mostly extinct) “discount” price for the Cutting Jian. The Therion Arms price is a bit higher (as are most of their prices), but not too bad. I should add that my dealings with TA have always been great. Just for what it’s worth. Love the jian! I need one of those lol  |
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Post by pellius on Jan 15, 2020 16:00:22 GMT
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659 
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jan 15, 2020 17:39:59 GMT
Hanwei has burned me too many times (I can give so many specific examples I'm embarrassed to even think about it). I hope that everyone interested in this product has the best of experiences. I'm a huge fan of "Chinese" arms and armor, and I've recently decided to give LK Chen Sword a chance. I hope they are able to deliver the quality they lay claim to. |
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Post by pellius on Jan 15, 2020 17:58:41 GMT
Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. I’ve only owned three other swords by Hanwei (oxtail, cutting Jian, and Cawood). Thankfully, all three were/are good swords.
I hope your LK Chen is a good one.
Edit: I also owned a Hanwei Shashka. It was a nice enough sword. I really liked the fullered saber blade. I just didn’t like the Shashka design of a hooked pommel combined with no guard. I eventually sold it (something I only rarely do).
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Post by pellius on Jan 15, 2020 18:06:13 GMT
Just another quick note.
I ordered my Cutting Dao from SST. I had them ship to my PO Box (as I do for all swords). The packaging and USPS shipping quote was pretty steep. I just kinda chalked it up to the current state of sword shipping. Anyway, the actual cost turned out to be over 40 bux cheaper than their website quoted, and SST preemptively sent a refund for the difference.
Credit where credit is due; that was a stand-up move by SST.
If you buy thru their website and experience shipping sticker shock, it may not be as bad as it appears. Maybe just give them a call or something.
Cheers.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Jan 15, 2020 18:34:39 GMT
Wish I could buy only the blade
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Post by pellius on Jan 15, 2020 19:08:20 GMT
Wish I could buy only the blade I’m a fan of your work. It would be very interesting to see what you would create. |
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Post by legacyofthesword on Jan 16, 2020 4:32:35 GMT
Hanwei has burned me too many times (I can give so many specific examples I'm embarrassed to even think about it). I hope that everyone interested in this product has the best of experiences. I'm a huge fan of "Chinese" arms and armor, and I've recently decided to give LK Chen Sword a chance. I hope they are able to deliver the quality they lay claim to. Were the issues relating to durability? I've seen a few videos of Hanwei swords breaking during sparring. I'm very happy with all the Hanwei swords I own, but I've never used them for any hard cutting or the like. |
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jan 16, 2020 11:53:11 GMT
Hanwei has burned me too many times (I can give so many specific examples I'm embarrassed to even think about it). I hope that everyone interested in this product has the best of experiences. I'm a huge fan of "Chinese" arms and armor, and I've recently decided to give LK Chen Sword a chance. I hope they are able to deliver the quality they lay claim to. Were the issues relating to durability? I've seen a few videos of Hanwei swords breaking during sparring. I'm very happy with all the Hanwei swords I own, but I've never used them for any hard cutting or the like. I haven't had anything break, but I do have a yari that's so soft it bent against a plastic milk jug. |
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Post by legacyofthesword on Jan 16, 2020 18:02:00 GMT
Were the issues relating to durability? I've seen a few videos of Hanwei swords breaking during sparring. I'm very happy with all the Hanwei swords I own, but I've never used them for any hard cutting or the like. I haven't had anything break, but I do have a yari that's so soft it bent against a plastic milk jug.
Ah, that makes sense. I now remember Skallagrim doing a video on the Hanwei pudao where the tip was bent.
Here's two where the swords actually break:
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Post by zabazagobo on Jan 19, 2020 22:59:32 GMT
Oh boy, I've been waiting on this for what feels like forever (have been checking in on this project monthly for a year now).
Looking forward to hearing some impressions on it: I was just about to nab a Rhinelander by Hanwei this afternoon, now I'm contemplating this instead. Decisions, decisions
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Post by pellius on Jan 20, 2020 1:18:09 GMT
My first impressions are generally favorable.
Mine weighs in at a svelte 2.0 pounds or 922 grams. Mine has a 29 1/8” blade. The blade is broad at 1 3/8”, and narrow with good distal taper considering how thin it is: 3/16” at the forte, 2/16” at about the midpoint, and about 1/16” a couple inches from the tip. (Measured with a tape measure, not calipers.) It is precise and fast, with easy recovery.
The blade is nice and stiff, with a good spring temper. Mine has a high ridge line and no secondary bevel, making for a sweet cross section geometry. Mine is paper-cutting sharp.
This sword should indeed excel at cutting light to medium targets. I have not confirmed, though.
The grip is nice, but is not recurved like many Liuyedao. This may well be historical, but it gives a feel different than other production Liuyedao I’ve held. Honestly, to my untrained hand this sword feels a lot like a cut-specialized o-Wakizashi or a mat-cutting unokubi zukuri katana with a one-hand grip. It feels fine, just different. The grip wrap is super tight and solid, lending a confident feel.
Fit and finish are really good, with nice materials and sound construction.
The scabbard is basic but nice, too.
Overall I like it, especially for the price.
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Post by Turok on Jan 30, 2020 20:22:11 GMT
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pattyb0009
Member
Getting into antique sabers...
Posts: 1,980
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Post by pattyb0009 on Jan 30, 2020 21:00:23 GMT
A very good looking sword. I haven't had a dao in quite some time, so I'm interested in picking one of these up!
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Post by Dandelion on Jan 30, 2020 21:51:55 GMT
Hanwei has burned me too many times (I can give so many specific examples I'm embarrassed to even think about it). I hope that everyone interested in this product has the best of experiences. I'm a huge fan of "Chinese" arms and armor, and I've recently decided to give LK Chen Sword a chance. I hope they are able to deliver the quality they lay claim to. Holger thinks he is the only one...  But they are really low quality here in Germany often. Mostly bent or twisted blades, especially with katana. |
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Post by Dandelion on Jan 30, 2020 21:52:48 GMT
A very good looking sword. I haven't had a dao in quite some time, so I'm interested in picking one of these up! 599 EURO here in Germany... will not happen!  |
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Post by Dandelion on Jan 30, 2020 21:54:02 GMT
I haven't had anything break, but I do have a yari that's so soft it bent against a plastic milk jug.
Ah, that makes sense. I now remember Skallagrim doing a video on the Hanwei pudao where the tip was bent.
Here's two where the swords actually break:
The last video is pure propaganda; even the other czech smiths know and state that. |
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Post by pellius on Jan 31, 2020 3:03:02 GMT
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jan 31, 2020 3:33:50 GMT
The photos from Kult of Athena honestly look pretty rough. They make the lines look ill defined, and the polish seem significantly worse than what's typically acceptable for a satin level of polish. I can't speak to the actual proportions of the blade, but I don't have any confidence that they are better than other similarly shaped dao.
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But they are really low quality here in Germany often. Mostly bent or twisted blades, especially with katana.
