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Post by tsmspace on May 18, 2021 5:45:43 GMT
I haven't done any cutting, just holding it.
well, long story is,, my tracking information said it would arrive today,, usually the mail arrives around 1030. It can be a bit later depending on who's delivering, but apparently there's a bunch of seasonal hires or new hires or something. anyway, I was all primed up, I literally have a black trash bag filled with bottles of all varieties,, and this big plan that sometime after the mail showed up I would cruise walmart for catfood, and then (I am not a cat person but they are everywhere in my shared rental) I would have some bottles with my roommate, who's never had a sword.
well,,, it wasn't until long after kitties were supposed to dinner that the mail arrived. It was just getting dark. So I spent my ENTIRE day watching the tracking list a later and later time of arrival....... (I mean, I played some video games, and my guitar,, incidentally I am not working this week,, I am in a fabric distribution warehouse in hawaii,, and there's no tourism, so no one is making shirts,,, I've been having to have weeks off about every 4th week for a year). ,,,,, so,, by the time it arrived i had to go to walmart and all the cats got mad/sad/ I let them down. .....
anyway,,, wow,, did I make a judgement error on this sword. For some reason I think inches are different than they are,,, I was totally sold on the sword was altogether smaller. I watched the video, I looked at the pictures, I held my 4ft level with a ruler on it,,,, all of my judgement and when I opened the enormous box (much longer than I expected),,,, I pulled out what amounts to a full size two handed broadsword. ... I seriously thought it was going to be smaller. I also thought it would be thinner,, but since it's already so enormous, the extra weight doesn't ruin anything, since it wasn't what I expected anyway. Well,, I don't know what it will be like,,,, but it weighs a ,,,,, ton . It might even be a challenge to use one handed. (the picture model on the website must be a very large hand. because I was not expecting the size it is at all).
so,, certainly, it is a beast. It is a beast of beasts. If it doesn't break, (it's not supposed to break), then it will be an amazing bar of steel. I mean it looks like if you go to the store and literally purchase a bar of steel. (which is beautiful. As a matter of fact, I have some just for that reason that I love bars of steel so much, and want just regular rectangle bars,, i Love the way they rust and when I hold them) ... anyway, if it is durable, the way swords like zombie tools are demonstrated to be,, ,then it is going to be really a fun thing to have around, because it feels like it will be very powerful in a swing. like I said, I have some bar-swords,, but they are mild steel so don't get sharp,, that means that the scorpion swords is a good buy,,, but be aware,,, it is huge. every dimension blew my mind. You could make like, 3 swords out of that thing.
I do have one criticism. For this sword,,, I think the bevel could be more gradual. I realize that would make the edge less durable,, but I think,,, it would be durable enough. it would also do a lot for the weight, but I understand grinding such a piece of steel would take a lot of work. if it beveled to closer to the center of the blade, with a nice long slope,,, that would change it a lot, I think it would be nicer.
I will find out if it cuts bottles nicely tomorrow,, after all I'm not working. My roommate is huge, so surely he will like it.
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Post by tsmspace on May 19, 2021 1:42:49 GMT
Well,, UPDATE ,
the sword is growing on me really fast. it doesn't feel heavy anymore, and it feels really powerful. well,,, it did have one little hiccup. There is a dull spot on one side of the sword. The entire blade bites with the edge when I touch it,, and cuts paper fine (despite the very obtuse edge),, except about 2-3 inches right below the tip on one side. At first I thought this may be a bad heat treat,, but it appears to be taking an edge, so I guess it is just that the sharpening didn't get down to the burr in that location. It turns out to be a bit of a problem, though,,,,, because the steel is quite hard, and I need to work a bit harder than most of my blades to actually sharpen it.
a comment,,, there is no distal taper,,, but this is an interesting mechanic. For one thing,, although the complaint is "handles like a crowbar", the argument is "hits with plenty of authority". It is not snappy, it's true,, it feels blade heavy. But,,, in two hands, which MY hands leave room to spare, because I am smaller than the individual in the photo,,,, it moves well, and hits really hard. I have since cut with it.
as for cutting,,,, well,,,,, it does cut, but the blade gets thick quite fast. That means you can say one of two things: it leaves an enormous wound channel,,, or it really needs to open the material to cut. So,, plastic bottles cut cleanly,, but THEN, you are left with a clean cut at the very edge, but a very deformed bit of material along this cleanly cut edge. So, it is cutting the plastic, but it is still deforming it so much in order to fit in,, that the plastic stays rolled and deformed after the cut. It goes through the plastic easily, because the sword is quite heavy, but it really results in a high energy cut.
I am going to cut a bunch of bottles in a row, and let my roommate cut them too, and have more discussion on that later. Do I think it is a good tactical sword? It's better than honshu, no question. as for the beastlyness,,, it takes a high seat. As for the durability,,, well,,, as long as the steel doesn't crack because of some imperfection,,, as long as it is what it says it is,,, I think you could demolish a safe with it. (I've demolished a safe before, it takes a while but works with a big hammer and a big prybar). You could certainly demolish a car. would I give it to a little person?? maybe. It's heavy, but then again there's plenty of grip for good leverage.
is it my favorite sword? No. I'm not replacing my sharkalope photo for now. I am going to praise the sharkalope a lot in this case. Mostly,, the daywalker is just too big,, ,I wanted one that was closer to the sharkalope in size. I may try to order one. Also,,, it is really heavy,, and I've gained a ton of respect for my 1840 nco sword by windlass, I remain in place that a katana is a piece of engineering to marvel and respect, and although I've never been wooed by a longsword, I have a few arming swords I like quite a bit, a few jian I like quite a bit, and a saber that I'm learning to appreciate, although I want an improvement in quality. Finally,,, at the end of the day,, a triangle blade box-cutter, a swiss army knife, and a pliers multi-tool remain the ultimate kit. So,,, a 25$ hammer is actually more respectable than any sword.
Do I think it's a good price?? sure. budk swords are cheap but work like they are cheap. Hey, they're great, but they have their place. I think that in the world, there might even be a majority of potential sword owners who really, after all said and done, should have just gone with the daywalker, or something like it. It's a great idea to get an albion, which I don't have,, but I know that the dimensions are better for era-appropriate combat. I know that ablions are good quality, feel amazing in the hands, and would have been the winning sword in the era. But,,, more people want bushcraft than medieval, and imo it's a respectable hobby. and along that line,, there are a lot of people who want a sword, but don't want to hear that swords are delicate, because they aren't going to fight, they want to abuse it. They don't want to hear that swords don't cut well unless you use them with proper technique, they want to hit once, and see it come apart, even if it's sheer power. they want to pick it up, and know that when they imagine a use case (and fencing just won't ever come up in the modern era), the sword they are holding will do it. Zombie tools has this. I think this scorpion sword does too.
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Post by tsmspace on May 19, 2021 4:07:14 GMT
oops. I bent it already. I guess it shouldn't snap. ,,,, but I bent it on a bottle.
well,,, with that, i've decided that plastic bottles are actually a pretty hard target. If they don't cut (this one was a gatorade bottle at 20 oz) then they can destroy a sword outright. It's happened to so many of my swords that they bend on a gatorade bottle,, I can't fault the sword,, because they cut everything, but a plastic bottle filled with water must be like hitting a rock.
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Zen_Hydra
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Post by Zen_Hydra on May 19, 2021 10:25:22 GMT
I don't understand. Scorpion Swords are supposed to be able to handle being repeatedly smashed into a piece of granite with only minor edge damage (or so their destructive testing videos supposedly demonstrate).
Seriously though, if it took a set cutting a water bottle I would contact Scorpion Swords. They supposedly swear by their construction and heat treatment, and a plastic Gatorade bottle is not abusive testing.
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Post by warriorpoet on May 20, 2021 14:34:10 GMT
You should contact Chris.
They have videos hitting corrugated steel and cinder blocks.
They may lack distal taper but intense durability is their brand.
If the daywalker bent on a water bottle like the second day you owned it that's a defective heat treat.
Please for the community contact scorpion swords and I know myself and likely others would appreciate you sharing their response.
They have a relationship with sbg and the destructive testing with Jason Woodard implies these blades are made for the hulk smash type jobs.
I was just emailing with the owner literally last night about a design, and unfortunately they aren't able to take custom orders right now due to increased demand but he confirmed for the stuff we wanted to do (way more extreme than a bottle!) his blades would handle it in stride.
I suspect they would refund or replace the product. Take pictures, explain what you're using it for and that you're a member here as well. It is a niche hobby and if your brand is "it'll cut cinder blocks " you don't want a model failing on water bottles.
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Post by tsmspace on May 22, 2021 4:04:42 GMT
I don't understand. Scorpion Swords are supposed to be able to handle being repeatedly smashed into a piece of granite with only minor edge damage (or so their destructive testing videos supposedly demonstrate). Seriously though, if it took a set cutting a water bottle I would contact Scorpion Swords. They supposedly swear by their construction and heat treatment, and a plastic Gatorade bottle is not abusive testing. Well,,, I'm going to disagree with you on one point,,, a gatorade bottle IS abusive. I've bent every sword I've taken to gatorade bottles. If I didn't bend it right away, I eventually had a strike that didn't cut as cleanly, and resulted in some amount of bend. Now,, there's a bunch of brands of sword I did not buy yet,, but this does include ronin katana, sokojikara katanas, shinwa, windlass, universal swords doesn't count, it bent on a mt. dew bottle,, honshu, balaur arms (2nds quality en9, may not have taken a gatorade bottle), an unbranded narrow jian that I believe to be 1065, ,,, I did not bend a zombie tools. I did not attempt my kingston arms on gatorade. There are several other budk swords , but I think that's all united cutlery,, and actually I think the honshu was not gatorade, but mt. dew. The scorpion swords did not bend much,, it's a clear bend though. You can see it in a specific location. (maybe not 1 degree, but noticable). as for cinder blocks,, ,well , they break, and also the angle of incidence might be more perpendicular. as for the bars..,, well ,, he didn't hit it as hard as he could,, but he adequately tested the edge,, which remains un-fazed for me. The gatorade bottles are a pretty durable plastic, and 20 oz of water is actually pretty heavy for a sword. So,, if the bottle cuts,, it's usually pretty low friction,, but if it doesn't,,,, (scorpion swords is quite a thick obtuse edge) ,,, it's bent every sword I have. (minor minor, but there)
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Post by tsmspace on May 22, 2021 4:20:11 GMT
You should contact Chris. They have videos hitting corrugated steel and cinder blocks. They may lack distal taper but intense durability is their brand. If the daywalker bent on a water bottle like the second day you owned it that's a defective heat treat. Please for the community contact scorpion swords and I know myself and likely others would appreciate you sharing their response. They have a relationship with sbg and the destructive testing with Jason Woodard implies these blades are made for the hulk smash type jobs. I was just emailing with the owner literally last night about a design, and unfortunately they aren't able to take custom orders right now due to increased demand but he confirmed for the stuff we wanted to do (way more extreme than a bottle!) his blades would handle it in stride. I suspect they would refund or replace the product. Take pictures, explain what you're using it for and that you're a member here as well. It is a niche hobby and if your brand is "it'll cut cinder blocks " you don't want a model failing on water bottles. well,,,, I don't want to replace it. So,, I won't be trying to get a different one. ,,, currogated steel and cinder blocks all give,,, they are hard on the edge, but they don't stop the sword abruptly,,, and when he demonstrates against the steel pipe,, he doesn't give it his full power,, he gives it "sword parry simulation" powered strikes instead. But,, if the gatorade doesn't cut,, and you are at a downward angle, not only do you have the weight of the bottle, but you have the friction of pushing the bottom firmly onto the log. So,, I will argue it's closer to hitting a rock that doesn't break, than it is to hitting a cinder block. So,, i don't want a refund, I"m still pretty happy,,, and Idon't want a replace,, ESPECIALLY now that I've "met" the sword. I was offered a replace for my sokojikara t-10 from budk also, and I rejected the offer. I crumbled some of the edge hitting a log,,, but I continue to use (and abuse) it,, and I feel I am getting my worth of it. I bend all of my swords, because I am trying to learn how they work without any training. I am not TERRIBLY abusive, and have yet to break one,,, but I have yet to have one that I didn't bend also. The only swords I have that are not bent, are swords that I did not play with much. So,, my kingston arms swords are so beautiful to me (type 14 and type 15 arming atrims), I love them and don't cut with them. ,,, My balaur arms longsword is,,, well,,,, it's a bit funny feeling to me,,, maybe it's too blade heavy, so I don't use it much yet, so it's not bent yet. also, it's quite floppy,, it might not take a set as readily. ,,, I think that about sums it up. I've bent everything. ,,, mostly on bad cuts on plastic containers. ,,,, so all said and done,,, I have yet to encounter a sword that I can't bend on plastic containers. anyway,, the bend is quite gentle. it's not enough to cry about just yet,, but IS enough to discuss. If I tried to photograph if you would struggle to see it. Therefore,,, I don't think that a replacement is the medicine. First of all,, I have a piece of steel I've started to get familiar with, I can't imagine NOT having it in the future. Even if they sent me a new one, I couldn't justify sending this one off. ,, second of all,,, it's still fine. It's sharp, it's cutting, . Thirdly,,, just because I bent it doesn't mean it's not a good sword. Gatorade bottles might be among the bottles that count as abusive targets, they might be tougher than many might think. (try chewing one). Also,,, just because a sword bends a little on a powerful hit against an unmoving target, doesn't mean it's not a good sword either. The physics of steel means that some swords will take a set, but they will hold a much better edge. Yes,, surely there are superior metals that can outperform and outperform,, but scorpion swords are actually pretty cheap. I'm perfectly happy. in closing,,, I think if someone really did their homework, and figured out which targets are "suitable sword targets", in such a way that if you go outside of these suitable targets then warranty would not cover it,,, gatorade would probably make the "not covered" list. It's dangerous to hit swords against LOTS of things,, dangerous for the user. Again I don't have any premium swords. Maybe I should investigate an albion one day, and see what happens. (I'm sure I would bend it).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2021 4:48:34 GMT
I've bent a sword on a Gatorade bottle lol. They are pretty resistent to cuts and they feel like you are hitting a solid object.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 22, 2021 17:51:04 GMT
I might have to buy a Gatorade, you've got my curiosity up. I think I've seen them in stores. Just put it on the grocery list.
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Post by tsmspace on May 23, 2021 3:38:18 GMT
I've bent a sword on a Gatorade bottle lol. They are pretty resistent to cuts and they feel like you are hitting a solid object. yup, definitely not a level 1 target.
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Post by tsmspace on May 23, 2021 3:40:16 GMT
I might have to buy a Gatorade, you've got my curiosity up. I think I've seen them in stores. Just put it on the grocery list. I don't even buy it. They are so popular I find them on walks. You might be able to just find them if you keep your eyes open. the larger bottles, 32 oz, are actually easier to cut than the 20 oz bottles. If you really hit them right they cut with a nice sharp sword. perhaps even tougher are those little minute maid orange juice bottles.
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Post by alientude on May 23, 2021 3:54:23 GMT
If you cut those type of bottles near the neck, the plastic is especially thick and tough. Cutting in the middle of the bottle portion is much more forgiving, but still a lot tougher than just a normal water bottle.
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Post by tsmspace on May 23, 2021 20:03:26 GMT
If you cut those type of bottles near the neck, the plastic is especially thick and tough. Cutting in the middle of the bottle portion is much more forgiving, but still a lot tougher than just a normal water bottle. I've cut them right through the throat, but cutting those kind of bottles is not a casual session usually. SOME of my swords, like my nice powerful katanas will cut them as long as I'm attentive, but SOME of my swords that WILL still cut them, won't do it unless I'm really cutting nicely. SOME of them have never succeeded. HOnestly I don't mind busting up any of the swords I have,, so if I think it might work I've probably tried it. After all they are technically useless, just fun things, and none of them are really heirloom quality. (well,, I will probably argue that my kingston arms atrim swords are suitable heirloom quality swords,,, they feel appropriately functional and look appropriately decorative). My katanas are just not the same thing as what a collector wants. THey are good swords, but fairly common, and none of the furniture is premium. All of my swords are aimed at "I want to try swords" , and not at "I want a nice piece for a collection". I still haven't decided what sword I would try to end up with if I was really looking to "define my interest" in a proper heirloom sword. (for example an antique, or a premium model). ,,, Maybe a civil war nco sword is on the table, maybe a katana, but maybe a nice arming sword. A viking sword?? I still have to get one of those.
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Post by tsmspace on May 26, 2021 3:51:43 GMT
just an update,,, I am going to start a new thread
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Post by howler on May 26, 2021 8:28:46 GMT
Yikes. Improper heat treat.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 26, 2021 12:23:29 GMT
WOW! What a turnoff! Thanks for sharing. Have in contacted Scorpion?
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Zen_Hydra
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Post by Zen_Hydra on May 26, 2021 13:20:56 GMT
tsmspaceAfter watching your video demonstration, you 100% need to contact Scorpion Swords and report the issue. Send them a link to your video if necessary. That is an objectively poor heat treat, and it should not be taking a set from that degree of flex.
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Post by Lord Newport on May 26, 2021 18:38:40 GMT
Yikes. Improper heat treat. That is NO heat treat! What a piece of crap product. Maybe they can rename the "day walker" to the "air bender"...LMAO "Inspired by the "Blade" movie series starring Wesley Snipes. Combat ready tactical sword designed by SBG Sword Tester and designer, Jason Woodard. Individually Hand Made by Chris Palmer in the USA." I guess Chris F'd up on this one... lol personally whenever I see someone advertising a sword as "combat ready" immediately dismiss it as junk.
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Post by tsmspace on May 27, 2021 4:02:21 GMT
tsmspace After watching your video demonstration, you 100% need to contact Scorpion Swords and report the issue. Send them a link to your video if necessary. That is an objectively poor heat treat, and it should not be taking a set from that degree of flex. I ended up doing so, and they will do so.
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Post by tsmspace on May 27, 2021 4:18:51 GMT
WOW! What a turnoff! Thanks for sharing. Have in contacted Scorpion? I did. I am hopeful but we will see how it all goes, they will replace it, as well as let me keep the old one,, which I asked for in order to contrast them later.
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