Gale Wind and Flying Phoenix Review
Aug 9, 2023 5:05:21 GMT
Post by fiend on Aug 9, 2023 5:05:21 GMT
So this is my first post. I got into swords over lock-down, and since then my go to procrastination activity is sword stuff. I am not trained in any way, and while I have been researching this kind of stuff for a while now, I still consider myself a neophyte in this thing. Being a starving musician/artist, sword collecting is a rather expensive recreation to pick, so until recently my main practical sword-swinging XP has been with a knock-about spring steel Katana that was acquired through Ebay. I may have lucked out in that regard, because it is quite functional, if cheap.
Over this year, I managed to finance a couple of LK Chen Jians. I got the GW a few months ago, and the FP only last fortnight. I feel obliged to give LK Chen some kind of review.
The Gale Wind
Picking this up for the first time, I had a "so THIS is what a sword feels like" moment. It came paper cutting sharp, and even in my untrained hands it cuts. I imagine that in terms of balance and handling, it is not far removed from an Arming Sword. The fit and finish were great, and the blade itself is very tough (I elected to go with the mono/spring steel option). Even with some catastrophic misses, it took no real damage, with the exception of hitting a nail in the cutting stand. This left a slight divot half a millimeter or so, which has almost been repaired.
The only negative I can remark upon is that the metal at the mouth of the scabbard has a tendency to scratch the middle of the blade when sheathing or unsheathing. Seeing that this is a 1:1 historical recreation, I am not sure if I should even count that as a negative. I also cannot discount my own user error.
The Flying Phoenix
If I was impressed by the GW, I am in awe of the FP. There is really not much to say that hasn't been said by others more comprehensively. It is light. It is hair shaving sharp (at my request) with a graceful edge geometry. No secondary bevel, no grind marks. After adjusting for its weight, it is a savage cutter and pretty much S-tier stabber. The whole piece is totally appealing (to me) on purely an artistic level, and despite the seemingly delicate appearance, I can totally believe that this was a military sidearm.
The scabbard also deserves special mention. Beyond looking fabulous, it has a perfect fit to the blade. It holds without grabbing, and there is almost no rattle to be heard. On the website, the FP is called Mr Chen's masterpiece, and I feel I must agree with that assessment.
The Company
LK Chen cares about its customers. Whenever I needed to get in touch, KK would respond sometimes in a matter of minutes. KK is totally accommodating to the buyers wish's and circumstance, and is a pleasure to deal with. From almost all the experiences I have read elsewhere, the company actually takes customer feedback into account. With the FP came a dossier of the pre shipment tests, which included a paper/sharpness test, a flex test and an examination of all elements of the piece was included.
I must emphasize that I am new to this, and LK Chen is really my first experience of high(er) end swords. I feel that I probably dodged a bullet by going with this company over some of the usual suspects. But with that said, every aspect of these transactions and products is first rate.