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Post by ShooterMike on Mar 18, 2007 0:22:35 GMT
I was getting pictures taken for the upcoming review of the Paul Chen Bastard Sword. We were lucky enough to get this little gem. I like it so well I just had to go ahead and share. Clean cut. Top half coming off and bottom half still undisturbed. Beautifully symmetric water spray. And you can see how cutting swords flex in the blur of the blade. Hope you like it.
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Razor
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Today is tomorrow but not yet yesterday
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Post by Razor on Mar 18, 2007 1:34:55 GMT
Nice cut shootermike. Do you sharpen your own swords? If you do what method do you use?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2007 2:01:32 GMT
Great action shot.
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Post by ShooterMike on Mar 18, 2007 2:47:33 GMT
Nice cut shootermike. Do you sharpen your own swords? If you do what method do you use? Thanks for the kind words. As soon as I saw this one I knew you guys would like it. The rounded shape of the water splatter really blows me away. And you can even see the spray bouncing off the cutting stand like a shower head. I do sharpen my own swords. But this one is pretty much an out-of-the-box Hanwei/Paul Chen Antiqued Bastard Sword. At least that's what they advertise it as. As far as sharpening, I use kind of a self-taught method that varies a bit depending on the sword and the intended use. I begin unsharpened blades with a file to develop a 30-35 degree bevel, filing until is has a cutting edge. Then I use progressively finer grits of sandpaper on automotive body sander blocks to draw the sandpaper from hilt toward tip while gradually moving the paper from the center of the blade outward toward the edge. I wear 4x magnifier goggles while doing this. The object is to vary the angles of the strokes, starting almost flat against the blade and progressing toward 35 degrees. Once I get the nice "apple seed" edge geometry, brightly polished with 600 grit, I finish it off on a set of ceramic rods on a knife sharpener block held horizontally in my vise. I try for a final edge of about 40 degrees that will cut paper easily, but won't lift hair (shave). then I polish out the mark from the ceramic rods with 600 grit sandpaper. I have found that this edge cuts everything well and lasts a long time. It takes about two hours to sharpen an unsharpened sword like one from MRL like this. It you've starting with a sword that already has cutting edge geometry, it only takes 20-30 minutes to finish it up.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2007 3:21:10 GMT
Excellent pix, Mike!! Seems like you are good with your cam as well as swords, eh?!! ;D Just curious... how did you capture this shot... ;D??? ...using multi shots..??
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Post by ShooterMike on Mar 18, 2007 3:54:01 GMT
Excellent pix, Mike!! Seems like you are good with your cam as well as swords, eh?!! ;D Just curious... how did you capture this shot... ;D??? ...using multi shots..?? Thanks Larry. I don't do anything special. It's just a matter of finding a friend to press the button at the right time. Just kidding. I setup my Olympus Camedia D-595 on a tripod about 15-20 feet in front of the cutting stand. I set the camera on the "Sports Action" setting and zoom to the desired amount. Then I work with whoever is pressing the button. I start with just the sword. I get them to count 1, 2, 3, cut. They press the button to the first stage (auto-focus) on "1" and press for capture on "cut". I cut on command. We do this until they can catch the sword just as it passes the cutting stand with reasonable frequency. Then we add bottles, jugs, etc. and try to get some good pictures. So, it's as simple as 1, 2, 3, cut!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2007 3:57:28 GMT
that is one cool shot mike!
speaking of shot, in the picture you seem to be wearing safety glasses and earplugs. heh heh which means you were just firing a gun no? NOW thats a true mans life! shoot, chop, shoot, chop
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Post by ShooterMike on Mar 18, 2007 4:12:54 GMT
that is one cool shot mike! speaking of shot, in the picture you seem to be wearing safety glasses and earplugs. heh heh which means you were just firing a gun no? NOW thats a true mans life! shoot, chop, shoot, chop Oh, it's OK. Just a weekend off.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2007 20:38:55 GMT
Thanks for the sharpening tips Mike! One of the battles of swords I haven't been able to master yet. With your good step by step instructions maybe I can put that one behind me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2007 21:08:02 GMT
A great photo indeed.
For those of you interested in nice water spray shots such as this, the position of the light source plays an important roll in how well the water shows up in the photo. Water droplets such as raindrops or sword spray need to be backlit. That means that the subject (CutterMike in the above photo) should be between the camera and the light source (the sun). Next time you have the garden hose running, spin around and observe how the location of the sun makes the water droplets look different. Your neighbor might inform you that you could buy a lawn sprinkler that does the same thing without making you so dizzy though. Just tell him you are observing the differences in how the sunlight reflects and refracts through the water droplets based on the sunlight's angle of incidence. He'll shut up...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2007 23:54:15 GMT
wow. it's almost like it was shot using a high-speed camera. very, very sweet shot sir.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2007 2:21:48 GMT
What I wouldn't give for a good camera man Nice picture.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2007 2:22:39 GMT
By the way, I am really looking forward to seeing how this sword holds up. Did you do any heavy cutting with it or just bottles?
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Post by Matt993f.o.d on Oct 18, 2007 12:23:50 GMT
I wish I was good at photography. Thankfully my girlfriend is an expert, so she does my photography for me. Trouble with that is, she is so obsessed with getting each shot perfect in terms of lighting and whatnot that it takes AGES to get even a few pics.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2007 8:11:14 GMT
Nice cut shootermike. Do you sharpen your own swords? If you do what method do you use? Thanks for the kind words. As soon as I saw this one I knew you guys would like it. The rounded shape of the water splatter really blows me away. And you can even see the spray bouncing off the cutting stand like a shower head. I do sharpen my own swords. But this one is pretty much an out-of-the-box Hanwei/Paul Chen Antiqued Bastard Sword. At least that's what they advertise it as. As far as sharpening, I use kind of a self-taught method that varies a bit depending on the sword and the intended use. I begin unsharpened blades with a file to develop a 30-35 degree bevel, filing until is has a cutting edge. Then I use progressively finer grits of sandpaper on automotive body sander blocks to draw the sandpaper from hilt toward tip while gradually moving the paper from the center of the blade outward toward the edge. I wear 4x magnifier goggles while doing this. The object is to vary the angles of the strokes, starting almost flat against the blade and progressing toward 35 degrees. Once I get the nice "apple seed" edge geometry, brightly polished with 600 grit, I finish it off on a set of ceramic rods on a knife sharpener block held horizontally in my vise. I try for a final edge of about 40 degrees that will cut paper easily, but won't lift hair (shave). then I polish out the mark from the ceramic rods with 600 grit sandpaper. I have found that this edge cuts everything well and lasts a long time. It takes about two hours to sharpen an unsharpened sword like one from MRL like this. It you've starting with a sword that already has cutting edge geometry, it only takes 20-30 minutes to finish it up. You know.......You could start a business with that. Sharpen swords. It a thought. I know I'd like mine done that way, but I don't have the Patience (not to mention the money) to do it myself. But I would bleed money if I could get you to do it. ;D --Niv
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2008 23:46:40 GMT
First off, I've got to say great picture ShooterMike, I really love it! Now, on to the point of the reply; I recentlly purchased a katana from Cheness Cutlery which I am very pleased with overall. For more detail, click on the link below... www.sword-buyers-guide.com/big-swords.html It's a good blade but I was wanting to ask a question. Is the edge on these types of swords already sharpened to the maximum potential or do they need to be sharpened more? I test cut the blade with a three inch tatami mat and it cut clean through, as well as three water-filled, plastic gallon containers lined in a row. If I had a tripod I would post my own pictures but I don't so that solves that. Anyway, I think I've already asked my question but I'll ask it again just to be sure. Do I need to sharpen the blade further or is it good enough already?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2008 2:30:22 GMT
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice
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Post by ShooterMike on Jul 8, 2008 2:41:16 GMT
86,
Sharpness is really a personal preference, at least to my way of thinking. IMO, it's your sword, so it's really your call.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2008 3:15:51 GMT
Cheness Katana are sharpened very very well. They're also pretty well polished(my kaze was, in any case).
So really, sharpening it yourself would be silly, I think. If you've got a lot of skill with a stone you could MAYBE after HOURS get a finer edge, but you'd end up ruining the polish unless you've got even MORE skill and MANY MORE hours to bring the polish back up to par.
Or, of course, if you've got UBER SKILL you could do a traditional polish/sharpening on one, but the benefit would be damn near imperceptible.
The other tradoff to sharpening them any more is you lose the nice meat to the edge, which is a good thing to have.
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Post by randomnobody on Jul 8, 2008 3:27:03 GMT
It's a good blade but I was wanting to ask a question. Is the edge on these types of swords already sharpened to the maximum potential or do they need to be sharpened more? They are sharpened to the extent that the manufacturer feels they should be sharpened, which isn't necessarily as sharp as it could be, but it's as sharp as it should be for its intended usage (cutting bamboo, tatami, et cetera). Sounds like it's doing fine to me. I think you already answered your own question.
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