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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 31, 2009 14:31:32 GMT
My buddy Ben found a grove of wild bamboo so we went out and harvested 4 or 5 trees (stalks) and cut them to about 6.5 feet in length. then, of course, we cut them into much smaller lengths ;D
bamboo is quite a hard target, any deviation in edge alignment and the cut goes astray, any lack of tip speed and the cut fails. we cut bamboo up to about 2 to 2.5 inches in diameter.
people who are worried about the toughness of Hanwei swords can rest easy my PK Light handled the bamboo really well, in fact it did better than my Kaze which really surprised me.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 14:44:25 GMT
That last cut needs to be in the SBG coolest cuts! +1
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 31, 2009 15:05:20 GMT
thanks Ken, maybe I'll post it there. I am hesitant to flood the gallery with my own cuts though. I know there are many very cool cuts out there deserving of inclusion that simply have not been identified yet and I don't want people to think that they have to compete with what is already posted or (heaven forbid) that the gallery is all about me and my buddies.
the swords used:
Cheness Kaze - I had trouble cutting with it
Valiant Armory Atrim practical arming sword (custom tuned version)- did very well despite one cut that almost got away from me when it bounced back off the bamboo.
Hanwei Practical Katana Light - I was amazed. this sword out-performed all the others. I thought this thing was supposed to be for light cutting.
DISCLAIMER: No swords were harmed in the making of this video.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 15:13:35 GMT
So no chips, no bends nothing bad happened to the PK light?
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 31, 2009 15:26:18 GMT
it still shaves hair of my arm and looks as good as ever. there is one spot on the kissaki that has what looks like it MIGHT be a tiny, tiny chip, but it's not big enough to even go through to both sides of the cutting edge and is VERY hard to see. a little polishing should take it out. if you watch my Kokoro Ichi in Action video you'll see the bamboo I cut with it and even though it was all pretty small (I was being careful with my KI) the KI cut very nearly as well as the PKlight. I am more impressed with the PK Light every time I cut with it. it barely even too a scratch from all that bamboo. and yes, the blade is still straight and true and it even had a few failed cuts on the heaviest of bamboo sticks.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 16:54:05 GMT
Think this juist made up my mind on what practical katana to get.
Tom, your awesome. Thanks dude.
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Avery
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"It's alright little brother... There are more!!!
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Post by Avery on Jan 31, 2009 18:26:49 GMT
Hey you found some. Cool cuts tom, harder than it looks ain't it.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 31, 2009 19:46:10 GMT
considering how well the PK Light performs I really want a Practical Plus or even better a mid to high end Hanwei. for the money though I have to say that the PK Light is amazing.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 2:01:02 GMT
That PPK did a real nice job on that bamboo. It looks tough as nails to cut. Agreed, the last cut is very cool.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Feb 1, 2009 2:57:15 GMT
actually wizzbang, it was a PK LIGHT. weighs all of 2lbs 2-3oz really light and super thin. much like the kokoro ichi.
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Post by shadowhowler on Feb 1, 2009 9:34:10 GMT
That looks like a HELL of a lot of fun Tom... I wish I knew where to find some bamboo around here in Georgia. Also, nice to see I'm not alone in the 'belly' dept... maybe I won't feel so ashamed to post some video now. Whe ya got the sword high in guard before a strike... your 'irish body armour' is shower. Heh heh. I suspect you have the same problem I do... to many invading Mt Dew bottles that need to be stoped! Of course, the only way to DO that is to suck out their life blood... Mmmmm.... sweet green ambrosia.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Feb 1, 2009 11:40:29 GMT
Actually Sean, I have a friend who is the Mountain Dew Vampire. we have a good system: he paralises them by sucking out their blood and I finish them of a-la decapitation. but drink the stuff? no, not me. I'm into Pepsi; I like darker meat you see. as for my vice, well food in general but cheese in specific. let's just say that I really understand those "power of cheese" commercials
as for finding bamboo just drive around and look. I understand near but not on water to be some of the best places to look. I found mine near a drainage ditch just past a Target mixed in with regular trees.
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Post by shadowhowler on Feb 1, 2009 12:12:21 GMT
but yeah I have the chief's belly for sure. surely you've seen my videos before I'm surprised you just now noticed. yup, I'm gettin old and fat. I got grey hair and a bald spot too (it's pretty small though) Heh... Chief's belly... ;D I'm going to have to check in with Toby, see if he is developing his yet. My wife did grow a bit of a belly after becoming a chief... but I think it was in protest after all the grulling stuff they put her threw durring initation. Her PT timetable just got screwed after a command wide 'reorginzation' (The Navy loves to feel like it's doing something by doing nothing, but doing it often.) and now she has 4 PT days durring the mon-fri workweek... so methinks her 'Chief's Belly' won't live long. I know all about old and fat... just go look at my pic in the photo album section. However... I pulled a trick to deal with balding and grey hair... ...shave your head bald! Hah! Take THAT age and genetics!
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Feb 1, 2009 12:16:51 GMT
Toby is still young and svelt I think it may take a while for his new-found anchor to weigh him down.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2009 3:18:45 GMT
Tom - the performance of the Hanwei PKlite is why I'm such a staunch supporter of Hanwei katana. The Practical Plus Katana is still by far my favorite sub $300 katana out there. Its cutting capability and toughness has yet to be beaten in my experience in that price range.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Feb 6, 2009 3:57:28 GMT
well Sam, the PK Light has made a believer out of me. I'd love to try out the Practical Plus or even a higher end hanwei. but I have to say the Kokoro Ichi has shown itself to be a very good sword too.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2009 4:14:23 GMT
Yeah I'm actually kicking myself for having not joined in time to get in on the Kokoro Ichi. It looks amazing and seems to perform quite well, especially for a sub $300 katana.
Btw - cool last cut - what with the pieces of bamboo sticking into the ground and such. That should be in the sbg cool cuts lineup. Now - the challenge - do it again. lol
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