Info on Chinese swords

bloodwraith

i appreciate the understanding. while it appears that i have alot of knowledge, one can never have it all. that is why learning is a journey and not destination. thanks for posting tips, also.

LPBoyle

thanks for the expounding of knowledge. while i am far from being a master... i am teaching. to first teach, one must first learn.

also, which design of jin-shi did you order? Mine will be here tomorrow. it is only the production jian, as you said, "where the heck will i get the money phase" let me unable to get the custom yet. however if you saw my post on the United Black Ikazuchi, under chinese swords, which is a hybrid of katana/ jian, you can probably guess that i am interested in a tang jian. I hadnt thought of DifTemper for a jian, but it sounds good. would you think that it would affect the lateral flexibility, do you? My Ikazuchi is 1045 carbon, and monotemper, hrc 58. it is very stiff, but not rigid. it allows for a moderate flexibility so the chinese forms will still be effective. I am still working on my 32-form. not very polished at it yet.
of course, if i ever become an expet, i guess i would still feel that i could learn more, after all it is a fluid art, capable of continuing change and growth. which style do you use. i would be most interested in exchanging ideas of improvement in my style. i use a hybrid mixture of katana styles mixed with 32-form and fencing. a little strange but offers a surprise element to those who use only one style.

Need to think.

Okay, according to Chinese-Swords-Guides.com:

"Any fine mineral oil will do to protect a sword from rust. Sewing machine oil is a good standby if you don't have anything else. A specially made sword oil with an even finer grade such as the one you can get from Seven Stars Trading Co., is better. I wouldn't use gun protecting products on my sword. They smell awful for a start. Also, some products can deteriorate the wood of your hilt and scabbard. If you only want to prevent rust, any water resistant substance will do, but consider the scabbard. On the battle field in old times, it was probable that natural animal and vegetable oils were used."

I did a poll in the general discussion forum and the winners were 3 in 1 oil, and mineral oil. Unfortunately, none of my taiji resources get into the specifics of sword care as most of them tend to be concerned with the more philosophical aspects of the practice. It's taiji the philosophical is everything.

LPBoyle

thanks for ifo on oil. the gun oil, from the info you just gave me, may be what caused my ikazuchi to slide in and out of the saya too easy. darn thing slipped out while i was holding it upside down (alcohol and sword dont mix) and cut my ankle.

you stated a type of ox tail dao. those are great. i love to look at them, just never took time to learn the style. you gotta do somepix when you get it. my jian should be here tomorrow or friday. i'll shoot some pix for you and send. the money issue hits us all. i guess thats why paul made this site for fans of swords that dont cut your wallet, just tatami.LOL. that is why i went for a production model.