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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Nov 11, 2014 0:32:38 GMT
Surely not, but the "nourishing of the sword", Yangjian 養劍, does have tradition and works wonders, as of my own experience. The longer I did the cleaning (after green bamboo cutting) of sap, rubbing warm and oiling, the less oxidation did happen, on different blades. The smith all in all is suspect, dreaming his magical sword and all, but his steel is really good, hard to get razor sharp, but holding the edge very good. And the flexibility at 62 HRC is astonishing, also the stabbing ability (they did a test stabbing thru car doors).
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Nov 10, 2014 13:20:53 GMT
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Nov 10, 2014 7:32:52 GMT
There is one smith in TW, who does casted swords. In cooperation with an MIT materialogist, they ground up different steels microscopically fine, and add up to 12 secret other metals, melt the whole thing and cast plates. These are heated up to 2000 C, then cooled down to below minus 180 C, put under very high pressure. With laser cutters the shape is formed, before the sword gets polished. The steel reached HRC 62, is very flexible. The only drawback: All Chinese want to do all work on one sword, the sccabard and furniture are not that great, also the final sharpening could be better. (I like Japanese way, where different masters work on one sword.)
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Oct 30, 2014 8:51:10 GMT
Guys, Longquan is a place in China, not a forge or a brand. There are many producers there, some do forge, others just assembly. And there are (very few) really good sword smiths.
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Oct 13, 2014 6:47:31 GMT
www.swordsantiqueweapons.com/s076_full.htmlThat would be the real deal; antiques are hard to get by and for sure not cheap! No, the other pair is for training only, not for real use, no cutting or realistic contact with other weaponry is advised. There are several good forges in China (Longquan has good ones, too), and others like named above can do it. Will be neither easy nor cheap, you need to do some homework, so that you know what to order.
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Sept 7, 2014 12:35:55 GMT
Sorry for being late. As you know Chen is gone several years, his sons still run his little museum. Guo is semi-retired, but also has his own little museum; not much to be seen in his old workshop. I know several more Taiwanese sword smiths, but they all have set up shop in mainland China 8cheap labor), only coming back for exhibitions. If you want to see much in one place, go to Longquuan, where you find cheap souvenirs en mass, but also high level repros in all categories. Forge Wangzihao would be a good starting point.
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Feb 1, 2014 20:47:59 GMT
Yeah, it's the Horse yr, phase Wood, heavenly stem Jia and earth branch Wu! All the best!
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Jul 17, 2013 1:16:56 GMT
Maybe you can also ask Scott Rodell at sevenstartrading.
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Apr 20, 2013 8:16:07 GMT
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Apr 19, 2013 1:26:24 GMT
You talk of the sleeping tiger hidden dragon movie blade?
Well, I had it in my hands (one of 2 originals), made by smith Guo in southern Taiwan. I'd had no use for such stuff, even if it were for free, lol.
There is also a Taiji sword with such a blade, looks nice, but suitable for forms only. Balance is not traditional, the whole thing a bit wobbly.
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Feb 13, 2013 6:51:49 GMT
A belated Happy Chinese New Year of the black water snake, heavenly stem gui, earth branch si! Attachments:
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Jan 2, 2013 5:21:32 GMT
I have both swords, and not from CS, so they are called the carp and the bat swords at my suppliers. Both are also produced by Huanuo, or have been, with different steels and POB, probably not as heavy as the old gim, so if interested, I'm sure S. Rodell can help. Or have a China vacation, go to the Shanghai shop (higher prices), bring the swords back yourself and save on shipping/customs.
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Dec 9, 2012 13:40:34 GMT
Well, surely not 7*'s problem, but Huanuo, as the same happend with my supplier in Taibei.
Anyway, the mirror polish is relativly easy to get back, just use sandpaper or pads with grids slowly going up to 2/3000. And please nourish your blades, first year once a week or even more often. When the finest pores have closed after some time, you can take it easier.
Cleaning, with a good metal paste, if necessary also some sandpaper, rubbing hot, little oil and back into the sacbbard.
After cutting bamboo, cleaning might take some alcohol and a bit more time. Have fun!
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Dec 7, 2012 8:57:28 GMT
Unbelievable! On the other hand, when I purchased some Huanuo and other high end blades at asource in Taibei, the dealer couldn't get some blades out of their scabbards, and when we pulled them out together, they looked even worse. Same traders just don't do anything on their stock, but in humid climate, real baldes need norishment, Yangjian/Dao 養劍/刀 at least every 3 months. Did you get a new Dao? A must!
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Aug 26, 2012 8:53:55 GMT
Mr. Wu, any new Chinese style blades to be seen? And where in Taiwan are you located, please?
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Aug 15, 2012 1:53:05 GMT
Well, I always doubted Longquan forges, especially after I heard a speech of their museum's currator here in Taiwan, where they had a so-so exhibition. Must say, if the mueseum's guy doesn't know more about swords, then ....
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Aug 12, 2012 7:08:17 GMT
Yes, those look nice, but I prefer the plain stuff to the flowery one! Also for the direction of the Hushou!
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Aug 8, 2012 0:44:14 GMT
Thanks for confirming my gut feeling! It has been around 2000, when I had visited him. Seems he died on Feb. 17th, 2011.
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Aug 7, 2012 8:46:58 GMT
Chen Tianyang was propably the 1st to revive sword making in Taiwan. He also has a nice museum, not sure if still alive, looked unhealthy when I met him yrs. ago. His works have character, lol, his steel is good, his handywork much more sofisticated than Guo down south. Never handled weapons of his successors, will check when having a chnce. Thanks for the link!
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Post by Taiwandeutscher on Aug 7, 2012 8:41:51 GMT
Well, as I live only 30 km from his shop, I had been there many times, showing his stuff to visitors, mostly enjoying seafood at the harbour over there. His museum is ok, but as said, most stuff is bought in China, some are plain fakes (ther are not that many Zhanguo blades, lol), mostly I like the Taiwan aboriginal hunting knifes. His dragon/tiger sword, I wouldn't treasure, even if I got one presented, not my cup of tea. His blades can be of good quality (some supersticious Taiwanese say the human bones for carbon give the blades unpleasant qualities), but his fittings and woodwork are rather crued. And certainly, he is only one of atleast 10, 12 Taiwanese smiths, some of them much higher quality and also with much higher prices.
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