# Just got a new sword



## DeLamar.J (Jun 22, 2004)

This is the exact sword I have http://www.casiberia.com/cas_website/product_details.asp?id=SS9527

I got it at the local flee market for 30 bucks! Cant beat that. It aint to pretty but its sturdy. I have been practicing with it and it is very solid. You can tell as soon as you mess with it a little bit that it is a very durable weapon. As far as clashing against another sword Im not sure what would happen. But it cuts tree branches and watermeon, and oranges like the ginsu 5000.

This is the one I would like to have http://www.casiberia.com/cas_website/product_details.asp?id=SH1201
but I aint made of money.


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## bushi jon (Jul 31, 2004)

If you do want a good Cas sword let me know I am an authorised dealer and I will cut you a pretty good deal.surplusstuff@sbcglobal.net


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## Nikolas P. (Aug 3, 2004)

"The one-piece blade is laser-cut from _high carbon stainless steel_..."

Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron?


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## pakua (Aug 3, 2004)

I got a new one too! My first one in fact. Telescopic plastic for Tai Chi and it comes with a cool plastic holster thing.


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## GarethB (Aug 6, 2004)

Nikolas P. said:
			
		

> "The one-piece blade is laser-cut from _high carbon stainless steel_..."
> 
> Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron?


It has to have carbon in it to be any kind of steel (you can't make steel without carbon), but it is a bit misleading. 

As for the Chen Kami, there's no way I'd pay $1700+ for one. I'd look at the swords sold by Bugei, a company which specialises in selling swords for people who do practice cutting regularly. The swords are made by the same people who make the Kami, but to Bugei's specifications and every sword is individually inspected by Bugei staff (who do practice cutting themselves, so they know what to look for to find faults with swords that will be used for cutting) before being shipped to a customer. You can choose the blade length and there are limited customising options on some of their swords. They're also a lot cheaper than the typical prices for a Kami or Tiger. http://bugei.com/subcategory_6.htm


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## Phil Elmore (Aug 6, 2004)

Stainless steel is not suitable in a functional sword.


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## Flatlander (Aug 6, 2004)

Come on, Phil!  Don't just leave that dangling out there!  What IS suitable for a functional sword?


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## GarethB (Aug 6, 2004)

Cheese! It's obvious when you think about it, but don't make the mistake that a lot of sword newbies make. Stay away from ripoffs made from soft cheeses like brie or cottage. For asian style swords tofu is the material of choice. Playdoh seems to be a reasonable substitute, and the patternweld patterns you can create with the different colours can be impressive. Playdoh swords also have the advantage of not going mouldy if you leave them out of the fridge too long.

I did a survey among the smiley icons, asking what they think. 8 out of 10 prefer original cheese or tofu swords, but 9 out of 10 say they'd go with playdoh sword for practice/training. Just ask these guys, they think it's a great idea. 

artyon: 

Here's a demonstration to show how good playdoh swords can be. :duel: 

There were a couple of purists who won't accept anything except a cheese or tofu sword though.

:knight:  :samurai: 

Ok, silliness aside. Most modern carbon steels can be made into decent sword blades, provided they have a decent heat treatment. Many of the Paul Chen/Hanwei swords are made from recycled Chinese railroad tracks (that's not just a rumour, Paul Chen, the owner of the company making the swords has admitted it in interviews). Although they're basic as far as swords go and some have minor flaws in their fit and finish, the blades themselves are fully functional and quite decent. Some other sword makers in countries like Pakistan and the Phillipines are using recycled leaf springs from scrapped cars/trucks. 

The bad reputation stainless steel has for swords is mostly caused by the companies making them using very cheap grades of stainless steel. Just like all other types of steel, stainless steel is made in different grades for different uses. There are grades of stainless that can make quite good sword blades, but those grades aren't cheap and need to be heat treated a bit differently compared to normal carbon steels. Since the companies making the stainless swords are trying to produce an inexpensive product, using expensive materials and special heat treatment processes is counterproductive and eats into their profit margins (plus the sword makers operating at the bottom end of the market don't have the best quality control). Some places will tell you what exact grade of steel the blade is made from, some won't (some sellers don't actually know). If you want a useable sword, the grades of stainless to avoid are 420, 440A, 440B and 440C (which are the MOST commonly used grades of stainless for swords).

If all someone wants is a shiney sword they can use as a decoration piece, any grade of stainless is fine. The only maintenance they need to do is wipe the dust off with a cloth once in a while. That's it. The moment someone tries to actually do anything apart from look at the shiney stainless sword, they really need to pay much more attention to what they've bought to begin with. I've heard repeated horror stories of people breaking cheap stainless swords just by swinging them through the air (usually caused by construction shortcuts which reduce the cost of making the sword but also weaken it). Carbon steel swords do need a little more maintenance though. The bare metal should be wiped down with a very light coating of light oil to prevent rust, and if it's used to cut, it should be checked every time it's used to make sure al the parts are tightly fitted together. Cars need regular checks and tuneups, and swords are no different, they need regular checks as well.

Just like with any other product, if you want a quality product, you need to pay a quality price. A sword is made from several seperate parts, each part needs to be well made from good materials, and all the parts need to be fitted together properly. Just like any machine, if a sword is built properly to begin with, it will work well. If it's not built properly in the first place though, it could  (and eventually will) break unexpectedly and without warning. The extra money for a properly made sword compared to a cheap knockoff is an insurance policy. You're paying for reliability, you're paying for a lower risk of the sword breaking and pieces of it going flying in unexpected directions, possibly injuring someone or breaking other property (one recent horror story involved a guy thinking he had a good sword swinging it through the air to show someone else how good it was. The blade came completely loose from the handle mid-swing, flew through the air and hit a window of his nearby car hard enough to shatter the glass. If someone had been standing in the path of that blade when that happened....).

There's also the issue of misusing a sword. You don't drive a car into a solid concrete wall at 50 miles an hour and expect it to be undamaged afterwards. By the same token, a sword is NOT an axe. Using a sword to chop tree branches is like driving a car into a concrete wall. The people who do test cutting regularly know better than to do stuff like that. It's tough on the sword and if you get the cut wrong it's very easy to cause permanant damage to the sword. Cutting something hard like a branch also means if you get it wrong you could easily lose your grip on the sword, and then you have a long sharp piece of metal flying uncontrolled through the air. If you want to chop up trees, there are much better tools specifically made for that, they're called axes and chainsaws. Rolled up straw/reed matting is the preferred type of cutting target. The matting isn't hard enough to damage the sword unless you get the cut very wrong using a very thick target and it won't deflect the sword unexpectedly like a wood branch can. 

The sword is a weapon originally designed to maim/kill, and unlike a gun a sword is *ALWAYS LOADED*. It has the potential to main/kill *EVERY* time someone is handling it. Treat it with the care and respect all dangerous weapons deserve.


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## AaronLucia (Aug 28, 2004)

I have the Paul Chen Practical Plus Wakizashi and i love it!


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