Are they any good? Anything to be aware of, etc? I know next to nothing about them, but I held one today. The balance felt really good, and the draw was smooth as silk. My old wall hanger feels like, well, a wall hanger now.
Paul Chen swords....Thinking of buying...
- Thread starter Bob Hubbard
- Start date
Dragon Fist
Blue Belt
They are real good swords. I've had one (Nami Iaito) for about two years now for practicing, the balance is perfect. The best part of it is hearing that Swooosh sound when you strike striaght down (just like a live sword). I will be getting a live one soon. (can't wait) It still draws perfect.Kaith Rustaz said:Are they any good? Anything to be aware of, etc? I know next to nothing about them, but I held one today. The balance felt really good, and the draw was smooth as silk. My old wall hanger feels like, well, a wall hanger now.
Here is where I got mine. Hope this helps
http://www.casiberia.com/cas/swords_and_daggers.html
Randy Strausbaugh
Master Black Belt
I got one of his Pracitcal Tai Chi swords off eBay. Good sword, good price, but remember that carbon steel requires a little more care than stainless does.
bushi jon
Green Belt
I have been selling Pc for about 3 years I have only had one come back with problems and when I sent it off to the factory they fixed it no question asked. I like there higher end blades but the Nami is good for practice.If you need any more information pm me
For the price they seem to be pretty good. They have drawn quite a following and seem to feel good.
Have you also checked out Bugei Trading Company? They have some very fine swords, but they do cost a bit more, but it is well worth the extra money.
Have you also checked out Bugei Trading Company? They have some very fine swords, but they do cost a bit more, but it is well worth the extra money.
DuneViking
Blue Belt
He does seem to have a good reputation and following as cited above. I would
1- ask what do you want it for
2- look up grades of steel on the net and see if you need one to cut and what the cost is vs the benefits you desire.
http://www.angelic.org/highlander/metallurgy/katanasteels.html
I am happy to spend just a few bucks for one that looks ok and is made from the cheaper 440 class stainless. They are NOT made for cutting, but are fine for forms. The high chrome content and usual improper tempering makes them brittle for actual cutting stresses. On the other hand, they are dirt cheap. ( see BudKww.com) If the investment in carbon steel with proper tempering for a cutting blade is what you really want, then go with the more upscale blades like the one you cited. Expect to spend a minimum of about $200
Practicle Katana by Hanwei as an example.
http://www.ameurasiart.com/JapaneseSwords.html
1070-GT 10.5" 28.25" 40" $ 190
or
http://www.japaneseswords4samurai.com/
or
http://www.swordsdirect.com/practical_katanas.html
You can spend in excess of $5000 for real Jananese craftsmen if you like.
http://www.swordstore.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/00974.1.932881914193111940
In any case, take your time, no rush. If you need something quick, go with a dirt cheap one until you decide on a good one since they can be very pricey. Hope this helps.
1- ask what do you want it for
2- look up grades of steel on the net and see if you need one to cut and what the cost is vs the benefits you desire.
http://www.angelic.org/highlander/metallurgy/katanasteels.html
I am happy to spend just a few bucks for one that looks ok and is made from the cheaper 440 class stainless. They are NOT made for cutting, but are fine for forms. The high chrome content and usual improper tempering makes them brittle for actual cutting stresses. On the other hand, they are dirt cheap. ( see BudKww.com) If the investment in carbon steel with proper tempering for a cutting blade is what you really want, then go with the more upscale blades like the one you cited. Expect to spend a minimum of about $200
Practicle Katana by Hanwei as an example.
http://www.ameurasiart.com/JapaneseSwords.html
1070-GT 10.5" 28.25" 40" $ 190
or
http://www.japaneseswords4samurai.com/
or
http://www.swordsdirect.com/practical_katanas.html
You can spend in excess of $5000 for real Jananese craftsmen if you like.
http://www.swordstore.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/00974.1.932881914193111940
In any case, take your time, no rush. If you need something quick, go with a dirt cheap one until you decide on a good one since they can be very pricey. Hope this helps.
Charles Mahan
Purple Belt
DuneViking said:
Then why are stainless swords banned from nearly all dojos? Stainless wallhangers almost invariably will be of very poor quality both in blade construction, but more important for forms work, in the quality of fittings. The quality of the tsuka and saya are extremely important for forms work because it is usuallly a matter of high repetition. High repetition form work is very hard on the fittings. A failed tsuka could lead to the injury of others. But even more basic than the chance of injury, poor fittings are just difficult to practice with properly. That's not even getting into the balance issues.
Proper balance is VERY important to forms work again because of the high repetition nature of forms workouts. High repetition with poorly balanced weapons can lead to repetitive stress injuries like tendonitis in the right elbow(tennis elbow).
If you're looking for a low cost solution for forms training, you should be looking at iaito. Check the offerings at http://www.e-bogu.com , http://www.tozando.com , and http://www.swordstore.com . You will find them in the same price range as the nicer wallhangers. $150 to $600 or so.
DuneViking
Blue Belt
Excellent point. If one is exercising as as frequently as stated above, go with his suggestions. I do not train with swords that much, and my price range is more like $20-$50. So far, (knock on wood) I have not experienced the wear spoke of, but this is an extremely valid issue, especially if the experience has shown such problems empirically. Safety, especially when others are involved, must be paramount. The links I provided do go to those higher end quality weapons for both cutting and forms-including swordstore.com. The cheapos from BudK is the only address I provided that I did not link.Charles Mahan said:
The only sword I have cost about $110 10 years ago, has a solid wood handle with brass pins and is real solid, but I have not tried to cut anything or put any stress on it either, so the bottom line is what are you going to do-how much are you going to practice. If you are just passing by to see how it feels, do you want to spent a lot, or are you very enthusiastic and plan on training quite a bit? If you are serious, I defer to my collegue above. If you are just testing the waters and want to see how it feels, and it turns out you like them, then again, get the good stuff. But, if you decide you dont, you have not lost a great investment.
Furthermore, let me repeat :
In any case, take your time, no rush. If you need something quick, go with a dirt cheap one until you decide on a good one since they can be very pricey.
S
sifu Adams
Guest
If you wont a good custom sword look up ITG8.com and ask for John Lee. I have seen a lot of swords but Mr. Lee can hook you up with what ever you wont and at a good price. I in the process of ordering broadswords for my student. they are stainless steel blades with a dragon and eagle on one side and a tiger and eagle on the the other it aslo has my school name on both sides. as for price I will tell you it was cheeper than what you could buy one thru centery, awma, or tiger claw. and they are better two. I have a friend that just ordered a sword with a damastic (spell ?) blade, sharped. I can't wait to see it. Check him out
M
Mr.Franco
Guest
I'm not sure if your talking about the Japanese Katana or not but if you are - I thought I liked them until I used, than purchased a Last Legend swords. I am now convinced that the Paul Chen swords are way over-rated!
I friend of mine also purchased one of Paul Chens "folded" swords (I forget the model) and it chipped while cutting bamboo.
If you end up purchasing a "Last Legend" sword get the blade with a 1.0" sori (curve) it cuts objects like a hot knife going through warm butter. Tehy have used physics to design the dimensions.
I have talked to the company and they say that the forged blades are fine for cutting. Normally the main reason for the folding process was to remove the impurities from the metal but now metals are so clean that this isn't an issue. And the folding process can create "bubbles" in the metal if not done correctly and this can compromise the integrity of the blade. If you decide to go with the folded they do offer a "You brake it, we'll replace it for free" policy.
FYI: I am about 5' 11" and I found that the 28-29" blade was balanced very adequatly for my size. The 31" was too top heavy and it felt sloppy (IMO). The version I used had the "bohi" which I belived made a difference on the balance of the blade but I could be wrong on this!
A nice forged blade will run you about $400.00 and is well worth it. I think the "Mikusa" & the "Kumoryu" style blades come with the 1.0" sori. But the Kumoryu is based on the older style "Tsunami" which is the style that I like the best.
Check out their website and you'll see what I'm talking about.
www.lastlegend.com
Sorry, I can't say enough about these blades-they're awesome for the price!
I friend of mine also purchased one of Paul Chens "folded" swords (I forget the model) and it chipped while cutting bamboo.
If you end up purchasing a "Last Legend" sword get the blade with a 1.0" sori (curve) it cuts objects like a hot knife going through warm butter. Tehy have used physics to design the dimensions.
I have talked to the company and they say that the forged blades are fine for cutting. Normally the main reason for the folding process was to remove the impurities from the metal but now metals are so clean that this isn't an issue. And the folding process can create "bubbles" in the metal if not done correctly and this can compromise the integrity of the blade. If you decide to go with the folded they do offer a "You brake it, we'll replace it for free" policy.
FYI: I am about 5' 11" and I found that the 28-29" blade was balanced very adequatly for my size. The 31" was too top heavy and it felt sloppy (IMO). The version I used had the "bohi" which I belived made a difference on the balance of the blade but I could be wrong on this!
A nice forged blade will run you about $400.00 and is well worth it. I think the "Mikusa" & the "Kumoryu" style blades come with the 1.0" sori. But the Kumoryu is based on the older style "Tsunami" which is the style that I like the best.
Check out their website and you'll see what I'm talking about.
www.lastlegend.com
Sorry, I can't say enough about these blades-they're awesome for the price!
The problems with cheaper stainless steel katana are 1) they usually weigh too much 2) the brittle blade can go flying when you least expect it.
Read this thread on Sword Forum: http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33189
Luckily, no one got hurt!
Have you also seen this clip (right-click to upload): http://www.933flz.com/audio/Knives.mpeg
Guy was demonstrating how "sturdy" his stainless steel katana was and stabbed himself.
Paul Chen (or Hanwei) katana are pretty good production pieces. Good entry-level kats, if you are just starting to collect.Kaith Rustaz said:Are they any good? Anything to be aware of, etc? I know next to nothing about them, but I held one today. The balance felt really good, and the draw was smooth as silk. My old wall hanger feels like, well, a wall hanger now.
I currently own a Practical Plus katana (commonly known as PPK) and a Bushido (which features a folded blade). I also owned a Golden Oriole (the tsuka is WAY too long for my use!) and a Shinto in the past, but sold both of those blades. The PPK is one of the lower-end kats, with imitation leather ito and rayskin panels on the tsuka. It is dismountable, like the rest of the Hanwei pieces (except the Practical katana, which is not dismountable). The Golden Oriole and Shinto are "mid-range", with nicer fittings and blade polish (but not folded). The Bushido (also with the Tiger, Kami, and Orchid) have folded blades, and are considerably more expensive than their unfolded brethren. The Bushido is probably the most affordable folded kat in the bunch.
Bugei also uses Paul Chen blades, but they are considerably better quality than the production Hanwei pieces, and Bugei has better quality control. The thing about Bugei blades is that they also tend to be a bit *heavier*. I had a Bugei Crane, and used it in my Yagyu class for about a month. I found it to be a bit too heavy for solo sword drills, and eventually sold it. I also handled a Dragonfly once, and found it to be a little too "beefy" for my taste - and that is the lightest blade Bugei offers.
In any case, you probably aren't going to go wrong with a Paul Chen. If you're lucky, you may land a sweet deal on eBay; that is where I bought my PPK. Also check out some of these stores:
http://www.knivesrus.com/
http://www.brightblades.com/
http://www.dragonflyproducts.com/
Hope this helps!
kroh
Brown Belt
Hey there All,
I recently tested some basic Chen Blades for Orochi Shinken Sword Store and found that while they did ok for some basic low end cutting ( rolled matted cutting targets and even though usually considered bad form I placed small wooden rods less than a cm thick through the middle) I found that the swords performed well enough on the targets but I noticed that many times the sori (curvature of the blade) and balance were a bit off for drawing practice. We are currently testing many of the models that he sells as a way of keeping the customer informed on what they are truely buying. Some of the things we are doing to the blades just shouldn't be done in "normal" use. One test had Mr. Graves ( the Store Owner ) torturing a paul chen Practical Plus Katana for everything it was worth. It passed many of the stresses and failed the bending test ( to over simulate a botched cut ). Other than that... The low end Chen's did...ok
If you are interested, Mr. Graves has a lot of sword products and related information on his web site which is very comprehensive.
Thanks for the minute...
Regards,
Walt
I recently tested some basic Chen Blades for Orochi Shinken Sword Store and found that while they did ok for some basic low end cutting ( rolled matted cutting targets and even though usually considered bad form I placed small wooden rods less than a cm thick through the middle) I found that the swords performed well enough on the targets but I noticed that many times the sori (curvature of the blade) and balance were a bit off for drawing practice. We are currently testing many of the models that he sells as a way of keeping the customer informed on what they are truely buying. Some of the things we are doing to the blades just shouldn't be done in "normal" use. One test had Mr. Graves ( the Store Owner ) torturing a paul chen Practical Plus Katana for everything it was worth. It passed many of the stresses and failed the bending test ( to over simulate a botched cut ). Other than that... The low end Chen's did...ok
If you are interested, Mr. Graves has a lot of sword products and related information on his web site which is very comprehensive.
Thanks for the minute...
Regards,
Walt
S
Shane Smith
Guest
For practitioners of the Western European methods, the Chen Practical "Knightly" and "Hand and a Half" make for decent, servicable training blunts although the grip wrapping will readily come loose in hard use. Still, for 100 dollars from many sources,it is worthwhile.
