I dont think you sounded snooty
Quote:
Did not mean to seem "Snooty" about the Angel swords.
No,no, not at all. I didn't think that you seemed snooty. I have been looking around the web like crazy myself at all kinds of swords that I can afford and I can tell that those are some very nice blades. I came across a Jian on Steel Source that I think is made by windlass cutlary and they seem to be trying to sell off their remaining stock
http://www.thesteelsource.com/html/mr500796.htm
thats cheap 135$ for a high carbon steel blade:) and it looks OK like I said before I like that style.
Quote:
When we talk about the "Snap" of the sword when doing a form, i have found that the angel swords give you the most snap due to their flexability. The Kris cutlery Gim that i have can provide that same snap but the blade is a little stiffer(but not so stiff that you cant whip it about).
I have a the old super floppy competition wushu Jians and to be honest I'm sick of the spring steel snappiness and it's not something I am looking for in sword. I want a sword that will behave realistically when I practice and I believe I can't use my old sword in competition anymore anyways. I think swords have to be able to support their own weight when stood up on the ground with the new standards.
Hardness of Steel: The Rockwell scale
The Rockwell scale characterizes the indentation hardness of materials through the depth of penetration of an indenter under a major load on a material sample and compared to the penetration made by a minor load.(this is the short Wiki definition)
Now the Hardness of Steel in swords can be a tad misleading. One will see a sword with a Rockwell Hardness of say 55. Now that is a good hardness rating for a blade, HOWEVER, if the whole blade is a hardness of 55 it better be a real short one, like a knife. other wise you try to clash that thing with anything and it will most likely fracture and break. A good tempered Sword will have a relatively softer middle(springy) and a hard edge(to hold the sharpness). Most traditionally made japanese swords have this characteristic where they are folded many times to get that springy and durable feel to them(so they can stand up to cutting armour and flesh and clashing with other blades) the outer edge of the sword will; be harder than the inner body so that it can hold an edge.
IN the case of your Sword, No_surrender, they say the blade is folded and has a hardness rating of 55. Well, How many times is the blade folded? prolly just once or twice(for the price of that blade reflects how much went into the manufactoring of that particular blade) as for the hardness, i refer back to the original query i had about (if the whole blade is a hardness of 55 then it will be more brittle and prone to break if it is longer than say 10 inches) Also you gotta figure what kind of Metal is being used to make the sword.
Most places are using scrap metal(which can be good depending on the metal) Kris Cutlery,if i am not mistaken, is using the spring shocks off of Jeeps and other ATV's(all terrain vehicles) That metal is actually really good to use and they dont have to fold the metal or temper it too much. they just need to grind out a shape and do some other stuff to it( i tested mine once on an old box spring mattress) cut right through the wood and a few of the springs in the mattress in the first swipe,about 8 inches in) i pulled the blade out and the edge wasnt even damaged. thats how i knew that i had a good sword. If you go to the Windlass steel crafts site they have a video you can watch on how they make their weapons. its pretty cool.
IN retrospect, all this rambling doesnt change the fact that we dont fight with swords anymore and so wanting to have a sword to practice with,you can either spend your money on a collectors work of art,or you can spend not so much money on something that will at least stay together when you whip it around.
Im a sword nerd so i am going to be nerdy about it all and go for the collectors piece.
Peace,TWS
THx again Willow for your vast knowledge...
Wow, you certainly know allot about swords thank you so much for the info.I have so many questions for you in the future but just one right now. Do you then having said all that think that the Master Zhi Sword from my last post would be a good sword for practice? I read that they can send it un-sharpened. Plus I think it's a good deal.
Also I do plan on eventually buying a very high quality sharpened sword when it is financially feasable but for now I just want something to practice, demo and maybe compete with that will behave more like a real sword and make people go "Man thats a pretty sweet sword!"-lol
:cool:
Thx again man, you have been very helpful!
