Integral Wing Chun Butterfly Swords - Ultimate Drop Forged Chopper
(Wing Chun Butterfly Knives, Bart Jarm Do, Hudiedao)
These professional-grade butterfly knives, from Everything Wing Chun and Modell Design LLC, are of the fat-bladed chopper design preferred by modern Wing Chun stylists. They are built to a hybrid style that permits stabbing as well as chopping. These swords are the best on the market today, period. They have the look and feel of an expensive pair of custom-made swords and are the result of more than 9 months of very hard work. We are proud to finally offer them for sale. These swords are part of a limited edition run of only 50 pairs.
In making these swords, we did not want to outsource the design and production to a cheap factory in China, Vietnam or elsewhere. We wanted the best, so we worked with professional weapon and knife designer Jeffrey Modell, of Modell Design LLC. You might know Jeffrey's name from his article in Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine (April 2010) entitled, 'History and Design of Butterfly Swords'. Most of the swords on the market are very cheaply made in China with little care for balance, function, use, or Wing Chun-specific needs. We wanted our swords to blow the competition out of the water, and this is what Jeffrey delivered.
In addition to adding Jeffrey to our team, we had to take a detailed look at what the current lineages in the Wing Chun world use and are looking for in a sword. There are at least 8 variations of swords being used in Wing Chun today, so we had to make some decisions as to which version we were going to make first. Our decisions were based on history, use, what is currently being used and what is in demand.
These are the characteristics of the swords and why we chose them:
Sword Style: We chose a hybrid of a pure chopper and a stabber - with an emphasis on the chopper. We felt that even though most lineages use the modern chopper version, you still need to be able to stab effectively, so we made the blade in a manner that allows it to effectively chop and stab. This allows all lineages to use the swords. We believe that this is probably a first in the Wing Chun world. Most chopping versions of the swords are too blunt to rounded at the tip to stab effectively, while most stabbing versions are too thin and not rounded enough to chop. This version allows you to use the swords in all methods of attack: chopping, stabbing, slicing and slashing.
Blade: The blade has a wide, attractive hollow grind, with a deep functional fuller - labor intensive design elements normally found only on expensive, custom made swords. Though the tip is pointed, the final edge-sharpening stage of the knife production process has been omitted to reduce the chances of injury during practice.
We chose the 12" blade length as opposed to the 14” length because many lineages flip the swords to the inside of their arms in the Guan Sao and Quan Sao movements. With longer blades they would either cut their opposite arm or have to open their elbows too much, thus give up valuable time and power generation in the movements. This 12" blade length is actually close to the longest traditional length for Wing Chun. This shorter version of the blade is rooted in the Red Boat days, when the swords had to be tucked into a boot for concealment. (The 14" blades are mostly from the pre-Wing Chun era and are used in other Southern Shaolin styles. They can only be used on the outside of the forearm and go all the way past the elbow on most people under 6 feet tall. They also prevent many common Wing Chun techniques from being properly executed). For those that use the longer blades in their lineage, we plan to offer a limited run of 14" blades in 2011.
There is a deep, functional fuller (aka 'blood groove') on the left side of each blade. A fuller helps impart rigidity to the blade, lighten it and make it easier for the target to bleed out. Contrary to popular belief, it is not to stop a vacuum from keeping the blade stuck in an opponent. Throughout history, swords have been made with no fuller, a fuller on one side, a fuller on both sides, or more than one fuller per side. They did not see much use on ordinary Chinese butterfly swords, but we think the feature adds to the aesthetic of the design and improves the blade.
Blade thickness starts at 6 mm and distal tapers to 3 mm.
Handle, D- Guard, and Quillion: The first thing you will notice is that the the handle is angled down to accommodate both versions of use - chopping and stabbing - as well as to facilitate use in the reverse grip effectively and comfortably. Again, this is pretty unique. We made the balance point about 2 inches into the blade from the handle, so they are balanced perfectly. These swords are also the absolute best we've testing in flipping ability. They just naturally flip back and forth smoothly, due to the balance and quillion design.
The 'D' guard has an integral design, meaning it is made out of the same piece of steel as the blade, for the strongest possible joints. The 'D' guard has been ergonomically designed with an 'S' curve, to allow for a solid reverse grip without interfering with the primary forward grip. The edges of the spine (the spine rests against the forearm during a reverse grip) are rounded to improve function.
The handle is made from stabilized wood and is pinned and glued to a full tang, so it will not crack or warp over time. Most inexpensive woods used for imported sword handles are affected by humidity-induced expansion and contraction. This stabilized wood product is far more resistant. The slimline style handle is ergonomically designed to be comfortable and reduce the odds of slippage. We chose to use a full handle instead of a half handle, because in this day and age having a better grip on the sword during training and/or combat is more important than slipping both swords into one sheath or holding both swords in one hand. The full handle feels better to use and causes less training accidents.
Blade Material: Since most people will not be sword fighting for real or in real combat, and will instead only be using the swords in a training environment, we chose a stainless steel to minimize the need for care. While a high-grade carbon steel (such as 1075 or 1095,) is best for combat, it requires constant maintenance, requiring careful cleaning and oiling after each use to prevent rusting. The maintenance issue is why professional martial artists who can afford them prefer high quality stainless steel training weapons and why these weapons have been made out of 440C.
There are many types of stainless steel and they are not all the same. The one we chose - 440C - is a steel used for making dies - for cutting metal, in other words - and is the material preferred by top custom knife makers. It is more expensive than lower-quality steels, and is tougher to work. Be advised that if an advertisement for another sword just says '440' or 'stainless steel' it is unlikely to be the expensive 440C.
Not only did we use a great steel, we had it hot drop forged. This is the same process used to make a hammer. Unlike every other sword in the market, our sword is one single piece of metal and super, super strong. There is no welding of metals - it is forged out of one solid piece. Making the 'D' guard out of the same piece of steel as the blade, thereby increasing strength, is one of the reasons forging is a preferred method of construction. The other is that hot drop forging helps align the crystalline structure of the steel, making the blade even stronger.
Finish: After being drop forged, the swords are hand-ground, tempered and polished to a glossy, limited production grade finish. Please note that there may be some small black marks remaining on the steel due to minor pitting from the drop forge process, but we still think the final product is far superior to anything on the market, shy of expensive custom swords. We did our best polish it out, but at this price point there is just no way to do this perfectly, since it is a very labor intensive process. This is normal and not a defect of the blades, and will in no way effect performance.
Sheath: Each unit consists of a pair of knives and a leather transport carry-all. Please note that over time, the chemicals used to treat the leather can tarnish a blade, so for long term storage it is best to re-wrap the blades in the paper they ship with before inserting them into the carry-all. Also, Modell Design LLC has asked us to note that the leather cases were outsourced by the forge and are a first effort. Buyers should use care when inserting the swords to avoid cutting the leather pockets, (yes, the tips are pointy even though the edge wasn't fully sharpened,) and the zippers can sometimes get stuck at the corners at first. The carryall is offered as a free extra and is not covered by any warranty.
Dimensions:
Total Length: 17 inches
Blade: Length is approx 12 inches along the spine. Blade thickness starts at 6 mm and distal tapers to 3 mm.
Weight: Approximately 1.1 Kilograms or 2.4 pounds per sword
Handle Material: Black Laminated Stabilized Wood
Blade Material: Heat Treated Drop Forged 440C Stainless Steel
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