Swords

[Starchaser107]

is it possible to get authentic combat steel swords over the counter, how much would a combat steel straight or broadsword go for. Also, ive heard that people sell what they claim to be spring steel and combat steel but it really isnt, they say rightfully it should bear a mark on it to tell the type of steel it is. can anybody vouch for the validity of the swords advertized in magazines, has anybody ordered and got exactly what they were looking for, or less than.
thanks
Starchaser 107

[David Jamieson]

there are reputable dealers that sell high quality and genuine blades.
customized weight, balance and grip are recommended when you are shelling out the kind of money required to buy a blade of such quality though.

the old saying is you gotta walk through a lot of snow to get to the cabin.

also caveat emptor.

do your research and know exactly what you want from the blade, not the best thing to get on an impulse. Anyway, it is not unreasonable to expect to pay betwenn $500usd and $1000 usd for a very decent weapon. If you want a museum piece, you could be looking at a whole lot more to fogeddaboudit . You can get effective bladed weapons for a lot cheaper of course, but made to fit is the way to go for that "special" steel.

peace

[Shin]

Ask here!!!

[Slayer]

Does anyone know of where I can get a good quality functional sword. I was woundering if anyone knew if the Paul Chen swords on ebay were any good or if the Long Quan swords on e bay were any good.

Slayer

[crumble]

There are a lot of fakes on Ebay, so be careful. Check out www.swordforum.com if you are interested in spending hundreds of dollars on a real sword.

In their forum, they also have a section on spotting Ebay fakes. (Basically, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.)

If you are just starting sword work, I'd recommend practicing with the the less expensive swords. Then after a while you can decide if you want to spend a lot of money on a real sword. It's rare that people get into swordfights these days!

[SwaiingDragon]

crumble -great link- thanks

slayer- i'm a big fencing fan- i've practiced (and have had the crapped kicked out of me) with japanese, chinese, spanish, french, korean, indian and filipino swords- and i agree that you shouldn't spend a lot of $$ on a pracitice sword -

check the basics- solid construction, good grip and good balance-

if you're buying online then go with sansoo's suggestion- longqan swords have been reliable for my classmates and students-

[GeneChing]

Always check www.MartialArtsMart.com first - they sponsor this forum here and any sales made from links off our this forum go to conintue paying our rent.

[MaFuYee]

the paul chen swords suck. (at least i can say that for the tai chi gim i bought. - total waste of 80 bucks.)

longquan makes 'combat steel' and 'spring steel' swords. - the combat steel are good for practice as they are heavier. - but none of the swords are properly balanced.

what kind of sword are you looking for? - and for what?

unfortunately, if you really want a "good" sword, you really do have to shell out big bucks. (min. $1,000)

[Radhnoti]

If you are speaking of broadsword...I looked into this a few months back. The gist of what I got from swordforum.com was that the kris cutlery swords were the "best for the money". Here's a few comments they had:

Alexander Chin (SFI Executive Editor)-
"The KC swords are decent attempts and excellent values for their price (around $200). The blades are ****geneous steel (5160) and the fittings are not historically accurate. The dao is actually the most functional, since the gim & jian lack the distal-tapers needed to properly balance the swords. As a result, the guards and pommels are too heavy, which makes the swords vibration-prone in cutting.

For the average martial arts practitioner, the KC swords should prove sturdy and functional enough for forms practice and cutting. Again, this is all at a very reasonable price
I forgot to mention one other useful thing regarding the KC swords. They can be ordered sharpened or not. This is important for safety and many schools are reluctant to allow people to train with sharp weapons (for obvious reasons).

If you are looking at purchasing a dao, then you might consider the Willow Leafs (offered under various names) by Cicada Forge and Museum Replicas. These are unsharpened, but quite well done, albeit more expensive than the KC swords."

Philip Tom -" Kris Cutlery sells an inexpensive one made in the Philippines that is well balanced and of good steel (although it is not very attractive to look at and the finish is mediocre)."

Manoucher - "If you are looking for a good affordable Jian and dao: Check Kris Cutlery: Iown a Gim, a Jian and a dao, all excellent and sturdy, each for $195,-. They cut very well. My KC dao is a cutter. It prevailed the hardest cutting test. I own a Paul Chen Jian(www.casiberia.com also know as a Hanwei)(I guess around $400,-) as well; excellent and beautiful piece with a nice balance. Chen has introduced new lines of Jian lately as well.

As far as the antiques go, check Seven Stars Trading company run by Scott Rodell. He has excellent pieces of dao and is an expert in Chinese swords and swordmanship. (www.sevenstarstrading.com)

If you wish to have a custom piece, ask Vince Evans. He is the best smith I know as far as Chinese swords go. You don't know how beautiful his pieces are, starting from $2000,- and a waiting list of 2-3 years. "

A.D. Dacus - "The Kris is well worth the Money. It has the feel of live steel. I don't think you would be disappointed. If you want a "wall hanger" then go with the P.C. (Paul Chen)"

[GeneChing]

Everyone has their own opinion about what they like and don't like in a sword. It's just like a tool, or a gold club, or a raquet. What feels good to you is what to get. I hear people say that swords are not balanced properly all the time, but perfect balacne is subjective. Some like it a little more top heavy, others, pommel heavy. If you're picky and poor, learn to make swords, or at least modify them. It's pretty easy skills really. Buy swords for parts. Get the pommel here, the blade there, fashion your own handle out of wood or whatever. It's often the way it was done in the days of old, but today we all seem to want things to be prepackaged and ready to go "off the rack." Finicky swordsmen (and there's nothing wrong with being finicky about your sword) would be more honorable to make their weapon fit them rather than put down weapons for not fitting. customize. tailor.

[Chang Style Novice]

I thought gim and dao were the same kind of blade. So what's the difference?

[Xebsball]

gim is the same as jian i think, wich would be the straight sword, cut both sides
and dao the broadsword

[Radhnoti]

I might add (from my limited knowledge) that the sword you want MAY be determined somewhat by the intended use. If you're just going to practice forms and don't want to worry much about upkeep, a sword with low carbon content is fine. Stainless steel, like that, won't rust or bend and will stay bright and shiny with little upkeep. However, stainless steel blades are supposed to be more brittle...possibly shattering into fragments upon contact as I understand it.
If you want to make some sort of contact (or are afraid you may) in your practice (cutting mats, etc.), you may want a steel mixture with MORE carbon content. For example Kris Cutlery blades have carbon content of .55-.60% allowing them to flex without breaking as readily.*

*Note-I only use KC as a referrence because I have their catalog in front of me which specifies some of the qualities of their blades. Martialartsmart blades may be of incredible steel for all I know, but I've not seen the specs of their steel anywhere on their site...

[Falcor]

So you know how Chinese swords compare with japanese swords and european sowrds? In terms of the mechanical and material properties, that is. I don't wanna get too much into usage becasue that's a tricky questions, but a more engineering question should be a bit more objective.

[Bluesman]

http://thomaschen.freewebspace.com/ and the sword forum international with a Chinese page are good sources for answer which is............The better Chinese are as good. And the best Chinese are sooo muchh more attractive with fancy blade patterns. http://forums.swordforum.com/forumdi...p?s=&forumid=9