Great River Taoist Center Forums

Many of the blades used by serious Chinese martial artists (both higher-quality reproductions and most antiques) have pretty hard cutting edges. My experience as a sword polisher has taught me that steel files can be ineffective on really hard edges. The swordsman who wants a highly efficient and ea...

One comment I hear quite a bit from martial artists is that the handles on many of the new weapons from China (and this includes the higher-end products as well, not only the "wushu specials") tend to loosen easily after a lot of use. This seems to be due to two principal factors, 1. The common use ...

You will find also that differentially heat treated blades (those hardened in the area of the cutting edge(s) only, and softer at the spine or ridge, tend to be easier to straighten than those tempered to the same hardness all the way through. I once straightened a World War II Japanese officer's ka...