Paul Chen jian for cutting?

[Chris Fields]

I know Paul Chen has stated that most, if not all of his Chinese line are not meant to used in cutting exercises, however, I was curious if anyone has tried using their one piece forged jian? This sword should be plenty strong enough for cutting exercises due to it's one piece construction. thanks

here is a link to one:

http://www.kultofathena.com/product~ite ... i+Jian.htm

If anyone has any experience with this jian, and can compare to others like Huanuo or Zheng wu, that would be great. Any input is appreciated. Thanks

[Scott M. Rodell]

I know Paul Chen has stated that most, if not all of his Chinese line are not meant to used in cutting exercises, however, I was curious if anyone has tried using their one piece forged jian?...

Funny you should ask that, I just correponded with Barry Ross, the President of CAS/Hanwei, about this exact question. He wasn't sure & said he would get back to me. If it is strong enough to cut with, I'll do a product test on it.

In anycase, CAS/Hanwei expects to have two Chinese Cuttings Swords out Spring of 2008. How do I know this, you ask?
Because I just signed a contract to design one jian & one dao for them...

[Chris Fields]

Awesome! Thank you Scott!

[Scott M. Rodell]

... I was curious if anyone has tried using their one piece forged jian? This sword should be plenty strong enough for cutting exercises due to it's one piece construction...

Just heard back from Barry Ross this morning, he checked with Paul Chen concerning employing the Qi Jian as a test cutting sword. Barry wrote, "As I suspected, this is made primarily as a collector sword with little attention paid to potential cutting ability..." So while this is a nice looking sword, it is out for cutting.

This is a good moment to stop & note that it was wise to check before launching into using this jian just because it is forged as one piece. There are a great number of "swords" availble in the web. Most of them are not made for cutting & would be dangerous to use for cuttings. This is because when they break, here's no telling where the sharp bit of blade will fly to.

See: What not to use viewtopic.php?t=217

[Chris Fields]

Thanks Scott, I was actually thinking about this sword this morning, and had an idea on why it may not be able to used even though it is a one piece forging. If the blade is only hardened and tempered to the guard, then there is a weak point where blade meets the guard. If they tempered the whole sword, which is unlikely, then it would be ok I think.

However, I'll take their advise. Huanuo it is.

Well, at least until Hanwei comes out with the Scott M. Rodell line of swords.

[Scott M. Rodell]

...CAS/Hanwei expects to have two Chinese Cuttings Swords out Spring of 2008...

Just got the test jian blade from CAS/Hanwei. I took the specs. (length, weight, edge geometry etc.) from blade antique jian in my collection & they matched them exactly. It weighs in at exactly 2 lbs. Today the weather & my travel schedule agreed to give me some cutting time. I sliced up a couple of dozen water bottles to check the balance & handling, which I'm quite happy with. Then I gave the blade a tough structural test cutting on the same dead pine tree I have used for testing other swords that were reviewed for this forum. Obviously I want to make sure that anything with my name of it holds up. The results were not even a scratch. I did all my cutting with one edge. After cleaning the blade, you can't easily tell which is the side I cut with. Just goes to show you what proper edge geometry will do for edge strength.

Hopefully the weather will allow me to get some bamboo cutting soon...

If you are wondering when this jian will appear, CAS/Hanwei plans to have it in production in time for the May 10 Traditional Chinese Sword League Inaugural Tournament (see: http://www.swordleague.com/).

[B.Ko]

Laoshi,

does the new jian have a more 'bullet shaped' geometry vs. the fat 'flattened diamond' of the Huanuo?

[Scott M. Rodell]

... 'bullet shaped' geometry...

Exactly. The edge is designed for all types of cutting, including hard targets. I found this edge geometry on every old Chinese Swords I examined.

[Brett]

I don't suppose there is any chance of a sneak preview? Or perhaps a picture of the original that the new sword is based on?

Thanks

Brett

[Scott M. Rodell]

... a sneak preview...

No photos as yet, but I can give a few details... the blade is 30" long with two fullers running the blade length & the sword itself, out of the scabbard, should weight in right at 2 lb. The brass fittings are taken from two sources, with the guard being similar to the one in this Ming illustration:



CAS/Hanwei expects to have it out in time for the May 10 Full Contact Swordplay Tournament in Bozeman, so you shouldn't have to wait long to get your hands on one...

[samsung3000]

Hi Scott My name is Sam Sung and Our company name is pacific solution (Musashi) and just been this fourm. Is the swordsmanship user always like the real sword(sharp edge)? What kind sword is good for them? Do they need the real battle kind?

[fzara2000]

I have been very interested in this sword, but 2lbs is a bit on the heavy side. The bullet/appleseed shape is a nice plus!

[Scott M. Rodell]

...2lbs is a bit on the heavy side...

Perhaps a bit for newer students, but I wanted to design a sword that would be a good solid cutter for any target type, including hard targets.

[fzara2000]

...2lbs is a bit on the heavy side...

Perhaps a bit for newer students, but I wanted to design a sword that would be a good solid cutter for any target type, including hard targets.

Yes I am a new student


It is nice to know it will be able to cut hard targets with it!

[randerson]

...2lbs is a bit on the heavy side...

Perhaps a bit for newer students, but I wanted to design a sword that would be a good solid cutter for any target type, including hard targets.

be sure to design it correctly so that the mass will have good feedbacks on your sword!