Huanao Jian Review

This Forum is a place for students of swordsmanship to ask advice from moderators Paul Champagne & Scott M. Rodell on how to practice test cutting in a manner consistent with how swords were historically used in combat. Readers use this Forum at their own risk.

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bond_fan
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Huanao Jian Review

Post by bond_fan » Fri May 01, 2009 5:59 pm

Could owners of Huanao jian please write a review on their experiences with cutting with this blade and show photos of the current condition their blades are in after they have been cutting with them for some time?

Thanks!

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Testing Huanuo Jian

Post by Scott M. Rodell » Tue May 05, 2009 8:49 am

Image
Duo cut with a Huanuo Royal Peony JIan.

I've been asked several times why I haven't tested a Huanuo jian. The simple reason is that I tested the Huanuo dao, past where I commonly test swords, before becoming their US Rep. If I test a jian now, & the test goes well, some will assume that I'm giving the sword a passing grade in order to line my pockets. What I can say is that I wouldn't have been interested in becoming Huanuo's US Rep if they weren't great blades for the money. There is no good reason for me to put my reputation on the line for short term financial gain selling poor quality swords that don't preform as advertised.

I have also pursued the products of other company's but as yet have not found a company that is both dependable in meeting shipping dates or who can offer a price that is competitive with Huanuo's. Personally, I would like to see more company's producing good Chinese Swords that can be used for cutting. Hopefully CAS/Hanwei's cutting jian will be out shortly & A & A's jian will come thru the test well...

The video of my first visit to the Huanuo Factory can be seen or downloaded at:
http://www.grtc.org/video-clips/histori ... t-cutting/

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by Scott M. Rodell » Fri Jul 10, 2009 1:10 pm

bond_fan wrote:... owners of Huanao jian please ... experiences with cutting with this blade and show photos of the current condition their blades ... after ... cutting...
Here's a photo of cutting with a Royal Peony with a sanmai blade. I've been cutting with this blade for years & it the same blade that travels with me, many new students have used it & damaged the edge.

Huanuo swords are delivered in very sharp condition, so with a fast cut, one can have finished the cut & the target bamboo will still stand up right for a moment...
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Huanuo Peony Jian & Cut 2" Bamboo

Post by Scott M. Rodell » Fri Jul 10, 2009 1:18 pm

This is a photo of the 2" diameter bamboo that was cut in the above photo. As you can see in the photo, the edge has been reshaped in several places where students had dented it, so it is not quite as sharp as it was when Fred Chen present it to me several years ago. Yet it still cuts like a dream...
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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by bond_fan » Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:36 pm

Scott,

Thanks for the fine review and photos!

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by J HepworthYoung » Fri Jul 10, 2009 7:11 pm

Nice cut!
So clean and crisp looking.

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by Nik » Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:48 pm

Glad to see there are also a good couple of scratches and nicks on that otherwise good looking blade. I thought it was a quality issue that after some time and use there were such scratches also on the sample blades made by my smith.

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by Scott M. Rodell » Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:03 am

Nik wrote:Glad to see there are also a good couple of scratches and nicks... I thought it was a quality issue that after some time and use there were such scratches also on the sample blades made by my smith.
This jian is a real, full time user blade. When I first received it, it was polished like a mirror, not a single mark. After the first day of cutting, it naturally had scratches. So I spent the afternoon polishing most of them off. Of course, the next cutting session, it was scratched again. After that I thought better of trying to keep a 'working' sword in show room condition. Now I only, clean up damage to the edge if it is could lead to further damage. I've had to reshape the edge in a few places where students whacked it into the steel pipe of the bamboo cutting stand! ( I explain how to do this in my book: A Practical Guide to Test Cutting for Historical Swordsmanship - http://www.sevenstarstrading.com/html/b ... ttingbook/). To tell the truth, I like it better with all the marks & edge repairs, it seems more honest that way, like a sword, not an ornament for the wall.

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by bond_fan » Sun Jul 12, 2009 5:29 pm

Seems like a lot of work to continually polishing to keep it in art polish, so to not polish seems to make sense other than to fix bad edge damage.

How did someone miss the bamboo and hit the steel stand? Close their eyes before swinging?

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by Nik » Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:41 am

Probably upward swing misjudging the distance.

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by Scott M. Rodell » Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:44 am

bond_fan wrote:... a lot of work to ... keep it in art polish...
Exactly, a 600 grit polish is goof for a 'working' sword, it looks nice but doesn't show the scratches from everyday use.
bond_fan wrote:... miss the bamboo and hit the steel stand?...
No, bamboo is really fibrous, so if during a downward cut one's wrist is too loose, or the angle of the cut is too steep, the blade will be directed straight down along the shaft of the stalk. When this happens the blade usually runs into the pipe the bamboo stalk is inserted into.

The first scratch on a new sword seems like a big deal, but hey, you have to figure you're going o really nick up your blade in the course of learning if you are serious at all. So if you really care how your sword looks, buy two swords, one for the wall & one for the bamboo grove...

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by jimm1909 » Tue Jun 22, 2010 11:36 am

Scott M. Rodell wrote:
bond_fan wrote:... a lot of work to ... keep it in art polish...
Exactly, a 600 grit polish is goof for a 'working' sword, it looks nice but doesn't show the scratches from everyday use.
bond_fan wrote:... miss the bamboo and hit the steel stand?...
No, bamboo is really fibrous, so if during a downward cut one's wrist is too loose, or the angle of the cut is too steep, the blade will be directed straight down along the shaft of the stalk. When this happens the blade usually runs into the pipe the bamboo stalk is inserted into.

The first scratch on a new sword seems like a big deal, but hey, you have to figure you're going o really nick up your blade in the course of learning if you are serious at all. So if you really care how your sword looks, buy two swords, one for the wall & one for the bamboo grove...
Awesome thanks for the info. I was wondering about hitting the steel stand too.

Thanks again,

-Jim
Last edited by jimm1909 on Thu Feb 12, 2015 8:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Huanao Jian Review

Post by tcrush » Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:02 pm

Thanks for the great review and photos.
And i greatly respect the fact that you would not want to promote something you thought to be of inferior quality. I love the integrity.

-Taylor

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