dalamar

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Product page:

I picked this up since Scott Rodell gave me a steep discount, said the only thing wrong was a few missing stones. (I actually found one of the two "missing" on the floor after unpacking).

I would like to trade(not sell) this for a Tang Dao, like the one Scott used to sell, or Ronin's if anyone is interested...



Initial Impressions:

Scott packed it well and shipped pretty fast (think it was same day). I was stunned by how beautiful it was at first glance.

Blade was/is not very sharp and the sharpness is not uniform, some areas are nearly blunt while the sharpest can barely make a rough "cut" in paper. I won't be sharpening this one anyway.

It's probably polished at about 4000 grit or so, unfortunately there is dings and small scratches in the blade from the smith. They could be polished out, which would be necessary if you sharpen it anyway..

Scabbard fits well enough, but it's got those somewhat loose nails or pins Huanuo uses for their scabbards and could probably use some industrial glue if you ever plan to wear it for some reason. A few of those on my CS/Huanuo Gim actually went missing!





CoP seems to be around 8 or 9 inches FROM TIP. The blade is so thick and short that it hardly flexes when tapped, so I might be wrong.

PoB seems to be around 6 1/2 inches from the start of the guard(the side where your hand goes). It's got some nice heft thanks to that.



Photos:

drive.google.com/open?id=1FNDbk5Qotevi1F7aCZ8G3NCYNiFp9BbG

Taken with Pixel 2 in somewhat poor lighting.



Handling:

I'm not a practitioner so I can't really speak about that, but the fancy bits on the grip may be bothersome or even fragile. The ray skin is rough, and could be uncomfortable if you were to practice or cut with it, plus you've got those fancy bits in the way that might break.

Due to the far CoP and PoB and general stiffness on this I would expect it to be a great power cutter when sharpened-as long as the fittings hold together.





Test Cutting:

I only took a few slices at a 1 gallon jug, despite the rather dull blade it cut effortlessly and cleanly.





Conclusion:

Beautiful and dangerous "wall hanger", it's unfortunate that they decided to put decorations on the grip to replicate the original. That's not to say you can't use it, but the decorations look like they could break and some stones presumably came off without any real usage of the sword in the first place. As long as it's not used to the point of wearing the plating off, that gold plating will keep your brass from tarnishing!



Is it worth the list price? Hard to say, if you want pure functionality, since I'm not willing to torture test it. It was definitely worth what I paid for it though, what I paid probably doesn't even cover the blade and handle's cost.



Edit: lul forgot to set pic folder public Product page: www.sevenstarstrading.com/html/huanuo/shenfeng.html I picked this up since Scott Rodell gave me a steep discount, said the only thing wrong was a few missing stones. (I actually found one of the two "missing" on the floor after unpacking).I would like to trade(not sell) this for a Tang Dao, like the one Scott used to sell, or Ronin's if anyone is interested...Scott packed it well and shipped pretty fast (think it was same day). I was stunned by how beautiful it was at first glance.Blade was/is not very sharp and the sharpness is not uniform, some areas are nearly blunt while the sharpest can barely make a rough "cut" in paper. I won't be sharpening this one anyway.It's probably polished at about 4000 grit or so, unfortunately there is dings and small scratches in the blade from the smith. They could be polished out, which would be necessary if you sharpen it anyway..Scabbard fits well enough, but it's got those somewhat loose nails or pins Huanuo uses for their scabbards and could probably use some industrial glue if you ever plan to wear it for some reason. A few of those on my CS/Huanuo Gim actually went missing!CoP seems to be around 8 or 9 inches FROM TIP. The blade is so thick and short that it hardly flexes when tapped, so I might be wrong.PoB seems to be around 6 1/2 inches from the start of the guard(the side where your hand goes). It's got some nice heft thanks to that.Taken with Pixel 2 in somewhat poor lighting.I'm not a practitioner so I can't really speak about that, but the fancy bits on the grip may be bothersome or even fragile. The ray skin is rough, and could be uncomfortable if you were to practice or cut with it, plus you've got those fancy bits in the way that might break.Due to the far CoP and PoB and general stiffness on this I would expect it to be a great power cutter when sharpened-as long as the fittings hold together.I only took a few slices at a 1 gallon jug, despite the rather dull blade it cut effortlessly and cleanly.Beautiful and dangerous "wall hanger", it's unfortunate that they decided to put decorations on the grip to replicate the original. That's not to say you can't use it, but the decorations look like they could break and some stones presumably came off without any real usage of the sword in the first place. As long as it's not used to the point of wearing the plating off, that gold plating will keep your brass from tarnishing!Is it worth the list price? Hard to say, if you want pure functionality, since I'm not willing to torture test it. It was definitely worth what I paid for it though, what I paid probably doesn't even cover the blade and handle's cost.Edit: lul forgot to set pic folder public