Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Dec 3, 2011 16:14:28 GMT -5
Hanwei Wind & Thunder : Another Look
Review by Marc Kaden Ridgeway 3 Dec 2011 Atlanta GA
Happy December everyone, and I hope you are all in the holiday spirit and looking forward to a slashy/stabby gift of some sort. I'm not.
Anyway , I have reviewed a WInd & Thunder once before... well twice if you count the comparative review with the Kiyomaro. The first review was back in 2006 , and my second sword review , from a time when I had less idea how to review swords than I do now.
I sold that W&T when gathering money to pay for a James Raw blade, but i likes it so much that I always wanted another. Well , I while back I got another...secondhand on eBay , for a good price. What this sword did was remind me that even production swords are still basically created one at a time, and there can be very different examples of even the same model. This particular Wind & Thunder is exceptional. It is strong in areas the other was weak. It was different enough, that I think it calls for a whole new review... so here one is !!
The following pictures are old pictures from the 2006 W&T . I am posting them for a comparison with the new one. In the first picture the W&T is the middle one... in the other pictures it is the bottom one... Note the dead straight , non tapered , stick tsuka.
In The pictures in the rest of this review I will endeavor to show you what makes this new W&T worth reviewing again. A shaped, tapered, even gently curved tsuka. Crisp geometry , including sharp shinogi lines and pronounced kissaki geometry , and a well done edge geometry.
Specifications
Old
Nagasa 29.75
Motohaba 1.4"
motokasane around 7 mm
saki kasane 5.5-6mm
kissaki 3.4 inches
weight 3lbs 5 ounces.
sori .6 inch.
tsuka 11.75 inches
New
Nagasa 29.75 in
Motohaba 1.45 in
Sakihaba 1.12 in
motokasane around 8 mm
saki kasane 5.5-6mm
kissaki 3 inches
weight 3lbs 8 ounces.
sori .75 inch.
tsuka 11.5 inches
COG 6.75 in
Aesthetics , Fit & Finish
Sugata is shinogi zukuri with O-Kissaki. The hamon is acid enhanced suguha and the boshi is komaru. The ji is satin polished, while the shinogi-ji is burnished to a mirror finish. The kissaki is geometric with physical yokote. Then 29.75 inch blade is gently curved with .75 inch sori. The shinogi seem very crisp and clean to me, not rounded as so many production katana suffer from... but then I may be losing my eye for japanese-style swords.
The tsuka-ho is paneled in white same and tightly wrapped with black cotton ito. Hishigame was used. The fuchigashira are blackened steel with file marks , and sport a tomoe motif. The menuki are representations of the Shinto dieties of wind and thunder. and the rounded square tsuba is blackened steel and features Raiden shaking his thunder rattles as he splits the sky with lightning.
The tsuka-ho gently curves , and tapers in circumference from 4.8 inches to 3.8 inches. The kashira is curious. The kashira on the old W&T was the same size as the fuchi, and sported golden shitodome. I remember clearly as the shitodome used to saw into the heel of my hand while cutting. On the newer model, the kashira is considerably smaller , and has the cast-in fake shitodome which I didn't see occuring on Hanwei kashira until the performance series came out... the new PK had them, as did the Tori. Originally the W&T was a limited edition with a run of I believe 500 world-wide... I assumed they would have been made around the same time... but this one seems to have been made later. Perhaps the W&T was changed to a permanent model.
The saya is laquered black with black horn elements and black sageo.
Handling Characteristics
There's really not much of a way to gloss this over... the W&T is a big, heavy sword , and handles like a big, heavy sword. It's almost 30 inches long, 8mm thick and 3 and a half pounds... thats a big katana anyway you cut it (sorry couldn't help it). However the COG is at 6.75 , not really that far out there, when 6 inches is about average for a no-hi katana.
The distal and profile taper help, as does the shaping of the tsuka. The tsuka starts off pretty thick , which really aids in controlling the weight of this big sword. The fact that the tsuka slightly curves and also tapers also really aids handling, making it handle far better than the first W&T I had, even though the stats show that one several ounces lighter.
The tight itomaki makes for a good, sure grip.
This sword isn't a sportscar, but it's not a Mack truck either... I'm reminded of an old 70's Sedan d'Ville that really floats down the road once you get it moving.
Cutting
Razor, laser , freaking all out lightsaber... call it what you wish this sword is a cutter. It may not be as sharp as one of Ricky Chen's Hung Shing katana, but its really got some dialed in edge geometry... the best of any production katana I've had... hell as good as many customs.
The Wind & Thunder is about cutting anyway... everything about it screams cutting. From the niku, to the shallow suguha hamon , to the o-kissaki , to the modest sori , and the robust geometry echoes the type of swords used as heavy cutters in wartime Japan . You can glance at this sword and see it is advertising itself as a heavy cutter... and it is . And a light cutter... it cuts... well . Anything you throw at it.
Unfortunately , since this is a thrown-together review , written for the purpose of keeping me from slipping into insanity while the house is filled with teenagers for my son's birthday party, I don't really have any video.
All I have is a short clip from the S.W.O.R.D. game on SBG... it has two other swords on it , the W&T is last.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Ahhh the critical section... Well there is a lot good about this particular sword. The blade , the geometry , the tsuka shaping. There really isn't any bad... and the only thing ugly is the transition from the tsuka to the kashira. The kashira is too small for the tsuka , or so it seems. Makes me kind of wonder if it was the kashira for a wak... anyway , you can check that out back in the Aesthetics section.
The only thing I've ever really had a gripe about with the W&T is the shaping of the tsuka and the kissaki . The tsuka shape is much better on this example , and though I still like the barracuda style O-kissaki better, this one isn't that bad as shown by the comparison to an antique below. In fact, it looks better, cause the antique is counterpolished.
Conclusion
I liked the Wind & Thunder when I bought it years ago. It had some shortcomings, but all in all I liked the sword enough that I wanted another once I sold it. Then when I got this one a while back, It seemed it was a really good example of the model. In fact the longer i had it the more liked it... and when I did some cutting with it I was shocked at how well it performed. I don't know if a better smith made this sword, if Hanwei just has progressed this far in the period of time between the making of these swords...
What I do know is that this is a good example that one can not judge a sword company. or even a particular model based on a single example. There are lemons out there ... and in the words of Paul Southren , there are "jewels in the junk".
In the case of the Wind & Thunder it's well worth the gamble , because even the average examples are pretty good swords , and then there some that shine...like this one.
Review by Marc Kaden Ridgeway 3 Dec 2011 Atlanta GA
Happy December everyone, and I hope you are all in the holiday spirit and looking forward to a slashy/stabby gift of some sort. I'm not.
Anyway , I have reviewed a WInd & Thunder once before... well twice if you count the comparative review with the Kiyomaro. The first review was back in 2006 , and my second sword review , from a time when I had less idea how to review swords than I do now.
I sold that W&T when gathering money to pay for a James Raw blade, but i likes it so much that I always wanted another. Well , I while back I got another...secondhand on eBay , for a good price. What this sword did was remind me that even production swords are still basically created one at a time, and there can be very different examples of even the same model. This particular Wind & Thunder is exceptional. It is strong in areas the other was weak. It was different enough, that I think it calls for a whole new review... so here one is !!
The following pictures are old pictures from the 2006 W&T . I am posting them for a comparison with the new one. In the first picture the W&T is the middle one... in the other pictures it is the bottom one... Note the dead straight , non tapered , stick tsuka.
In The pictures in the rest of this review I will endeavor to show you what makes this new W&T worth reviewing again. A shaped, tapered, even gently curved tsuka. Crisp geometry , including sharp shinogi lines and pronounced kissaki geometry , and a well done edge geometry.
Specifications
Old
Nagasa 29.75
Motohaba 1.4"
motokasane around 7 mm
saki kasane 5.5-6mm
kissaki 3.4 inches
weight 3lbs 5 ounces.
sori .6 inch.
tsuka 11.75 inches
New
Nagasa 29.75 in
Motohaba 1.45 in
Sakihaba 1.12 in
motokasane around 8 mm
saki kasane 5.5-6mm
kissaki 3 inches
weight 3lbs 8 ounces.
sori .75 inch.
tsuka 11.5 inches
COG 6.75 in
Aesthetics , Fit & Finish
Sugata is shinogi zukuri with O-Kissaki. The hamon is acid enhanced suguha and the boshi is komaru. The ji is satin polished, while the shinogi-ji is burnished to a mirror finish. The kissaki is geometric with physical yokote. Then 29.75 inch blade is gently curved with .75 inch sori. The shinogi seem very crisp and clean to me, not rounded as so many production katana suffer from... but then I may be losing my eye for japanese-style swords.
The tsuka-ho is paneled in white same and tightly wrapped with black cotton ito. Hishigame was used. The fuchigashira are blackened steel with file marks , and sport a tomoe motif. The menuki are representations of the Shinto dieties of wind and thunder. and the rounded square tsuba is blackened steel and features Raiden shaking his thunder rattles as he splits the sky with lightning.
The tsuka-ho gently curves , and tapers in circumference from 4.8 inches to 3.8 inches. The kashira is curious. The kashira on the old W&T was the same size as the fuchi, and sported golden shitodome. I remember clearly as the shitodome used to saw into the heel of my hand while cutting. On the newer model, the kashira is considerably smaller , and has the cast-in fake shitodome which I didn't see occuring on Hanwei kashira until the performance series came out... the new PK had them, as did the Tori. Originally the W&T was a limited edition with a run of I believe 500 world-wide... I assumed they would have been made around the same time... but this one seems to have been made later. Perhaps the W&T was changed to a permanent model.
The saya is laquered black with black horn elements and black sageo.
Handling Characteristics
There's really not much of a way to gloss this over... the W&T is a big, heavy sword , and handles like a big, heavy sword. It's almost 30 inches long, 8mm thick and 3 and a half pounds... thats a big katana anyway you cut it (sorry couldn't help it). However the COG is at 6.75 , not really that far out there, when 6 inches is about average for a no-hi katana.
The distal and profile taper help, as does the shaping of the tsuka. The tsuka starts off pretty thick , which really aids in controlling the weight of this big sword. The fact that the tsuka slightly curves and also tapers also really aids handling, making it handle far better than the first W&T I had, even though the stats show that one several ounces lighter.
The tight itomaki makes for a good, sure grip.
This sword isn't a sportscar, but it's not a Mack truck either... I'm reminded of an old 70's Sedan d'Ville that really floats down the road once you get it moving.
Cutting
Razor, laser , freaking all out lightsaber... call it what you wish this sword is a cutter. It may not be as sharp as one of Ricky Chen's Hung Shing katana, but its really got some dialed in edge geometry... the best of any production katana I've had... hell as good as many customs.
The Wind & Thunder is about cutting anyway... everything about it screams cutting. From the niku, to the shallow suguha hamon , to the o-kissaki , to the modest sori , and the robust geometry echoes the type of swords used as heavy cutters in wartime Japan . You can glance at this sword and see it is advertising itself as a heavy cutter... and it is . And a light cutter... it cuts... well . Anything you throw at it.
Unfortunately , since this is a thrown-together review , written for the purpose of keeping me from slipping into insanity while the house is filled with teenagers for my son's birthday party, I don't really have any video.
All I have is a short clip from the S.W.O.R.D. game on SBG... it has two other swords on it , the W&T is last.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Ahhh the critical section... Well there is a lot good about this particular sword. The blade , the geometry , the tsuka shaping. There really isn't any bad... and the only thing ugly is the transition from the tsuka to the kashira. The kashira is too small for the tsuka , or so it seems. Makes me kind of wonder if it was the kashira for a wak... anyway , you can check that out back in the Aesthetics section.
The only thing I've ever really had a gripe about with the W&T is the shaping of the tsuka and the kissaki . The tsuka shape is much better on this example , and though I still like the barracuda style O-kissaki better, this one isn't that bad as shown by the comparison to an antique below. In fact, it looks better, cause the antique is counterpolished.
Conclusion
I liked the Wind & Thunder when I bought it years ago. It had some shortcomings, but all in all I liked the sword enough that I wanted another once I sold it. Then when I got this one a while back, It seemed it was a really good example of the model. In fact the longer i had it the more liked it... and when I did some cutting with it I was shocked at how well it performed. I don't know if a better smith made this sword, if Hanwei just has progressed this far in the period of time between the making of these swords...
What I do know is that this is a good example that one can not judge a sword company. or even a particular model based on a single example. There are lemons out there ... and in the words of Paul Southren , there are "jewels in the junk".
In the case of the Wind & Thunder it's well worth the gamble , because even the average examples are pretty good swords , and then there some that shine...like this one.