Hanwei Practical Elite Katana Sword

by CAS Hanwei Swords

Product Features

• Blade Length - 27in.; Handle Length - 11in.
• Overall Length - 39in.; Weight - 2lb 7oz.
• Point of Balance - 5in.; Width at Guard - 1.35in.
• Width at Tip - 1.04in.; Thickness at Guard - .26in.; Thickness at Tip - .16in.; Sori - 3/4in
• High-Carbon blade; Built for martial arts

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Embodying the classical design elements of the most prolific sword design in history, Hanwei's Practical Elite Katana Sword provides an economical and functional sword for martial arts training. It's forged from 1566 steel and differentially hardened in the traditional way producing an edge hardness of HRC60 and spine hardness of HRC40. The removeable handle is tightly wrapped in the traditional style with imitation leather to provide a positive grip that will withstand years of kata or tameshigiri practice.

With its strong Shinogi Zukuri shape accentuating the differential heat treatment, this blade is traditionally proportioned to appeal to the collector but will also perform well in general cutting of hard or soft targets.

Specifications:

• Blade length: 27 inches
• Handle length: 11 inches
• Overall length: 39 inches
• Weight: 2 pounds, 7 ounces
• Point of balance: 5 inches
• Width at guard: 1.35 inches
• Width at tip: 1.04 inches
• Thickness at guard: 0.26 inches
• Thickness at tip: 0.16 inches
• Sori: 0.75 inches

Product Description

Our Practical Katanas have always been at the forefront of providing economical yet functional swords to the martial arts community. These latest Practicals combine the blade geometries and profiles of the Performance Series with the affordability of our Practical fittings. The blades in the cutting styles are forged from 1566 steel and differentially hardened in the traditional way producing an edge hardness of HRC60 and spine hardness of HRC40. The removeable handle is tightly wrapped in the tradtional style with imitation leather to provide a positive grip that will withstand years of kata or tameshigiri practice. Our Katana Blades embody the classical design elements of the most prolific sword design in history. With their strong Shinogi Zukuri shape that accentuates the differential heat treatment, these blades are traditionally proportioned to appeal to the collector but they will also perform well in general cutting of hard or soft targets.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0013BEB1E
• Item model number: SH6000KPC
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,707 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Samurai Sword, June 1, 2010

By 

Inspector Nash Bridges (Baghdad by the Bay) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hanwei Practical Elite Katana Sword (Sports)

This type of sword has been romanticized in movies and television for as long as I can remember. Sometimes in the middle of my day, when I am stressed, I can pick one of these up and be carried off to a fantasy land of daydreams. In my mind I am Toshiro Mifune, ready to save the peasant village of rice farmers. Or I am The Highlander: There Can Be Only One. It invokes childhood stories of Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman. As a child, some kids wanted to be Jesse James, I wanted to be m±¾ ÎäÊi Miyamoto Musashi & üSïwø(tm) Wong Fei Hung. Of course üSïwø(tm) Wong Fei Hung did not weild a Samurai's katana, but this was in the time of Richard Chamberlain starring in Shogun, and the word Gaijin was entering into the American lexicon.

For anyone wanting an artifact, this is not it. Collectible swords run into the thousands, and tens of thousands of dollars. Authentic? If you knew what you were buying, you wouldn't buy this. You're not investing in an heirloom item. Did you think that you were getting something crafted from a thousand year old tradition for a couple of hundred bucks? But for all appearances, you would not be embarrassed to display this on a stand, and you can show it to your friends to impress them.

However, it is also far from junk that you hang on the wall. This baby works. This is a functional, modern tool crafted in the style of a Samurai's sword. It is sharp. Paul Chen's Practical Katana is a daily use sword in schools across the world. Well made and well balanced. This is a work horse. Think of it as the Chevy that you don't mind banging up, and that you learned a stick shift on, but then kept long after you could afford a better car.

This sword is just tough, tough, tough. My friends and I take our swords boar hunting. After field dressing the game, these swords are invalueable tools for splitting the bounty. Hang the dead pig from a tree, take aim, and swing. Wow your buds with how easily you can decapitate a wild animal. What? Never thought to use a sword to cut and quarter game? It's a lot easier to pack them into coolers for transport. Chop those pigs clean in half, then sheepishly grin at your friends as you ask them which half they want.

In the days of fuedal lords, this was one of the best swords - PERIOD. Compare the design, technology, and metalurgy to swords used anywhere else in the world. The Katana stands heads and shoulders above other edged weapons. The Samurai's Katana was brought into battle all the way up into the era of modern firearms. Hanwei is offering traditional styling with modern technology. Other functional swords of this caliber can cost more than twice as much. This is an investment that will pay off for years to come.


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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth it!, October 19, 2010

By 

Agent Fang - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hanwei Practical Elite Katana Sword (Sports)

I bought this sword as a present for my boyfriend. It came extremely quickly, far sooner than expected (two days earlier than expected). When t arrived, it was in absolute perfect condition, and looks far better than pictured. Paul Chen makes beautiful hand-forged swords of excellent quality. As this particular sword is a christmas present, I have yet to see it in use. However, I am very pleased with the product in terms of look and quality thus far. It comes in a beautiful black carrying bag which is perfect. It also came with various instructions for cleaning and maintenance. For those who want a real (non-collector's) sword for a good price, I would highly recommend this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Katana Worth every Penny and More!, October 28, 2011

By 

David T (North Beach, MD) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hanwei Practical Elite Katana Sword (Sports)

I recently got the urge to buy a "Battle Ready" katana for some backyard fun. I joined several sword collector sites like sword-buyers-guide.com and I spent many hours sifting thru the threads concerning "newbies" looking for advice on the purchase of a relatively inexpensive (<$300.00) Samurai (katana) sword. The choices are spread out among several trusted and tested manufacturers such as Dynasty Forge 1060 Musha, Kris Cutlery 26/29II, Ronin Dojo Pro and the Hanwei Practical Plus Elite. I chose the Practical Elite because the "Plus" version is about 80 bucks more and since I'll be beating on this pretty hard I really do not need the better "furniture" since the blades are essentially of the same quality. I do like the fact the other mentioned makers use 1060 steel TH hardened and will "bend" easier but they cost over $100.00 more than the Practical and from what I've read these Hanwei's are a proven great first sword and used widely in many Dojo's. Hanwei also has a very good track record of quality control so the chances of getting a "dog" is almost nil. Now for the sword. It has a very impressive non Bo-Hi blade which has a very attractive mirror polish and prominent hamon and is DH using 1566 steel(differentially hardened like more expensive blades. You don't know what difference this makes? Hey, spend a few minutes and google it. I'm not doing all your homework for you. lol) The tsuka (handle) is wrapped in an unattractive faux leather but hey, for 165 bucks at least it's very functional and seems to have a good grip about it. I have to caution new users this sucker is very very sharp. I mean paper cutting sharp right out of the box so please respect that. I was putting a fresh coating of "ren-wax" on the blade while holding the darn thing in my right hand when I got careless and the weight of the blade simply bounced lightly on my index finger of my left hand leaving a nice deep gash. ouch! Finally if you want a serious first katana that performs as well as it looks for a bargin basement price do not hesitate to pull the trigger on this one. You will be a happy camper. P.S. One reviewer stated that you cannot take this sword apart but that is not the case with the Elite series. The handle will come off but with alot of effort because it is very tightly installed from what I've learned.