Customer Reviews

Hanwei Practical Elite Katana Sword

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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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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.

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.

I have always wanted a katana that was suitable for light cutting. I did a bit of internet research and found that this particular katana was highly recommended as a good starting point. It arrived packaged very securely and had a very conspicuous warning label urging one to exercise caution while unpacking. Rightly so because this thing is very sharp. I have been around firearms my whole life and I treat and respect edged weapons equally. Any carelessness with this katana will result in it biting you, HARD.

As far as the quality goes, I am extremely novice so I'll do my best. It appears to have good balance and the handwrap provides a good grip. The blade is straight and appears free of cracks or major flaws. The hamon looks as if it might be etched to enhance its prominence. The fit in the scabbard is tight and secure. I was disappointed that the lanyard was not decoratively wrapped, but this is easily fixed by watching a youtube instructional video.

All in all, I would recommend this as a good starter for a collection.

I cant say enough about this sword, it was my 1st katana, and it is really a great deal. After this I got the Cold Steel Emperor katana, which is 4x the $price, but with less performance. The practical katana is balanced, quick, affordable and a great all around sword. If you are looking into getting into this sport, to cut some mats and learn how to wield a katana, I say get this sword.
I guess one of the only drawbacks is that the sword is glued together, and you can not change the parts or take the katana apart. But that is fine, for when you look at the price, it is worth every penny. I mean do you really want to take the sword apart, if you do than maybe this is not your product. If its me Id rather have a great handling sword, which this is. For the money I give it 5 out of 5.