The practical also comes in a Claassiv line, as well as the Performance. The Plus Classic has a faux leather longer Tsuka and a more traditional blade shape, the Practical Classic also has faux leather and same, amd very basic fittings. I nusf bought a Practical Plus Elite, and it has a good Tsuka shape, a bit of Saya rattle, the Too is very tight and nicely done, and its a bit tip heavy bit still handles pretty good. I should be recieving thr Plus XL Light this week, I am hoping the blade is better balanced because I am going to use it mostly for practicing Iai.
Could you turn the music up a little more please? I was almost able to hear the info I was seeking. Geesh this was hard to set through. Like trying to carry on a conversation in the front row at an 80s heavy metal concert, except without cool music. Like the never end music and credits rolling at the end of a star wars movie.
On a side note I always flitz my Hanwei Katanas, it diminishes that heavy etching on the Hamon and brings out some of the natural Hamon as well as fixing any saya rub marks, and scratches
@@mr.excalibur1455it's just polishing with Flitz, Mother's Mag works as well, you want to go with the grain of the steel, and try to avoid the edge as it can dull it. I have never had a Katana dull from polishing my swords, and if I can do it anyone can. I prefer to take the sword apart to polish, however I have heard you say you don't take your swords apart, I would tape the Habaki so no polish compound gets under the Habaki. I believe Skalligrim has a video I will link it below
Great video! Been looking for something to practice with. Can't decide between this, a dojo pro or cold steel warrior. The thicker blade does look cool though.
It is a WIDER blade ... not necessarily thicker. If you want the thicker blade I'd stick with the RK Dojo Pro. For a wider "performance" blade primarily for tatami mat cutting ... this Hanwei is the way to go.
Hello sir, would you say this was a better sword than the nambokucho raptor all told? I know yours unfortunately had the ripple in it, but lets pretend it didnt.
Ok, well ... speaking as a person who really doesn't care for Hanwei that much ... I'll give you some context first. I have owned (including Dragon King ... cuz they are owned by CAS Iberia as well) ... 12 of their pieces ... 3 of which were Dragon King. I have kept two Hanwei swords and a single Dragon King ... THIS sword being one of the two Hanwei swords. The other Hanwei a Mokko Renshu with a bo-hi. I really liked the 5160 blades from the Raptor series ... which brings me to a more direct answer to your question. The 5160 blades of the Raptor series ARE tough. However ... the raptor series is plagued with a series of quality control issues that I simply haven't seen in the Practical line. For the reason alone I would say this sword from the Practical series (there are MANY!!!) is a superior model. Its wide performance profiled blade is ideal for a more practiced cutter ... probably especially for tatami mat cutting. The construction shows ever so slightly more attention to detail. I actually found the handle on this one not quite so ax handle-ish which is actually a pet peeve of mine about Hanwei models. The difference $$$-wise between these two models only about $70 or so ... with this Practical Plus XL Lite being the slightly more expensive ... but it shows. On the other hand ... if you are looking for a beater ... and nice sharp backyard lawn mower ... you could definitely do worse then the Raptor series.
@@mr.excalibur1455 thanks for the reply. Unfortunately where i live hanwei and funnily enough dragon king as you mentioned are the only real options in Japanese blades. I like the look of this plus xl light but have heard its very thin and wonder how it would do on bamboo for example. The website advertises it as a heavy cutter but im dubious personally, looks more medium to me. I really wish hanwei would make a raptor "plus" series with nicer fittings on the same durable blades.
Yes ... that is typical of Hanwei AND Dragon King katanas. Some like it ... others don't. I've found that it depends on the model. On some it looks ok ... on other's it really does look not-real. On this particular model it actually looks alright. Don't mind it so much. It actually IS deferentially heat treated ... so its appropriate.
Just a question.. When you cut the cardboard boxes, and you move the camera around to show how deep it cut into the box, the part of the blade in the box is generally the 3rd of the blade closest to the handle.. Is that actually the area of the blade your striking the box with, or do you stab/push the blade forward after cutting just so the blade will stay without falling?? If you're actually cutting that low on the blade you may get better penetration if you strike the box further out on the blade with the last third of the blade.. I just know from my own experience when I first started cutting, and I was learning to judge the proper distance from the target to cut at.. Especially when I was trying to do combination cuts.. I would find myself moving to close to the target, and as a result I would end up striking the target to low on the blade (hitting with the half of the blade closest to the handle when I should have been striking with the last third of the blade closest to the kissaki.) As a result the cuts were much harder, required me to swing harder, and weren't as clean.. I have heard people that are more used to cutting with European Long Swords, where the optimum point of percussion tends to be a little lower down on blade, say that is something that have to be concious of when they cut with things like a katana.
Generally speaking I try to hit the boxes around the middle third of the blade ... that seems to deliver the biggest impact on those things ... especially with katans. Longswords however ... their power and momentum really focuses right at the very last third ... specifically with broader tipped longswords ... its one of the reasons why fullers often didn't extent all the way to the end of the sword. It was to allow for the end of sword to have THAT much more of an impact. But ... I could be ... and often am wrong. BTW ... always appreciate your comments. Thank you.
@@mr.excalibur1455 From everything I have seen, read, and been told the optimum part of a katana to strike with is the last third of the blade... Some swords get very thin towards the tip, but katanas maintain a good portion of their thickness all the way to the tip.. Basically saying their blades are stiff all the way to the tip... The last third if the blade being the farthest part of the blade from the handle generally means its traveling faster than any other part which is often noted as tip speed.. Its all some kind of physics hoopla... But just from my own experience I get cleaner cuts with far less effort when i strike with the last third of the blade on a katana.. In Japanese sword schools it's called the Mono-Uchi... If you look up that term I'm sure you can find videos where much more qualified people can explain it way better than me.. Just know for myself when I do what they say it works out much better for me, and requires far less effort.
Great video, I want something like this but no too lethal to handle. Can you touch the blade edge without cutting yourself? I think you do this early in the video, id like a sharpish sword but not too sharp!
Curious ... I've answered this question once before on another review you posted it on. Are you for real ... or just looking for consistency. If the later be the case ... fav Hanwei : Lion Dog.
@@frankcrystalhideg7034 I can't really say. I had the original Practical Katana that came out in the late 90s. I've also had the Practical Pro Elite. That thing was a beast. And then this one. Out of those three I preferred this one ... the Pract. + XL Lt.
I hate hanwei swords . They use great quality steel but their tsukas are total garbage and thats what turns me off to their katanas . I much rather get another dojo pro before I would get another hanwei . I do love their quality of suede that they use on their raptors . but other than that hanwei sucks and way over priced .
In most cases I totally agree with you on most Hanwei products. However, there is a reason they are considered the standard of the industry. They were one of the first and have remained one of the most ... at least one of the most consistent suppliers of these weapons. They have more models at more price points then any other manufacturer out there bar none! However, for the most part I agree with you about their handles ... usually very flat feeling and not very comfortable with the exception of their raptor line ... but even there some of THEM are very bulky. I do have to admit that this is one of the few Hanwei models that I decided to keep. The handle wasn't that bad and it cut really well!! Still with that rattling typical Hanwei saya though ... seems to be standard though ... STILL ... at least it fits. The Ronin Dojo pros I have zero problem with ... good for the price ... solid build ... damn fine and sharp blades.
@@mr.excalibur1455 yeah ever since paul chen died hanweis quality has went downhill and its mind boggling that their prices seem to keep going up . basically you just paying for the name . I got my shobu zukuri posted for sale and I had a couple dudes hit me up so hopefully I can get rid of that garbage and get a munetoshi hira zukuri blade . or one of the TH 9260 blades from Huawei
@@santanajackson6160 Oh wow ... I wasn't aware he had passed away. That may account for things. I'm told especially the Raptors are not what they used to be. Very interesting. I actually have one of the Huawei 9260 TH (aka ... through hardened??) on order ... looking forward to that one!!
