Now you can build a nice Bowie style knife from the rest of the blade :) The broken steel part has a nice fine grain to it so the used steel is not that bad. The bad thing about that knife design is that the part between tang and blade should be the most stable part of a "good" knife and it has to be well heat treated.
has the sword no gurantee ? i have ordered it if that happens to me im really pissed of a tool like this in that price class musnt break so easyily, i had a sword from united cutlery named combat commander thrax gladius i buyd it new in the shop and just wanted to test it i hit a dead tree once and the upper part broke of then i made a machete out of it but this has costed just like 40 dollar
Not gonna lie I was very disheartened by this... but seeing as how I bought it for self defense and it still gets the “fit 4 knives seal of approval for self defense/zombie apocalypse” I feel better.
Thank you for posting this! Very important for me to know that this knife is strictly for self defense for me. NOT a working utility knife. I saw the HELL you put it thru in your last video so, I seriously doubt that any opponent would last anywhere near that long lol... Your review was a real eye opener for me, thanks!
That looks like a great opportunity to make that blade a REAL blade. Grind some finger groves in that and pin your homemade handle and have a bit shorter but MUCH stronger blade . Gets rid of those dumb holes near the handle where it would have broke otherwise too. Thanks for the video. I want it just so I can break it. Lol
I am actually surprised it lasted that long. The design of the tang is as you pointed out is quite weak. If there were 90-degree edges there, then stress risers were bound to form.
Thank you for review and advice, i totally agree about the fact that the blade is too thin close to the handle. It s always nice to watch your channel, 'cause the comments are always objective and relevant. Take care. 👍🤗
When I first saw the Honshu Spartan a few months ago I was surprised by the overall wild shape. I hadn't seen this video and I was already worried about the potential breaking point when used as a machete. I think my mind was damaged from seeing the Schrade Leroy failure, so I sort of keep that data point in the back of my brain. lol So I can't really say I'm surprized that a blade can fail at its weakest point. Also, I don't buy knives to be wall hangers, if you can't use it as intended, it's no good. I hope this was just a glitch but I somewhat doubt it.
Thanks for the honest and unbiased reviews. Had the same failure with a Kershaw camp 10 while chopping through branches. That blade has a very rough finish (from laser or water jet cutting ?) on the edges of the tang. Snapped clean off inside the handle.
Your Camp 10 broke? That is surprising (and disappointing)! Ive got the Camp 14 but I havent had the chance to use it extensively yet. I was considering using it as my camping go-to, but now Im having 2nd thoughts..
@@gabrieldekunto8677 I got money back from Lamnia where I bought it. Sent them a mail with photos. Don’t know if I had a bad one. But the rough finish on the tang worries me. It didn’t break at one of the two wholes in the tang but an inch behind the first whole.
Good grain on that break. And really rat-tang or not, that should be plenty of steel there. That 90 degree cut tang shape is the problem. A sharp cut like that is almost like a crack, waiting to spread. Even holes in steel are fine, as long as they're round. If you put a square hole in steel it'll break under load. Same applies to tang geometry. If it curled up into that tang, instead of cutting at 90 degrees, probably would've been fine. Couldn't have that nice injection molded handle with full tang really, but rounding those angles where the tang is, would've made it far more break resistant.
You are right--that tang design is mucho stupid. The real issue is, the blade might not only 'fail', but could actually seriously injure or even kill someone as it separates from the handle.
Well, Honesty is always the best policy, and you my friend are one of the most honest dudes I have seen on the internet. I think I speak for everyone who see's this video when I say we appreciate the direct and unbiased review of this spartan sword. After viewing this, I went ahead and bought two of these swords, knowing there may be defects in a percent of them. The question I have is, is there a fix for this anomaly. I have access to welders, and if a small weld in the right spot could remedy this problem, please let me know. I thank you for your time and hope you have a most excellent day. Carl.
Nick F -- I had a similar thought, but using rawhide. As soon as I saw that break, I thought, "Wrap that narrow area with rawhide, and it would make a great belt knife." [I recently purchased one of these Spartans in D2 steel, so I'm keeping that in mind, since I had no idea the blade necked down so much at the handle.] Cut the dry rawhide into 0.5" to 0.75" strips with tin snips or heavy shears, toss it into water for a while to soften, then wrap the handle area tightly, tucking the end under the last several wrap strips, then let it dry. Great retention with rawhide wrapped handles. Looks pretty primitive, too, and that's fine with me. I had an old Green River knife with a chunk of the wooden handle slab at the butt broken off. I probably used it for pounding something I shouldn't have. I used the two part epoxy ribbon, the "play dough" version of epoxy as I call it, to fill in and replace the broken handle slab, even giving the previously straight handle a little kick at the end for better retention. Once the epoxy was set, I wrapped a sheet of wet rawhide around it and tightly stitched the finger side and butt with thick flat nylon cord (aka simulated sinew), and it lasted for years. (Tip: Pick it up and grip it tightly several times as the rawhide dries, and you get nice subdued finger indentations.) In fact I lost that knife for several years, and when I found it again, the blade was heavily rusted, and the rawhide was discolored, so I removed it. The wood handle with epoxy repair area was still excellent. I cleaned the rust off the blade made a new rawhide cover, and another 8 years or so later, it is still good. Great patina after cleaning off the rust, too... if you're into living history (aka historical reenactments) it fits right in.
Thank you for the detailed tutorial brother. Sounds like you know your stuff. I gave the blade to my father in law. He likes to tinker and repair stuff. I will give him this info for sure! Thank you for sharing my friend.
Exactly right on the right angles design causing that failure, as you stated a *full tang* with 2 piece grip would be fine! Thanks man! ... Just an aside, they have the same product in D2 steel for $200+ and that might not be bad, except the price.
Yep. The sudden width change makes a huge stress riser at the transition point. There should be a taper. I still suspect they have fully hardened it all the way down through the tang, which just makes it worse. The hardening should have stopped at the last edge point, which would have left about an inch before the handle and the rest of the tang unhardened or at least only slightly hardened. There is some value in a partial hardening. The strongest bolts are hardened some, but not to HRC 60. I can't find a reference, but I'm guessing about HRC 40 for strength and stability would be nice for the last inch and tang. That would probably be done by heating up most or all of the blade, but then quench down to that 1 inch mark, wait a moment and then slowly finish quenching the last inch of blade and maybe a couple inches of tang to get a tapered hardening. Maybe a real knifemaker could chip in the best procedure for strength near the tang. If you're going to salvage the blade, you'll want to soften the new handle area and at least a half inch out into the blade area. That should be doable with just a propane torch or two. Get the tang area and an extra half inch up to a dull red for a few minutes and then let it air cool. Keep it vertical (spine up) or it will warp.
Thanks for putting these blades to the test. I did already pull the trigger on a couple of these, but honshu just announced a D2 Tool steel version in August as well and I think I'm going to switch out. I love the blade design but they really should expand the tang the full width of the handle.
Having a Tang of that widh would be fine. The issue here is the 90° Tang to blade transition. They'd need to smooth that out to say about a 1cm radius.
Did you see the usmc desert gladious it looks insane and it's going out of production but i cant find a single video on it so was hoping you could look at it and maybe give me you opinion on wether you think its just a wall hanger know what I mean
Definitely an engineering design mistake. He's right, a tapering or much larger radius at the area of the width reduction for the handle tang is necessary for proper elimination of a brittle fracture like that. Good video, Thanks for the demo, sorry about the blade.
Hey dude. Nice vid. Was wondering if you had the chance to mess with honshus vg10 gladius? I've gotten the spartan and given it as a gift to a few buddies for bdays and such. Just wondering if you think the honshu vg10 steel is worth it?
@@dragossabin8265 Big brain on you. Guess you would use a hammer to cut papper, a machete is designed to chop and cleave both wood and bone a sword is meant to cut flesh and slice bone. Yes cleaving, chopping, cutting and slicing are all different. Because I'm guessing you didn't know that.
It's not either, a machete or a sword. It is stainless steel or the d2 version, which is pretty close to stainless steel. Stainless steel or d2 steel is only good for knives because it is easily breakable from banging. (As you just saw.) I have one of these but I would only use it as a self-defense knife. Not a sword or machete. For a sword of machete I would use carbon steel or spring steel.
@@TheIronman36 specifically at least 1045 carbon. But I didn't notice it was stainless, I guess you saw the specs? Had I known is was stainless I would even consider this anything but a wall hanger.
Hi John I enjoyed the machete test video thanks, but if that honshu Spartan sword will break chopping light brush it's gonna get you killed in a fight. Although the piece of blade you have left would make a decent knife if you grind it back a little.👍
Honshu made two versions of this Spartan Sword; a $76.99 version using 7Cr13 stainless steel, and the other $169.99 version using D2 tool steel. Your sword being a lesser expensive version using 7Cr13 steel was not up to the task of heavy chopping. 7Cr13 is okay for making small knife with blade length no more than 4 inches. The Spartan is too big of a sword to use 7Cr13 steel. Their D2 steel version is the real deal. In fact some more expensive battle ready long swords are made out of D2 steel. You get what you paid for.
@@erykczajkowski8226 For a wide, shorter blade like this or the warsword it might work, if they sorted out that tang issue, but i wouldn't make a katana or something else out of it, that has a long not very wide blade.
100 th coment THANKS FOR SHARING AND THE INSIGHT WITH A TRUTHFUL INTENT AND TRANSPARENCY , Refreshing THANKS AGAIN FOR SHARING VERY GOOD CONTENT........
Hey i totally agree with the design opinion! Also running the blood groove all the way down to that part of the handle didnt help. The blade it self is only about an 1/8th inch thick where it meets the handle.....very poor design as i see it as well and im so happy i didnt buy it a nd came here to YT for reviews and honest ads for it! Awesome video brother thanks for saving me money!!!
Cutting water balls is usually only to test the out-of-box sharpness of the not any form of actual stress testing I do see your point then spicing up water bottles is not exactly a conclusive tests so Props to you for voicing their opinion most people won't voice their opinions with you being rejected however I see you do not have that problem so I do respect you my good sir
When i review any blade I want to be honest. When I test a blade its not to destroy it but to see what it can withstand. I'm glad you can see that. Thank you for the comment
Oof. This is painful to see. Honshu (or anyone affiliated with Honshu R&D), if you see this, forget about stainless steel. Use the same 1060/1065 carbon steel you use on the Boshin line and Broadsword, and you'll have more orders than you can handle.
Do you know if they have fixed this design flaw? I seen another video of a guy using his extensively in field, chopping wood, clearing brush, and even throwing it, and his didn't break. Im really wanting yo purchase this, but not if they haven't fixed the problem. Thanks. Im also subscribing, as i appreciate the honest reviews:)
Hi John, thanks for the heads-up, I seen your other review on the Honshu, it looked good, I've been thinking really serious about buying this blade at True Sword, but not now! Not now buddy, hell no! I'm not going to put my life In the hand of chinese steel. I've learned long time ago they don't know how to make real steel. Shortly put, they are too busy making everything they send here to the states as cheap as the can! That's why everything at my house want work now! And don't buy anything important at Walmart! I think their buying and selling chinese seconds, and thirds to the USA. I'm glad I seen your video, the last thing I need here at my house, is something else too brake! Thanks Todd P./USA
After your glowing review in the first video I put it in my cart at Chicago Knife Works. After this review I removed it. Wouldn't touch this with a 10 foot pole. Thanks for the honest reviews.
Very good review, thanks for this I appreciate the honesty. I bought It anyway just to look at It and have It strictly for display purposes only as It's just stunning to look at but I live In aus where fun Is EXTREMELY illegal so my hopes of getting It are low, hopefully getting It In 4 weeks wish me luck!
They must have took your advise because I just got one a few months ago and it doesn't tapper like that were it connects to the handle. I gather in may have been designed like that to create a pivot point and keep weight ratios optimum, it seems that is how you generate quick slicing power.
Break like that - in the base between the blade and the handle, usually shows that when heat treated they probably only dipped the blade itself, and not the tang.
Extended warranties tend to be a scam in my experience. Other than that, really useful video, having a look at the profile of the hilt and how it would obviously be a weak stress point during use. Something to look out for when purchasing any knife in general. Thanks man
It seems to me that they need to increase the radius of where the tang widens out and transitions into the blade profile. As it is, it seems to be a fairy square notch at that point leading to a stress fracture.
I would not buy another one seeing the critical design flaw. I would definitely not want it for self defense for sure. That's when your life depends on it most. If it can't hold up to a few little branches on a wooden table, it damn sure is not going to hold up to a baseball bat or worse.
Clean break from a relatively normal hit. The grain pattern looked very course where it broke. Conclusion: Most likely an error in the heat treat or a flaw in the material. Being stainless steel is also bad for such a heavy, long blade. Its too brittle.
It is stainless steel, Which has nickel and chromium in it. Even with a proper heat treat which they don’t do because it stainless steel and it’ll mess with the corrosion resistance it’s far too brittle.
Part of the problem starts on the assembly line. The blades get stamped out of a piece of steel, they're placed on a rack and "tempered" in stacks, and nobody bothers to knock off the corners or soften the transition lines. That pretty much guarantees that a certain number of the knives they turn out are going to be faulty. I think some of the other commenters have the right idea, though--with some careful grinding, you could turn what's left of it into a pretty decent Bowie.
I will be honest, between Cold Steel (Lynn's Cold Steel, clueless about recent months events) and United 'Acme' Cutlery, well... let's be honest. United Cutlery focus on those "tacticool" designs but I doubt the quality of steel, tempering etc can match Condor, or Cold Steel. I'm not a "fanboy" at all, I do own, actually, a couple of United Cutlery stuff so I know what I'm talking about.
How about you grab a glock 9mm and shoot a golf ball at 200 yards then blame the tool. That blade is for shallow slashing or stabbing slight bush clearing. You hit the table and that reverberation snapped the blade
from what i can see, its not the tang that is the problem. Now i know in your video you said they shoulda have tapered the tang down from the full size of the blade. I can tell you from years and years of owning and even making knives that the tang style that they used is fine..and perfectly able to handle the strain. Where the failure seems to come from, other than I NEVER buy a stainless steel knife with a blade over 6 inches, it seems that the tang transition..the way the 90 degree down and then another 90 degree angle into the tang...if they had filed a half round transition into the tang..i believe it wouldnt have failed and def would NOT have failed if it was done that way and made of like 1060 or higher carbon steel. Having a 90 degree angle like that causes all the stress of the impacts to focus on a very small point..if you round that transition then there is no stress point.
@@swamplight79 i believe that the d2 or o1 or even a 1095 steel one would be very very good but the stress point i was refering too is still an issue even with well heat treated tempered and good quality high carbon steels.
Bro, you got bad luck with some blades or is it something you do? Because I've seen like 2 or three vids I think of you having problems with a broken blade.
Any blade of that length shouldn't be made out of stainless steel as it cannot handle the stress of chopping. Stainless makes wonderful short knives but once you are over a 9 or 10 inch blade carbon steel is the way to go.
Thank you for this video. I bought Honshu Spartan Sword to kill bad people and you show me what not to do with this beauty. I will keep it for the enemy not for chopping wood. Peace!
I think you could still make a steel handle on cnc machine for it and screw 4 bolts in those holes and make new sword or a spear out of it. This is bad design all over the whole handle thing should be wider and fatter. Sorry for my English tho not my main language. They have D2 Tool Steel Version for $160. If that thing could do work like this it would be a dream knife.
And i also did research if you want machete and a self defense weapon all in one Cold Steel Gladius Machete Sword is the ultimate thing. I will be getting one soon.
I saw that this knife comes in a cheap stainless steel for about 80 bucks D2 steel for about 160 bucks and Damascus steel for about 250 bucks. I wonder if it’s worth the upgrade to the better steel or if it’s all garbage
It's a shame that there's no way to go back and check if it was cracked when you received it. I usually see Honshu knives in BudK, and I've gotten cracked knives from them before. Thing is that they're very subtle, and I couldn't blame a consumer for overlooking something as small and unpronounced as a crack, a quality assurance employee could easily not notice it as well, but it's a little less excusable.
Hitting that flat braced table on a perpendicular angel, you might as well be hitting concrete or bricks. It's not a machete nor an axe & is made for chopping meat sacks..not wood...
This is why I hate to buy stuff cause the handle area always seems to break whether it's too thin or they try to be to fancy with the handle area but when you go to use it that is the breaking point. Great looking sword but a waste of money for me.
lots of manufacturers make these fantasy blades out of cheap steel and weaken the blade with features like the holes that are drilled through the spine - weakness - or the use of over molded handles - the problem with the over molded handles is that the space they take - takes up tang steel and the blade handle junction is weak - lately lots of big knives break at the handle because the handle is critically under engineered
