5160 Steel ? and Hanwei Tactical Wakizashi?

[ukknifer]

Hi guys What do you know about 5160 Steel and what do you think of this sword? its about 115 $?

I am tempted. Is there a better sword or better value for money around?

Features

* Full Tang Contruction
* 5160 Steel
* Fiberglass Scabbard

Specifications

* Overall length: 31"
* Blade length: 20"
* Handle length: 8 1/2"
* Weight: 1 lb 14 oz.

 

[Th232]

From half way down the page in this forum:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=710732

Personally, I like it. Obviously not traditional construction, but it's put together well and I'd say it's great value.

 

[jules]

5160 spring steel is a good choice, besides needing to keep it oiled to prevent rust. The tang is exposed around the handle however - the one I saw already had some surface rust forming on the exposed tang. I suspect adding a patina to the tang would be helpful.

The fiberglass sheath is very light and does have a water drain hole at the bottom. The kraton handle seemed good, wasn't overly rubbery. It would have been nice for them to use screws on the handle instead of pins to make cleaning easier. Didn't attempt to tap the pins out, it might be possible.

The blade wasn't very sharp, but not a big concern for a chopper. The tip was very good. The tsuba is actually made of iron or something similar, not kraton.

It certainly didn't have the best fit & finish overall, but considering the price, it's an excellent value IMO. It's definitely something you wouldn't have to be afraid to take camping and use. The one I examined belonged to a friend and I'm planning to get one myself as well.

 

[arty]

I have a more "traditional" wakazashi from Kris Cutlery. They are a little more, but worth it.

 

[Kohai999]

I have a more "traditional" wakazashi from Kris Cutlery. They are a little more, but worth it.

My experience with Kris Cutlery was not good, the edge was soft. The only thing I don't like about the Tactical Wak so far is the very long handle. Haven't cut with it yet, probably won't for another month or so, have to free up some weekend time.

For the money, it seems well made and purposeful.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[wnease]

if another of the features is proper heat treatment you've got a great value there... but that's the most important thing and the feature that should be listed first! You can always sharpen it or get it sharpened but heat treat is another thing entirely... see Kevin's comments about 5160... my personal results with 5160 vac heat treated plus cryo to RC58 are spectacular with regards to toughness, okay edge holding

 

[b.c.molin]

For the money, I have no complaints with mine. :thumbup:

 

[bld522]

Hi guys What do you know about 5160 Steel?

I'd suggest you ask this guy:

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/offduty/technology/offduty_justin_gingrich_113009w/

He has his own subforum here:

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showforum.php?fid/72/

Also, there's this:

http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/5160.shtml

 

[samurai64]

Bought for self defense, teotwawki etc. Will try cutting with it next time my friends do some practice cutting. They do not have to be razor sharp to cut mats. It is more technique.

 

[leebrewer]

bigsupplyshop.com. You're gonna love it.

 

[myounage]

It's a through-temper heat job. Not cryo at this price. I have one. Great value for the money, great beginner blade.

 

[Noctis3880]

Just got mine in today. It did NOT come sharp. Sure the edge was ground enough to meet at a point, but it had one hell of a wicked wire edge that actually made it too dull to slice paper. I fixed that in short order in about 10 minutes on my Work Sharp, after which it did an okay job slicing paper.

Took a good few swings at my papaya tree in my backyard. Did a pretty good job putting deep cuts into it, and works excellent at stabbing. Though observing the edge afterwards showed rolling in a few places(either that, or I still had a burr left from the grinding). I suspect the steel is pretty soft, probably at around Rc 56 or lower, as my 60MX belt just ate up the blade like nothing. Makes it easy to sharpen, but you could probably dull the blade to nothing in 2-3 minutes of chopping.

The sheath also does a piss poor job of holding the sword in, though you can loop the paracord wrapped around the sheath onto the tsuba as a workaround. I suppose it isn't too bad at around $120, but I find myself wishing I bought an ESEE Lite Machete or Junglas instead.

 

[Noctis3880]

Bought for self defense, teotwawki etc. Will try cutting with it next time my friends do some practice cutting. They do not have to be razor sharp to cut mats. It is more technique.

After reading a review someone left for a different Hanwei sword, it's come to my attention that these "swords" are purely for practice purposes(i.e. cutting mats). That's not to say you can't cut someone with it, but you may be better off with a quality machete. And the included note that was attached also mentioned that the sword is officially meant to be a display item, despite being "sharpened".

So much for the self-defense idea.

 

[Hesparus]

1) not for chopping.
2) If it takes you more than 2-3 minutes of cutting someone up to defend yourself, you're doing it wrong.
3) try testing it on a target that it was intended for, like bamboo mats or a side of beef and see how it works. Unlike a machete, it's not designed for chopping wood (see 1).
4) Even on this sword, the edge shouldn't roll. Either you did something weird to it (like chopping at a tree) or you got a bad one.

 

[Noctis3880]

1) not for chopping.
2) If it takes you more than 2-3 minutes of cutting someone up to defend yourself, you're doing it wrong.
3) try testing it on a target that it was intended for, like bamboo mats or a side of beef and see how it works. Unlike a machete, it's not designed for chopping wood (see 1).
4) Even on this sword, the edge shouldn't roll. Either you did something weird to it (like chopping at a tree) or you got a bad one.

1) Very true.
2) Assuming said person is unarmed with only thin clothing, then yes.
3) Don't have bamboo mats, and I'm not sure anyone not doing kendo with a live blade would have those.
4) it's true I struck a tree with it, but a papaya tree is a far cry from the hardwood tree you're thinking of.

This is the said tree, after I cut it with my Umnumzaan for about 5 minutes:

My umnumzaan could still shave afterwards, and my Kris cutlery katana could also still slice paper after striking it. It's pretty fibrous and hollow inside, pretty similar to bamboo really, though not quite as tough(could stick both my sword and my Umnumzaan through it with little effort).

Again, I'm not entirely sure if the edge was rolled or if I'm looking at a burr, though I finished with a 3 micron belt on the edge, so I sincerely doubt I left a burr.

I'm also thinking that human bone isn't that far off in toughness compared to that tree.

Still, I suppose I can't expect top notch heat treatment for such a large blade for $120. I just feel this insane urge to buy a Junglas and use it to cut my wakizashi in two.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

I got a couple of mine in so far. I concur with the issue with the scabbard, but mine hasn't had any issues with edge rolling when I did some cutting on bamboo, and it came pretty sharp. I don't know about shaving sharp, but definitely sharp enough to do some serious cutting. I haven't seen much indicating it's intended purely for practice(all of Hanwei's blades come with that same sticker, even their $1500 katanas, for legal reasons). Tactical Knives did a review of this sword too, and they seemed to like theirs. QC isn't as nice as I usually expect from Hanwei though; the scabbard issue is much worse for one of my pair, and the other isn't bad.