advice on large HI swords

Hi,

I was not trying to stir the pot, honest.

A few of my own views may have slipped in there but the point I was trying to make was that handmande swords are still 100% legal to buy.

The other point I was trying to make is that the cheap crappy stainless ones are available to buy as well. So basically there is NO BAN on any of it. But people are led to believe different.

I was just trying to let people know that. I do not want them banned obviously and will not be bringing the issue up with my local MP. But they will try again sooner or later. They always do for reasons I will not go into here.

Anyways glad the info was found helpfull :)
 
I think the only thing "banned" about swords in the UK, is that you can't carry them, is that correct.

No one can really give you a lot of guff about that, either, as you can't carry them in a lot of States, either.
 
Well you cannot walk down the street with one strapped to your back no.

However you CAN walk down the street with one strapped to your back if it is covered up say by a black bin bag or maybe in a field hockey stick bag.

Being a hockey player myself this is obvious to me ;)

The police will probably arrest you as they always do as they do not know the law 99% of the time. Its more a case of YOU WILL OBEY ME for the coppers over here.

They will probably confiscate your sword and not give it back even without a legal reason to keep it. They do this all the time and it is not worth the law suit to get it back.

However it would help if you had a good reason for walking down the street with it covered up. Like going to a martial arts class, or, my mate wants to see it so I was off round his house :)

So you can walk down the street with it in the UK if it is covered and you cannot tell it is a sword at a glance BUT they will steal it off you if they catch you.

So keep it at home :)
 
Yes it probably would be considered a concealed weapon which is why having a reason is so important.

Same kinda thing as a chef walking down the street with a tool roll of massive knives (which in London happens all the time). He is on his way to work and needs the knives for his job. So because he has a reason to be carrying them, and they are covered in the tool roll, it is not considered breaking the law.

However if you did not have a reason then you would have a problem and they would come after you.

If your reason was good enough, like the chefs, then they would probably just let you go on your way. Too much paperwork.

If your reason was dodgy or you did not have one then expect a holiday at the police station.

Basically it comes down to it being transported from one place to another, which is why you need to be able to demonstrate a reason to be transporting it, and why you must have it covered up.

Taking it to a mates house is a valid reason as there is no law that says once owned the sword MUST stay inside your property and your mate must come to you to look at it.

It all depends on your reason, whether it is covered or not, and the policeman who pulls you up about it.

9 times out of 10 they will arrest you anyway but they will not be able to charge you with anything if you have fulfilled the criteria above. But they will keep your sword, almost gauranteed.

The chef may get his knives back as the publicity in the papers looks bad for the police. The sword on the other hand will not get much sympathy from the public and so they will keep it, knowing you will probably prefer to buy another one than sue them for its return at ten times the cost.

Does that make sense ?
 
Katanas, the "expert's sword. Right. I find this whole Japanese/Bushido is the be all, end all when it comes to sword, martial arts and warfare in general to a little nauseating in general but this is of course, my opinion only. :)

I have a number of the Himalayan Imports swords, though I don't have any of the ones that are Japanese oriented (no pun intended). :) There are a number of them I can say are really well made and will hold up to all but the most ridiculous things you can do with them. Here, except for the two sword length khukuris to the left, is a picture of my swords from HI:

main.php
 
Wow!

That is some collection you got there... I am literally drooling!

Every time I see a Tarwar I think I gotta add one to my collection. All those years ago it took me weeks to decide between the Katana and Tarwar and I eventually went with The Katana... but it was real close.

Now I am feeling the urge for a Tarwar again.

However, I want an Uddha first if I can get one :)

What is that short straight thin one 4th from the right Warty ? I have been on the HI site and I cannot find any straight blades that kinda length. Have they stopped making them ?

Also the Napolean that I saw in one of DannyInJapans pics do they still make those ? They look an interesting blade kinda like a European short sword that relied on a fast and nimble point with a strong cross section but not such a great cutting edge.
 
warty said:
Katanas, the "expert's sword. Right. I find this whole Japanese/Bushido is the be all, end all when it comes to sword, martial arts and warfare in general to a little nauseating in general but this is of course, my opinion only. :)
Click to expand...

No, you're not the only one. I hate katanas with a passion. If someone is into bushido and all that, great, but it isn't the only effective sword art out there.


Some more HI swords:
100_0085.jpg

(top 4)
Falcata
Bhairab (kopis)
25" CAK (I dare you to tell it, that it's not a sword)
Giant Chitlangi Bowie (really more of a broadsword than a Bowie)

And of course -- the Tarwar (c'mon if you have ONE HI sword, you HAVE to have a Tarwar)
100_0068.jpg
 
OK OK enough with the Tarwar teasing I canna take it captain!

Well the reason I have not bought any more swords since my Katana was that I joined the army and it was not worth going to jail for keeping them in my room, so I let my dad store them for me.

I got out a few years ago and slowly had to get the missus used to my "hobbies" and now she is cool with it all so...

I came straight back on here looking to expand my HI collection as soon as I have the cash.

So yes... A Tarwar is on the menu :)

But... I really wanna finish my BBFT$ collection first before going HI crazy and getting all of them! Which is why I was after something like an Uddha to pair the hawk with. But they are not exactly easy to find!

And I just had a thought...

If HI made a Tomahawk similar to CS new Trenchhawk, same length, better Kami shaped handle, and a slightly heavier head... then surely I would have bought one of those even at twice the price. Because I was looking for the BBFT$ and so would probably have gone to HI...

Any thoughts on a HI hawk ?
 
see, I want one of those Banchero Axes in the worst way but I can't ask for one until I have the dough.

Mr. Ape, all the wares of HI are always available, just email Yangdu and ask her to have one made for you. himimp@aol.com

EDIT: sorry, forgot to answer you. No, the one you are referring to is a Mini Tarwar actually. I don't have an Uddah sword.
I bought a Bhutan, fourth from the left, instead because I liked the way it looked and felt it met my needs better.
 
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OMG

now u have gone and done it!

HI will custom for me ? HI quality and my imagination is a toxic mix

I will never afford this... my missus is gonna go APE when she realises what I am dreaming up now and its all your fault so I am gonna tell her

I am gonna hand draw some designs and scan them for your information and hopefully we can revolutionise the hawk + 1 pairing

then the stuff I been thinking up for about 2 decades is gonna start to bubble up and oh boy...

now where did i put my pencil...

hehe :eek:

the bancharo looks good but is not what i had in mind... you are gonna have to wait a lil while to find that out!

I was so excited I forgot to answer you! haha...

Mini Tarwar eh... now that IS interesting! I may have a need for one of those to keep my hawk company...

and as pointed out I do not have one so... might have to get one!

or... maybe a mini short tibetan... hmmm....
 
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when did I say they would make you something custom? other than what they have made in the past? :confused:

Did I? I reread my post and what I said was nothing is ever really out of production. :)
Perhaps it was someone else who said this somewhere else in the thread? I should read all the posts maybe... :yawn:








































OK, it is true, even though I never said what you implied. HI will indeed make you something you design. :D
That is how most of these things other than khukuris came into being in the first place. :cool:
 
evolvingape said:
OMG

now u have gone and done it!

HI will custom for me ? HI quality and my imagination is a toxic mix
Click to expand...

Within limits. Remember that they are used to a certain type of blade, and many times what you send for a picture will come back with some Nepal spice mixed in -- IMO it usually ends up better that way (these guys know how to USE knives, not just make them), but not everyone agrees.

evolvingape said:
I will never afford this... my missus is gonna go APE when she realises what I am dreaming up now and its all your fault so I am gonna tell her
Click to expand...
Even though custom pieces cost more (especially if it's a one-off), you can explain that the price is actually low compared to a US custom maker. You can even bring up that something from the Busse custom shop will START the pricing at $100/inch. :eek:

evolvingape said:
I am gonna hand draw some designs and scan them for your information and hopefully we can revolutionise the hawk + 1 pairing
Click to expand...
I've got some hawk/axe designs I'd like to have them make, but like Warty, I don't have the cash (in fact, I'm selling a lot of what I own), and don't want Yangdu to go through the trouble of making something when I couldn't afford to buy it.

evolvingape said:
the bancharo looks good but is not what i had in mind... you are gonna have to wait a lil while to find that out!
Click to expand...
Well, the bancharo isn't a hawk, more of an axe. Even though it's the length of a typical hawk and is hafted the same way, the one I copied the pic of weighed close to 3 pounds. That's another thing to mention when ordering HI products -- they don't make them thin and weak, they are almost always going to weigh more than you intended, but when you get The One, the balance will make it feel lighter than it is.

evolvingape said:
Mini Tarwar eh... now that IS interesting! I may have a need for one of those to keep my hawk company...

and as pointed out I do not have one so... might have to get one!

or... maybe a mini short tibetan... hmmm....
Click to expand...

IMO get a full size Tarwar first. Then you'll understand why most here consider it s must-own.
 
I just reread it after a bit of sleep and you did not say they would custom for me. The baby was crying when I was writing that so probably not quite on the ball.

But it is good to know they will make something for me to rough dimensions if I got the cash!

Hmmm... the cash... I know how you guys feel... cannot even afford a Tarwar at the moment let alone a custom :(

I think I got a bit over excited, I have enquired about custom work before and it was so far out of my price range that it was a no go :(

But there is hope things will change one day then maybe I can buy so many customs that I will keep a Kami busy full time catering to my imagination.

I like the Bancharo but I was thinking of something half way between a hawk and an axe. Hawks no good for heavy work and axes no good for being fast. So... if I send them a hawk design and specify thin then maybe I will get something in between.

:)
 
You do know my post about the misunderstanding was a joke, right?
It was meant to simply accent that you really can ask for what you want, even of your own design.

I even added all the requested smiles.
 
Whoops, I started typing before I noticed the thread necromancy. I'll post it anyway.

If you're looking to train in actual Japanese sword arts, I'd recommend staying away from the HI swords, including their katana. In my experience, all of their large non-khukuri offerings have a very "western" feel to them, almost exactly like European pattern swords, except generally shorter and broader. My HI Tibetan sword basically handles like a short, broad, single-edged arming sword, and my Giant Chitlangi Bowie is essentially a Dwarven single-edged bastard sword.

And also:

Katanas, the "expert's sword. Right. I find this whole Japanese/Bushido is the be all, end all when it comes to sword, martial arts and warfare in general to a little nauseating in general but this is of course, my opinion only.
Click to expand...

One thing I recommend the next time you talk to a katanaphile; point out that katanas are notoriously easy to accidentally bend. Which is 100% true, as any actual practicioner of tameshgiri (or something) cutting will tell you! Indestructible and can cut through a machine gun barrel, my butt.

Anyway, just in the opinion of someone who's dabbled in most of the major sword arts, European stuff is very underrated. Just comparing what I know of the German longsword to kendo, I'd say the historical reconstructions German martial arts easily require far more finesse than modern sport kendo. A lot of grappling, throwing, transitioning between sword and dagger, etc. Definitely not two heavily-armored guys wailing on each other until one gets tired and takes a nap!
 
You put it a lot better than I do but I agree. I have also studied the Western Martial Arts, mostly those in the Armed and Armored arena. I guess I just get tired of all the ninja wantobe's and I mean this in the nicest possible way. I admit freely that I was first drawn to swords and armed combat through the Japanese mythos. I just decided to see if my people, the Italians, might also have done something similar. Found myself fascinated by the world's first professional armed service, The Roman Legion and it just grew from there. :D
 
Hi guys! That was the reason I said, "experts sword". Takes way too much precision to use a real katana [like that is going to happen in real combat!] without badly damaging it and that movie mentioned shows exactly what happens to one if you screw up the cut angle.

I doubt a properly made long sword would suffer a set that bad if the cut angle wasn't perfect due to the far better quality steel and flexibility of the blade!

We had a local ren faire out here on sunday. I was disappointed in the swords sold. Wanted to see some real [as in properly made] western swords.
 
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