Cold Steel Chinese War Sword

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Jun 24, 2006
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Anyone have an opinion? Anyone seen them? they look neat. Generally, I am a HI :DSword person myself.
 
Owned one for a while, fairly unspectacular fit and finish, but quite maneuverable for the weight - balanced about 4 inches from the hilt on mine. I felt the prongs on the guard mostly got in the way, but they are quite sturdy. Chops very well, but still unwieldy.

Main points:
+ Tough, fairly short and thick blade
+ Sturdy handle - double pegged with bamboo
+ Nice blackened mild steel guard.

? Very heavy - close to 4 lbs IIRC.

- wrap began loosening - wrap is also fairly cheap and abrasive to the hand.
- handle is very straight and overly long, and uncomfortable to hold.
- edge came fairly dull
- forge scale still visible upon close inspection (pits in the blade about the size of a ".")

Get an axe ;).
 
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I received one as a gift years ago... first generation, I think. It's held up very well, but I think senoBDEC summed it up well: very heavy in the hand, the balance point is nowhere near the handle (it's far forward, making it want to tip forward in your hand), and the handle is not a comfortable grip.

That said, great gift, and a lot of fun to work with.
 
In a cutting sword you want the balance to be forward. Otherwise you won't be able to generate enough force to make the blade really live up to its potential.
 
if you get one and there is any poblem, if you call CS right away they will take it back and give you a new one. They have quality control issues with their swords.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
In a cutting sword you want the balance to be forward. Otherwise you won't be able to generate enough force to make the blade really live up to its potential.
Click to expand...

True, but not what I meant, so I apologize for confusing folks. What I meant was that if you hold the weapon steady, it wants to pull itself downward rather than hold itself cleanly in your hands. I've held other swords of similar design by other manufacturers, and you don't get that sense of imbalance: the other two-hand short backswords want to listen to you, rather than tell you what to do.

Basically, the ergonomics are a bit off on the Cold Steel--but not badly! I'm not too sure I'd call this a "cutting sword," either. Cold Steel designed it to be much more of a heavy cleaving implement. No reason it couldn't cut, of course...I just think she was designed to look "bad" more than function "well."
 
CS tends to severely overbuild their blades (go figure) so it's not too surprising.
 
True that, CS knives and swords are big, tough and very durable. Able to withstand huge amounts of abuse. The power of the cuttting comes from the weight + Inertia of your own swing.

If you are a big guy and know how to wield it properly, it shears through almost anything. Tatami mats, bamboo are just understatements to test this sword.

I own one myself. Tried it on many things, one chop to severe a phone directory book. Bull's ribcage not a prob. Good edge retention too.

My 2 cents bros
 
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