- Joined
- Jul 2, 2000
- Messages
- 941
I decided to bite the bullet and order a CS Gim, since there are few to no other quality changjian out on the current market.
I picked one up through 888knivesrus and it just arrived today. I only took it out for a bit to examine it.
First Impressions...
I took the sword out of the packaging and the first thing I noticed was a large green area of corrosion on the brass guard. I suspect this was from the long time it was in transit to my house via UPS, and is more of a temporary nuisance than anything.
Pretty hefty sword! I would say that it is about as advertised, a little bit over 2 lbs not including scabbard. The casting was in my opinion slightly better than the casting I saw on the Hanwei Yanling sword, but still had minor aesthetic flaws and could stand to be touched up. The guard is slightly uneven, one "wing" (bat theme) is angled a little closer to the blade than the other. The scabbard is a nice color and has a smooth finish. The fittings on the scabbard compliment the fittings on the handle reasonably well and don't seem too out of proportion. The handle wrap looked kinda like shoelace but on first grip seemed tight and secure.
I pulled the sword out of the scabbard. Oily! Little particles had stuck to the blade as well, and I think this allowed air to reach the blade, and as a result I can see little spots of discoloration that may require work to remove. After wiping this stuff off, I looked at the blade a bit. The edges were quite even and the spine was straight and crisp, very pleasant when I was expecting wobbles and rounding over. The blade does not have a secondary bevel (it is a "zero-edge"), and that impressed me even more. The finish, apart from the blemishes created in transport and perhaps a scuff from the scabbard (hard to tell), is quite good. It's fairly thick and is pleasantly stiff.
In handling, I did notice the sword was rather hefty, and the handle is fairly circular in cross section. The balance point seems about traditional, roughly 6" from the guard. However, with the sword's weight, it is not an overly agile blade, and would probably rank on the more substantial side of the feasible sword spectrum. Far from unwieldy, but the weight is definitely noticeable in this kind of sword.
Upon further examination, I saw that the handle fittings were a little uneven, which is not terribly detrimental to the sword, but noticeable to me.
I kinda was disappointed when I saw the little blemishes on the blade and the tarnish on the guard, but I understand that there's little that can really be done to ensure that the sword will stay protected in shipping.
Despite the minor aesthetic faults in the fittings and the hefty nature of the sword, my first impressions of the sword are overall positive, and I would give this a grade of "AB."
If it were 4-6 ounces lighter, it would certainly be a sweet sword.
I picked one up through 888knivesrus and it just arrived today. I only took it out for a bit to examine it.
First Impressions...
I took the sword out of the packaging and the first thing I noticed was a large green area of corrosion on the brass guard. I suspect this was from the long time it was in transit to my house via UPS, and is more of a temporary nuisance than anything.
Pretty hefty sword! I would say that it is about as advertised, a little bit over 2 lbs not including scabbard. The casting was in my opinion slightly better than the casting I saw on the Hanwei Yanling sword, but still had minor aesthetic flaws and could stand to be touched up. The guard is slightly uneven, one "wing" (bat theme) is angled a little closer to the blade than the other. The scabbard is a nice color and has a smooth finish. The fittings on the scabbard compliment the fittings on the handle reasonably well and don't seem too out of proportion. The handle wrap looked kinda like shoelace but on first grip seemed tight and secure.
I pulled the sword out of the scabbard. Oily! Little particles had stuck to the blade as well, and I think this allowed air to reach the blade, and as a result I can see little spots of discoloration that may require work to remove. After wiping this stuff off, I looked at the blade a bit. The edges were quite even and the spine was straight and crisp, very pleasant when I was expecting wobbles and rounding over. The blade does not have a secondary bevel (it is a "zero-edge"), and that impressed me even more. The finish, apart from the blemishes created in transport and perhaps a scuff from the scabbard (hard to tell), is quite good. It's fairly thick and is pleasantly stiff.
In handling, I did notice the sword was rather hefty, and the handle is fairly circular in cross section. The balance point seems about traditional, roughly 6" from the guard. However, with the sword's weight, it is not an overly agile blade, and would probably rank on the more substantial side of the feasible sword spectrum. Far from unwieldy, but the weight is definitely noticeable in this kind of sword.
Upon further examination, I saw that the handle fittings were a little uneven, which is not terribly detrimental to the sword, but noticeable to me.
I kinda was disappointed when I saw the little blemishes on the blade and the tarnish on the guard, but I understand that there's little that can really be done to ensure that the sword will stay protected in shipping.
Despite the minor aesthetic faults in the fittings and the hefty nature of the sword, my first impressions of the sword are overall positive, and I would give this a grade of "AB."
If it were 4-6 ounces lighter, it would certainly be a sweet sword.
