Handle length CRKT Hisshou vs Hanwei

MTHall720

MTHall720

Joined
Sep 21, 2010
Messages
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I have a Hisshou that I have never used. Love it except for the handle length. With really big hands I want something longer I can comfortably grip with two hands. I have heard the Hanwei Practical Katana is a decent low cost option. Anyone know how the handle length compares between these two?
 
I have a Hanwei Tactical Wakizashi that is easily a 2 hand blade. Most of my katanas have 12-13" handles. The TacWac has an 11" handle

The PracKat is very similar in handle length to the TacWac at 11.25", so it should be easily a 2 hand grip. The CRKT Hisshou has just under a 5.5" grip, so it's clearly a 1hander.

Personally, i'd love to have a Hisshou, but it's a knife, not a sword, so it's definitely not comparable to any katana. Much more comparable to the Practical Wakizashi
 
Thanks very much! That makes sense to me now. I thought I was getting a short sword but I can see now that it is a long knife instead.
 
well, if you want a short sword, message me, and i'll trade you a hanwei Tactical Waki for it.

I've been wanting the Hisshou for a while for my BOB, but didn't want to spend any cash on it.
 
Do you know if the Hanwei Practical Waki or Practical Katana requires a special technique for sharpening, or can you sharpen however you usually do sharpening?
 
I think they're supposed to be zero ground like most good katanas. I guess it depends on how bothered you are by putting scratches on the blade and so forth. Sharpen with a mousepad and sandpaper, and you should keep the zero ground convex edge pretty intact.
 
i have mine convexed completely in front of the BoHi, so it's a simple zero convex.

Mine is a user, but in good condition, and if you know how to use a strop or a sharp maker, it's easy to sharpen.

Currently, it's receipt shaving sharp, and will shave hair.

The normal grind is not so user friendly
 
I also have a full sized Musashi Bamboo Katana that you can get for under $100 bucks all over the place. It's RC at the edge is only 56, so it's not up to high end standards, but it's a great cutter, and very well built.

It's a good starter blade if you don't want to spend the money on something better, or trade your Hissou for one
 
There's always customs too. You can find most of the various budget Hanwei products for around 100-300, depending on what you're looking for. I'd link you to my favorite store, but they're not members here.
 
I appreciate all the great input.
I should read up on the various "parts and features" of these blades. I found a site which looks promising for background info.
 
BePrepared said:
here's the thread where i talked about reprofiling it, and showed a picture of the results

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/935169-Convexing-a-Hanwei-Tactical-Waki

as far as i can tell they are sold out pretty much everywhere. The only place that has them is SOM and it's 210 there
Click to expand...

Sounds like a person would really need to know how to do the convexing. I would be lost. Still working on my sharpening skills. My Hisshou was about 200.00 so I will read some more before deciding to trade or keep it. I got it thinking I wanted to do some mat slicing or similar chopping but never used my blade at all.
 
MTHall720 said:
Sounds like a person would really need to know how to do the convexing. I would be lost. Still working on my sharpening skills. My Hisshou was about 200.00 so I will read some more before deciding to trade or keep it. I got it thinking I wanted to do some mat slicing or similar chopping but never used my blade at all.
Click to expand...

yeah, i wouldn't suggest trying to convex a katana type blade unless you have a slack belt sander, and a LOT of patience. I did it, and it worked out well, but it's not something you'd want to do unless you knew how...

Play with your blade, take it out and cut with it. My trade offer stands if you decide to let go of it.

I have so many 20ish" blades, that a 13" one would be a nice change for me.
 
The practical ones should already be convexed. So you can just maintain the grind with mousepad and sandpaper. Its a lot easier than you'd think.
 
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