Hanwei vs. Cheness

I've only owned a Hanwei sword (a Tsunami katana) back a few years ago. Never did any cutting with it but it was a very nice piece and the fittings and everything were really good. I've never owned a Cheness sword but for awhile I was looking into getting their Kaze Ko-Katana but most of the reviews said their fitting were pretty bad.

Form doing some research in the past, the general opinion seemed that Hanwei is the better brand when it come to quality control.
 
i wish others participated in this thread because i'm about to buy a sword...been leaning towards a regular Cheness Kaze as i have read nothing but good things about it. I know Hanwei is a hell-of-a-good brand too though.
 
For what it's worth, if I'm going to buy budget production, I buy Hanwei, hands down. There are very few brands that come close. I've heard mostly the same things about Cheness and their quality control, and I've been nothing but happy with all of my Hanwei products, of which I have several.
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
For what it's worth, if I'm going to buy budget production, I buy Hanwei, hands down. There are very few brands that come close. I've heard mostly the same things about Cheness and their quality control, and I've been nothing but happy with all of my Hanwei products, of which I have several.
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If you're going to do a lot of cutting, go Cheness,

If you are doing Iaido with a display piece , the Hanwei is better suited.
 
I started this thread because i was going to buy my first production sword. I ended up ordering a sword buyers guide custom because the blade is the same quality as chenness or hanwei but i got to choose a purple ito which is my favorite color. slightly more expensive than hanwei or chenness. even though I can't afford it i am looking for a second sword even though i haven't received mine yet. I have also looked at dojo pro. sbg guide store has some good deals as well as kult of athena. I will let you know when i receive my sbg custom.\
 
deathpoop said:
I started this thread because i was going to buy my first production sword. I ended up ordering a sword buyers guide custom because the blade is the same quality as chenness or hanwei but i got to choose a purple ito which is my favorite color. slightly more expensive than hanwei or chenness. even though I can't afford it i am looking for a second sword even though i haven't received mine yet. I have also looked at dojo pro. sbg guide store has some good deals as well as kult of athena. I will let you know when i receive my sbg custom.\
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And so begins the addiction...
 
Kult is always great. Man Venture is my favorite place for CS and Hanwei products. I don't know about the Hanwei being only good for display; most of their blades are perfectly good for cutting. Where do you get your information?
 
I have owned the Cheness Kaze katana and shoto- To start with I did love the hamon, but the blade had all of the grace and balance of a crow bar in your hands. The fittings were simple, bad molding and such, non magntic (metal) ? The habaki, which is the core of your Japanese style sword, was truely awful. The more I studied iaido I leared it was wholey unsuited for any serious student of Japanese sword arts for this reason. It was not just the katana's habaki which was off but that of the wakizashi as well.
I now own a Bugei Samurai, which I really like (like to love). The balance is very refined compared to the Kaze, excellent for quick cuts and very easy to control compared to the sledge hammer kaze. The Samurai is also very sharp compared to the Kaze. The two realy are not at all comprable. The habaki on the Samurai is proberly aligned, which is great. The only complaints I would note on the Samurai is the Kurikata is too far back from the koiguchi- almost a full hand length back. This is not good for Iai IMO. The other issue is purely cosmetic and that being the weird Hanwei hamon they paint over the actual hamon. I managed to remove that with mother's polish- worked like a charm. Well, that is my two cents worth, hope it helps.
 
a very long time ago I use to sell forged hanwei swords none of the other dealer would carry them because they had no idea where to get them and they cost way too much. I went to a junk yard to buy some computer cd roms and they said they had china swords would I buy them at $5.00 but I would have to take them ll. they showed me the blind fury. heck yes I took them all. I think they are made very good and not punch out by some machine. the last one that I had got stolen by a so called friend.
 
I know this thread is old but I thought I would throw in a bit of info. I have owned 60 or 70 Hanwei pieces and about 10 Cheness pieces. I personally thing Hanwei wins on quality and value. There are a lot of blades from each manufacturer and each model is different and special in its own way. Still, I have found Hanwei to be much more consistent with all the details in a sword. The lines are cleaner in my opinion and the fittings are better. I think Cheness blades hold up well but there are a lot of options available now. Munetoshi makes solid blades too for example.
 
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