New Sword Variant

[ferguson]

Finally retrieved my sword from Yangdu's Deals of 8/25 from the clutches of the Post Office. I wasn't disappointed. :thumbup: We're going to have to come up with a name for this one. At 36 3/8" overall length, it's about 4 3/4" longer than the Tibetan sword that I got from Rusty's sale. Point of Balance is about 4.5" in front of the guard. Weight is about 2 lbs. 9 oz. , or 3 oz. more than the Tibetan. The spine is .240" thick at the bolster. The handle is 9 1/4" from guard to end of the pommel. The neatest thing about the blade, is that there is a fuller that runs from the spine to within 7/16" from the edge. The blade is about .155" thick at the edge of the fuller. This of course lightens the sword considerably while leaving a much beefier edge than the Tibetan. The Tibetan is flat from spine to edge.

This in no way lessens my love of the Tibetan. There is no quicker, sharper sword in the HI line. It just gives us another choice. I hope this new sword becomes a regular. Here are a couple of quick pics. I ran out of light, but I'll take some comparison shots with the other HI swords soon.

Steve

 

[arty]

That is a beautiful handle and blade. I wonder how they can deal with the two sides of the blade using poured water to cool the steel. Have you checked for temper on both edges?
Western blades are generally through tempered, but Katanas use a differential temper where they coat the blade in clay and then dip the edge in water. The Chinese swords may have a double edge, but I still can not fathom how they deal with a differential temper and the two edges.
Does anyone know how this is done? Are there two people dripping water on the blade at one time?

 

[DannyinJapan]

I love it! That's great! I gotta have one!!!

Names:

the Gelbu Ken
The Rusty Ken

(ken is Japanese for a straight sword)

 

[bismark77]

Is it double-edged? It doesn't look like it is... I love the tip geometry--it's so symetrical and pointy!

 

[ferguson]

Is it double-edged? It doesn't look like it is... I love the tip geometry--it's so symetrical and pointy!

Nope, single edged. It's a keeper


Steve

 

[ferguson]

Additional pics. It's so hard to take pictures of mirror polished blades. If anyone has any pointers, I'm all ears.
Steve

Here are my HI swords, for comparison. From the top:
30" Kobra
Katana
Himalayan Sword, narrower blade and fuller than the new sword, but thicker and much much heavier.
Tibetan
New Sword. I just noticed that it has a subtle yataghan shape. It curves down slightly from the guard, then back up close to the tip.

Here's a picture of the blade, looking at the spine.

 

[Dave Rishar]

Additional pics. It's so hard to take pictures of mirror polished blades. If anyone has any pointers, I'm all ears.

Etch them first.

Nice looking sword(s), Steve. I hope that we see some more of the new design. (Which is really just a nice way of me saying that I hope that I can score one.) Looks like a good solid guard on it too. Is the guard steel?

 

[ferguson]

Etch them first.

Nice looking sword(s), Steve. I hope that we see some more of the new design. (Which is really just a nice way of me saying that I hope that I can score one.) Looks like a good solid guard on it too. Is the guard steel?

D'OH! That's why the katana photo'd better!

Guard is steel, plain, not engraved like some.

I'm really excited about this sword. While I'm not a martial artist, looking at the sword from an engineering standpoint, it could be the best combination of strength and speed I've seen from HI. The aesthetics are very pleasing to me as well.

Steve