Blake pretty much nailed it; historical accuracy came in a close second to performance and durability. This is not quite the shape that was envisioned for the pommel- originally it was to be rounded into a more typical Oakeshott's T-1 pommel but this would have removed enough weight to affect the COG and other dynamic issues. When the handling got to just where I wanted it I stopped removing material. As for the fuller passing under the guard I find that I would have preferred that myself (it is my usual practice these days) but we're throwing a lot of new stuff at Paul with this one including a new heat-treat and material so I thought it best to err on the side of caution and have the shoulder area 'overkill' strong.

A couple of points I'd like add, having an excellent example of one of Michael's swords and having owned earlier Hanwei practical and functional hand-and-a-half swords as well.

The modified fishtail pommel is actually functionally quite good for two handed use. It rolls in the hand good when you pull the pommel for strikes and is of a good size if you grip there. The example I have with my sword with a similar pommel has a shorter girp, but nonetheless the longer grip on this new sword with this type of pommel should work out quite well when you spread your hands to grip it in my opinion.

The grip definitely needs a cord wrap under the leather, as was indicated in an earlier post. I might suggest a central cord riser in the middle of the grip, it helps keep the hand in place and give you a good grip reference for edge alignment and hand placement when one is present.

In my opinion the fuller looks excellent on the sharp sword and fine on the practical/training version. After all what you want is good feel and performance first in a sword. How it looks, though desired as a priority, is often in my experience a secondary concern when buying at this sword's probable price point. This is of course my opinion, but I think sales would be better for the training sword at a "looks-fine and affordable with good performance" level than a "looks great, good performance but expensive" level.

Also, as a Renaissance faire sword wearer I can appreciate the duality of both swords looking and performing similar. In a scabbard they probably will look the same on the outside anyway, but you can choose which one to wear depending upon your needs. ;-)

Finally I would also like to add that rounded edges with good heat treatment is essential for a good training sword. With the old Hanwei swords we used to buy for salle use we had to hammer the edges on the practical model and then round them off by hand for each one. We also had to round the points down too so that a dime would fit over the tip. It would be MUCH better for this to be done by the factory for their practical training swords with good edge and tip roundness and good heat treatment to make them tough enough for use with out dinging too much.

Anything that saves the customer time and effort after purchase is a good investment. This is especially true with WMA getting bigger every year and a lot of new people buyting these kinds of swords who won't know about proper safety features for training swords when they purchase one for sparing with their friends. :-)

Congrats to you Michael and the folks at Hanwei for making these swords. I really do look forward to checking them out in the future and buying them.

Bryce Felperin

Thank you Bryce! The tip of the blunt is quite wide and well rounded BTW. Barry is in full agreement about rounding the edges. The new heat treatment and material should be a significant improvement over the old as well. Swords with the speciffied heat treatment and material have faired very well in theatrical and demonstration use here in the States. I have high hopes for this effort!

This looks great.

I've long debated a Hanwei Longsword, and was looking rather closely at the hanwei version of a Fightbook sword and their 'practical' longsword. I've decided I won't buy the practical longsword (as it is now) because of the pommel.

I just can't accept a Pommel which looks like it ought to be hanging over Dracula's castle.

When the price comes out, please let us all know as soon as possible.

Any updates on the new sword? My friends and I are very eager to try it out.

Very interested in seeing these when done.

Please post as soon as you know anymore :D

Just thought I'd bump this back to the top of the heap to see if there were any new developments.
Several of the guys I teach were asking ... money burning holes in pockets I think.

Ta for any info
geo