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Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > Edward III sword by Hanwei -- comments by those who own one Reply to topic
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Paul Seaman




Location: Charlottesville (Afton), Virginia
Joined: 07 Dec 2007

Posts: 5

PostPosted: Tue 22 Jan, 2008 9:12 am    Post subject: Edward III sword by Hanwei -- comments by those who own one         Reply with quote

As a sort of follow-up to the Hanweii-Windlass debate, I am ordering the Hanweii Edward III sword, which is currently out of stock from any dealer on the Internet (I've got a reserve order in with one of them for when a new batch comes in). I really, really like the look of this sword, much better than the higher rated (and much more expensive) one produced by Arms and Armoury, reviewed on this site. Also you get a very nice looking scabbard free with it; the Arms and Armoury one, they charge $85 extra just for a piece of sewn up leather! Anyway, are there any readers out there who own the Hanweii Edward III sword? Are you happy with it?

Concerning, the Hanweii-Windlass debate, I was surprised by how well-rated the Windlass swords are. I probably don't have the data to answer the original comparison query by Ant because 1) all my Hanweii swords are Oriental (i.e., genuine hand-forged and folded "Japanese" samurai sword replicas), and 2) they're generally 2-3 times more expensive than any of the European swords I've bought from Windlass. Those factors aside, based on my experience of consistency of qaulity over Windlass, I'd have to say Hanweii is the superior maker.

Paul

"I create a world of vibrant wholeness by sharing my passion, being reflective and staying engaged."
(personal mission/credo)
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Mike Arledge




Location: Indianapolis, IN
Joined: 05 Feb 2006
Reading list: 8 books

Posts: 434

PostPosted: Tue 22 Jan, 2008 9:18 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I have owned the Hanwei Edward III in the past. Its a very nice looking sword, but its not so good on the handling, its sluggish and pretty dead feeling. Compared to the Windlass Arbedo, the Arbedo was a similar sword that handled a lot better. But, I do regret selling the Hanwei Edward III, because it did look very good on my wall!
Mike J Arledge

The Dude Abides
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Lancelot Chan
Industry Professional



Location: Hong Kong
Joined: 24 Oct 2003
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PostPosted: Tue 22 Jan, 2008 10:13 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I have the Hanwei bastard sword waiting here to be picked up by a customer. It's not the Edward sword but I think they share the same characteristics, which is almost no distal taper at all. :| I handled the Edward sword when I was in Taiwan a few years ago and it also shows the same problem.
Ancient Combat Association —http://www.acahk.org
Realistic Sparring Weapons — http://www.rsw.com.hk
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Chad Arnow
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PostPosted: Tue 22 Jan, 2008 10:22 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I have moved this topic to the Historic Arms Talk forum.

Please note the description for this forum:

"Discussions of reproduction and authentic historical arms and armour from various cultures and time periods"

Thank you.

Happy

ChadA

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Chad Arnow
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PostPosted: Tue 22 Jan, 2008 10:22 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

According to someone at CAS Iberia, this model is probably going to be discontinued. So there may not be a next batch, as CASI did not have any stock on hand when I asked except for factory seconds (blemished models).
Happy

ChadA

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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
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PostPosted: Tue 22 Jan, 2008 11:30 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Chad Arnow wrote:
According to someone at CAS Iberia, this model is probably going to be discontinued. So there may not be a next batch, as CASI did not have any stock on hand when I asked except for factory seconds (blemished models).


When Hanwei purchased CAS Iberia last year they did away with all of the Iberia line, but promised to bring back certain items that had remained popular. The Prince Edward sword was not one of the Iberia ilne, but I suspect that due to the absorption of the manufacturing process for those Iberia blades they are now producing in Dailan, that they have been forced to discontinue some of their less popular products to make room.

I recently got a River Witham sword and some Scottish dirks that were originally part of the Iberia product line. They were certainly able to transfer the manufacture of these blades to China without problem. I had not had a River Witham sword to examine before, but the one I received is well made, with riveted tang. However, as was common with the Iberia line before, the balance is not all that great and the sword is a bit on the heavy side. The dirks were very nice and the blades had a much better finish than the old Iberia dirks.

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Nathan Keysor




Location: WV
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PostPosted: Wed 23 Jan, 2008 5:12 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I have the Hanwei Edward III sword and I like it. I only use it as a wallhanger but it constantly impresses visitors. I think it is very well made considering the $229.95 I paid for it on ebay. I have never had the A&A version on hand to compare it to. I also own the Hanwei Torino Rapier, Basket Hilt Broadsword and Cromwell sword and have found them to all be excellent for the money. I've noticed read reviews where Hanwei gets a bad rap. My personal experience has been that the quality of the Hanwei products have been better than Windlass. I'm sure someone will disagree but please note I said "my personal experience" which is not a blanket condemnation of Windlass.
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
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Lin Robinson




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PostPosted: Wed 23 Jan, 2008 6:50 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Nathan Keysor wrote:
I have the Hanwei Edward III sword and I like it. I only use it as a wallhanger but it constantly impresses visitors. I think it is very well made considering the $229.95 I paid for it on ebay. I have never had the A&A version on hand to compare it to. I also own the Hanwei Torino Rapier, Basket Hilt Broadsword and Cromwell sword and have found them to all be excellent for the money. I've noticed read reviews where Hanwei gets a bad rap. My personal experience has been that the quality of the Hanwei products have been better than Windlass. I'm sure someone will disagree but please note I said "my personal experience" which is not a blanket condemnation of Windlass.


Nathan...

I own and have owned and examined quite a few of Hanwei's European line and have been favorably impressed with the majority of the swords. They are not Albion blades by any stretch of the imagination but they are adequate for what the majority of people use them for and that is display. I have, right now, the basket hilt backsword and broadsword as well as a dirk and River Witham sword. It is possible to get a sword, or any weapon for that matter, with problems from any maker. The test is, will the maker work to satisfy the end user who has a problem. Hanwei seems ready to do that.

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Bob Burns




Location: South Indianapolis IN
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PostPosted: Thu 24 Jan, 2008 5:38 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I have handled the Hanwei Edward III Sword on a few occasions while comparing it with my Arms & Armor Edward III
Sword which I had with me, while at Kult of Athena, where the Hanwei is priced at $229.95 but is on Back Order
http://www.kultofathena.com/product~item~PC20...+Sword.htm
I live under a half hour from the store, so I go there about once a month, sometimes just to "shoot the breeze" about our common interest with the owner "Ryan" who is a very nice guy and himself a Roman Captain in a re enactor group with 50 men under him.
My honest straight down the pipe opinion of the difference between these two swords is "Night and Day", but the Hanwei is only $229.95 and comes with a scabbard, while the Arms & Armor is $855.00 and does not come with a scabbard. The Arms & Armor version is 4 fold the cost minus $64.80, but it's also 6 times the Hanwei version in quality.
The Hanwei Edward III Sword makes one's arm want to lower the sword till the tip hits the ground, whereas the
Arms & Armor version feels like an extension of one's arm. By the way, I am an owner of four Hanwei Swords, one of them, the "Lowlander" is best suited and serves in my collection as a wallhanger, it has a rat tail tang which renders an otherwise nice blade to be useless. I also have the following Hanwei's, Sir William Marshall Sword, Cromwell Mortuary Sword and the Godfred Viking Sword, all of which perform very well as cutters, and I've done a lot of cutting with these three swords and I am very happy with them, given the price I have zero complaints with the latter three swords.
However, the Hanwei Edward III Sword that I inspected side by side with my Arms & Armor Sword was a bit warped, which told me there was some uneveness in the tempering of the blade and it felt comparatively dead in my hand.
Although, if one is financially limited and there is just no way one could get away with buying the Arms & Armor version, be it because of a spouse or parent, then the Hanwei version is still a nice buy at the price. It is a nice looking sword it just lacks the life of the Arms & Armor version.

Hope I was of some help!

Bob
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Nathan Keysor




Location: WV
Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Reading list: 9 books

Posts: 255

PostPosted: Fri 25 Jan, 2008 8:12 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

As a side note I previously owned the Windlass "Sword of the King" from their Kingdom of heaven movie collection. It appears to have been very closely copied of the Edward III sword. They were so similar that I finally decided to get rid of one.
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
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L. Bailey





Joined: 04 Jan 2008

Posts: 21

PostPosted: Sun 27 Jan, 2008 10:59 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

The Hanwei Edward III is no Albion or A&A, but it has been pretty well recieved considering what it is, and what the price is.

Here is a review by an amatuer on SBG:


http://sbgswordforum.proboards70.com/index.cg...1192220745
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Chad Arnow
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PostPosted: Sun 27 Jan, 2008 3:42 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

The reviewer on SBG calls the hilt "brass-plated steel" and refers to the scabbard fittings as brass-plated. According to email exchanges with CAS Iberia, it's gold-plated.
Happy

ChadA

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Merv Cannon




Location: Brisbane, Australia
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PostPosted: Sun 27 Jan, 2008 7:23 pm    Post subject: Hanwei Edward III         Reply with quote

Hi........I have the Hanwei Edward III and I find it delightful ! I think the weight and balance are fine, but thats for me and everyone's different. I found the the detail to be more accurate, (eg. the grip rings ) as compared to the A&A,..... a matter which I mentioned in a previous post. I believe that A & A saw the post and have since modified their details accordingly. In fairness, I have not had the pleasure of handeling the A&A sword. For me, if I am to buy a replica of any historic sword, that being one used by a figure of history whose original exixts, then I want maximum accuracy. I am not one to marr my blade by doing cutting exercises with it. For me the pleasure is in owning an accurate reproduction of a historic item. So when I want to cut something, I will use a sword for that purpose as I do not have the available budget of King Edward !
Yes, it would be even nicer to have real gold-plated fittings, but theres nothing to stop me having that done if I have the spare cash. Hmmmm....... I remember that I have some Gold Chloride left over from my old commercial Photo - Lab ! .....guess It would be safer to experiment with a belt buckle and leave the plating to the pros, yes ? Anyway, I an very happy with the Hanwei, esp. in value for money. The enameling detail is great and the pommel relic - plate is better too IMHO.
All round, I'm very happy....... see...> Big Grin

Merv ....... KOLR
http://www.lionrampant.com.au/

"Then let slip the dogs of war ! "......Woof !
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Chad Arnow
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PostPosted: Sun 27 Jan, 2008 7:47 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Merv,
If you have the Hanwei version, then you have gold-plating on it, at least according to CASI.

Happy

ChadA

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Bob Burns




Location: South Indianapolis IN
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PostPosted: Wed 30 Jan, 2008 10:25 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Yes Merv, Arms & Armor "Did" correct the placement of the gold bands on the grip. I was in the first boat of the five people to get the new corrected Edward III Sword and they are in fact correct!

Sincerely!

Bob
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Chad Arnow
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PostPosted: Thu 31 Jan, 2008 7:21 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Bob Burns wrote:
Yes Merv, Arms & Armor "Did" correct the placement of the gold bands on the grip. I was in the first boat of the five people to get the new corrected Edward III Sword and they are in fact correct!

Sincerely!

Bob


I have the new bands on mine. While they are much better than the old version, they still aren't quite exact.

Here's mine (though the angles shot isn't the best in this case):



Here's the old version:



Better indeed, but I think they're less detailed than the original.

Also, A&A has departed from the original by casting the ferrules as part of the guard and pommel. Hanwei's are separate, giving the proper 2 ferrules and 3 bands.

Happy

ChadA

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