转贴美国刀友G. Scott Hoagland对于汉威狮心王剑的品鉴

汉威

转贴美国刀友G. Scott Hoagland对于汉威狮心王剑的品鉴
原文地址：http://sbgswordforum.proboards.c ... wordreviews&action=display&thread=4781

Hanwei Lionheart

Reviewed by G. Scott Hoagland, Arizona, USA

The Lionheart (SH2367) began as an old Cas Iberia sword that was made in the Phillipines as part of Hanwei's budget line. Recently, manufacturing has been moved to China under the direction of Hanwei itself. I haven't handled a Phillipino version, so I can't make any comparisons about whether or not the quality has improved/declined. This is simply a review of the latest model of this sword on its own merits.

The sword itself is a single hander with a double edged blade, simple wheel pommel, and downturned cross. Hanwei touts the sword as representative of European swords of the Crusades Era. It bears a passing resemblance from afar, but a few points quickly detract from this image, as will be pointed out later.








Specs:

Blade Length: 27" (68.5cm)
Hilt Length: 6" (15.2cm)
Grip Length: 4" (10.1cm)
Weight: 2 3/4 lbs (1.24 kg)
CoG: 4 5/8" (11.7cm)
CoP: 10 1/2" (26.7cm) From Point

The Blade:

The blade is 27" (68.5cm) long and fairly straight in profile, starting at 1 3/8"(35mm) wide at the cross and tapering to 1 1/16"(28mm) at roughly 3"(7.6cm) from the tip, where it then tapers into a fairly acute point. As for thickness, it starts at 3/16"(4.5mm) at the cross and tapers to 1/8"(3mm) near the tip. Not much distal taper, eh? [img]file:///C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\TempPic\Z9}0(WZL(H3L(D5UWBDRX@K.tmp[/img] With its wide and shallow fuller taking up a little over half the width of the blade flats and running almost to the very tip, it appears that Hanwei was going for a Type X blade, though this particular blade strikes me as a bit narrow for this Type. The really noticeable difference between this blade and its historical counterparts is the small ricasso that extends roughly 7/16"(11mm) from the guard. It sort of gives the blade a modern low-end replica appearance (go figure file:///http://images.proboards.com/grin.gif). Also of note is the obvious secondary bevel at each edge, which run a fairly consistent 3/32"(2mm) wide from ricasso to tip. The blade exhibited some scratches and machine marks out of the box too, though nothing horrible. Regardless of its appearance, the blade is quite stiff (likely due primarily to its short length), and it flexes quite far and returns to true (if you put a little extra muscle into it).







The Hilt:

The steel crossguard is a very nicely machined, slightly downturned style with flared ends. It is 7"(17.9cm) wide, 3/4"(19mm) thick at the center and tapers to 1/4"(6.5mm) at the ends (when viewed from above or below). Looking at it in profile, it's 3/8"(10mm) wide at the center, flaring out to 3/4"(19mm) at the tips. Unlike many other brands, the cross doesn't fit down over the blade shoulders, but rests on top of them instead. It appears that the slot in the cross is just large enough to fit down over the tang, which is an improvement over some other swords in our price range that have rather grotesquely oversized cross openings, adding a bit of slop to the overall feel of the hilt.
The grip is nice and petite without being too small for the average adult male hand. It starts at 1 1/4"(32mm) wide at the cross and is straight for about half of its 4"(10cm) length, at which point it tapers smoothly to 7/8"(22mm). The grip is a svelte 7/8"(22mm) thick at its thickest point (the center). I don't know what the core is made of (wood? plastic?), but it's covered with black leather with a glued seam up one side. It also includes either endcaps or rings that cover about 1/2"(13mm) of each end. Overall, it's very comfy and solid.
The pommel is the classic wheel variety with a main body that's 2"(5cm) in diameter and 5/8"(16mm) thick. Each side also sports a protruding stepped circular area 1 1/2"(38mm) in diameter and protruding about 1/16"(1.5mm) from the main body. The protruding areas on the pommel are nicely done, but the faces of the main body of the pommel itself are roughly-machined enough that there are noticeable "facets" on them. The tang extends through the pommel and is peened. Functionally, the pommel is perfectly serviceable, though the edges may be a bit sharp for some users. I will definitely be doing some filing on this one.














The Scabbard:

The scabbard is a wood core covered in black leather, with a straight, clean, glued seam up the back. It has a throat and chape glued on that are some sort of "mystery" metal, that is non-magnetic (zinc alloy? super cheap stainless of some sort?). Also included are two thick leather straps friction fit over the scabbard and including two stainless-looking retention rings. THis sort of retention system would seem much more at home on an 18th or 19th century military saber scabbard than on a supposedly Medieval scabbard, but they can be easily removed by simply sliding them off (though they do fit very tightly once in place). THe scabbard fits the sword somewhat well. It doesn't retain the blade in an inverted position, but it also doesn't allow it to rattle around nearly as much as some others in the sub-$300 range. Nothing mind-blowingly wonderful here, but is is serviceable and not too horrible for a "thrown-in" item.








Handling:

Not a whole lot to say here, other than not too shabby for a sword that retails for around $135 US. With the 4 5/8"(11.7cm) CoG, under 3 lb weight, and comfy grip, the blade is actually fairly quick to recover, yet still offers authority in the cut (if only the edge were sharper). Thrusting really surprised me. The point seems to go essentially right where you point it, and the blade could repeatedly be thrust roughly 6"(15.2cm) into my freestanding foam archery target with about half of my full strength. I would NOT want to be at the wrong end of this one in the hands of someone with a poking fetish. [img]file:///C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\TempPic\QO{VS11@7J_K6@A1KG@B6K6.tmp[/img]

Cuttin'!!!:

Well, I went after some milk jugs, Gatorade bottles, and a cardboard box. Out of the box, the edge was just not all that sharp. SInce I wanted to give a realistic idea of what to expect out of the box, I didn't do any additional sharpening, though I may do so in the future and update the review accordingly. Milk jugs were cut fairly well with moderate power, as can be seen in the pics, but the Gatorade jugs proved to much for the current edge and simply got batted around on moderate power swings, or split with harder strikes. The cardboard box was easy enough to take small pieces off of, but none of the cuts on this medium were very clean (again, see pics). I believe the sword will cut well enough once I thin out and convex the edges a bit.
















Overall, this sword is definitely a modern, low-end reproduction that only does a moderate job of representing its historical counterparts; however, it seems about as solid and nearly as well fit as many modern replicas costing twice as much. It definitely compares pretty well to the Windlass swords I've handled that cost close to $100 more. If you're looking for a durable backyard beater on the cheap (and aren't afraid to do a little home sharpening), Hanwei's updated budget line will certainly meet your needs, if this sword turns out to be representative of the line in general. file:///http://images.proboards.com/cool.gif

Ratings:

Historical Accuracy: 2/5
Fit and Finish: 3/5
Structural integrity: 4/5
Value for $: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Note: I decided this time out to include detailed measurements (in imperial and metric both) in the hope of encouraging the practice. file:///http://images.proboards.com/grin.gif file:///http://images.proboards.com/cool.gif