A little while back Hanwei introduced two new swords,

The Revolutionary War hanger: http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...War+Hanger

and

The VOC cutlass: http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...OC+Cutlass

I have not heard anything about these and was wondering if anyone had seen/ handled/ owned either of these and what thoughts and impressions were.
Thanks a lot!


Joel Chesser

The blades seem to be exactly the same (not to mention the scabbards)

I've been wondering about the same swords. I like the look of the hanger, the cutlass is nice to.

I handled the cutlass last year, and loved the feel and balance of it. In fact, the only reason I didn't pick one up was the antiqued blade, which I'm not a fan of. Other than that, a very nice piece, both cosmetically and dynamically.

Speaking purely from my perspective and I have not handled either.

The numbers for the VOC do look better for handling. All that basket weight offsets what must be a better blade in cross section (as the weights between the two are close). Both have a decent blade profile look, with the Hanwei showing a bit of ricasso which also appears as though that grind will be more conducive to a good sharp edge if looking for that.

The Windlass hanger hilt looks nicer than the Hanwei counterpart. (Not the VOC but another Hanwei offering). The VOC hilt looks pretty nice but would have been a nice alternative if offered without the brass plate. Added I guess to represent gilding but I would like it a lot better if just left bright. I don't mind the aged look for that blade as one could make it as bright as any care to. If I were to look into the VOC I would likely try to brown the hilt parts and scabbard fittings. A shame they don't offer the same piece without the plating.

There were some brief thoughts from a VOC owner and I believe it was posted over at Blade Forums.

Cheers

GC

I purchased one of the Hanwei Rev. War Hangers. I absolutely love it. The blade is very sturdy and made of good steel. However, the hilt and scabbard hardware are stainless, therefore will not brown, blue or "age" I didn't like the grittiness of the antique finish they left on the hilt and scabbard, so I lightly buffed it with some 600 wet or dry. This gave it the appearance of steel that has darkened and looks much better than the factory "antique" finish.

I totally agree with Glen:that plating needs to go away......far away.

Kinda reminds me of the shiny "gold" coating on a dollar-store ninja sword :wtf: Sounds like its a decent enough weapon in other respects though.