https://youtu.be/i7EiDbfWx1A
Testing a Lung Chuan dao for a friend

I think the sword can benefit from better steel and heat treatment. I've used sword with even thinner cross section from Longship Armoury and still hold up against the same type of target. That's my No Remorse's edge cross section in the photo.

http://www.rsw.com.hk/no-remorse-cross-section.jpg

The dao has a single bevel and a very small micro bevel that I gave it to form the apex. I haven't checked the RC for the blade.

It will withstand cutting wet newspapers alone but that means the sword can't meat any living bones. The damage the edge has suffered will take a while to fix but I'm leaving it on for the owner to inspect for the moment. It has a thick spine, thicker than a katana's spine, and forward balanced, thus not really that lightweight. It's really a chopper.

Yes, it could use a much better scabbard without metal piece on the mouth, and a wider insider where the edge and tip would not rub against the wall.

Jean Thibodeau wrote:

Lancelot Chan wrote: https://youtu.be/i7EiDbfWx1A Testing a Lung Chuan dao for a friend So what are your conclusions as comments are turned off on your Youtube Video. The edge does seem a bit fragile by having a very thin crossection. Does it have a single bevel, an appleseed edge or a very narrow secondary edge ? Do you have an opinion about the RC hardness of the edge ..... I'm just guessing either a soft 45RC and rolling edge damage or a harder 60RC edge that is brittle and chipped ? Sort of annoying if the edge gets damaged at every cut ! Is the damage easy to fix by resharpening because the damage is shallow and not deep notches ? Just cutting wet news paper without a hard center might not cause damage ? It does look like it's a light weight sword so even if sharp it doesn't have the mass to fully power through the cuts ? Although it did seem to cut through 99% of the target and only have a little bit of the target stubbornly hanging on. A new scabbard with a geometry so that the edge would not touch the scabbard due to the insides of the scabbard holding the sword away from the edge side of the scabbard leaving the sword edge " floating " and not touching the scabbard ?

I checked the HRC of the edge and it's below 40 HRC.

Thanks for your best wishes.

This sword is a bit over 500 USD, which I wouldn't buy. ;)

You're right about any kind of contact will dull the edge. Going in and out of the sheath certainly will do it. Remember it's a wooden sheath! I did a 9 micron finish at 35 to 40 degree per side on the apex, so it formed the edge alright. Just that it won't hold against hard targets. I'm sure newspapers alone will be fine though, just dulling the edge but won't be rolling or chipping.

Jean Thibodeau wrote:

Lancelot Chan wrote: I checked the HRC of the edge and it's below 40 HRC. Ah, thanks for checking and satisfying my curiosity. I also like it when I guess correctly about something on little information. :D 40RCis sort of OK for a spring temper and I assume the odds of the blade breaking are low compared to it taking a permanent bend if seriously abused, but 40RC is barely hard enough to take an edge ? I would imagine that when honing/sharpening such a soft blade edge one would have to strop the resulting wire edge that after breaking off would leave a sawtooth looking edge if observed under a microscope ? Making it super sharp difficult plus the resulting edge fragile and easily dulled by just about any contact with the edge or doing any cutting ? Cutting cardboard would quickly dull the edge ! I hope your friend wont be too disappointed, and I hope it wasn't an expensive sword :( Oh, and an early have a good holiday season to you and yours.