[Michael Pearce]

OK- last night I received a new Tinker Line Longsword and a Tinker Line bastardsword directly from CAS/Hanwei. These were swords purchased through normal channels, not examples sent to me for review. The edges are quite different from the edges seen on the first run of production swords.

The Bastardsword still has a bevelled edge that becomes progressively sharper towards the tip, but it is a much finer and better finished bevelled edge and the improvement in cutting ability against 2L bottles is marked. I doubt that Mike Harris and some others will find this edge ideal but I now find this 'factory' edge acceptable. No, it won't reliably slice notebook paper but it slices 2L bottles like they aren't there.

The Longsword now has a 'rolled' or 'appleseed' edge and like the bastardsword it grows progressively sharper towards the tip. Like the bastardsword it won't reliably slice notebook paper but again it's a whiz against 2L bottles.

So the verdict is quite positive- you should not need to sharpen these swords to get very good performance cutting standard targets like 2L bottles or tatami mats. Undoubtedly some will want to refine this edge to suit their own tastes but now it should be a matter of 'touching up' the edge rather than re-sharpening. I bought the longsword for my own use and won't be sharpening it any further than it is; since I will be using it for cutting demonstrations you can take that as a sincere endorsement! The bastardsword is being bought by a customer for theatrical use and so I will be removing the edge and point- but if I were keeping it again I would leave it just as it is.

On other issues with the line- welded tangs. These are NOT supposed to be present and in fact they were NEVER supposed to be featured on these swords. Are the new swords welded? Honestly I can't tell; if they are they have concealed it well. If you are concerned remove the hilt and heat the threads and the first two inches of the tang to a blue-grey color with a torch- don't allow it to get to red-hot; this should eliminate almost all potential problems if there is a weld present. If any sword breaks at the juncture of the tang and thread return it for replacement- it is a warranty item. In fact ANY breakage of any kind should be reported directly to CAS/Hanwei and these reports will be forwarded directly to the top folks within the company. They really want to improve these swords and feed-back is vital to that effort.

The last issue- at least two swords have broken at the shoulder (the join of the blade and tang) as a result of this area not being rounded enough. I am pleased to report that both of these swords are well rounded in this area. Kudos to Paul and company for getting on top of this!

People keep asking me if the swords that they buy now will have the new edge geometry so I'll address that here- the answer is 'I don't know.' If you are worried about getting the new edge buy your sword from Edgefair.com (CAS/H's retail site) as the fact that they are shipping these now probably means that they have run out of the older swords.

[Luka Borscak]

It's good to hear that. Too bad they I didn't get this improved edge on the Viking I bought few weeks ago. Btw, have you talked to them about the peening/threading of the GSoW???

[Michael Pearce]

Luka- if you got a Viking sword with a 'bad' edge you need to email CAS/Hanwei directly; they can't fix this stuff if they aren't being told and they really do want to know!

As to the GSOW- CAS/H did go with a take-down construction because they are still considering offering this sword in 'blunt' form and take-down construction would allow customers to retro-fit blunt blades to their sharp.

[M. Eversberg II]

Speaking of retrofitting...what would the price difference be between a blade and hilt and just the blade? Surely the hilt components can't be that much more expensive?

M.

[Luka Borscak]

[Michael Pearce]

Hi Luka-

I didn't think that you'd want a replacement sword necessarily- just that they need to know about problems even if you fix them locally.

[Nathan Quarantillo]

does anyone know where to get a GSoW? a viking? the blunts seem very interesting to me. i dont see them on edgefair though................................ all helps appreciated!

[Roger Hooper]

[Nathan Quarantillo]

DUH! forgot to check that. the blunts werent in stage combat section, so i thought that KOA didnt havem.

[Roger Hooper]

[Michael Pearce]

[Nathan Quarantillo]

yes................ i love that design. the norman blunt, can anyone tell me about its handling? (detailed plz) most norman swords are usually (or from what i have been reviewing) somewhat heavy chop oriented. i would appreciate greatly a detailed look at its handling (want to see how a high level smiths version turns out)