[Dan D'Silva]

Early Dirk by Paul Chen/Hanwei
I'm looking at this as a project blade. I know some folks had examined them more than a decade ago, but sometimes quality improves or declines over time, so has anyone seen one of more recent make?

The project is for a Scottish whinger. I put the handle together some time ago, but I haven't wanted to publish it because it's currently got a super-cheap Windlass dirk blade as a placeholder -- a nice blade especially for the price, but very obviously a modern regimental style rather than an 18th-century one. The Hanwei dirk looks much more similar to the originals that Nathan and Thom posted in the whinger thread; not perfect, but I doubt anything non-custom would be, and to my eyes it'd still be a step up from the Windlass at least in terms of appearance.

Alternately, I'd be much obliged if anyone knows of a production blade that's better than the Hanwei.

[Dan D'Silva]

Okay, alternately, does anyone have anything to say about Hanwei sword quality in general? Or, if you saw one of these dirks in person in the past, do they actually look okay?

So far, I've found nothing else that looks decent in the $100 price range -- at best, a few that are only slightly better than the Windlass, or are out of production or have other traits that would rule them out, such as tangs that are too short. I'll ask around, but I don't expect to find a decent custom blade at a price that would be be commensurate with my own amateur cutlery work.

[Lin Robinson]

If you are referring to the blade only, then it looks OK and that's about it. It follows the concept of a Scottish dirk in its length and shape, the fact it has only one cutting edge, etc. Otherwise it is not much. As to the dirk as a whole, the grip is too long, the pommel cap is...well it is not even close to authentic. The general shape of the grip is...except for the presence of haunches, not so hot. Of course not all dirk grips were heavily carved but this one is smooth as a baby's butt.

That being said, I sold a lot of them back when I was in the blade business. As far as the difference between the version of ten years ago and the one for sale today, I cannot tell them apart. When Hanwei introduced the knife it was made in the Philippines, or that is what they said. When the manufacture was moved to China, or so they said, the dirks they turned out were identical to the original version.

Whether it will do for what you want, I cannot say. The only advice I can give you is to buy one, they are certainly cheap enough, and give it a try.

[Dan D'Silva]

Thank you.

Well, I'm not really concerned about the hilt, since it'll be completely replaced, possibly along with the sheath if I can't modify it to my liking. I did come across this post showing one disassembled and the tang looks okay, although the shoulders will have to be reshaped to fit to a flat guard. Also it looks like I was a bit optimistic in my drawing, and actually the shoulders will barely fit between the finials.

As an experiment, I drew up what it would look like if I used a Windlass primitive Scottish dirk blade instead and added a false edge. I'm really not impressed.

I've gotten an encouraging reply back from Armour Class, but I neglected to ask about adding an inch to the tang (I suppose I could hard-solder an extension, but that isn't ideal), and there's still postage to consider. If all that works out, their dirk blade probably the best option I've looked at so far; it's sharply tapered without being too wide.

Ed.: Once more, with the Armour Class blade. I think it looks pretty good. If I can get it with a lengthened tang, this may well be a winner.

[Ian Hutchison]

Hi Dan,

I have one from about 5 years ago. The blade is solid and it is easy to disassemble. While very pointy, the cutting edge bevel is quite steep and it come with a fairly thick, unsharpened edge. It took me awhile to get mine sharp enough just to cut paper and it still is no razor.

I also bought mine as a project, I was going to shorten the grip by cutting out the middle of the handle, add a bone ring to divide the front and rear halves, then shorten the tang to match. Unfortunately, I always have about too many things going on at once and never got around to it.

If you want one relatively inexpensive, I will sell you it for $50 shipped. Just send me a PM.

[Dan D'Silva]

Hello Ian,

Thank you for the offer. I've been going over the measurements and specifications, and right now I think I'm probably going to order a bare blade from Armour Class, as it's not as expensive as I expected.

Sorry to turn you down, it's just that I have some fairly specific ideas in mind for the project.

[Ian Hutchison]

No worries, good luck with your project!

[Arne G.]

[Dan D'Silva]

Very true. However, I've exchanged a few more e-mails with Iain and he says they can make a blade with a longer tang, and even make other minor modifications without raising the price. So for now I'm just gonna try to find a few more antique photos to finalize the design next time I hit the academic libraries in Philly.

[Arne G.]