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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
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PostPosted: Mon 21 Jul, 2014 8:23 am    Post subject: Brief reviw of a H/PC Lowlander greatsword...         Reply with quote

Well...I finally bit the bullet and bought a Hanwei Lowlander...brand-spankin' new. I can't say enough. The first thing I say is: 'Damn.this thing is big!'. This sword is insane. The blade, if not more, is at least a full quarter inch thick. It has a nice distal taper, and the tang is VERY beefy. Hanwei has stepped up their game on this one. No rattles or creaks in the hilt, the grip is beautiful, and it came to me as sharp as a razor. It makes my Hanwei Claymore look like a pocket-knife. For a sword of this size, it really isn't bad to handle. I'm not a big guy---hell, the sword is over my head---but I can maneuver it pretty easily. The ricasso and lower portion of the blade let you choke up on it, but wear gloves. The upper part of the blade is sharp as hell. The guard is beautifully done. In closing, I'll just say this---If you want a really big-ass , good looking, functional greatsword---look no further. Hanwei Lowlander. Git ya one. You'll like it just for the 'HOLY CRAP' factor. Eek! Laughing Out Loud Laughing Out Loud Laughing Out Loud .........McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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William Swiger




Location: Reston, VA
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PostPosted: Mon 21 Jul, 2014 8:29 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Congratulations on your new sword. I have not considered this sword due to the bad press.
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
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PostPosted: Wed 23 Jul, 2014 7:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Well, William.....I think the bad press is now over-rated. This thing is sweet. The tang on mine is quite substantial, and the blade rings like a bell when thumped. There are no bad movements in the grip, and it is all tight as hell. Yes, I'd prefer it to be a peened pommel instead of a threaded, but.....I can live with it. Hell, Will.....You have one or two of everything else....go on ahead and git you some. I just bought mine for the 'Holy Crap' factor. Plus....my wife thinks its sexy when I swing it around in my kilt outside. Laughing Out Loud Laughing Out Loud Laughing Out Loud .......McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Daniel Wallace




Location: Pennsylvania USA
Joined: 07 Aug 2011

Posts: 580

PostPosted: Wed 23 Jul, 2014 2:21 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

always thought this sword was really affordable for its size. I'm surprised that its got a good distal taper - I've seen the other brief reviews that people have given the sword and over all it seems to have positive reviews.

I haven't jumped on it even though I'm nutty for a two hander and have been for quite a while - if I get better with making changes to swords, I'd defiantly think about picking this one up as a project blade.
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William Swiger




Location: Reston, VA
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PostPosted: Wed 23 Jul, 2014 11:39 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Mark Moore wrote:
Well, William.....I think the bad press is now over-rated. This thing is sweet. The tang on mine is quite substantial, and the blade rings like a bell when thumped. There are no bad movements in the grip, and it is all tight as hell. Yes, I'd prefer it to be a peened pommel instead of a threaded, but.....I can live with it. Hell, Will.....You have one or two of everything else....go on ahead and git you some. I just bought mine for the 'Holy Crap' factor. Plus....my wife thinks its sexy when I swing it around in my kilt outside. Laughing Out Loud Laughing Out Loud Laughing Out Loud .......McM


Might have to get one. Wink

If I put on a kilt and was swinging a sword in the yard, my wife would call the boys in white to take me away for observation. Big Grin Of course I would have to paint half of my face blue for the total effect. Could get away with either the kilt or sword but not both. Happy

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Bryan Heff




Location: Philadelphia
Joined: 04 Mar 2012
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PostPosted: Thu 24 Jul, 2014 4:38 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

William Swiger wrote:
Mark Moore wrote:
Well, William.....I think the bad press is now over-rated. This thing is sweet. The tang on mine is quite substantial, and the blade rings like a bell when thumped. There are no bad movements in the grip, and it is all tight as hell. Yes, I'd prefer it to be a peened pommel instead of a threaded, but.....I can live with it. Hell, Will.....You have one or two of everything else....go on ahead and git you some. I just bought mine for the 'Holy Crap' factor. Plus....my wife thinks its sexy when I swing it around in my kilt outside. Laughing Out Loud Laughing Out Loud Laughing Out Loud .......McM


Might have to get one. Wink

If I put on a kilt and was swinging a sword in the yard, my wife would call the boys in white to take me away for observation. Big Grin Of course I would have to paint half of my face blue for the total effect. Could get away with either the kilt or sword but not both. Happy


Your neighbors would probably call the authorities before your wife could reach the phone. I can see the headline now.... Surprised Happy

The church is near but the roads are icy. The tavern is far but I will walk carefully. - Russian Proverb
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Ant Mercer




Location: Leeds, UK
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PostPosted: Thu 24 Jul, 2014 5:02 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Congrats on your new acquisition, Mark!

I've recently bought one of these too, despite the reviews and bad press, because I got the hankering for a massive sword. And this one doesn't disappoint!

If you have some spare cash, and an urge for a sword almost too big to wield, then I'd recommend it. For the price, you get a hell of a lot of sword. It's far to big for me to play with properly, so it spends much of its time on the wall looking imposing!

With regards to construction, mine has a bit of a loose grip (I assume from where the grip wood isn't very well carved to fit the tang), but upon disassembly, I was quite surprised: the tang, although narrow, is actually of a decent thickness. I'm tempted to do something to it as a project blade, as to get a higher end sword of a similar size would probably cost an arm and a leg!
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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
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PostPosted: Thu 24 Jul, 2014 12:30 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Over the last few years a number of these swords have passed through my hands. Early on the tangs were thin and looked weak, however the only problem I had with any of them was one on which the threads on the tang were cross-threaded and the pommel cap could not be secured. Sent it back without a problem.

Recently the tangs have appeared to be uniformly thicker and show no signs or welds or weak places (as if I can magnaflux one with my naked eye). The blades seemed to be pretty well made and the balance is not that bad for such a large sword, although at 6lbs.,14 oz, the sword is a bit on the heavy side. I don't do any cutting with these swords so cannot make any judgments on how they would do for that but most folks seem to like to display them only. They are impressive and I especially like the "antiqued" version which covers up the fact that the cross and pommel are stainless. Early on Hanwei did not antique the blades but over the last few years they have begun to do so, as illustrated in their catalog and I think the effect is much nicer.

The grips are fitted better now and I have not encountered any of the looseness that Ant mentioned. In fact, you can put one on the tang backwards if you are not careful but it won't go all the way down to the grip.

Over all they are impressive and not that expensive for what they are. I am glad you like your purchase and hope you will continue to enjoy it. Just remember that once you swing it the mass will try to keep it moving and it will not stop as quickly as a smaller blade. In other words, be careful!

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
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PostPosted: Thu 24 Jul, 2014 12:36 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Well...as I've already said... I bought this sword purely for the 'Holy Crap' factor. It's one big SOB. As I also stated, H/PC has apparently upped their game. I can't say what YOU will get....but mine is built like a tank. I would not hesitate to cut heavy targets with this sword. As a matter of fact, there are some soda bottles with my name on them....die, bottles....DIE!...McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Jean Thibodeau




Location: Montreal,Quebec,Canada
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PostPosted: Thu 24 Jul, 2014 1:45 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Mark Moore wrote:
Well...as I've already said... I bought this sword purely for the 'Holy Crap' factor. It's one big SOB. As I also stated, H/PC has apparently upped their game. I can't say what YOU will get....but mine is built like a tank. I would not hesitate to cut heavy targets with this sword. As a matter of fact, there are some soda bottles with my name on them....die, bottles....DIE!...McM


Well thin tangs used to be an issue with these I think, but maybe they listened to criticisms about unsafe assemblies and made sure that they put as much work and attention into the tang as the rest of the sword that seemed sound: Sort of a shame when a maker puts a lot of work into a sword and then puts a fragile welded rod tang on it as with the earlier versions.

( Note: I'm going from memory here of reading about the early versions of this sword and not from personal hands on experience with it. Also good to be sure that one is getting one of these later improved swords and not one from old stock that a vendor might still have ? )

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
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PostPosted: Thu 24 Jul, 2014 2:27 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Jean Thibodeau wrote:

Well thin tangs used to be an issue with these I think, but maybe they listened to criticisms about unsafe assemblies and made sure that they put as much work and attention into the tang as the rest of the sword that seemed sound: Sort of a shame when a maker puts a lot of work into a sword and then puts a fragile welded rod tang on it as with the earlier versions.


Jean...

I never saw one with a welded on rod tang. My comment regarding welded tangs was just a mention. But, as I said, early in the game the tangs really did not look very sturdy. I was always careful in handling them and made sure they were not put in a situation where there could be enough stress to bend a tang but it looked as if it would not take very much to do so.

Since Hanwei's forge burned and they got back into production I have noticed a general uptick in their quality and I suspect you are right when you say they listened to the community and did something about the criticisms they heard. That speaks well of their market awareness.

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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