I've never worn an officer's jacket, but I'd personally avoid taking a thrust to say, the rib cage in something thin like an arming doublet. What I like about the cold steel is that it isn't stupidly painful to take a thrust in a shirt from it. When I've sparred with the Hanwei, just a backyard deal with masks, gorgets, and gauntlets, we either seriously taped up the hanwei with padding on the tip or just avoided thrusts to the torso all together. Not everyone lives near a club, so for the backyard sparring application with the bare minimum safety gear, I think it's a bad option. I did eventually find some nice polypropylene sabers with (frankly too much) flex which are about as close to safe to spar with wearing no gear as one could get short of foam (I'd still wear a mask if sparring at speed,) and after a couple years of close calls using steel in very informal settings, I'd want people to use those in all honesty. For the backyard fencer who insists on steel and won't settle for anything from traditional fencing, I'd steer clear of the hanwei and go with the cold steel. For a club my gut says the Hanwei is too stiff for lighter jackets, but I've never set foot in one and have no firm opinion on something outside my area of competence to comment on.
i have 2 cold steel hutton sabres, i felt the grips were to small so i made som replacements out of wood, so now they feel better in the hand. its the only thing i really disliked about them
I thought the cold steel grips were too small, too. I wrapped mine with paracord and some hockey tape. I'm sure yours looks better. I wear XXXL gloves, so I do that to every sword I buy.
This is how a review should be done. Thanks!
So the stiffness of the hanwei is a potential safety concern under fast sparring conditions with HEMA officer's jackets?
I've never worn an officer's jacket, but I'd personally avoid taking a thrust to say, the rib cage in something thin like an arming doublet. What I like about the cold steel is that it isn't stupidly painful to take a thrust in a shirt from it. When I've sparred with the Hanwei, just a backyard deal with masks, gorgets, and gauntlets, we either seriously taped up the hanwei with padding on the tip or just avoided thrusts to the torso all together. Not everyone lives near a club, so for the backyard sparring application with the bare minimum safety gear, I think it's a bad option. I did eventually find some nice polypropylene sabers with (frankly too much) flex which are about as close to safe to spar with wearing no gear as one could get short of foam (I'd still wear a mask if sparring at speed,) and after a couple years of close calls using steel in very informal settings, I'd want people to use those in all honesty. For the backyard fencer who insists on steel and won't settle for anything from traditional fencing, I'd steer clear of the hanwei and go with the cold steel. For a club my gut says the Hanwei is too stiff for lighter jackets, but I've never set foot in one and have no firm opinion on something outside my area of competence to comment on.
@@theamericancristero7390 thank you. That's some great info.
i have 2 cold steel hutton sabres, i felt the grips were to small so i made som replacements out of wood, so now they feel better in the hand. its the only thing i really disliked about them
I thought the cold steel grips were too small, too. I wrapped mine with paracord and some hockey tape. I'm sure yours looks better. I wear XXXL gloves, so I do that to every sword I buy.