I 'm new to your channel & I have to say I like your style & content very much. I've ordered a Cromwell after seeing your comparison review; I've been looking at that for a while & you got me off my butt about it, so, thanks. There was always something putting me off about Cold Steel, but I have favored Hanwei swords for quite a few years. I've had this Antiqued Backsword since they first came out, & it's easily one of my favorites. I actually like the blade finish. They've apparently changed a few things between mine & yours: the guard used to be more a natural gunmetal grey than your black (it looks like the finish on a piece of patio furniture, no offense) & inside that liner used to be more a dark cream color rather than this new white. The older ones certainly do better fit the notion of "antiqued" & I'd say they just should have left well enough alone. I didn't take away the rather stupid "tassel" (you are absolutely right about that thing), I just trimmed it really short to keep it out of the way, & it also looks a lot better still on but as it is now. Anyway, as I said, I really love this little number & I wholly agreed with every point you made about it. The weight/balance is, for me, perfect; the thing works like it's just an extension of my arm. Oddly, considering the size, if one has built up their forearm & wrist to some decent degree, it handles more like a rapier than I would ever have believed it could; it is incredibly quick & light in the hand for a piece of this actual weight & durability. You are right about Hanwei scabbards for their European blades, though; they look fine & hold up well enough, but I do not really ever like the material used for that "tube" or, often, the fit all that much. I think they are fiberglass, but ...anyway they are, at least, quite functional. So, I normally never do this, but it looks as if you do look at your comments, so I just wanted to say "Thank you" & that I will be watching more & definitely checking in with you about anything I consider buying in the future. Be well.
I like the veg tan leather!! I would probably cut out a few pieces and slowly put them in and take measurements so I could take em out, trim them properly, and stitch them together. I use a lot of veg tan. The stuff is strong and comfortable. I have used it to make belts, holsters, sword straps, and holsters for a few other things. Dyes are pretty cheap and then treating them is easy enough. You could make it any color you want. The flex is impressive, a little bummed about the edge myself. I did not expect the point of balance to be that far forward with the basket on there! The leather throat is nice touch but I'd be concerned about thenwear of that. Easy to replace at least. With the two points that catch your wrist, instead of changing your movement, maybe bend those little rounded corner bits out. It being steel would allow you to take it off and just spot torch it and bend it into place pretty easily. I actually quite like this sword. It looks pretty comfortable. As per usual, very good review!!!
@@michaelrizzo5523 the dyes are pretty easy to use if you are ever interested. You can dilute them a bit then apply layers almost. It changes the intensity and darkness depending on the colors. Amazon sells some decent ones. I steer clear from the leather paint that they call dye though. Not made to last on something like a wallet imo. Also colors are easier to blend with the alcoholic based dyes. I think two tone would look pretty interesting. Black would look kind of dark and nefarious which would be cool.
I'm so glad you've done a breakdown on one of these I also purchased this exact model several months back and have been thoroughly enjoying it but had very similar first impressions I appreciate that it's dimensionally more similar to museum originals which are typically small in the basket I also really appreciated the angle of the edge and spine thickness in what it lends to the thrust in practice this blade I believe would be very adept at "beating" an opposing saber with this blunted section and quickly responding in parry. I absolutely disliked the liner crowding and the muppet pelt.
It's a bit more nimble than by Cromwell but just as tough. Great for training, though I still bang my wrist on it coming out of a St. George's unless I'm holding it just right.
Honestly id probably just rig up a permanent spacer to fix the slop & leave it here basket. I can understand having the red buffed leather or something of your worried about facing small swords that'll poke through your basket but they would have to be good to get your hand through the basket anyway. Though im not fond of all the tassels & padding anyway i must admit.
There's a Practical Hanwei Broadsword with a blunt blade but I've heard it's too heavy for sparring. You might be able to mount one of the Tinker blades in this hilt.
I'm like you I have a preference for East Asia swords but there are Western swords that catch my eye, the Scottish basket hilt backsword is one. I'm having a hell of a time finding a spadroon though
The 1840 NCO from Windlass is one I took a look at but I wasn't crazy about that solid brass grip. Not sure about the build quality. It's been a while since there's been a decent spadroon on the market.
@@michaelrizzo5523 I find the spadroon to be the perfect traveling man's sword. Short and fast plus it cuts and thrusts. It's also tame enough to lacerate instead of just murder. We live in a world where a man has to defend himself sometimes but also in a world where a felony makes you incapable of procuring a weapon in order to do so. Bring back the blade culture, folks would act different concerning combat once they have to see the other man instead of nailing him from 100+ yards away
@@TheBlueWizardOfWestVirginia Absolutely! A code of honor would be an awesome thing to revive culturally. I benefited immeasurably from the training and practices ingrained during my time in Japanese Traditional Arts.
Unless they did a LOT of work on this new version, the weight and balance are going to be way the feth off. The original was way too heavy and clumsy. Especially after getting one from a small shop in Mississippi that is tough, flexible, handy and hefty enough hit hard.
I'm seeing it on my Samsung Galaxy Android, but not my PC or phone. I tried the Clear Cache fix and it didn't help the Galaxy. I don't have a means to adjust hardware acceleration on that device. Reducing the video quality manually helped a bit. I'll keep researching and experimenting. Let me know what device/app you're using.
I 'm new to your channel & I have to say I like your style & content very much. I've ordered a Cromwell after seeing your comparison review; I've been looking at that for a while & you got me off my butt about it, so, thanks. There was always something putting me off about Cold Steel, but I have favored Hanwei swords for quite a few years. I've had this Antiqued Backsword since they first came out, & it's easily one of my favorites. I actually like the blade finish. They've apparently changed a few things between mine & yours: the guard used to be more a natural gunmetal grey than your black (it looks like the finish on a piece of patio furniture, no offense) & inside that liner used to be more a dark cream color rather than this new white. The older ones certainly do better fit the notion of "antiqued" & I'd say they just should have left well enough alone. I didn't take away the rather stupid "tassel" (you are absolutely right about that thing), I just trimmed it really short to keep it out of the way, & it also looks a lot better still on but as it is now. Anyway, as I said, I really love this little number & I wholly agreed with every point you made about it. The weight/balance is, for me, perfect; the thing works like it's just an extension of my arm. Oddly, considering the size, if one has built up their forearm & wrist to some decent degree, it handles more like a rapier than I would ever have believed it could; it is incredibly quick & light in the hand for a piece of this actual weight & durability. You are right about Hanwei scabbards for their European blades, though; they look fine & hold up well enough, but I do not really ever like the material used for that "tube" or, often, the fit all that much. I think they are fiberglass, but ...anyway they are, at least, quite functional. So, I normally never do this, but it looks as if you do look at your comments, so I just wanted to say "Thank you" & that I will be watching more & definitely checking in with you about anything I consider buying in the future. Be well.
Thanks! I just picked up the Hanwei Antiqued Mortuary Hilt. It's VERY light. Review to come, as well as revisiting my other Hanwei basket hilts.
A bit of sheepskin works well as a liner. The wool gives some cushioning.
Thanks for the video Sir, I'd like to see a comparison between this and your cold steel version. Thanks!
I like the veg tan leather!! I would probably cut out a few pieces and slowly put them in and take measurements so I could take em out, trim them properly, and stitch them together. I use a lot of veg tan. The stuff is strong and comfortable. I have used it to make belts, holsters, sword straps, and holsters for a few other things. Dyes are pretty cheap and then treating them is easy enough. You could make it any color you want. The flex is impressive, a little bummed about the edge myself. I did not expect the point of balance to be that far forward with the basket on there! The leather throat is nice touch but I'd be concerned about thenwear of that. Easy to replace at least. With the two points that catch your wrist, instead of changing your movement, maybe bend those little rounded corner bits out. It being steel would allow you to take it off and just spot torch it and bend it into place pretty easily. I actually quite like this sword. It looks pretty comfortable. As per usual, very good review!!!
I have more of this natural and some dyed-through black on hand. I might even go two-tone.
@@michaelrizzo5523 the dyes are pretty easy to use if you are ever interested. You can dilute them a bit then apply layers almost. It changes the intensity and darkness depending on the colors. Amazon sells some decent ones. I steer clear from the leather paint that they call dye though. Not made to last on something like a wallet imo. Also colors are easier to blend with the alcoholic based dyes.
I think two tone would look pretty interesting. Black would look kind of dark and nefarious which would be cool.
I'm so glad you've done a breakdown on one of these I also purchased this exact model several months back and have been thoroughly enjoying it but had very similar first impressions I appreciate that it's dimensionally more similar to museum originals which are typically small in the basket I also really appreciated the angle of the edge and spine thickness in what it lends to the thrust in practice this blade I believe would be very adept at "beating" an opposing saber with this blunted section and quickly responding in parry. I absolutely disliked the liner crowding and the muppet pelt.
It's a bit more nimble than by Cromwell but just as tough. Great for training, though I still bang my wrist on it coming out of a St. George's unless I'm holding it just right.
very interesting.
Given the scabbard, brown leather or brown fur/sheepskin are the better looking options; maybe some thick black felt.
Good ideas! I'm still using it with just the half liner.
Honestly id probably just rig up a permanent spacer to fix the slop & leave it here basket. I can understand having the red buffed leather or something of your worried about facing small swords that'll poke through your basket but they would have to be good to get your hand through the basket anyway. Though im not fond of all the tassels & padding anyway i must admit.
Great video Michael
Thanks, Joe!
I want that hilt on a hema safe blade so bad!
There's a Practical Hanwei Broadsword with a blunt blade but I've heard it's too heavy for sparring. You might be able to mount one of the Tinker blades in this hilt.
I'm partial to dark red full liner. Overall, looks really cool!
6:30 the edg... The what I don't see an edge my boy you lost the loto
Yeah, that was surprisingly bad. Good potential though, and better now that I've put some work into it.
Nice!
I'm like you I have a preference for East Asia swords but there are Western swords that catch my eye, the Scottish basket hilt backsword is one. I'm having a hell of a time finding a spadroon though
The 1840 NCO from Windlass is one I took a look at but I wasn't crazy about that solid brass grip. Not sure about the build quality. It's been a while since there's been a decent spadroon on the market.
@@michaelrizzo5523 I find the spadroon to be the perfect traveling man's sword. Short and fast plus it cuts and thrusts. It's also tame enough to lacerate instead of just murder. We live in a world where a man has to defend himself sometimes but also in a world where a felony makes you incapable of procuring a weapon in order to do so. Bring back the blade culture, folks would act different concerning combat once they have to see the other man instead of nailing him from 100+ yards away
@@TheBlueWizardOfWestVirginia Absolutely! A code of honor would be an awesome thing to revive culturally. I benefited immeasurably from the training and practices ingrained during my time in Japanese Traditional Arts.
@@TheBlueWizardOfWestVirginia as much as I love shooting I really have to agree with you. I'd still use guns for hunting of course. :P
@@jayjohnson3160 I'm all for hunting rifles cuz nobody likes going home from the woods cold and without dinner
A blackened piece of leather would do for a liner and leather was traditional anyway
Black is a top choice.
Jolie perruque 😂
Unless they did a LOT of work on this new version, the weight and balance are going to be way the feth off. The original was way too heavy and clumsy. Especially after getting one from a small shop in Mississippi that is tough, flexible, handy and hefty enough hit hard.
Can't watch this,,, your voice is out of the sync to your lips moving,!!!!
I think it's your feed. I'm not getting that on playback.
@@michaelrizzo5523 all other videos on RUclips play fine,, it's just yours for some reason,, 🤔🤔🤔
@@michaelrizzo5523 Definitely out of sync for me as well
I'm seeing it on my Samsung Galaxy Android, but not my PC or phone. I tried the Clear Cache fix and it didn't help the Galaxy. I don't have a means to adjust hardware acceleration on that device. Reducing the video quality manually helped a bit. I'll keep researching and experimenting. Let me know what device/app you're using.
Clearing all app data helped.