Thanks everyone for watching! Part 2 will be released on Jeremy's Channel: ua-cam.com/users/Guitarsamurai1134 in a few days on June 20th. Make sure that you head over there for part 2 when it comes out! A cutting video will also be released on that day! Also, in the video here I state that the Hidden Hilt Dragon Sparrow Dao is a tang dynasty blade. However, while this design does date to the Tang dynasty, the original that LK Chen's replica is based on may in fact date to the earlier Northern Dynasties period.
Woukd u consider doing an up close review of paltial tang dao its high on my list but there arent reall any rrviews that show the sword up close very well. Lots of the same old cutting vids but i want to really see the blade and spine and qyality of fittment.
Unfortunately I am no longer in possession of that sword because it did not really belong to me so I can't really film a review at this time. I would say that the guard and blade collar fit well, but there was a small split in the wood on the handle and the scabbard had also contracted too tightly so much that the sword could no longer go into it. The original owner who sent it to me for this video lived in a very dry climate and I suspect that the transition from southern China to there and then to me dried out the wood and made the fit and finish less than ideal. However, other swords I handled didn't seem to have this issue. So you may be fine. The blade itself was quite nice. It had a decent amount of blade presence and it cut well. The handle was also quite comfortable. That is kind of a basic run-down of my impressions of this sword.
A question on the Han dao cutting ‘sweet spot’. Would it shift closer to the top if you held it mostly using the ring pommel? (In a similar way to how some people hypothesize that Viking swords were held?). I’ve always wondered if they were commonly used in that way, and the location of the cutting ‘sweet spot’ might be an indicator. Cheers!
If I could ask another question on this line: “Sweet spots” seem to be a feeling and learning to tool type thing, but in many swords doesn’t the “sweet spot” and point of percussion correspond to a point on the blade that doesn’t vibrate when struck? Does the han dao sweet spot at the middle of the curve follow that? I know lk chen’s han jian do, so I’d assume han weapon makers were aware of this in general. I guess dao generally are stiffer and don’t vibrate as much as jian though, and with hacking or slashing with contact starting more towards the middle third of the blade it might not matter?
On many of LK Chen’s blades you can choose to either get a folded steel or a mono-steel. In my experience, the best functional cutters are either the yan ling dao or the twin peak liao dao. Other very solid cutters include the wo yao dao and the imperial chang dao.
So during the early Bronze Age the average Greek about 4' 10" to 5' 6" tall and these swords would have been considered two-handed weapons by their standards at the time? Someone from Ancient China or India during that era is slightly smaller?
I am sorry to hear that in my experience LK Chen’s blades are usually quite good, but sometimes the fittings can loosen up. Overall though, the swords that I have handled are all very functional.
@@thescholar-general5975 Just to share some details: For comparison, looking at the description on the web page: lkchensword.com/shop-1/ols/products/qi-ja-yao-dao 1. Weight without scabbard: Declared as approx. 637.5 g The actual weight: 838.0 g Verdict: VERY BAD, this is 31% OVERWEIGHT! 2. Blade length: Declared as: approx. 69.6 cm The actual blade length: 69.4 cm Verdict: GOOD 3. Handle length: Declared as: approx. 17.0 cm The actual handle length (from the end of the guard to the tip of the pommel): 18.4 cm Comment: it is unclear how the maker is measuring the handle length. 4. Total length: Declared: approx. 86.6 cm Actual total length: 88.5 cm Verdict: BAD, 2.0 cm over declared, almost 2.2% LONGER 5. Point of balance: Declared at: 12.0 cm The actual point of balance: 11.5 cm from the guard Verdict: GOOD 6. Blade thickness: declared at base: 6.0 mm actual (measured 3 times with a digital caliper): 6.7 mm - BAD declared 4 cm from tip: 3 mm actual (measured 3 times with a digital caliper): 3.7 mm - BAD 7. Blade width: According to declared 8. Scabbard's plastic wrap: wrinkled at the top, close to the mouth. Declared steel: 1060 9. Blade's hardness: Declared: 54-55HRc Actual: BELOW 50 HRc Verdict: BAD Additional note: when bent less than 5 degrees, the blade is not coming back straight. Additional comment: poor polishing of the blade close to the tip.
@@ernestolynch1926 I am sorry to hear about that. I would definitely contact LK Chen about this if you haven’t already. They are fairly receptive to feedback and are serious about continually improving quality control. I know that they changed some thing in management a number of months ago in order to reduce the occurrence of problems like this.
@@thescholar-general5975 No worries, the communication with LK Chen was good and I returned the item, which was fully refunded. Its just that I really wanterd it :( I took the sword for just one test cut and - I mean, its good that these were just some dead dry trea branches and not the enemy line ;)
Thanks everyone for watching! Part 2 will be released on Jeremy's Channel: ua-cam.com/users/Guitarsamurai1134 in a few days on June 20th. Make sure that you head over there for part 2 when it comes out! A cutting video will also be released on that day!
Also, in the video here I state that the Hidden Hilt Dragon Sparrow Dao is a tang dynasty blade. However, while this design does date to the Tang dynasty, the original that LK Chen's replica is based on may in fact date to the earlier Northern Dynasties period.
I love their swords
Great job Keith and Jeremy! It’s very useful to have all of the dao there to compare and contrast. Perfect overview.
Thank you so much for watching!
nice. It was great seeing them all together
Thank you for watching!
That is a massive table of swords.
Woukd u consider doing an up close review of paltial tang dao its high on my list but there arent reall any rrviews that show the sword up close very well. Lots of the same old cutting vids but i want to really see the blade and spine and qyality of fittment.
Unfortunately I am no longer in possession of that sword because it did not really belong to me so I can't really film a review at this time. I would say that the guard and blade collar fit well, but there was a small split in the wood on the handle and the scabbard had also contracted too tightly so much that the sword could no longer go into it. The original owner who sent it to me for this video lived in a very dry climate and I suspect that the transition from southern China to there and then to me dried out the wood and made the fit and finish less than ideal. However, other swords I handled didn't seem to have this issue. So you may be fine. The blade itself was quite nice. It had a decent amount of blade presence and it cut well. The handle was also quite comfortable. That is kind of a basic run-down of my impressions of this sword.
Thanks for taking the time with ypu reply
Very informative video gents.
It was awesome working on this project with you, sir!
Respect. 🙏👊
A question on the Han dao cutting ‘sweet spot’. Would it shift closer to the top if you held it mostly using the ring pommel? (In a similar way to how some people hypothesize that Viking swords were held?). I’ve always wondered if they were commonly used in that way, and the location of the cutting ‘sweet spot’ might be an indicator. Cheers!
If I could ask another question on this line: “Sweet spots” seem to be a feeling and learning to tool type thing, but in many swords doesn’t the “sweet spot” and point of percussion correspond to a point on the blade that doesn’t vibrate when struck? Does the han dao sweet spot at the middle of the curve follow that? I know lk chen’s han jian do, so I’d assume han weapon makers were aware of this in general. I guess dao generally are stiffer and don’t vibrate as much as jian though, and with hacking or slashing with contact starting more towards the middle third of the blade it might not matter?
LKchen give you a couple options for blade material, whats the best option for a functional sword that can cut well?
On many of LK Chen’s blades you can choose to either get a folded steel or a mono-steel. In my experience, the best functional cutters are either the yan ling dao or the twin peak liao dao. Other very solid cutters include the wo yao dao and the imperial chang dao.
@@thescholar-general5975 what steel is better?
@@Daniel9787 If you are going to do a lot of cutting monosteel is probably better for long term durability
So during the early Bronze Age the average Greek about 4' 10" to 5' 6" tall and these swords would have been considered two-handed weapons by their standards at the time? Someone from Ancient China or India during that era is slightly smaller?
you can tell that Chinese sword designs became increasingly influenced by Central Asian ones through the ages
central asian swords are very curved blades not straight.
The red one is the best
The hidden-hilt dao(dragon sparrow) is derived from an antique of Northern dynasties (386 - 589 AD), particularly from 李賢墓. Not Tang dynasty.
Yes, I mentioned this in the top comment on the video.
好！羡慕了！比淘宝的货质量好得多！
It writes as Dao but pronounced like thou in word thousand.
🤠👍🏿
As always thanks for watching!
@@thescholar-general5975 thanks to you for such interesting content!
可以非常棒视频-来自中国🇨🇳
謝謝你！
You clearly got bank, lend a few thousand? Laid off twice at two different jobs, in months this year. Jobs ain’t stable nowadays
Appearances can be deceiving. I do not own these swords, they were just sent to me temporarily for the video.
Poor quality blades. I've got one and had to return. Bad luck or?...
I am sorry to hear that in my experience LK Chen’s blades are usually quite good, but sometimes the fittings can loosen up. Overall though, the swords that I have handled are all very functional.
Same here. Some loose fittings, but the blades themselves I've never had an issue with, personally.
@@thescholar-general5975 Just to share some details:
For comparison, looking at the description on the web page: lkchensword.com/shop-1/ols/products/qi-ja-yao-dao
1. Weight without scabbard:
Declared as approx. 637.5 g
The actual weight: 838.0 g
Verdict: VERY BAD, this is 31% OVERWEIGHT!
2. Blade length:
Declared as: approx. 69.6 cm
The actual blade length: 69.4 cm
Verdict: GOOD
3. Handle length:
Declared as: approx. 17.0 cm
The actual handle length (from the end of the guard to the tip of the pommel): 18.4 cm
Comment: it is unclear how the maker is measuring the handle length.
4. Total length:
Declared: approx. 86.6 cm
Actual total length: 88.5 cm
Verdict: BAD, 2.0 cm over declared, almost 2.2% LONGER
5. Point of balance:
Declared at: 12.0 cm
The actual point of balance: 11.5 cm from the guard
Verdict: GOOD
6. Blade thickness:
declared at base: 6.0 mm
actual (measured 3 times with a digital caliper): 6.7 mm - BAD
declared 4 cm from tip: 3 mm
actual (measured 3 times with a digital caliper): 3.7 mm - BAD
7. Blade width:
According to declared
8. Scabbard's plastic wrap: wrinkled at the top, close to the mouth.
Declared steel: 1060
9. Blade's hardness:
Declared: 54-55HRc
Actual: BELOW 50 HRc
Verdict: BAD
Additional note: when bent less than 5 degrees, the blade is not coming back straight.
Additional comment: poor polishing of the blade close to the tip.
@@ernestolynch1926 I am sorry to hear about that. I would definitely contact LK Chen about this if you haven’t already. They are fairly receptive to feedback and are serious about continually improving quality control. I know that they changed some thing in management a number of months ago in order to reduce the occurrence of problems like this.
@@thescholar-general5975 No worries, the communication with LK Chen was good and I returned the item, which was fully refunded. Its just that I really wanterd it :( I took the sword for just one test cut and - I mean, its good that these were just some dead dry trea branches and not the enemy line ;)