Review: Hanwei Practical Special Katana (lot of pictures)

[Katana Hunter]

Hanwei Practical Special Katana review by Aldwin P. of Metro Manila, Philippines

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-01.jpg


Introduction

I was looking for a katana from Hanwei that is within my budget and would suit my preference: no bohi, blade length of not over 27 inches and an excellent cutter. After reading Kenpachi's (SBG) review and saw Jonis' cutting vid, I said to myself, this is the one I'm looking for.


Initial Impressions

The sword came in a brown box, sandwiched inside a molded styrofoam. It was very well protected. Upon opening the packaging, the sword was inside its black cotton sword bag. Along with it: Hanwei tag, maintenance and disassembling instructions which I didn't bother to read.

The first thing I said when I removed the blade from the saya was: WOW!. I'll describe that later on. =P


Statistics

I wasn't able to measure the Practical Special, but here's the specification from Hanwei's site.

Blade length: 27"
Handle length: 11"
Overall length: 39"
Weight: 2lb 2oz

Though I was able to get the point of balance, but can't remember it. =P Probably it was about 5 - 5.5 inches from the tsuba.

The Practical Special is very lightweight, it's the lightest katana I've ever owned.

Now onto the components (and pictures!)


The Blade

When I first saw the blade, the first thing I said was WOW!. It has a very different polish from the other katanas I've owned and I would say that I like it very much. The shinogi-ji is mirror polished while the ji has a rough polished. Excellent combination. I got tired of seeing mirror polish blades and this one totally stand out. It has a real hamon, but acid enhanced. Doesn't bother me at all. Has a cosmetic kissaki and in my opinion, nicely done. Also, Kenpachi mentioned in his review that the blade used for the Practical Special is from the "Practical Plus" line. I'm not sure about this, but doing some comparison, it does look a lot like the blade from the Practical Plus line.

I'll let the pictures speak for itself.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-03.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-04.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-12.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-13.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-16.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-10.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-17.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-11.jpg

Such a beauty, isn't it? ;)


The Tsuka

Axe handle tsuka (very wide)
Suede ito
Fake ray skin

I expected these and it's not really a problem with me as I've planned on customizing this from the beginning (customization pics to come).

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-05.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-06.jpg

More pictures later on...


The Tsuba, Fuchi, Kashira, Menuki

Nothing much to say about the tsuba... very sturdy and solidly made, and with its design, it helped in lightening the blade. I would have to agree with Kenpachi, that the style of the tsuba is similar to that of a Higo design.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-09.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-18.jpg

The design on the kashira is "Dan Higo" with a plain fuchi. The menuki has a sakura design and in my opinion, the cast is very terrible!

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-04.jpg

More pictures later on...


The Saya

The saya has the generic black glossy finish with buffalo horn on the koiguchi (scabbard mouth).

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-14.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-15.jpg

Although the habaki doesn't have a perfect fit in the koiguchi, it still does the job. The blade has a very nice fit in the saya. Not to tight, not to loose. And the blade doesn't rattle inside.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-26.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-27.jpg


The Habaki

Checking out the habaki, I wasn't expecting that it will have an almost perfect fit, that is not expected for swords in this price range. As you can see in the pictures below, you would see very little gaps.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-22.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-23.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-24.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-25.jpg


The Nakago

The nakago measures 10.25 inches which is almost the length of the tsuka.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-28.jpg


The Mekugi

The mekugi is tapered and kinda soft that I managed to damage one upon removal.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-29.jpg

Since the mekugi ana are tapered, this have been a problem during tsukamaki (customization pictures will be posted soon).


Test Cutting

I haven't done any cutting with this sword yet, as the moment it arrived, I immediately dismantled it. But I was able to cut paper with it, and it is extremely sharp. =)

But seeing Kenpachi and Jonis' cutting vids, I can say that this sword performs very well.


Conclusion

As promised, more pictures... of the ugly part of this sword. =)

While I was dismantling the tsuka, I had a hard time taking out the kashira. I usually just pull it out, but for this one, I had to use something pry it out of the tsuka.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-01.jpg

No wonder I had a hard time, it's epoxied to the tsuka!

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-02.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-03.jpg

As for the suede ito, some people likes it. But personally, I don't. It feels weird... Maybe I just got used to silk. Eventhough its ugly (IMHO), the tsukamaki is tight. =P

This is how the suede ito looks like:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-06.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-05.jpg

Up next is the fake ray skin... when I removed the suede ito, I laughed so hard when I saw the fake ray skin! :))

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-08.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-09.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-10.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-11.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-12.jpg

I've seen fake ray skins from my SLOs in the past, but this one is the worst!

I hope that Hanwei would step up to improving the lower lines with even just a real ray skin.

The axe handle tsuka =)

Well, it's solidly built with no cracks.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-14.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-15.jpg


And here you are with the tsuka dismantled.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/hanwei-special-16.jpg


Pros

Beautiful blade
Lightweight
Excellent price
Nice fittings

Cons

Axe handle tsuka
Fake ray skin
Epoxied kashira

The Bottom Line

If you're looking for a lightweight, no bohi katana and don't mind the fake ray skin and suede ito, buy this sword.

I hope you've enjoyed my review of the Hanwei Practical Special.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/katana_hunter/hanwei-special/practicalspecial-02.jpg

Customization of this katana can be viewed on this thread >>> http://swordsofmightforum.com/showthread.php?t=1871

[Caliper]

nice review...hmm...I wasn't aware of this practical special katana, nice blade indeed with the infamous frosty hamon :ohyeah:

that fake same is appalling, I bet a lot of people will let this slide since it's from Paul Chen and the katana is fairly cheap. This katana's got custom project written all over it

what are your plans for customizing this baby up? B-)

[Katana Hunter]

Oh... I forgot to mention.The tsuka that I worked on with the jabaramaki, is the Practical Special's tsuka which I believe you've seen already. :)

http://swordsofmightforum.com/showthread.php?t=1871

[Taygrd]

Great review. It is good when you break it down to the bare bones. It gives the read an idea of how it is made and the quality of craftmanship. Great Job, nice to have you back.

[the blade master]

and the mystry object stuck in the end of the tsuka in pic 25 is
the handle from a mekugi hammer one point to me oh yeah:ohyeah:

[Katana Hunter]

Great review. It is good when you break it down to the bare bones. It gives the read an idea of how it is made and the quality of craftmanship. Great Job, nice to have you back.


Thanks Taygrd!


and the mystry object stuck in the end of the tsuka in pic 25 is
the handle from a mekugi hammer one point to me oh yeah:ohyeah:

You got that right! :celebration:

[bobO]

Great review! Thank you. I couldn't agree more on the habaki. We should start a discussion on just how important this little piece of metal is.

[Katana Hunter]

Thanks bobO.

I think there was already a discussion about the importance of the habaki. I'm just not sure on which forum I read about it.

But we can always do another discussion about it here.

[Mako]

There was a very interesting discussion about habaki on the old Bugei forum a while ago but sadly, it's gone forever now. =(

[Taygrd]

pJumping back to the suede ito, save it and iron it out at a low temp in case you want to use it again. I but it on a tanto I built and it looks good.

[Katana Hunter]

Jumping back to the suede ito, save it and iron it out at a low temp in case you want to use it again. I but it on a tanto I buld and it look good.

That's a great idea. I hope I haven't thrown it away yet. Thanks!

[rayskin]

great pics