CAS Iberia "Hanwei/Chen" Katanas vs. Kris Cutlery Katanas
Performance & Aesthetics Evaluation between the swords of two manufacturers

Article and Photographs by Adrian Ko

This article has 6 sections. You are on Section 1.  Select: [ 1 ]  [ 2 ]  [ 3 ]  [ 4 ]  [ 5 ]  [ 6 ] 

Foreword

JUNE 27, 2000 - We have encountered many problems among readers pertaining to this article. Many are misinterpreting it based on a casual and incomplete reading and furthermore taking portions of it out of context, misquoting it, and completely mispresenting it publically.

We have also received requests to update this article because its information is "out of date" but found that those expressing this do not understand the nature of SFMO being an online magazine. It is inappropriate, therefore, to modify past articles and past issues, espeically when periodicals cover the time period in which they were written.

We do not rewrite history. Thus bear in mind that this article and the test results reflect the Fall 1999 era only - not today. If you are looking to purchase the swords, keep in mind any quality improvements that have arisen as a result of our identifying faults and weaknesses in the swords' manufacture, inasmuch as you receive a pre-inspected sword shipped from the retailer of your choice.

So to conclude: this article was written in the timeframe of October-November 1999 and the swords evaluated were manufactured on or prior to this date, and not today.

"Created by today's Oriental master smiths... the razor-sharp blade is truly a masterpiece of the swordmaster's art, hand forged and using the traditional sculpted claymethod of tempering to produce a genuine temper-line...." (Source: CAS Iberia sales sheet on "Bamboo Stick Katana").

For the past year, wholesale distributor CAS Iberia has been importing katana-style swords, originally believed to have been crafted by a single "master smith" - Chen Chao-Po, a.k.a. "Paul Chen". It was later revealed that these swords were a product of mass manufacture by the Hanwei Factory in Dalian, China - owned by Paul Chen himself. These swords - the Shinto Katana, the Golden Oriole, the Musashi Daito, etc. have been selling on the Internet for approximately US$400-450 (although retail stores sell these swords for as high as $800).

Elsewhere, a small humble company called Kris Cutlery has been quietly making performance swords at affordable prices, with an agile 26" blade katana selling for $150 and a 29" blade katana for $175. Both are of a "no frills" design concept and are durable. These, in the same vein as the Hanwei Factory katana (note the plural form of the word) are differentially hardened to feature a harder edge and softer body.

For a while, CAS Iberia's $400-range swords satisified the $400-range market, while Kris Cutlery's swords satisfied the $150-175 market. Just recently, however, the price gap was bridged. CAS Iberia released two new products - the Practical Katana and the Practical Ninja, priced at $155+ (auctioned for as high as $285 on eBay).

Naturally the question arises as to which is of better value and performance: the "Practical" line, or the Kris Cutlery swords.

Article Objectives

As retailers are promoting the new "Practical" swords as having the same kind of blade as the $400-range Hanwei swords, this raises several questions:

• What quality differences and/or performance or construction sacrifices were made such that these "Practical" swords sell for so much less?



• If the blade is in every way identical in quality (as some believe/claim), then how "cheap" are the furnishings and fittings of the new "Practical" line? If, as retailers are stating, that certain parts are made of plastic, then what safety concerns are there in skimping on metal?



• If the fittings aren't that much cheaper (i.e. the manufacturing costs are nearly the same) and the difference in labor costs are also negligible, are customers essentially getting the same sword as they are with the $400-range models?

In order to establish the answers to these hard-hitting questions, this article details an evaluation of the peformance and aesthetics and functionality of the following swords:

• CAS Iberia 29" "Practical Katana" - Street price: US$155+



• CAS Iberia "Golden Oriole" - Street price: US$400-500



• Kris Cutlery 29" Katana, 5160 spring steel blade. Price: US$175 (the 26" katana sells for $150)

The biggest concern for a customer is if the sword will perform as advertised, in light of romantic-sounding and alluring marketing language found in sales literature. Various terms circulating both the Internet and the industry such as "high carbon spring steel" and "battle-ready" and the famous "able to withstand the rigors of stage combat" have given customers sales-hype but no solid metallurgical information. If a sword is marketed as real - or in this case, as a "Practical" katana, it is then the opinion of SFMO to evaluate how truly "Practical" it is.

There is something more at stake here: credibiliy in the industry. Many fine custom swordmakers are the last people (unfortunately) to begin a great marketing campaign to promote themselves and their work (they would rather concentrate on making the best swords possible). The situation is similar to the computer industry where Microsoft's marketing engine eventually caused Windows 95 to triumph over IBM's OS/2 operating system - an OS which technical engineers hail as a superior product. (After having put up with countless Windows problems and Microsoft sales-pitch, the user community is finally looking at other time-proven and reliable alternatives such as Linux as a more stable mission-critical operating system). Case point: in this article's opening paragraph, you will notice the quote from CAS Iberia's sales sheet, with emphasis of the Hanwei swords being made by "master smiths" and "swordmaster(s)". These and many other statements imply that they are on par with custom bladesmiths in Japan or in North America.

Just what constitutes a swordmaster, or a master smith? Traditionally, an apprentice must complete a minimum of five years training in all aspects of Japanese sword forging. From genesis to revelation, as it were, the Japanese sword - or "nihon-to" is completely made by hand. It is obvious that the Hanwei swords are not made by one man - Chen Chao-Po, but are the result of assembly-line manufacture. Case point: the Hanwei Factory produces rapiers, Viking swords, Japanese-style naginata, Chinese jian and dao, etc. in extremely high quantities. But now do the Hanwei Factory workers in the assembly line process now qualify as "swordmasters" and "master smiths"?

Or can it be argued, "Who's to say they aren't?"

Originally, Chen's swords were selling for $1,250 through Bugei Trading Company (www.bugei.com) which were roughly half the price of Bugei's regular swords made by the late Bob Engnath ($2,800 range). Bugei's earlier catalog showed the photograph of the lone man (Chen Chao-Po) wearing a "Mao hat" in front of a forge. The photo along with the marketing language created the impression that these swords were made completely by hand to be faithful reproductions in aesthetics and performance to traditional nihon-to. When CAS Iberia became the sole importer of Chen's swords, Chen's "Hanwei Factory" in Dalian, China (and thus the swords' assembly-line manufacture) became apparent (and oddly enough, CAS Iberia's new $400-range swords looked extremely similar to Bugei's long-hilted swords).

Nevertheless, CAS Ibeira sales sheets at that time continued to echo the one-man myth. In more recent sales literature, certain elements have been reworded or toned down. However, the misinformation is still promoted by retailers to the public. Nevertheless, the one-man myth must be disputed.

To points summarize the marketing claims made regarding the Chen swords in the industry:

• Original sales sheet for the C.A.S. Ibeira Shinto Katana states that a real temper line must be identical on either side. (This is untrue, because ancient nihon-to smiths have been known to apply clay in different patterns on either side to achieve different styles of hamon on purpose. However, note this statement, as per our tests things will get interesting.)



• Original sales sheet for the Shinto katana states "the Shinto Katana is hand crafted at the Dalian (China) forge of Chen Chao-po." The current Bamboo Stick Katana sales sheet maintains "... a razor-sharp blade hand forged and tempered in the style of the Japanese masters." At what point can "hand forged" be defined? Can steel hand-fed to a power hammer constitute "hand forging"?



• Earlier on, some retailers maintained that the Chen swords were forged over a core. Some customers claim they see hada (i.e. forge folding/welding grain). Or is this really alloy-banding and lengthwise polishing scratches they're seeing?
• Again, as per our opening paragraph, these are supposedly "created by today's Oriental master smiths... truly a masterpiece of the swordmaster's art." How loosely is the term "master smith" being used? In Japan, it is against the law to claim the title "master smith" as these are given out by the government's NBTHK - Japan's official sword-preservation society.

It should be noted that beginning sword-collectors who have not handled real historical Japanese swords have no relevant experience with which to determine the validity of these marketing claims, and thus may be enamored to the idea of owning a "hand forged" and "hand made" blade made after "the style of the Japanese masters."

Conversely, Kris Cutlery's marketing of their 5160 steel swords have been bland at best. Kris Cutlery has opted to take a more conservative approach to presenting their products to the world. As they sell directly, there are no retailers and no sales pitch surrounding these swords.

Terminology

For those unfamiliar with Japanese sword terminology, this chart details the anatomy of a Japanese sword's handle. It may benefit you to open this in a second window for your reference as you read the next parts of this article.

Click HERE to see NEXT Page or
BACK to Fall '99 Index

[TOP]  [Back -1]  [About SFMO]  [Feedback to Editor]  [Discussion Forum]