Great review! The Yan Ling Dao has quickly become one of favorites from LK Chen. I've found grabbing below the squared metal on the hilt makes a world of difference when working with the sword.
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
That definitely seems to help, for sure. I appreciate it. And thanks for watching!
@FortuneFavoursTheBold
Жыл бұрын
Great review! My favorite LK Chen offering of late centuries Chinese dao as well. Good on you for pointing out the drastic distal taper, a sword that doesn't taper much in the profile absolutely needs a ton of distal taper to be functional! 👍
@Zz7722zZ
2 жыл бұрын
The squarish, angular aesthetic really appeals to contemporary tastes, that scabbard especially. I love it.
@pungkwok1676
2 жыл бұрын
Manchu army uses thumb ring for shooting arrows. Only square grip works best with thumb ring when Qing soldiers to do close combat with 雁翎刀, it is also one important reason why it is square grip.
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the info and the view!
@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145
Жыл бұрын
Interesting... I've shot using a thumb ring but never used a sword with one. I don't own a truly swuare hilted sword but I have something close. I'm going to see how the ring effects grip tomorrow.
@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145
Жыл бұрын
I never make fun of anyone's cutting skills for two reasons. 1) everyone starts as a beginner and some people always struggle with good cuts especially with certain swords but since we're not going to war with swords anymore we don't have to worry about how good we are just if we enjoy swords. 2) for years I was fortunate enough to be able to cut on fresh bamboo as I lived near a rather large bamboo Grove. A few years ago I decided to start cutting 2liters. I quickly realized that while many of my sword's edges were good at cutting bamboo, as they were paper cutting sharp, they were a bit too beefy & a bit of a steep angle. So they just didn't bite into 2liters well. So while I can cut bamboo fine with nearly anything, I was horrible at cutting 2 liters! I've gotten better but still have issues often with edge alignment.
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
Жыл бұрын
Yeah we want to have fun and be able to laugh at ourselves. Hence the disclaimer about our poor form. And you're certainly right. Different types of edges are better at cutting certain targets. Edge geometry and sharpness definitely play parts in determining how good a sword cuts as well. We just know our form isn't doing the sword any favors lol. Also, cutting bamboo sounds like it must have been extremely fun.
@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145
Жыл бұрын
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews I definitely understand form not helping the sword. I often get bad edge aligament ownward diagonal cuts with certain swords. 😂 I sometimes think "damn this edge isn't sharp enough" then watch my video and realize I am the problem. As for bamboo there are are 2 groves I know of that are not on private property in the town I live in. They are both less than a mile from my apartment. It was great fun a few years ago when my friends & I found them... unfortunately bamboo has a lifecycle & needs TONS of water. Much of the groves are older growth now & despite being green are very hard. Not as hard as yellow bamboo but much harder than younger supple bamboo. I don't know if cutting some & soaking it would help when it's already hard like that but I should try. In the spring/early summer there is usually some supple new growth but as far as regularly cutting there it's not really good for it currently. However as most bamboo species grow in cycles & old growth will eventually die off & entirely new shoots will come i bide my time til then 😂 But some things about cutting fresh bamboo...it's shockingly easy. I find it much easier than 2-liter bottles. Even if edge alignment is a bit off the bamboo kinda forced your blade to straighten out in the cut if you keep a firm but loose grip. I have footage of me cleanly cutting 3"-3.5" bamboo with a 14" machete no problem. 8f bamboo 8s supple it will be green with a slight white powder coating. If you wipe it with your finger you can easily tell as it will wipe off. You really can only cut bamboo at an angle due to the fibers. So to practice verticals or horizontal cuts you must have the bamboo at an angle; 45° works well.
@connorjensen9699
2 жыл бұрын
very complete and objective review, exceptionally useful, thank you
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! We appreciate your watching!
@JoeSteel1
2 жыл бұрын
Got a Dao coming that I will put to the test, Lk Cen has good blades, but I just think they are over priced....still amazing swords don't get me wrong, great review guys..
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145
Жыл бұрын
You guys have the blade at essentially 27 2/2 inches but I swear it looks shorter in the cutting. Not doubting you guys just saying I would have guessed it was like 24" or so. Regardless it's a beautiful sword
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
Жыл бұрын
It definitely has deceiving proportions at a glance. You can easily get two hands on the grip despite it being intended for one-handed use. So that might make the blade look shorter. But I agree, it's a beautiful sword. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145
Жыл бұрын
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews welcome & thanks for sharing
@taliesin159
10 ай бұрын
"Big in the hands". That's disappointing for me, cause I got really stubby hands, so if someone with even average sized hands says a handle/hilt/grip feels "big in the hand" I know I'd never be able to hold onto that thing.
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
10 ай бұрын
That's fair. I know when a handle doesn't work for me, the sword won't either. It's worth noting that the other LK Chen models I have, (the White Arc, Niu Wei Dao, Silver Swallow Miao Dao, and Saxony Rapier), don't have that issue for either of us. So my thought is that these swords were just that hefty in the grip, and this is just a representation thereof.
@doratheexploder286
2 жыл бұрын
it has a wicked distal taper... laughs in Napoleonic era military saber. My 1796 LC officer saber by Osborn&Gunby starts at 9mm and tapers to just over 1mm right after the fuller ends. That`s my biggest gripe with modern replicas, they don`t get the meat in the blade right at the shoulder, and often have too thick foibles to boot.
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
This particular sword goes from about 8.5 mm at the base to 2.2mm 5cm from the tip. So it's not really all that different from your saber. Thanks so much for watching!
@doratheexploder286
2 жыл бұрын
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews in the video you state the spec as going from 5mm down to 2,2mm. at 3:30
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
@@doratheexploder286 I misspoke. Thanks for catching that. I think I probably mistook the 5cm from the tip for 5mm as regards distal taper. Here is a link to the sword description with the correct info on LK Chen's site lkchensword.com/yan-ling-dao
@doratheexploder286
2 жыл бұрын
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews ah, that makes a lot of difference then, guessing you`re used to the imperial and not metric, making it easier to make mistakes with the millis.
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
That likely contributed. Thanks again for catching that.
@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145
Жыл бұрын
I'm glad many swords outside of the European & Japanese traditions are getting more attention. I'd love more good replicas of Indian swords, especially a khanda. Also some good replicas of African swords.
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
Жыл бұрын
Strongly agree. I'm happy that more southeast Asian swords are being made as well. Thanks for watching!
@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145
Жыл бұрын
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews welcome I enjoyed watching
@Lord_Humungus
2 жыл бұрын
Really good review guys, very nice sword
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the kind words, and for watching!
@user-tx3ge2li5z
2 жыл бұрын
as it's not like Qingdao, will it be difficult to hold as it's grip is square like ?
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
This is actually a 1:1 replica of a functional historical sword. The hilt feels different than other more elliptical handles, but not bad at all. And for what it's worth, all of the serious Chinese martial art practitioners that I have seen review this sword say it feels and handles as well or better than anything else they have. Thanks for watching!
@erichusayn
2 жыл бұрын
That looks like a fun sword.
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
It really is. Thanks for watching!
@erichusayn
2 жыл бұрын
@@UnsheathedSwordReviews welcome
@bladetasticknives5712
2 жыл бұрын
I am interested in the person who sharpens your swords, will he sharpen swords that I own ? Thanks 🙏🏼
@UnsheathedSwordReviews
2 жыл бұрын
He definitely earned the nickname Svartalf! He can put a great edge on just about anything. Are you in the Seattle area? Check him out, his business name is "Bronk's Knife Works & Knife Sharpening Service" and thanks for watching!
@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145
Жыл бұрын
I thought the Chinese started using curved dao after the Mongols invaded g took over. Am I wrong about that?
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