10 things to consider in practical real world terms, here you go.
1. First, what kind of steel is it, this is rather important actually.
2. Doe's it have a full tang, a push tang, or a rat tail. Is it pinned, how exactly is it held together?
3. What will you be using it for? Cutting solids, cutting air, what exactly?
4. Do all the parts fit solidly together, with no rattle?
5. Does the blade fit securely into the scabbard, without excess rattle?
6. Is the blade able to pass several flex tests without staying bent, this tells you if it is heat treated properly or not, very important.
7. What is the grip made out of, hardwood or soft. Avoid hard wood, doe's not absorb vibration nearly as well as a softer wood.
8. Edge angle? How sharp is this sword, and what kind of edge angle does it have? Is it heavily beveled, or not at all, or somewhere in between. This will greatly effect both the sound as well as the overall cutting of the sword, so pay careful attention to this. If it is not beveled at all, like many Japanese swords, your not resharpening it yourself, so keep things like this in mind.
9. Blade length, and over all length. Is the sword too long for you. If you can not hold it parallel to the floor without the point clearing it by at least two inches, then the blade is too long. Some people say one inch is enough, until they see sparks flying from where it scraped along concrete. Two to three inches.
10. Look at the blades balance, is it suitable for cutting, and for what you will be doing? Typically 5 inches is a good balance point for cutting. Lower, down to 4, is also acceptable. Any lower and it's cutting ability decreases really. How doe's the blade feel, this is important, looks are largely irrelevant.
11. Weight. Most people use a sword far too heavy. Weight is one of the major things with a sword that throws off ones technique and control. Too many think it is macho to use a big or heavy sword, and keep trying and trying to master a blade, even though it may be far too heavy for them. Lighter is better, to a point. That point being as long as it has enough meat to it to stand up to cutting bone, and meeting other steel, if necessary.
The Japanese swords, being very thick, are often used as a model for how thick a sword should be. This is rather misleading. Japanese swords were so thick more so they could be repolished many more times before they were useless, then for any real practicality. 1/4 to 5/16 of an inch at the base were not uncommon, nd many did not taper very much, both in thickness or width. 3/16 as a sworss thickness is actually acceptable, as long as it is the right steel and made expertly, which is hard to find cheap. Honestly it is hard to find period. Yes thicker at the base can be fine, but most smiths just don't taper it enough from base to point to give it acceptable weight and balance, it's a shame. Many smiths fancy themselves swordsman, and think they know what a swordsman needs, truth is they are just wannabes. They often don't know what a swordsman really needs, they are sword makers, not realy sword users. This is another reason why it is so hard to find swords with grips that are not super thick, or thin, or properly balanced. *Sigh*
There are actually more categories I could list, however I wil leave it at 11. Basically chosing a good sword includes many factors, so you should not take it lightly, or do it quickly. Take care.  |