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Product Reviews

Hanwei Bone Handled Rapier and Main Gauche

I've just received a Hanwei bone handled rapier and main gauche for review and I'm quite impressed. Model numbers SH1092 and SH2197. The guard is nicely formed - functional and yet elegant, as befitting a gentleman's weapon. There are a couple of slight wobbles in the guard branches but they don't detract from the overall look and feel of the piece. As you can see from the photos there are a number of embellishments to the guard that really make it quite attractive. It's not over-done so the total appearance suggests a weapon an officer might have carried.
The pommel is quite massive but balances the long blade well, and the balance point is just a fingers width in front of the pas d'âne. The blade is just over 36in long which is about right for the period. This weapon feels very quick in hand, somewhat due to its light weight (just over 2lbs) but also its balance. The grip is generous and will easily accommodate a gloved hand. The pas d'âne has ample space for gloved fingers and the écusson is nicely shaped to give a good grip yet not cut into your fingers. Now whether the grip is historically accurate is a different question. Many grips on antique swords were large like this but some were not. I suspect it would depend on the swordsman and his preferences. I don't think we can say with certainty that all swordsmen used gloves. The grip on this particular model feels good with, or without, a glove.
The bone handle is very attractive. This is not my first choice for a handle material because I've seen a number of old knives and swords with very loose bone or antler handles, but this grip is a little different. You can see in some of the photos a small bone spacer on either end of the bone grip. I presume this acts to strengthen the ends of the bone. This is an excellent feature and says a lot about Hanwei's commitment to producing 'the real thing' rather than wall hangers. This sword can be ordered with a practical fencing blade so they have thought about its use in practice.
The blade is nicely done but I would have liked to see it wider and a little stiffer. Rapiers came with a wide assortment of blade shapes, the single similar factor being their longer length. Earlier rapiers had wider blades and over time they became thinner with the end result being the small sword or court sword. I'm not saying that this blade shape is in any way unauthentic, I just prefer a wider blade from an earlier period.
I did not test the blade for performance but I expect it would perform quite well against a period blade. Modern blade steel is completely different than that of the 16th century, both in its manufacture and chemical composition. Because of these differences in materials it isn't easy to compare modern blades with old. An exact comparison of blade thicknesses and hardness doesn't really tell us much, because the materials have such different specifications. I think it's safe to say that modern steels are tougher, more chemically consistent and hold an edge better (using modern tempering techniques) than steels of several hundred years ago. Tempering methods can also be quite different but modern steels can be tempered using older differential tempering methods as well as modern cryogenic techniques.
After all of this waffling I believe this blade to be excellent steel with a good temper.
The main gauche is a perfect companion to this rapier. The bone grip is done in the same fashion and the guard and quillon match. The blade is nicely shaped and comes to a fine point.
Scabbards for both blades are of a composite material covered with leather. They are done quite nicely and match the blades well.
Blades for both weapons come unsharpened but could easily be with a few strokes of a stone. Sharpening isn't something I recommend since a sharp sword is much more dangerous than most people think. I've heard of a number of accidents with sharp blades. When most people pick up a sword they expect it to be the garden variety you would find at the mall, and they handle it with very little respect. Remember also that rapiers weren't designed as cutting weapons. They depended on a lethal thrust. A sharpened blade was meant to discourage grabbing and trapping of the blade.
In conclusion Hanwei's bone handled rapier and main gauche are a good pair and excellent value. These are functional weapons and I believe that a period gentleman would have been proud to own and use them.