[MR] Fwd: Fwd: Re: [SCA-Rapier] Fwd: FW: [SCA_Chivalry] FW: [SeaMarch] Ban on Ha nwei Blades Made in China

[David Chessler]

------ Original Message ------
Received: Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:00:52 AM EDT
From: "JJ MacCrimmon" <jjmaccrimmon at yahoo.com>
To: SCA-Rapier at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MR] Fwd: Re: [SCA-Rapier] Fwd: FW: [SCA_Chivalry] FW: [SeaMarch] Ban
on Ha nwei Blades Made in China

A followup on the Hanwei situation (from past and personal experience). 
Several years ago 2004-6 timeframe is my memory serves me correctly, there was
a bad batch of Hanweis that were sold by Triplette and other merchant.  These
blades were breaking at either the tips or the tangs (near the ricaso) and
were attributed to a bad foundry run in the Chinese foundry.  I personally
lost a 43" blade at Estrella due to metal fatigue breakage 4" from the tip and
at the tang.  

That being said, everyone needs to check and be responsible for their weapons
for safety and condition.  Look for pitting or hairline markings in the
blades.  In the old days (yes I cringe saying that, but I have been doing this
for nearly 20 years), we'd inspect our own weapons thoroughly before ever
handing them to the marshal to do likewise.  Without being there to see the
blades, this sounds much like the like of breaks when we used epees more
thoroughly.  Breaks were due to compression weakening or crystalizing the
blade at points of repeated bend/flex.  Blades will develop pitting at points
were the metal is crystalizing and becoming less flexible (due to the uneven
heating of the blade during the tempering process).  Blades will develop
hairline cracks length-wise in small areas due to repeated flex or bend in a
certain area.  I'm an engineer by trade and these are the same cues used to
note structural fatigue.  

YiS,

HL John James MacCrimmon





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