Hanwei Rhinelander Longsword Review Update

[@Feminismisfornobody]

Tod's workshop had a video where he talked about the quality control of medieval weapons, and said that he's held loads of examples where the hilts didn't fit the blades and they would have rattled horrendously. So its just authenticity!

[@dominicbeese-raybould8480]

Roland Warzecha has a video looking at an original 13th century sword, the opening of the guard is far too wide for the blade and they remark that a lot of guards and blades were made in seperate workshops not designed for each other.

[@Dirtyrottenpirate]

@@dominicbeese-raybould8480 b

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

I’d love to see a vid of you customising this yourself. Since you think it’s a good modification platform, I think it would make for a great watch.

[@noahpatton3023]

The funny thing is one of the reasons I picked this sword up a couple years ago was because of the side ring. I liked that it made it different from all the other mid level swords that all have that same black leather. Funny to head how many people want to cut them off lol. Mine does cut well out of the box, I only it some milk jug cuts which are pretty soft, but over all I’m happy with mine I just had to add a belt to the scabbard to make better and make it more functional for my uses.

[@reisysv.felicitysumeragi3490]

I have this sword. It was the first sword I ever purchased in fact, back when my knowledge of the subject was much less than now and I was just a wee teen looking for a cool "showoff" piece. Have to say that with that in mind, it wasn't a bad buy. Had lots of fun with it on targets and water bottles. I can confirm that the scabbard is made of polymer, and, at least in my case, the metal throat piece was only held in place by some glue that inevitably wore out and came loose. The scabbard was by far my greatest gripe, but it was easy to make a knew one to fit it.

[@unknown-ql1fk]

I wish they made this with the same screw pommel as the tinker line. Would buy it immediately as a screw can always be tightened to remove looseness, file the blade shoulders to square it up, change handle, etc ect

[@SerBarristanSelmy]

I own this one and the thing I like most if the edge geometry. It was pretty easy to give it a razor edge that flies through targets.

[@circleofowls]

I love mine, I'd be really interested if you have any tips for a total sword-sharpening novice. The single-bevel edge is not something that I've ever worked with before.

[@Fabianwew]

@@circleofowls Look up Scandinavian or Scandi bevel grind sharpening. The scandi grind is a single bevel grind.

[@Fabianwew]

@@circleofowlsAlso, as it's a full length sword you might consider adding a secondary bevel to reduce the amount of material you need to remove. If you sharpen a sword in scandi grind you might need to have sharpening marks polished.

[@circleofowls]

@@Fabianwew Good to know, thanks for the info!

[@Fabianwew]

@@circleofowls You're also sure it's not a full hollow grind or similar microbevel grind?

[@erichusayn]

I own their shashka, and they did an excellent job on the distil taper on that one too.

[@Trollvolk]

Mine just arrived today. I ll do a review on that one :D.

[@erichusayn]

@@Trollvolk nice. Look forward to seeing it,

[@AGermanFencer]

*distal

[@raphlvlogs271]

the side ring makes it look very appropriate in the context of the renaissance era.

[@JETBLACKPRIEST]

I bought one of these quite a few years ago after quite a few years of waiting to find one (Shit is hard to find in Australia and even then import costs sucked). I was still in highschool at the time and one popped up semi local to me, so with the utmost haste I moved mountains to get the money together and drove an hour or two to go pick it up and I was absolutely stoked with it. Unfortunately, it didn't come with a very good edge and I didn't know shit about sharpening at the time so trying to cut bottles put some stress on the blade and since they were hard hits that didn't really cut, that ended up loosening up the hilt a bit. After a while of still being stoked with it (and having to peen the pommel a little more to tighten it up, small issue easily remedied). I decided I wanted to take the finish up a few notches, I got about half way through it when I noticed that the blade had a 5mm hairline crack in it about 10-12 inches from the tip traveling towards the center of the blade. I was heartbroken since getting that sword meant a lot to me at the time and I was absolutely in love with it after years of drooling over it. Luckily I was able to return it considering the defect but the place I got it from said that it may take a few months for them to get another one in and at the time I needed to get my phone repaired so I opted to get my money back (After roughing the finish back down from a mirror with some steel wool to a level that looked factory) Losing that sword made me so jaded that I pretty much wrote 5160/hanwei both off as garbage and vowed to avoid them like the plague even though I knew it probably came down to a bad heat treat. Fast forward at least 8-9 years, maybe more, and I'm deciding that since I haven't found an option to replace it in all this time, to just get a tinker and give hanwei and their 5160 another go. I'd buy the rhinelander again since I am now able to more easily afford it aswell as being able to find it in some places in the country- and due to the fact I still love it as much as when I first got it, but it has gone from somewhere in the neighbourhood of 500 up to 7-800 AUD, which stings a lot for a question mark. But, I seriously go looking for that sword in every other one I consider buying, the crossguard and blade shape are just it for me and I've never found my closure lol. (Although the Italian longsword and harriet dean from rk euro are just as drool worthy and tempting so I am open to other typologies, though the grind on the HD is a bit soft and imprecise looking, just not very crispy.) Since on principle, I refuse to pay that much for something I had already owned, I decided that a tinker longsword I found for 600 super local to me was a less painful purchase. I may one day get the Rhinelander again but with ronin katana being the only other brand I know of that make comparable value swords, with even those being somewhat questionable in quality, I'm kinda limited with options (I also have a real thing against windlass too after being burned by some of their products manufactured for cold steel). With this purchase and newfound trust, I'm going to take my ownership of the tinker very seriously as a sort of test run to decide whether or not I should buy another Rhinelander because I would love to have it back in the collection one day. But when it comes to that sort of money (7-800AUD) I can't help but feel like there SHOULD be much much better options out there. The main limiting factor though is being able to find something in Australia or to Import something to where the import cost (170 from KOA) doesn't significantly blow my budget and also to where it gets the same juices flowing, that isn't to say It needs to be the exact same but it needs to get me excited yknow. I've imported a "custom" Ryujin katana from sbg store in the past and that wasn't too painful but I guess the size/weight of eurpean swords just kinda bloats that cost, It doesn't help that the economy is in a pretty poor place right now. But, I am glad that finally I am going to fill the European sword shaped hole in my collection and heart at last with the tinker, its also cool to be able to buy hilt parts and sort of make it my own. I just hope it doesn't go the same way as last time or that will be the last chance I ever give hanwei. All that is to say, I want another rhinelander but it has scorned me greatly in the past and I cant help but feel like for the money, there is better stuff out there. Ideas? (Consider that KOA will cost me 170 to ship something of equivalent size)

[@lolfunacount]

I wouldn't mind seeing a customization video. I mean you being a sword trader that should be something you have some knowledge of.

[@M4TCH3SM4L0N3]

Yes. PLEASE. I recently bought a bare blade and custom fittings and it was a blast, and I would love to see Matt give it a go.

[@SuperOtter13]

@@M4TCH3SM4L0N3 where does one order fittings? So far all I find online are crap or just knife fittings.

[@M4TCH3SM4L0N3]

@@SuperOtter13 I bought mine from lgmartialarts.com - they have fittings for the hanwei single handed sword and for the two handed sword, and they had the bare blades too.

[@RockyMountainBear]

So, the Hanwei sword is the Cold Steel tomahawk of the customization world. That's good to know. Very much appreciated.

[@DarthGibberish]

🤣🤣🤣

[@ShagadelicBY]

And for a grip rebuild tutorial I'd like to give a little shout out to Matt's Great Hall. Unbelievable underrated channel!

[@markfergerson2145]

Link please?

[@markbyrd7710]

@@markfergerson2145 if you search it, it pulls right up.

[@markfergerson2145]

@@markbyrd7710 Yeah, except I couldn't find anything on his channel about grip rebuilds, unless it's hidden in a sword review.

[@ShagadelicBY]

Oh. He does it in the deepeeka sword video.

[@markfergerson2145]

@@ShagadelicBY Was that so hard? Do you really expect me to go through every one of his videos because you like all of them (I find them to be superficial at best and duplicated elsewhere at worst)? You offered one bit of information and gave zero other clues. That's an indication that you're either a dick, or just lazy. If you just genuinely wanted to turn me on to something you found valuable, sorry for hurting your feelings but that's not really the way to do it.

[@LovITSWE]

The angles entered the shed and blessed Matthew.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

They do sell bare blades for folks who want to finish their own sword, at least I saw several on amazon for USA. Perhaps not this specific blade but the company does do exactly that.

[@Hjered_of_Reno]

I found one in a pawnshop in Sparks, Nevada, USA. Still have it, love it, but the grip leather degraded while I was away on deployment.

[@JohnSmith-zk8xp]

september clues documentary you wannabe hero

[@finalbossd]

What a coincidence? You live in the same town as me. Which pawnshop?

[@Hjered_of_Reno]

finalbossd All American Jewelry and Loan on Oddie blvd. Bought it sometime before my 2016 deployment. The leather started degrading pretty bad during my 2019-2020 deployment.

[@andrewsock6203]

Hi Matt I think on your sword the problem came from the factory not getting the pommel all the way on. It must have got stuck 2mm away from its intended spot. You can tell by the pounding marks on the pommel itself not the tang. They were trying to hammer that pommel farther down the tang. Now that you have loosened the guard enough that it will fit properly you can pound the pommel on more until guard and grip are tight then peen the tang to lock it there. Some folks peen the tang but forget to pound the pommel on farther first. Sometimes the pommel won’t go on further by peening the tang alone. Could you do a video on repeening that tang? Could you find out if that sword was originally cold peend or hot peened?

[@paulkopacz5051]

Kult of Athena has Hanwei bare blades. I'm not sure if it's that particular blade but they have some.

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

I have two of their Tinker Hanwei blades and one rapier. Like them quite a bit.

[@benway23]

Thank you for your work.

[@Boggsy.]

The hilt style is exactly what drew me to the sword (Single side-ring included) & it would excite me greatly if it was upgraded just a bit like you said. A “writhen” style aesthetic and general fitment attention would easily justify me spending some more money on another one. P.s. It doesn’t seem like with the blade’s relatively lower-grit finish that you noticed it much, but I feel the fiberglass scratches the steel a bit, where I notice out-of-uniform scratch patterns if I’m not careful about how I withdraw/re-sheathe the blade. But I will say it’s a cost effective way to make a solid scabbard for transportation & storage that you don’t have to use *all* the time to avoid that issue.

[@vaughnsangalang7934]

i would not worry about the grip expanding the weather will take care of it

[@pbr-streetgang]

Thanks for the vid sir.👍🏼👍🏼

[@gvii]

While I completely understand the complaints regarding some of the components, I personally can't knock it too much considering I've seen many pocket knives that cost a good chunk more. If the blade itself is as good as you say, I'd have no issue making my own replacements for the crap bits. It's a bit like the katana I bought years (Many, many years ago...) as a kid for right around a hundred bucks. I though it was fantastic at the time, but later on I realized that the grip and scabbard components range anywhere from pretty cheap to meh. The blade itself, however, is outstanding. Takes and holds an edge really well, tough as nails, and just generally feels "right" in the hands(For whatever that's worth...). But anyway, great review/update. Appreciate it.

[@JohnDoe-bw3tz]

Thanks, Matt... it'd be great if you could do a similar review on the Hanwei Cawood as well, which is said to be one of the best if not the best budget blade out there

[@keithallardice6139]

Hmmnnn .. just a thought here, but wouldn't it be interesting to give this sword to Tod for re-hilting and seeing what he comes up with?? With such a good base blade, and Tod's skill, imagination and craftsmanship, this could become Matt's go-to war sword ;-)

[@kiwiprouddavids724]

I would like to see what matt and tod would come up with for a sword for these days ...not really a zombie sword but something you would arm yourself with if guns suddenly disasterd , it would have to be something smaller like a French pioneers sword , and something you could use as a lever for opening doors , and like a machete to like clear branches of roads if you had to travel to help incase of a natural disaster 🤔 ......like a survival sword but with stile and modern ways of attacking and carrying it . Just a thought , I carry a spade and machete in my car,I use them alot ,but they part of my incase of emergency stash I carry in my car ,with things like a woolen blanket and some food. it's a good idea for everyone to put together a incase of emergency stash,if it's not a natural disaster that gets us it will probably be war with china and I Know some of my incase of emergency stash was useful a few weeks ago when we had to evacuate because of tsunami warnings

[@mythguard6865]

@@kiwiprouddavids724 I think they’d probably come up with something similar to an American M1917 naval sword perhaps with a different blade finish

[@kiwiprouddavids724]

@@mythguard6865 yep agreed can see that ,mat seems like he likes that stile ,If it was me I would want something with a bowl or basket hilt , but a utility blade like some old artillery crew swords or french pioneers blade .tod seems to be a fan of like well built mediaeval swords ,so it would be interesting to see what they came up with from modern materials ,like even titanium mix blad and stuff

[@ivanharlokin]

Tod's work would cost more than the blade is worth. It's a 'good' blade, but only relative to it's base price point....its not 'that good'.

[@kiwiprouddavids724]

@@ivanharlokin better than anything china can produce ,I mean we have seen a bridge, a sky scrapper and a rocket all made in China,all falling out of the sky in the last few weeks ,you can't trust your life on anything made in China...and I would say arfter watching his work on the witchers weapons and his Dirk's I would say his stuff is a good brand and something you could trust your life in .most things produced by the big corporate outfits the way they do things in batches leads to alot of the problems matt usually points out .so yes please everyone boycott China and it's products as much as possible please don't fuel China's war machine in our oceans , or it's missile threats against australia.sappot local crafts people and producer's from your countries and others fighting back against Chinese threats and aggressions

[@Hesher93]

Man... I already couldn't decide if I should buy the Hanwei Tinker Longsword or Bastard Sword, now there is the Rhineländer also in the mix :D As I understand the Tinker Swords are better balanced, but I like the look of the Rhinelander the most and it also seems like a good sword for the price.

[@turbografx16]

Agreed, wish we could get more bare blades.

[@vidasseikis7228]

nice vids man

[@RonOhio]

Would love to see a review of their backswords.

[@jellekastelein7316]

That sidering is very useful. I have three other swords hanging from it.

[@emarsk77]

"if it's a harder wood then the guard might be held more in place" Would it, though? Wouldn't a softer wood be also more elastic, so it could compensate a small bit of stretching in the tang or the peen by expanding again a bit?

[@lastlightcreative6537]

Mine was poorly shimmed under the wrap with balsa and newspaper, rattled terribly, and actually broke at the ricasso during cutting.

[@spiffyracc]

Thought they only made cell phones. Good for them to branch out.

[@gerritvandenbosch4681]

Lol

[@haprnalters164]

Matt made a mistake lol. He obviously ment Hyundai.

[@spiffyracc]

@@haprnalters164 nah, it's the cell phone guys, they want to rack up another ban from the UK so are shipping in deadly edged weapons.

[@mangcha2254]

Haha u mean Huawei?

[@theman5893]

There is a sword company a pretty good one at that that sells high quality katanas the company is named Huawei

[@richardhurlock4522]

I read awhile ago they used railroad rails from northern China manchuria?. The rail were heated by trains and quench cooled by cold weather

[@tstodgell]

Russian and Japanese steel. No chabuduo railroads up there.

[@lukemcinerny8220]

Do you prefer this over their tinker pierce longsword?

[@Plata-ori-plumbu]

I need to replace my sticky, loose leather handle on my Hanwei Tinker Pearce bastard but I CANNOT find replacement handles for it. Anyone, any links/suggestions? HELP!!

[@danieldbdb]

I like the pommel. It's of the color of the blade, not too fancy. That's good.

[@Trollvolk]

I had a Ring on my Training sword. What i can tell is, If you are unfortunate enough, you will trap the opponents blade inside during bining and windig XD. Happend more than just once. Mainly it protects the thumb when on the inside( when you twer or go into the Ochs) and the upper part of the Hand against hits when on the outside. I was fan of those rings, but, ou have to kepp in mind that they are there XD. AS for the edge alignment, i couldnt find any real disadvantages on a sharp one. But may be it Was just me beeing got used to it. Dont know.

[@william2599]

What jacket are you wearing? If you don't mind me asking.

[@TheOnlyToblin]

8:20 WHY WOULD YOU HACK THOSE OFF?? The sidering is gorgeous!

[@LangstonDev]

Just commenting for the algorithm but also to say YT captions thinks you said "Hamway."

[@frankharr9466]

Some people like fixer-uppers. But it's nice to know that's what you're getting into.

[@peetky8645]

could you review the fights in Master and Commander

[@JD57R]

A wire wrapped and fabric covered grip would be fantastic

[@digital_blacksmith]

what a beauty, ... also a nice sword

[@alexanderguesthistorical7842]

I want one sooooooo much. Take the ring off. Take the nasty grip and pommel off, make a new nicer pommel and a new better shaped grip, with cord under oxblood leather. Superb.

[@Dragonamg2]

Has anyone reviewed the SPES Black Lobster Limited Heavy Gloves Level 2 yet? Has anyone tried them and is able to share their experience?

[@vladimirkovacevic1656]

awesome sword

[@Trav_Can]

That's the reason I went with Albion. Lot's of people make nice blades, but few seem to get the hilt correct. Screw-on/hex-nut pommels... get out of here! Get the guard on tight and then peen it down if you have to. Put the pommel on snug and then peen it down. Then build the grip. A loose pommel and/or guard is complete deal breaker for me. When it comes to hilt construction, I think the old ways are better.

[@Trav_Can]

@budgetpcgaming Fair enough... If you don't mind. And of course, with some Locktite you probably won't have any issues. It will be a functional sword. But I don't like the way it looks, and it's not traditional. The handles were not compression fit historically. They were made for the sword after construction. The sword was three pieces of steel all snuggly fitted together, and then the handle was made. When it comes to swords, the old timers figured it out. Yes we have better steel and tools, but they knew what they were doing with the old designs.

[@Grand-Massive]

It probably wouldnt be worth your time but it would be really cool if you made a video redoing the hilt

[@peterwall8191]

Nice blade, minor "bugs", as one would expect from a munitions grade weapon. Its a mass produced blade, not a bespoke custom job. Just a cheap sturdy sword. The sharpness... not an issue really. Its not supposed to be razor sharp out of the box. It may damage the edge during travelling.

[@markfergerson2145]

Not sure where Hanwei is located re sourcing materials but here in the USA lumber prices have skyrocketed due to the "beer situation". They may be forced to use whatever is available at any cost and have little choice even between hard and soft wood. I live in a rural area and if I want a piece of hard wood to rebuild a sword hilt with all I have to do is go for a walk in the woods and pick up a piece that's naturally seasoned. Not so easy for those in urban areas and not an option for mass manufacturers. OTOH it seems to me that you've been chiding Hanwei about their hilts and crossguards for some time now. Maybe they just don't see it as a real problem?

[@sheldoniusRex]

Hanwei are from the home of the bat sniffles.

[@markfergerson2145]

@@sheldoniusRex I figured that, and I know China's having some internal supply chain issues same as we are but I do not know if it's the same trying to get certain raw materials like wood from mill to factory.

[@vaclav8343]

Where can I buy that sword

[@holyknightthatpwns]

It's currently on back-order, but Kult of Athena is a good place to buy hanwei swords

[@s8theninjawarrior916]

@@holyknightthatpwns what does the "back ordered" means ? I have seen it many times but never really knew what it meant

[@holyknightthatpwns]

@@s8theninjawarrior916 back ordered means that there's a waitlist of people buying the sword. It basically is warning you that it will take a long time for it to get delivered to you.

[@Feminismisfornobody]

Would be cool if you made a video about re-hilting the sword, if you like that kind of thing. You probably don't have the time tho

[@darklordofsword]

That's a brushed finish on the scabbard parts.

[@77MRVIC]

I own this sword fell in love with it it's actually not that heavy

[@mysticmarbles]

Having the side ring on the wrong side when you flip it around is not a disadvantage because you still have more protection than if you had no side rings.

[@Divertedflight]

Has anyone else been getting these stupid Huusk knife ads? A obviously heated blade, red hot in some cases, cutting though various plastic objects to show how 'great' they are. Unbelievable to good sense, but they exist all the same.

[@nobbynoris]

Think I've caught that one but it didn't annoy me as ,much as that infernal Manscape "Shave Your Balls" ad, which I seem to get every time I go on KZbin. I concede I am somewhat old and out of touch, but really, is shaving your balls a thing now? WTAF

[@Divertedflight]

@@nobbynoris Apparently; though I haven't been in the the practice of seeking evidence of it.

[@Yellow.1844]

@@nobbynoris yes its real, I dont lnow about the particular one you got but ye some people do it(also their arss) with those

[@Yellow.1844]

@@nobbynoris I feel like its influenced by the ad*lt industry (for men and women), more and more ppl shave everything

[@jonleigh1001]

👍😎

[@nicholasroach880]

Im first for a change lol. Keep up the good work. I enjoy all that you do for the community of the sword.

[@robertjensen1438]

Just a comment for the algorithm.

[@robertkb64]

Coloration of alloy steels is easy: almost all steels can be colored through heat treatment, albeit at different temperatures. For many common alloy steels the coloration range can be obtained in the home oven, just remember to bring the temperatures up slowly and don’t quench (you’re not getting hot enough to harden, and are likely to cause discoloration).

[@nosrin1988]

i considered this thing once years ago. never did buy it though.

[@guilemaigre14]

The risk of having the side ring on the wrong side, is that you end up being vulnerable to water bottle. They have an acute sens for those kind of thigs :p

[@ChannelKasaron]

It's a bummer that this sword is out of stock well near everywhere.

[@tonys8243]

When the King again invades France pick me Sir-loin for the copy you have to put the frogs to the sword.

[@user-bm7bj6kq9e]

Would have bought this sword - hands down - but that ring on the guard is so... So nope... :(

[@kingkuroneko7253]

Yo

[@rogerlafrance6355]

Makes one wonder how often the originals had to be mended? Not hard to imagine the King buying from the lowest bidder!

[@falkheerdeburg3152]

sold out

[@snorni]

how does it perform in battles?

[@NoNo-bw5cq]

rheinländer

[@kimrasmussen7188]

drylander?

[@martinolivera3580]

I still like it.. Damn capitalism..

[@Oblithian]

You spend way too much time wiggling that guard. It's like you are silently nagging/berating them endlessly. (Though I don't actually think that is the intent. Maybe it is? Or maybe it's just fun to clink?) Your point was much more impactful initially before you continued on (when it was succinct). That said this time it was substantially better though still a bit lengthy. Do whatever you like though, obviously you are doing well with your current approach.

[@nobbynoris]

Is anybody else here actually concerned about Matt Easton in this video? He is plainly cabbaged here, slurring his speech, also he's wearing a jacket from an unspecified outdoor brand, not Superdry. I sincerely hope everything is good in the Easton household. Matt, we love you.

[@kiwiprouddavids724]

Hay please everyone stop buying made in China stuff as much as possible please sapport local crafts people and producer's from your country and others standing up to chinese threats and aggressions in our oceans and around the world

[@LangstonDev]

No one near me makes swords and the few US manufacturers I know of sell their swords for 2x or more than imports and have a 6 month or more wait. If you posted this comment you posted it on something Made in China, just FYI.

[@kiwiprouddavids724]

@@LangstonDev china makes crap ,in the last few weeks we have seen a run away Rocket,a bridge, and a sky scrapper fall out of the sky .....you can't rely on anything made in China

[@kiwiprouddavids724]

Side note I hunt possums in NZ ,we collect the fur mix it with wool making clothing that's really good for cold climates ...but I use leg hold traps ,and a hammer to dispatch the possums humanely (possums are a introduced pest in NZ and populations need controlling to save our native birds and forests) .but a claw hammer doesn't pull out big fencing staples you use to secure the traps to trees too well ,so I went to a local blacksmith in my little town and asked him to modify a old claw hammer head into a war hammer type thing with a square head on one side and a single bird beak shaped claw on the other, that's better for pulling out staples and more humane .....so yes please think outside the box and please try your local crafts people