Qing Broadsword&清刀/Damascus Steel/Rosewood Scabbard/Gold Alloy Production Swords

A fairly nice sword, and my first of Chinese style. It has issues, but overall, for the price I do like it.Pros.... beautiful semigloss rosewood handle and scabbard. Design of the damascus blade is finely done, and the metal fittings look good (at first glance). Balance is definitely heavy towards the tip, but that is common in one-handed designs. The edge comes fairly sharp, not razor sharp but you do need to be careful with it. Blade is thickish and broad, lightly curved.Cons.... the blade has some waviness, but this is expected on a hand-forged blade, not really a problem. But, the edge is twisted slight to one side, if you look edge up in the correct light. Not extreme, and you have to really look vlosely.The finish on the fittings is gold and a dark gunmetal background. I think the darker finish was applied over the gold, and was rushed. It is sloppy in many areas, especially around the firebird's flame plummage. But again, you have to look closely.When first drawn from the scabbard, I expected the heavy protective oil, but it also had dark streaks and pieces of gunk. Looking into the scabbard with a flashlight, the interior wood is very rough, and the adhesive for the mouth fitting was sloppy. The guard (tsuba, were it Japanese), is warped instead of being flat, and will not sit flush against the mouth of the scabbard.Overall, for the price I paid, I like the sword, but it is not worthy of a five star rating.I don't know what that beaded ring is the ad photos show, but it doesn't come with the sword.It does come in a black fabric sword bag typical of Asian swords.Open the box outside though, as bits of styrofoam go everywhere!

These have been a very pleasant surprise. The balance to weight is perfect. Unlike most forged blades, the sensitivity to the tip of the blade is outstanding. They definitely deserve a sixth star if it was available. They feel light as a feather when lifting them straight up and the weight is proper and even on the downward chop. The people at the forge are true artisans. The near perfect balance allows them to flow through the techniques with both grace and power. In my opinion the only way they could be better is if I had been measured for them. I put them on par with my custom saber at 7.5 times the price I had gave for this pair. They have a consistent edge awareness through the full range cut. I can most definitely recommend these for anyone making the transition to live blades in their solo practice to perfect your mechanics. You will not be disappointed.

It was wobly, ive seen more sturdy swords at flea markets and at way better prices

Perfect Balance.I bought this sword for my father. He loves it, the weight and balance are amazing and it is perfect for his height ~5'8".

Quality craftsmanship: Beautiful blade that's nicely balanced. Great for display and sturdy enough for saber practice, not sure about sparring. I'm way too Happy with my purchase of the Qing Dao to risk any unnecessary abuse or damage.

Thrilled with the quality of the sword, blade came sharp, and matches my Duandao almost perfectly. The blade handles with finesse, much better than my Ox-tail Dao, and reminds me of my Jian for piercing attacks. The handle was a hair loose when it arrived, but the endcap was easy to remove and a little loctite resolved that issue. I used a silicon adhesive so I can get the cap back off if I need to maintain the blade again. I will likely pin the handle in place, because it is a threaded tang, and threads strip. However, was very pleasantly surprised to find a radiused tang under the Gaurdian, which I did not expect for this price point. For what I payed, I expected less of a product and was very very happy with what I recieved. This particular blade has earned its 5 star rating, no doubt about it!