| | |  | Swords | Home » » » » » Hand And A Half Training Sword - Cold Steel | | | | | | | Description: | | Authentic Kashi wood Bokkens are still used today, but are becoming quite costly. They also have the disadvantages, being made of wood, that they may rot, crack split or splinter. Cold Steel’s solution to these dilemmas was to design a synthetic substitute, low in price and impervious to the elements.Our Bokken and our new Wakazashi Bokken are made of the heaviest grade polypropylene available and closely duplicate a real Katana and Wakazashi in length, size, weight and feel. While they’re not quite as rigid as wood, they have the advantages of being virtually unbreakable and remarkably stiff and cut resistant. | | | Features: | |
• Overall Length: 44.00"
• Blade Length: 34.00"
• Blade Material: Polypropylene
• Handle Material: Polypropylene
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 43.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 2.5 inches | | Product Height:
| 2.0 inches | | Product Weight:
| 2.0 pounds | | Package Length:
| 43.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 3.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 2.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.9 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 38 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 38 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 found the following review helpful:
 Good beginner wasterOct 28, 2009
By Michael J. Vuolo
"2 lbs of awesome in a 1 lb bag"
I haven't even used mine yet for sparring or real contact practice, just for forms. As a very new beginner at HEMA, I was looking for a very affordable waster to get started and this fit the bill. I ordered from eBay to save a few dollars and was moderately upset to find my waster somewhat warped. From a forum poster I learned that this was common with these, as they ship in a long narrow box that can get bent easily, but they will straighten out with use, or if need be, application of a heat gun. Still, the warping was minor so the waster is usable.
My instructor pointed out that the tip is a bit too sharp for thrusting practice, and the pommel's facets are very uncomfortable when using two handed. I took 10 minutes with my dremel's sanding and polishing heads and now both problems are solved.
I'll update after using it more, but for now, I think it's a serviceable practice sword, and certainly worth it for the incredible price. Other nylon or polypropylene wastes go for a minimum of $120, so this is hard to beat. I imagine I'll upgrade after I have some more experience in the art.
21 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Good, but there's room to improve...Nov 19, 2009
By M. Mann
As the title suggests, I was pretty satisfied with this item, on the whole. Needing a proper-weight, proper-balance training weapon, I found the nylon Hand and a Half rather firmly superior to the shinai i had been using previously.
there are just one or two little quirks that are keeping this fellow from achieving the full five stars.
first, the hilt. more specifically, the pommel-nut. hexagonally faceted, the pommel of this sword is rather uncomfortable to grip when using the sword with force. while it may just be something to do with my preferred grip (i favour the wide grip from Kendo over a closer one), i can't help but feel that it would be better were the pommel to be rounded. Failing that, having the hilt about half a hand-width longer would make it rather more comfortable, i feel.
I'm not sure whether the sword is based off a historical style, but i think in terns of comfort of use, this bears looking into.
about the only other major gripe i have may well be exclusive to the particular sword i bought. When it arrives, i noticed that the sword was slightly bowed, about half the thiskness of the blade. i had a go at correctign this (assuming that the curve had occured during shipping), only to have it revert to and keep the bow. Again, it's not particularly important as far as training goes, but it is noticeable and should probably be mentioned.
to sum up, then: overall, the Nylon Hand and a Half is well worth the money, but the buyer should keep the above in mind when buying.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Painfully solidSep 10, 2011
By Josh
Me and my buddy bought a pair of these as a practice blade for sparring and they are great. The polypropylene that the sword is made of is extremely solid (and hurts quite a bit when you get hit). They do not feel cheap and are weighted very properly. We have been sparring with them for about three months now and there is barely even a scratch on the blade. If you are serious about sparring, this is the way to go.
8 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Poor balance and weight, but durableAug 22, 2010
By L. Zimmermann
"Z"
The weight and balance on this is not great, quite tip-heavy and a bit heavy overall. As a replacement for a wooden waster, something to just practice quards with and maybe for doing some pell work and such, it's passable. Nothing spectacular about it, here, but it will get the job done, call it 2-stars when used for that purpose alone and for durability at a decent price. (Get the weight down a little and greatly improve the balance or hollow out the pommel so you could add weight to the end and we can talk about moving that rating up.)
Don't even think about using this to spar with (or at least not in an manner you wouldn't spar with with a wooden waster with, i.e. very low speed work with protective gear.) This is NOT in any way shape or form a replacement for the newer class of nylon wasters. On that front these wouldn't even rate 1-star and I sincerely hope nobody is buying these confusing them as such. At least the description claims them to be a replacement for wood so please keep that in mind.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Nice practice swordFeb 04, 2011
By bern1228
This item arrived quickly and well packaged. Easy to assemble. Has a good weight and feel to it. Perfect for practicing sword techniques. No fear about working with it man to man as it is synthetic and not wood. Don't have to worry about it snapping upon contact with another waster.
Want to get another soon.
See all 38 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|
