Hanwei Throwing Axe Review

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Avery P.
Silent Watcher over the Peaceful Lands
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2012 2:18 am
Location: Harmony, N.C.

Hanwei Throwing Axe Review

Post by Avery P. »

Hanwei Throwing Axe Review

Hanwei Throwing Axe
by Avery Pierce

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Stats
Handle length- 17 13/16"
Handle material- Unknown
Axe head length/width-5 5/8" long, 1 1/2" wide ear to ear
Overall weight-1lb 3oz
Axe head weight-1lb
Axe head material- Carbon steel
Bevel length-3 1/8" peak to peak
Bevel width-1/4"
Price- $38US

I've been debating on buying this axe for awhile now, and finally decided to deviate from what I know to be good vendors and buy from Hanwei.
Hanwei has begun to get a good reputation for selling very tough swords at a great price. Over the past few years they have really gained the respect of
collectors everywhere for their durability and style. But what about thier axes? Are they worth the extra price to buy from Hanwei instead of say..... Kult of Athena.
I decided to find out. I spoke to fellow forumite Wiwingti about what he offers. Wing was great to deal with. He answered every question I had quickly and honestly.
If he couldn't give me an answer, he made sure to contact Hanwei and find out. All in all I'd recommend him as a dealer to anyone. His store can be located here
http://wiwingtiswordsupply.proboards.com/index.cgi .

First Impressions
I placed my order on 2-21-09 and received my package on 2-25-09. A mere 2 buiness days. The axe arrived in a well taped, very secure cardboard box. I opened the outer box quickly only to find an inner smaller box. Was this a chinese cardboard puzzle box? Image
The axe wasn't going to move in transit, thats for sure!!
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Handle
This is the only issue I have with this axe. The handle is made of some kind of wood no one can seem to identify. Its a hardwood, but its terribly light and I honestly
don't think it can withstand repeated impacts. Also the handle is shaped more rectangular than oval.
Image There is no taper to the handle and the only thing keeping
the head from flying off is a little bit of excess wood at the top. I tried to capture this in a photo but its hard to see.
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Axe head
I gotta say I really like this axehead. Normally I'm not a big fan of anything "antiqued". I never really understood why I'd want to pay extra to have something rusted
for me. But after seeing the antiquing on this axe head I might change my mind. The bevel came with an almost mirrored polish. I laughed to myself when I thought
about how it was going to look after I got done with it. Honestly, if you're not buying this to throw, the contrast between the polished bevel and the antiquing on the
head is striking. Almost beautiful. For me though I intend to throw this baby, and in a way I feel bad about ruining such a good job. Not bad enough to keep from throwing though. The bevel width is 1/4", making it a little narrower than my other axes. However given the size and weight of the axe, I'd say this is pretty spot on.
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Throwing
As I've said, the handle concerns me. I decided in order to do an accurate review I had to treat this like all my other axes. The pacings for this one is about
5 paces back. I threw in the forward stance. and the axe bounced out. Hmph. I backed up a little and tried again. This time the axe stuck, but only softly. Ok,
now for a little more force.
I went into a step and throw stance and gave it my hardest. The axe buried deep into the wood and the handle survived as well. All in all I threw for about thirty
minutes, getting the feel for it. You don't want to be too close with this one, it just doesn't want to stick. I let the axe overrotate a little so the top peak catches
the target.
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Overall Impression
The main focus of these reviews is to find and try out the different axes available for us throwers. When it comes to costuming and re-enactment axes, there
are a ton from many different vendors. Finding a good throwing axe however isn't as easy. If you are an experienced thrower and looking for something a bit
different, I'd say give this one a try. Even with the odd handle it's still worth owning. And I will say this, the shape of the axe eye will actually make it easier
to make a replacement handle when/if this one breaks. But if youre just starting out, and can't make your own handle, then I'd say you'll probaly want something
a little more durable. Hanwei offers other axes as well and I intend to try a few more out before I'll say whether or not they, as a whole, are good. But if you intend
on buying anything Hanwei related, I highly recommend dealing with Marc (wiwingti). I've come to consider him not only a great vendor, but also a good friend.
If it be a sin to covet honor,I am the most offending soul alive.
- W. Shakespeare
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