Many a year ago I was a big fan of swords, brought on by Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I wanted my own sword since I was about 8. I eventually got one for my 13th birthday, but it was a POS wall-hanger that's tang snapped inside the grip when the blade connected with a twig. I've owned other largely useless display swords since then but never anything suitable for cutting anything, let alone combat. I wanted to change that after I had a job, but with my gun enthusiasm keeping me from spending the $500+ needed for a decent sword, I didn't get one.
Except one doesn't need $500 for a decent sword. I think it was Stoic Socialist that linked me to the sword-buyer's guide website (thanks Stoic!) where I read about battle-ready swords for under $300. I thought what I wanted was a wakizashi or a short-medium length medieval sword. But a certain review on the sword-buyer's guide clicked something in my head. What I really had to have... was a Chinese Jian of all things. Meet Mei Ling, the Cold Steel Gim (gim = jian).
Videos (not of me):
A jian in use (to be fair, this is a dull, floppy, lighweight sword he's using, not suited for actual combat. It just represents forms and some manners of use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0Zt7WwZCrQ
The gim itself in action! Watch it chop bamboo, cardboard tubes, and hanging meat! Watch a man bend the gim severely! Watch the gim puncture the hood of a car! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R02HRDfyxdw
I chopped through some flying cabbages (those things can come out of nowhere!) before learning the stuff in most vegetables isn't good for carbon steel. And made a fairly clean slice (for my first time) through a water-filled milk jug. The scabbard is gorgeous red-brown with a nice wood grain pattern and the handle is rosewood. There's zero shake or looseness in the unit and the blade flexes nicely without being too wobbly. Remember it's the tree that bends that doesn't break. The cast brass fittings are elegant and seem stuck on fairly well. And the unit is held together by a nut on the end and a wooden dowel stuck through the grip (visible on my photograph).
The scabbard holds the blade almost too securely, taking a bit of an effort to remove. But I guess being a bit sticky is better than too loose. And another thing to note--this thing is a helluva lot heavier than any "sword" I've used. Actually tired me out pretty quick swinging it around and cutting. It's not prohibitive at all, I just need to get used to it. Then I'll be a nimble cutting machine. It's still swift and slices so cleanly through the air that there's an audible woosh sound. An extremely handsome and elegant sword, the Chinese regarded the jian as the gentleman of weapons, and the forging techniques often used to make it such as folding and differential hardening were taken by Japanese smiths and applied to the katana.
The only thing I don't like about this sword is a few spots of rust on the blade. How might I get rid of them without hurting the blade? I could probably trade it in for a different one, but I'd much rather save myself the shipping cost and the time without this awesome sword if I could. My dad said the rust was on there for good, but that's not enough to convince me it can't be taken off. Too stubborn for that. Even if I can't get rid of it, maybe I should just keep it? The rust seems only cosmetic.
If you're interested in a real sword at a good price:
http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/index.html
http://www.kultofathena.com/
And don't worry guys, I haven't become a weeboo or anything. Revolvers to the extreme! I'll probably end up getting a decent katana sometime, but that'll be about it with me and swords.
P.S. - The gim can stab through a tank!
More (better) pics!
Whole unit
Grip close-up
Guard close-up
Pommel close-up
Scabbard fitting close-up
Scabbard close-up
It's based on a "carp" design.
