im looking for a dao saber, ive got my eyes on a few, i dont want the wushu flexible kind, but something sturdy and sharp. here are some i found on the net, does anyone own these and what do you think of them. -Chinese Ox-Tail Dao http://www.mantisswords.com/dao.jpg -Practical Chinese Dao- http://www.weaponmasters.com/images//products/WM/WM-2698L.jpg Those are only 2 decent ones ive found that arent too expensive, what do you guys think, and if you know of other good daos, id appreciate it if you shared them, thanks.
I have changed the pics to show the links to them, rather than the pictures themselves, so that people dont have to scroll backwards and forwards to read your post
thanks for the link darkjester, though im not necessarily looking for the daos i linked, i know where to find those, but i want to know if they are of good quality and functional, other daos are also welcome with a link.
I own one of those, and my brother owns the other. Both are good enough quality tempered 1040 carbon steel. Personally I prefer the second, it's longer which suits my build better, and in my opinion, the better balanced of the two. Slightly thinner blade as well, but still good and strong. Generally for form work etc I prefer to use the second one of those two for forms I know well enough to be confident with, and a longquan flexible broadsword (which are cheap and decent without being too flexible and whippy like the wushu steel ones) for anything else.
The second one does look like a wushu performance sword, but i could be wrong. The first one looks more like a combat sword.
Second one is definitely not a performance sword. If I can dig out the digital camera I'll take some pics of the blade from a few different angles that properly show the thickness and taper of the blade. At no point does either one of those swords become almost paper/cardboard thin and wibbly the way the performance swords are. The guard on the second could perhaps be a touch thicker, but that's my only gripe with the sword after some fairly extensive use. One thing to be careful of though, make sure it's the black grip/guard/sheath dao. There's another version of that sword floating around in red called the watersong broadsword, which IS an extremely thin performance sword.
I do. The others may have their own opinions. Something else to note - (from the weapon size sticky) The blade length for the first one is only 25" (more like 24" in reality actually), and whilst the second one isn't quite as long as it should be for me going by the above guidelines (which I've also heard from my teacher, his master, and several others), the longer blade does seem much more comfortable. Especially with a weapon as nicely balanced as that second sword.
If you want the sturdy and sharp one, then i would say get the first. The second one looks like a wushu sword to me.
For the third time around, I've used both (I own one and my brother owns the other) and the second broadsword there is NOT a performance style thin wushu sword. It's just as sturdy as the first one, all in all and the steel is of equal quality.
Sorry if this is way off topic from the advice you specifically asked for .... Do you want the sword for actual cutting practice? If not, may I suggest you think about getting a RSW combat weapon? You can get two of them and practice sparring with the weapons of your choice, with a friend/training partner. The RSW (Realistic Sparring Weapons) swords are weighted and balanced to mimic the feel, weight, heft, and balance of actual combat wepons. I have practiced with two of their katanas, and I highly recommend them!! The swords are stiff enough to bind and parry or block, instead of being the way most 'whippy' practice weapons are. Still, they are padded enough to be safe for semi- ot full- contact sparring (although I recommend using a helmet and gloves). The website is: http://www.rsw.com.hk/ They now feature a dao, in addition to other eastern and western MA weapons.
thanks for all the input, im looking for a cutting sword. i think im gonna go with the second one, though i dont like the open scabbard.
