Recently, I was commissioned by Jack Chen of http://www.chineselongsword.com/ to produce a wooden changdao for video demonstration purposes.
……..as described in the ancient swordsmanship manual :
Dan Dao Fa Xuan by Cheng Zong You
and translated by Jack Chen: http://www.chineselongsword.com/translation.shtml
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| Book cover |
and translated by Jack Chen: http://www.chineselongsword.com/translation.shtml
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| Jack Chen demonstrating the Chinese longsword |
It was important that the wooden sword looked like the original Ming Dynasty sword, handled like the original sword and was also suitable for contact use.
Overall length : 1400mm [55”]
Grip length : 400mm [15 ¾”]
Weight : 900g [2 lbs]
Materials:
Blade/handle : white oak
Guard: high impact, engineering grade polymer, 8mm thick
Ferrule : brass
Pommel : brass
Grip wrap : black cotton
Finish : hard oil finish, containing tung oil
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| Changdao with traditional Chinese gripwrap |
As stated in Dan Dao Fa Xuan, the ChangDao had a faceted blade with a distinct medial ridge. this was a similar design to Japanese blades........consequently, the blade of this wooden ChangDao has a similar cross section to that of a bokken.
The excellent video demonstration by Jack Chen can be seen on YouTube:
That is a gorgeous wooden sword. How much would one cost that is proportioned more like a standard katana?
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