[DammitBoy]

I have a few swords and knives, the odd bayonet or two in my collection. Lately i have been intrigued by the Rodent Waki.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j176/jerrybusse/RodentWaki3.jpg

Does anyone have an opinions or remarks that might help sway me one way or another on this blade?

[Birdmang]

Can we get a dollar next to it for scale?

[DammitBoy]

Blade Length 17 1/2", OAL 27"

Steel SR101 differentially treated, handle is micarta.

[Birdmang]

Damn thats bigger than I thought, thanks for the info.

[Remo223]

a full tang katana with modernistic "scales"?

nah, I'd pass. But I don't collect knives. I don't know how unique or unusual that thing is but if it really is, and if I had a collection, I might hafta have it.

[Sam Cade]

Is it a tool or objets d′art?

If its a tool $500+ is a lot of money for a heavy long handled machete.

If its sculpture, whatever makes you happy man. :-)

[hso]

The difference between a sword and a machete is not readily apparent but important.

This is a working sword.

[towboat_er]

I'd buy a nice gun for that kind of money. Or something from cold steel.

[Sam Cade]

This is a working sword.

If the owner is going to wack at the shrubbery with it then its a machete. It will no doubt do that quite well.

If the owner is going to do "swordy" type stuff with it, its a weirdly proportioned short sword. Iaido with this thing? I think not.


As a neat thing to have lying about, sure, why not.

[Remo223]

I just noticed the dimensions of that katana-ish thing. Kinda short for a katana. I'd call that a slender two handed guardless naval cutlass

[hso]

Guys were requesting something that they could take with them to Iraq/Afghanistan (and then tossing them in a foot locker when they instantly got tired of lugging them).

[DammitBoy]

Any owners out there with a performance review?

[hso]

Remo223,

That's why it is called a waki, for wakizashi, not katana. Wakis are the short sword with ~1-2ft. long blades.

The reviews have been very very good on the thing for an abusable field grade waki inspired short sword.

OTOH, the Cas Hanwei "tactical" wakizashi is getting very good reviews.

[DammitBoy]

hso - any links to reviews of the waki that are not a place trying to sell the waki?

[JShirley]

It feels good.

I haven't cut anything with it yet.

The pommel end is oddly shaped, and seems to serve no purpose other than looks.

The Hanwei "Tactical Wakizashi" also feels really good. It also feels like quality, even though it's not as near-bulletproof as the Swamp Rat. Of course, it's also about 1/5 the price.

[DammitBoy]

About that pommel end J - it seems like a good spot for a lanyard of some kind.

Your thoughts?

[JShirley]

It would be- if there was any good reason to put a lanyard on a sword...

[hso]

I agree, just looks. Heck, any pointy butt of a sword is just a place to get gouged in the ribs.

[DammitBoy]

JShirley - did you get a scabbard with yours? If so, what kind of material?

[JShirley]

I got a Buy Brown kydex. It was $80, IIRC.

It's good quality, but too loose.

[hso]

John,

That can be fixed pretty easily if that sheath covers the "guard".

[JShirley]

Yeah, I need to try using a hair dryer on it.

With HI Crow (http://www.flickr.com/photos/46538089@N00/4769208440/in/photostream).

[hso]

Sand or shot bags make great improvise kydex presses, but a couple of clamps and some scrap plywood with closed cell foam work very well.

I'm not sure that a hair dryer will get hot enough like a heat gun, but boiling water sure does.

[JerryM]

Frankly, I would not own such unless I had some need that I don't foresee.
But I am not a collector which is a different slant.

Regards,
Jerry

[DammitBoy]

Ps - John, thanks for your service.

[JShirley]

Oh, thank you. I hope I didn't give the impression that I got the SR to carry on duty! I think the ideal duty knife only has a 4" blade. :)

[DammitBoy]

We'll have to agree to disagree John, I like the idea of carrying a USMC regulation ka-bar. Force of habit and whatnot...

[WardenWolf]

Good grief, that's almost as long as my Arisaka bayonet, although nowhere near as well-constructed. The Arisaka bayonet has a heavy spine and flutes for rigidity.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s279/WardenWolf_1982/ArisakaBayonet.jpg

[JShirley]

Well, if a bigger knife works for you, great. :) I believe a service member may need a sharp edge right damn now, but that larger knives aren't practical for the modern combatant.

Warden Wolf, I like those old sword bayonets, too, but to suggest a bolted-together piece of 1800s-era technology* is a higher-quality piece than this is, well, just ignorant.


*That Arisaka bayonet was built in the 1900s, but was already obsolete when issued. The need for a sword bayonet disappeared when dependable repeating weapons were issued. Of course, Japan still issued swords to NCOs and officers in WWII. I have one of the NCO swords. It's not junk, but it's nowhere near the quality of materials and workmanship as the SR.

[hso]

Good grief, that's almost as long as my Arisaka bayonet, although nowhere near as well-constructed.

I've handled both and I can assure you that "nowhere near as well-constructed" is waaayyyy off target. As in not on the paper.

[conw]

Good thing he didn't post that on bladeforums. LMAO.

[WardenWolf]

Well, if a bigger knife works for you, great. :) I believe a service member may need a sharp edge right damn now, but that larger knives aren't practical for the modern combatant.

Warden Wolf, I like those old sword bayonets, too, but to suggest a bolted-together piece of 1800s-era technology* is a higher-quality piece than this is, well, just ignorant.


*That Arisaka bayonet was built in the 1900s, but was already obsolete when issued. The need for a sword bayonet disappeared when dependable repeating weapons were issued. Of course, Japan still issued swords to NCOs and officers in WWII. I have one of the NCO swords. It's not junk, but it's nowhere near the quality of materials and workmanship as the SR.
This one was built between 1939 to 1941 for the Arisaka 99 rifle. It's full tang up to the bayonet lug area, handles similarly to a machete, and would have actually been useful in cutting through reeds and grass. For the environment it was used in, it was a pretty practical blade. This one is still razor sharp after all these years.

I simply cannot believe that a thin commercial blade with no flutes or grooves for rigidity can compare to this. This is pre-war construction. It is high-quality Japanese steel. The cheap, mass-produced officer swords are not the same quality.

That being said, the Swamp Rat blade is full-tang and seems decently constructed. Its lack of rigidity grooves or curves worries me, though, and could lead to side-to-side rigidity issues.

[DammitBoy]

So far, in roundabout ways - I'm hearing the RW is bullet-proof and very well constructed out of quality materials.

Not sure, but that's my interpretation of this thread thus far... :scrutiny:

[JShirley]

http://wn.com/SWAMP_RAT_Rodent_Waki

There is a good bit of misunderstanding about the function of bohi (fullers) on blades. They do lighten the blade while keeping most of the rigidity and strength.
They do NOT increase cutting ability, which is actually decreased.
They can make a cool whistling noise, if that's important to you. Some months ago, I almost bought another sword...but didn't, because only the version with bohi was available, and I like even my archaic/traditional weapons to be as strong and functional as possible.

I've attended live cutting worshops where Busse swords were present. They suffered from a lack of mechanical advantage (leverage) when compared to full-size Japanese swords, but were at least as high-quality as anything else present.

Incidentally, I'll buy dinner for the first forumite who chops down a tree with a sword bayonet and posts video. It's possible, but...ouch.

[M-Cameron]

Incidentally, I'll buy dinner for the first forumite who chops down a tree with a sword bayonet and posts video. It's possible, but...ouch.


how large of a tree?

or is it a relative thing.....the larger the tree, the larger the dinner? :D

[JShirley]

Hell, I'll spring for lunch or dinner if you're in the DC area, in any case. :)

I've chopped down a medium-sized tree with a kukuri. It was work, and sword bayonets are optimized for stabbing.

[hso]

I simply cannot believe

And there we have the basis for the disagreement. I've handled both as well as hundreds of other blades. I know how both are constructed and I can assure you that they are not comparable. The bayonet makes for a good bayonet and not much more. As John said, fullers remove weight with a minimum of sacrifice of rigidity. They don't add anything. The blade thickness of the both the bayonet and the Rodent Waki make neither of them suitable for reeds or grass. The grip of the bayonet doesn't facilitate it either. It just ain't so. If you still can't believe it post the same comparison/contrast at Bladeforums, Knifeforums (http://www.knifeforums.com/), or Swordforum (http://swordforum.com/) and let us know what the consensus there is.

[Sam Cade]

The grip of the bayonet doesn't facilitate it either

That square flat back would mangle the users hand in pretty short order.