Golden Willow LiuYe Dao 柳葉刀 - Qing Dynasty 1750-1850

In the article "Of Geese and Willows",  Mr. Philip Tom, the foremost Asian weapon expert in the USA wrote,  "The willow leaf shape is not "native" to China, it appears to have been introduced in the wake of the Mongol conquests, based on Central Asian prototypes.  The Liuye Dao 柳葉刀 was THE most popular saber type in China.... "  The Liuye Dao have a gentle curve spread evenly along the blade length, making the design a happy marriage between effective cutting and accurate thrusting. 

The styling of the fittings is by today's collector jargon "Yuanshi" 圓式 or "rounded style".  According to Mr, Peter Dekker, classic Qing Yuanshi starts to appear in the mid 18th century. The very first to carry them was the emperor himself, his elite guards and certain ranks of imperial princes.  The popularity of Yuanshi increased from late 18th to early 19th centuries, so much so that by mid 19th century, standard pattern military sabers were executed in Yuanshi.

Golden Willow Liuye Dao is based on an exceptional Qing Dynasty antique first own by  Philip Tom and was showcased in his article.  It was later acquired by a private collector via Peter Dekker.  The original sword survived in almost pristine condition and was rated by Peter Dekker as one of the best of its kind.  

One exceptional aspect of this fine example of Liuye Dao is it's exquisite quality at a time when the standard of most edged weapons were in decline.   Golden Willow was an example of a senior military officer's Pei Dao (side arm).  It was common practice that the Qing court subsided a certain amount of silver to help the officer acquire his own sword.  Most officers spent the silver on pleasure pursues and acquire a much lessor quality sword just to comply with the requirement of his office.  Not so for the original owner of this exceptional Liuye Dao.  He spend money on the best quality blade possible and the best brass metalwork above and beyond what was required for his rank and yet within the regulation confines of an officer's sword.

Here we respectfully offer the Golden Willow, based on the best surviving Qing Liuye Dao available, as a tribute to one dedicated 19th century military officer who took his responsibility seriously at a time when the world around him was falling apart.  

Specification 

Note: each sword is uniquely crafted by hand and all measures here are approximations for reference.

Sword only weight:

909 grams (2 lbs)

Length

Total length: 93cm (36.6")

Blade length: 73 cm (28.7")

Hilt Length: 20 cm (7.87")

Width

By hand guard: 32 mm

Beginning of grove: 31 mm

248 mm from hand guard: 30 mm

Start of upper edge: 28.8 mm

15 mm from tip: 25 mm

Thickness

By hand guard: 6 mm

By mid point: 5 mm

Start of upper edge: 4 mm

Near tip: 2.5 mm

Point of Balance 9.5 cm (3.7")

Steel

Labor intensive classic forging "Sanmei" triple layers sandwich steel.

Two folded pattern steel (1060 & T9) layers sandwich a T10 hardcore.

Fittings:

Precision cast thick brass fittings with open metalwork with curly botanical motives. 

Handle:

Wood core handle wrapped with real ruby red ray skin as in the original, and wrap with green wax cotton cords.

Scabbard:

Wood core and wrapped with real green Ray Skin.

Fit and finish

We perfected the fit and finish of our swords and the assembly is meticulously performed by our senior craft masters.  It takes one whole working day for a craftsman to assemble our swords.