Hanwei (sword producer)
Hanwei is a company manufacturing swords, operated by Chen Chao-Po, better known by his pseudonym Paul Chen.
Chen is a Chinese sword collector who in ca. 1991[1] opened a factory in Dalian manufacturing inexpensive replicas of Edo period Japanese swords. The manufacturing process imitates methods of traditional Japanese swordsmiths, for a fraction of the price. Hanwei enjoys considerable success among hobbyists (e.g. practitioners of Iaido) due to the prohibitive pricetag of "real" Japanese shinken and has moved into manufacturing models of Chinese and European swords as well, including typical specimens of a Viking sword, a knightly sword and a hand-and-a-half sword.
Distribution
Hanwei swords are distributed in the United States by C.A.S. Iberia, Inc. and utilizes a number of authorized dealers to reach consumers.
Although Hanwei manufactures few swords, the bulk of their products are from minor manufacturers and the company acts as a promotional sales team for said lesser-known manufacturers.