# Communities > Modern-era Swords and Collecting Community > Modern Production Katanas >  MAS L6 Sunflower

## Hong Yeung

Hi Folks.

Anyhow I just purchased a new MAS L6 Sunflower.

The version I got was the Full Hand Polish version.

Total price including all shipping cost $1815 AUD, 
This is a short piece on what i think, upon first inspection and tameshigiri use.

It arrived one thunderstorming morning and i was in bed.....

Long story short I openned the box and found this sleek katana.
The Saya mouth and end caps are both Horn fittings, Nothing out of ordinary for $1800....

The Wrap on the tsuka was leather (not sure if its real or synthetic) but damn its wrapped nicely, and TIGHT. No loose bits here guys.

Now, first SLIGHT disappointment.... Saya and habaki fit...
At the price i paid i expected PERFECT 10/10, last few millimeters of the fit to be tight as.  Not so....
It was only a BIT tight on the last 1mm or so travel
And though i could tip the sword at extreme angles like 60 degrees below horizontal without it falling out, One Slight Jolt would make it slide out silently. In real world terms this means me walking or leaning forward....

Second Bad impression, the Sageo cord tied on the saya is a JOKE.
When you pay $1800 for a katana, you'd expect they can do better than Ebay seller Zhisword Sageo. 
And YES it's THAT bad. Its VERY VERY thin lacey Nylon. While Zhisword uses imitation nylon Sageo that is actually decent. By the way thats on a $99 Zhi Sword iaito.


The blade.... A competition series geometry, nice and thin, Wide Cutting plane, Very very ordinary finish (for what i thought was a full hand polish), the hamon looks fake though of course its real (i hope so...). Only really nicely polished part fo the sword is the Mune and the 2 sides of it (sorry my japanese terminology is limited). Those bits are in mirror finish.

Also interested i touched the blade surface with my fingers (i washed and wiped off right aftrwards!) it feels like the steel has been etched.
I.E Feels exactly like the surface of my etched fake hamons on my Iaito's with Ferri Chloride solution. What happened to the hand polish?

Oh and it looks like the blade has a bevel secondary edge, but it doesn't just that the edge is 'shinier' than the grey etched look finish of the rest fo the surface.

Handling... 
At 0.9KG this thing is LITE!
Though its light in weight, the center of mass is still a good distance away from the tsuba, so following through on swings / cuts is not a problem. Just that you can keep using this blade FAST without tiring yourself out. Handling is just Pure Awesome

Ive used this blade in a tameshigiri class, and its definitly a joy to cut with. The target of the day was Green bamboo ranging from 1" to 2" Diametre. Freshly harvested the day before.

Without a doubt this blade is the smoothest cutter ive used (thats not saying a lot cause ive only handled 2 other live blades and cut with them, Cheness 1060 mokko and Ebay katana 1045)

I also managed to botch up one cut, but since i was swinging with pretty much gentle strokes i doubt any blade would take a bend, so obviosuly no damage here.

Staining. Yup this blade likes to stain on bamboo, and requires lots of time with the uchiko ball to remove, but i cant be bothered, because one.... this is my new regular cutter.. and 2 this is a weapon not a display piece. 

Also i've found a fix for the loose fit with the saya. 
I cut a tiny strip of clear sealign tape, and stuck it on the Edge side of the Habaki. Now the last 3mm or so of sheathing is tight. Wont slide out even if i tap the sword at an angle.
Pitty they didn't get it right the first time... all that was needed was the thickness of a piece of clear tape to make it tight....

And somehting interesting, when looking down the flat cutting plane of the blade from the tsuba againest good lighting, i can see a very faint line near the tip of the sword where the blade comes together to form the tip formed by a distorted reflection

LOOKS like its got a yokote, but doesn't I cant feel it when i touch it, so must be a lighting thing.

Thats all for now. Cheers

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## Jeff Larsen

Hi,

Thanks for the review.  So are you satisfied with your $1800 purchase?  You never said in review.  Some bad points, some good, but overall?

Thanks,

Jeff

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## Hong Yeung

Thus far, very pleased with the purchase. Most the bad things like Sageo and tiny loose saya fit, i didn't really mind or was remedied easily.

Definitely full marks for the tsuka wrap job. Even if they used glue, its damn tight and nice.

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## tom_urso

Hong Yeung:

Using a small amount of metal polish, such as Pikal, will easily remove fresh stains from cutting bamboo. Remember that you have a lifetime guarantee on the blade, even for bamboo, so consistent safe cutting of hard targets is not an issue.

Thank you

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## Andrew Thornton

Try buffing with tuff cloth. That should protect the blade. Stuff doesn't come off like renwax.

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## michael wilson

For 1800 sheets I sure hope its real leather ito , 
and using a chemical fibre sageo is forgiveable on a sub $500 sword but not at these prices ,

It sounds like the mune and shinogi ji has been burnished , pics will show more like if its been burnished by hand using a traditional mikagi bo  - if it has its time consuming back breaking work IMO  - it it has been burnished thats a big plus , even on a 1800 dollar sword .

some pics would be great to better understand your concerns about the possibility of the etching on the blade  - I know what you mean by a textured feel to the hamon area but ive only seen that on heavily etched low end stuff like cheness  - maybe they finish the blades this way 
because they are after all performance swords designed for cutting .

I would persevere though with cleaning off the stains left by the green bamboo  - any vegatation stain will contain some level of acidity and is the last thing wanted on any blade  :Wink: 

Mick

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## Hong Yeung

And for Christmas I present you pictures!

I have no idea how to add them using the built in SFI thingy though...

http://www.users.on.net/~h_yeung/MAS...01%20flash.JPG

http://www.users.on.net/~h_yeung/MAS...ower/Tsuka.JPG

http://www.users.on.net/~h_yeung/MAS...01%20flash.JPG

http://www.users.on.net/~h_yeung/MAS...no%20flash.JPG

http://www.users.on.net/~h_yeung/MAS...02%20flash.JPG

http://www.users.on.net/~h_yeung/MAS...no%20flash.JPG

http://www.users.on.net/~h_yeung/MAS...03%20flash.JPG

http://www.users.on.net/~h_yeung/MAS...no%20flash.JPG


Ah and you may have noticed the white wrap on the saya. 
No i didn't crack it, Just that I dont really like gloss finish, its slippery when i have sweaty hands, so i wrapepd a piece of paper aroudn it then binded it up with maskign tape, So i don't damage the finish underit but also keeps it tight and better grip.

Oh and whats this Tuff cloth thing?
Where can i get it? How many do i need?


EDIT: In regards to using metal polish, I do have some, and have used it on my cheness blade whenever it stained, always worked wonders and took off the stains 100%.
However after reading the fine print it reads.... "Proproetary blend of specialized ABRASIVES Breaks through metal oxidation to safely deep clean and remove tarnish, rust, oxidation, break dusta nd corrosion...."

Isn't abrasives bad? But i guess using the uchiko ball is an abrasive anyway....
I'm just scared that too much of this stuff and i'll wear away the blade geometry...

And isn't Pikals metal polish also an abrasive? with average diameter of less then 1 micron....

Anyhow the polish i got here is, Meguiars Mirror Glaze professional , All Metal Polish. 142grams, made in USA.  set me back $20 for this little tub...

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## Jeff Larsen

Hi,

The tsukamaki is terrible for an $1800 sword.  Personally speaking, you would have been better off buying one from Bugei. At least their quality control is better.

Jeff

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## Hong Yeung

Yeh its stuck out and stuff, uneven. But Ive had bigger problems with past blades, being LOOSE.

At least it's tight. So im satisfied here.

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## Timo Qvintus

For that money, I'd be unimpressed to say the least. But different strokes and all that..

One question; why did you opt for hand-polish (looks etched to me, BTW) if you're going to use it as a cutter?

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## Hong Yeung

It looks etched doesn't it?

One of the first things i've noticed as well.

It even feels etched when touched.

Oh and i got this version cause i guess i could... LOL

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## Dave Drawdy

> The tsukamaki is terrible for an $1800 sword. ...


 Actually, it isn't, IMO.  Ugly is not the same as terrible, the Korean touches on these are obviously not to everyone's taste, and they still have a ways to go on the fittings, but the wrap is tight and functional, steel is very good.  And Bugei may have some decent blades now, if they can get them in stock, but they've also had some stinkers in the past.  How about letting the man enjoy his blade?

Dave

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## michael wilson

Is absolutely fantastic , thats some of the best burnishing ive seen on a none nihonto / custom blade .

I will stand with the ugly as hell ito opinion but thats replaceable ( it shouldnt have to be at these prices ) but the blade carries the cost for me  - its magnificent in a totally utility type of way 

I am only repeating hearsay but in one of the L6 bainite V tamahagane production sword threads I remember reading that MAS are one of the exceptions as far as individually heat treating their blades goes as other production forges heat treat theirs in batches of 5 or 6  thats got to be 
a lot of the cost right there . 

it depends what your perspective is , a PC kami 
will cost me about $1850 over here in the UK 
 - and I would step over a kami right now to get hold of one of these babys .

Or a Citadel number #9  :Wink:  :Big Grin: 

Mick

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## John Mankey

If i paid that and received what you got i would get those people locked up. You would have been ALOT better off getting a Bugei.

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## Mike LaMont

I've got a MAS L6 also - "traditional geometry"

THE BAD:
- blade is not really traditional and is much too wide (blade edge to spine)
- fittings (habiki, tsuba, everything needs to be replaced)

THE GOOD
- well balanced - feels great
- sharp!
- MAS warranty

I'm conflicted on this one. I'm more of a traditional type guy, so over all - not too impressed with the appearance. However, the blade will probably last forever.  Considering the price, nice blade - that's what you're paying for, I think.

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## Andrew Thornton

I think MAS will actually sell you the bare blade in shirasaya, though i'm not sure what effect that will have on the price, if any.

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## Benjamin P.

I asked about shirasaya...  it didn't really make much difference on the price....

Could someone please comment further about MAS habaki?  Pictures would be really appreciated...  I've heard that both machi just rest on top of the habaki.  Is that true?

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## Andrew Thornton

I can comment on the silver habaki....it's a rip off. There looks to be less than an ounce of silver, which is about $15USD an ounce. MAS will charge you around $200 for that, which, even with the workmanship, is still high. Glad you went the other route.

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## Benjamin P.

Andrew, what can you tell us about the construction of the habaki?

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## T. Middleton

This blade has no yokote from your photo's.

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## Benjamin P.

Well yeah... the website describes it as based on shobu zukuri and it is also competition geometry... which would explain why there is no yokote...

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## Andrew Thornton

I can't tell you much yet....my MAS is still being made.....but i'll be more than happy to give a report once it's in. In case you can't tell, I've opted out of the silver fittings. If the fit is loose then i'll shim it like you did.

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## Hong Yeung

A new update from me.

Ive noticed now theres SLIGHT movement a tiny click in the habaki, just left and right, not up and down. so its still 'Tight'.

Anyhow i've NEVER disassembled this sword before, so i just did it.

Hammered out the 2 pegs, tsuka came off pretty easily. Then i looked at the tsuba, from the nakago.

What do i see?

2 pieces of shiny brown metal... Looks like copper...

I get the mallet and give it a tap. (the tsuba) comes loose and reveals 2 small pieces of copper wedged in the gaps of the tsuba to make it tight.

Slightly disappointed about this...

Couldnt they make the tsuba hole Smaller and just custom fitted it to the blade... did pay over $1.5k for this....

And the biggest bitch is putting it BACK on so that its tight.

Took me ages but ive managed to Wedge the 2 small pieces back in there... then put the tsuka on...

opps about 3mm off... Get the sword, holding the blade above my carpetted floor around 45cm height, and just 'dropped' the blade back onto the tsuka, Klank, Tight. 

Bothersome....

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## Timo Qvintus

"2 pieces of shiny brown metal" sounds like sekigane, which is very traditional. They're usually copper, too. Granted, it's usually done on antique tsuba that are too big for a sword they are fit on, but still, it's definitely not a biggie.

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