# Communities > Modern-era Swords and Collecting Community > Modern Production Katanas >  Review: customized T10 katana from JKOO sword

## Keren W

Greetings! Just received my customized T10 katana a few days ago from JKOO sword  (sinosword.com), and I'd like to do a quick photo review of the sword.

First I must say that I've made a rather extensively customized order via email exchanges. I made many additional specifications on the blade dimensions that are beyond the customization options listed on their website. Basically was looking for a wide and robust blade with plenty of niku. It took them a little over 2 months to finish my sword. Overall I am quite satisfied with the quality of the final product. I'm most impressed  withthe fact that the blade's measurements are exactly the same as I specified. The specifications of the katana are as follows:

Blade length (nagasa):2.5 shaku (75.8 cm / 30 inches)

Kasane (thickness near habaki): 8.5mm / 0.34 in

Sakikasane (thickness near the kissaki): 6.5mm / 0.26 in

Motohaba (blade width at habaki): 34mm / 1.35 in

Sakihaba (blade width near the tip): 25mm / 0.98 in 

Tsuka: 30cm (12 inches), black leather tsuka-ito with hishi-gami

Blade material: T10 folded steel, with differential heat hardening

Shape: shinogi-zukuri, midare hamon, chu-kissaki, no bohi

Polish: "traditional polishing" with niku

Weight: ~1200g (2.6lbs) bare blade
Here's the sword out-of-the-box. The size and weight of the sword is similar to the original Hanwei Wind and Thunder katana:



This is what the blade looks like under direct lamp light:




Here's the blade under sunlight, note that the folded steel pattern appears much more subtle under natural lighting conditions (which is a plus for me).



Let's take a closer look at the kissaki region. The yokote is actually geometrically shaped, unlike those "polished yokote" found in many production katanas out there.


The tsukamaki is very tightly wrapped in leather with hishi-gami. Very surprised to see that the handle features full same rayskin wrapping (instead of the more common partial same wrapping) :


Given the dimension of the blade itself, the sword understandably feels a little heavy (roughly 2.6 to 2.7 lbs w/o saya), but overall well-balanced with POB around 10cm from habaki


It was a leap of faith to contact this little-known retailer and wait 12+ weeks for arrival of the final product.  But based on my first glance, the sword far exceeded my original expectation, especially for a relatively low priced production-grade katana. There are down two minor issues: [1] the kissaki shaping could've done better, [2] the saya and sageo are slightly different from what I requested. Those problems are of course cosmetic only, and IMO did not significantly impact the overall look of this otherwise beautifully made blade  :Smilie:

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## matthias moetz

Greetz back  :Smilie:  Thanx for the web adress, JKOO was still unknown! Just curious, still happy with your katana? I've been doing recherche for months now and still couldn't decide what to do. Bugei, Paul Chen or customized?

http://www.swords-and-more.com/shop1...a-p-13951.html
http://www.swords-and-more.com/shop1...a-p-13948.html
http://www.hanbonsword.com/content/1...atana-or-iaito 

As you surely know, prices differ between a couple of hundred bucks to some thousand...so, I'm trying to get some input from others - perhaps you could share your impressions?



Greetings! Just received my customized T10 katana a few days ago from JKOO sword  (sinosword.com), and I'd like to do a quick photo review of the sword.

First I must say that I've made a rather extensively customized order via email exchanges. I made many additional specifications on the blade dimensions that are beyond the customization options listed on their website. Basically was looking for a wide and robust blade with plenty of niku. It took them a little over 2 months to finish my sword. Overall I am quite satisfied with the quality of the final product. I'm most impressed  withthe fact that the blade's measurements are exactly the same as I specified. The specifications of the katana are as follows:

Blade length (nagasa):2.5 shaku (75.8 cm / 30 inches)

Kasane (thickness near habaki): 8.5mm / 0.34 in

Sakikasane (thickness near the kissaki): 6.5mm / 0.26 in

Motohaba (blade width at habaki): 34mm / 1.35 in

Sakihaba (blade width near the tip): 25mm / 0.98 in 

Tsuka: 30cm (12 inches), black leather tsuka-ito with hishi-gami

Blade material: T10 folded steel, with differential heat hardening

Shape: shinogi-zukuri, midare hamon, chu-kissaki, no bohi

Polish: "traditional polishing" with niku

Weight: ~1200g (2.6lbs) bare blade
Here's the sword out-of-the-box. The size and weight of the sword is similar to the original Hanwei Wind and Thunder katana:



This is what the blade looks like under direct lamp light:




Here's the blade under sunlight, note that the folded steel pattern appears much more subtle under natural lighting conditions (which is a plus for me).



Let's take a closer look at the kissaki region. The yokote is actually geometrically shaped, unlike those "polished yokote" found in many production katanas out there.


The tsukamaki is very tightly wrapped in leather with hishi-gami. Very surprised to see that the handle features full same rayskin wrapping (instead of the more common partial same wrapping) :


Given the dimension of the blade itself, the sword understandably feels a little heavy (roughly 2.6 to 2.7 lbs w/o saya), but overall well-balanced with POB around 10cm from habaki


It was a leap of faith to contact this little-known retailer and wait 12+ weeks for arrival of the final product.  But based on my first glance, the sword far exceeded my original expectation, especially for a relatively low priced production-grade katana. There are down two minor issues: [1] the kissaki shaping could've done better, [2] the saya and sageo are slightly different from what I requested. Those problems are of course cosmetic only, and IMO did not significantly impact the overall look of this otherwise beautifully made blade  :Smilie: [/QUOTE]

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## Keren W

I am still pretty happy with my JKOO katana. Their fittings still have plenty of room for improvement -- no explicit flaw of course, but could've used higher quality material and craftsmanship. Their blade However  is exceptionally well-made, and that IMO is the important part. I can customize my own koshirae, but certainly cannot forge a high quality Japanese blade.

Bugei offers very good swords. They're considered top-of-line vendor for Hanwei (Paul Chen) sword, whom I consider a seasoned veteran in production Japanese sword business. I consider bugei to be the best "production-line" Japanese sword out there --tThey have very good quality control and their product are impressive in-terms of attentions to details. That being said, they are quite expensive!




> Greetz back  Thanx for the web adress, JKOO was still unknown! Just curious, still happy with your katana? I've been doing recherche for months now and still couldn't decide what to do. Bugei, Paul Chen or customized?
> 
> http://www.swords-and-more.com/shop1...a-p-13951.html
> http://www.swords-and-more.com/shop1...a-p-13948.html
> http://www.hanbonsword.com/content/1...atana-or-iaito 
> 
> As you surely know, prices differ between a couple of hundred bucks to some thousand...so, I'm trying to get some input from others - perhaps you could share your impressions?
> 
> 
> ...


[/QUOTE]

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