ZhiSword Tameshigiri Shinken Katana #1 Review
Sept 19, 2009 14:07:57 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2009 14:07:57 GMT
Hi guys. Jannigan from Finland here.
This is my first review, so I'll try not to blow it out of proportion
ZhiSword Tameshigiri Shinken Katana #1
Background info
I bought this sword about six months from eBay. It was on sale and had lowered shipping costs. Total costs were about 230$ (169$ for the sword+18$ for the shipping+ 40$ for customs taxes).
The delivery took little less than 2 weeks.
The sword was delivered in one of those styrofoam cases wrapped with yellow plastic, which make a terrible mess when opened.
It came with a basic cotton protection bag.
Hardware
Tsuba, Fuchi and Kashira[/b]
Tsuba is made out of steel in sukashi style, which is quite nice looking.
Fuchi and kashira are made from alloy, propably zinc, painted black.
Fuchi is styled after Higo theme, and kashira depicts some sort of flower.
Nothing special about the menukis.
Seppa are made of copper.
Tsuka
Handle's length is about 26 cm.
It's pretty slim and tapered, following the curvature of the blade.
Tsukaito is synthetic silk. There are 2 mekugis.
Some people with larger hands than mine(average or smaller) could have trouble using it. Personally I'd say this tsuka is one the best I've used.
Unfortunately there are no pictures of nakago. I tried dissassembling the sword, but the tsuka was so tight I didn't want to force it.
Blade
The most essential component of them all.
It's through hardened and made from 1065 steel, if I remember correctly.
Nagasa is 70 centimeters.
Considering this is a solid blade, it is surprisingly easy to maneuver.
The balance is very similar to my japanese made iaito. The blade tapers in thickness quite a lot towards kissaki, which is apparently one of the reasons
why it's so quick. I'd say the balance boint is somewhere between 4 1/2 and 5 inches.
Polish is done very well. I'm not certain whether or not call it mirror polish...
Sure, you can reflect yourself with it, but it seems more like a satin finish to my eye...
There's a fake etched hamon. I'd preferred without, but I can live with it.
Kissaki
Kissaki is medium chu-lenght, counter polished and cosmetic yokote.
The very tip is just a tiny bit rounded. It could still be used
for stabbing if wanted.
However, the blade isn't completely problem-free.
There was some nasty looking rust spots to be found on mune side, on the last third of blade. 2 of them in total.
And a very small kizu on the ha, quite easy to miss when looking at the blade.
Mr.Zhang was very helpful regarding this problem, and replied to all emails within 24 hours. He told me if I couldn't remove the rust, I could just send it back for polishing.
This however was little problematic, as it would have cost over half of the swords value. So I decided to just try some chemical solutions.
After few days(or rather weeks), and lot of trying, I finally managed to remove all the rust spots. It appears the spots were formed over some sort of forging flaws.
Don't know what to call 'em, sort of greyish areas. They are merely cosmetic, and don't affect perfomance, luckily.
Before
After
Saya[/b]
Saya is made of schoepfia wood, laqcuered black.
It was a positive surprise how well shaped it was. It's very slim.
Koiguchi is made from artificial horn.
There were some minor scuffs and nicks in the kojiri area, which isn't that unusual as some my other katanas have had these type of flaws.
Koiguchi is shimmed, and the fit with habaki is perfect. It's isn't too tight neither is it loose. There is no rattling whatsoever.
Sageo[/b]
Sageo is some sort of quality synthetic silk. Better than on any of my
other katanas. Tozando has similar ones...
Test Cutting
Unfortunately, there are no cutting pics. Though I did test it with a friend of mine. Targets were single and double beachmats, and few tatami mats. It did indeed cut very well.
The blade just flew through targets without resistance, as long as form was good. Sure, they were some botched cuts, but the blade survived fine, with no bending or other damage.
Conclusion[/size]
This is very nicely made sword, and even with it's flaws, it's still not a bad deal(after all, I bought it for cutting, not for show).
Pros:
- Durable
- Handling characterics
- Tsuka and saya shaping
- Cutting ability
- Sageo
- Customer service
Cons:
- Alloy fittings
- Minor cosmetic damage at the end saya
- Cosmetic damage in mune and ha
- Fake hamon
Hope you enjoyed this review. Thanks for reading
PS. Might update this somewhere in the future...
This is my first review, so I'll try not to blow it out of proportion
ZhiSword Tameshigiri Shinken Katana #1
Background info
I bought this sword about six months from eBay. It was on sale and had lowered shipping costs. Total costs were about 230$ (169$ for the sword+18$ for the shipping+ 40$ for customs taxes).
The delivery took little less than 2 weeks.
The sword was delivered in one of those styrofoam cases wrapped with yellow plastic, which make a terrible mess when opened.
It came with a basic cotton protection bag.
Hardware
Tsuba, Fuchi and Kashira[/b]
Tsuba is made out of steel in sukashi style, which is quite nice looking.
Fuchi and kashira are made from alloy, propably zinc, painted black.
Fuchi is styled after Higo theme, and kashira depicts some sort of flower.
Nothing special about the menukis.
Seppa are made of copper.
Tsuka
Handle's length is about 26 cm.
It's pretty slim and tapered, following the curvature of the blade.
Tsukaito is synthetic silk. There are 2 mekugis.
Some people with larger hands than mine(average or smaller) could have trouble using it. Personally I'd say this tsuka is one the best I've used.
Unfortunately there are no pictures of nakago. I tried dissassembling the sword, but the tsuka was so tight I didn't want to force it.
Blade
The most essential component of them all.
It's through hardened and made from 1065 steel, if I remember correctly.
Nagasa is 70 centimeters.
Considering this is a solid blade, it is surprisingly easy to maneuver.
The balance is very similar to my japanese made iaito. The blade tapers in thickness quite a lot towards kissaki, which is apparently one of the reasons
why it's so quick. I'd say the balance boint is somewhere between 4 1/2 and 5 inches.
Polish is done very well. I'm not certain whether or not call it mirror polish...
Sure, you can reflect yourself with it, but it seems more like a satin finish to my eye...
There's a fake etched hamon. I'd preferred without, but I can live with it.
Kissaki
Kissaki is medium chu-lenght, counter polished and cosmetic yokote.
The very tip is just a tiny bit rounded. It could still be used
for stabbing if wanted.
However, the blade isn't completely problem-free.
There was some nasty looking rust spots to be found on mune side, on the last third of blade. 2 of them in total.
And a very small kizu on the ha, quite easy to miss when looking at the blade.
Mr.Zhang was very helpful regarding this problem, and replied to all emails within 24 hours. He told me if I couldn't remove the rust, I could just send it back for polishing.
This however was little problematic, as it would have cost over half of the swords value. So I decided to just try some chemical solutions.
After few days(or rather weeks), and lot of trying, I finally managed to remove all the rust spots. It appears the spots were formed over some sort of forging flaws.
Don't know what to call 'em, sort of greyish areas. They are merely cosmetic, and don't affect perfomance, luckily.
Before
After
Saya[/b]
Saya is made of schoepfia wood, laqcuered black.
It was a positive surprise how well shaped it was. It's very slim.
Koiguchi is made from artificial horn.
There were some minor scuffs and nicks in the kojiri area, which isn't that unusual as some my other katanas have had these type of flaws.
Koiguchi is shimmed, and the fit with habaki is perfect. It's isn't too tight neither is it loose. There is no rattling whatsoever.
Sageo[/b]
Sageo is some sort of quality synthetic silk. Better than on any of my
other katanas. Tozando has similar ones...
Test Cutting
Unfortunately, there are no cutting pics. Though I did test it with a friend of mine. Targets were single and double beachmats, and few tatami mats. It did indeed cut very well.
The blade just flew through targets without resistance, as long as form was good. Sure, they were some botched cuts, but the blade survived fine, with no bending or other damage.
Conclusion[/size]
This is very nicely made sword, and even with it's flaws, it's still not a bad deal(after all, I bought it for cutting, not for show).
Pros:
- Durable
- Handling characterics
- Tsuka and saya shaping
- Cutting ability
- Sageo
- Customer service
Cons:
- Alloy fittings
- Minor cosmetic damage at the end saya
- Cosmetic damage in mune and ha
- Fake hamon
Hope you enjoyed this review. Thanks for reading
PS. Might update this somewhere in the future...