Orchid wakizashi
Jun 15, 2010 21:20:15 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2010 21:20:15 GMT
Hello folks.
I recently acquired a Hanwei Orchid wakizashi in a combined purchase with Violentserenade and thought I would provide those interested with a review. I'm keeping the blade and saya, and he is getting all the fittings.
Introduction:
I have found myself more interested in waks lately as a compliment to my kats and when Violentserenade posted that he had found an Orchid at Arms of Valor in their scratch and dent
section I thought I'd take a look.
Previously, I hadn't had any interest in the Orchid because the fittings don't really appeal to me. But looking at it more closely, I realized it was a folded blade and that it was going to be difficult to find a better deal since we were splitting the cost evenly. So I went for it and here we are.
Historical overview:
Most of you are well aware of the wakizashi's history as a companion blade to the longer katana. The shinogi zukuri geometry is the most prevalent blade in modern and historical japanese swords and I think this one is a fairly good representation.
Initial impressions:
The sword arrived in about a week from the time I got the email stated that it had been shipped. It was well packaged in a sturdy cardboard box within a cardboard box, with wadded up heavy wrapping paper padding between them and suffered no evident damage.
Having never purchased a wak before I'm not sure what I was expecting. Not being particularly turned on by the fittings theme, I found myself a little surprised when I got it unpacked. The fittings are actually quite beautiful and well done. Overall, I was impressed. The subtleness of the orchid design seems to capture the essence of the japanese culture that so many of us admire.
Being a Hanwei, I did expect a larger tsuka but instead found a pleasingly appropriate diameter tsuka that fits the sword perfectly. The blade itself was narrower than I thought it would be, but I wouldn't say dissappointingly so.
It is very sharp and dry handles very well. Very quick but controllable.
Stats: (from Hanwei)
Specifications:
Blade length: 18 3/4“
Handle length: 6 1/2”
Overall length: 26 1/4“
Weight: 1lb 4oz
Point of Balance: 4"
Width at Guard: 1.03"
Width at Tip: .67"
Thickness at Guard: .22"
Thickness at Tip: .17"
Sori: 1/2"
All I will add is the nakago: 6" even.
Components:
Nagasa:
Overall, I found this blade very nice. It is light and quick and very sharp, which I think most of us expect from Hanwei. But with an msrp of $1000 and an average price of over $500, there were two things to dissapoint me here.
One is the fact that the yokote is counter polished. For a blade in this price range, I expected a geometric yokote. Further, if they were not going to make it geometric I would have much preferred that they did not bother with counter polishing.
The second is the hada. While it is visible and beautiful on one side, on the other it is very difficult to make out and the pattern of the folds does not match. They are much more linear. Illustrated in the following pics.
In Hanwei's defense, I would not expect this on every Orchid and am guessing that it was an anomoly with this blade only.
On the other hand, there is some very good polish on the shinogi-ji. Mirror. Just look at the texure of my stucco.
The hamon is nice to my eyes, though there is a bit of a black tinge to it. I don't know what's up with that. Since I intend to clean the light frostiness off and do an etch, this doesn't bother me. It has a boshi, though it doesn't turn back much. You can see it pretty well below as well as see how this blade might have looked if they hadn't done a cosmetic yokote.
Tsuka:
As I've already stated, I was expecting the typical Hanwei 'axe handle' grip but was pleasantly surprised by a nicely shaped tsuka that fits well in the hand.
The ito is blue and pretty tight. Knots are well done and the overlaps properly alternate.
One odd thing here is that this handle is supposed to be wrapped with 'high quality japanese cotton'. I may be wrong and I'm not stating for a fact that it is, but this really feels like silk to me. It has that slightly slick feeling that I've come to expect from silk and felt nothing like the ito on a Tiger I had the opportunity to handle, so I'm pretty confident that this tsuka was wrapped in silk.
The same/rayskin seems to be of average quality. Nothing to write home about there. One side did come with a nice antique look to it.
This:
Compared to this:
On disassembly, there were no cracks in the core, though there was a funny shim on the front of it, which came loose when I removed the fuchi and has since been glued back down.
The nakago seems nicely shaped and includes file marks that some other makers don't bother with.
Tsuba:
Blued steel and very well executed in my opinion.
Fuchi/kashira:
Also blued steel and beauuutiful. The fuchi was also very tightly fit to the core and took some effort to remove.
Interestingly, the shitodome on the kashira actually fit into a hole in the end of the tsuka, essentially locking the kashira in place.
One of the things I like about Hanwei is their use of original designs on their koshirae. I haven't seen menuki like these produced by anyone else.
Saya:
Nicely done in a lacquered blue with an uncommon shape to the tip and a nice kojiri that I think really sets it apart.
There is some saya rattle when sheathed, but I don't think I've heard of a Hanwei that didn't have that problem.
The koiguchi is nicely finished, though it does have the typical grip on the habaki that will release the blade with a mild tap.
Handling:
I think this wak handles beautifully and I now have a much better understanding of why they were carried. I can see it being a very effective weapon inside or out.
Conclusions:
I am very happy I decided to go in with Violentserenade and purchase this wak. They seem to be a sort of forgotten aspect of sword collecting for most and I hope this review will help someone to discover them for themselves.
Pros:
-Very sharp.
-Agile and quick blade.
-Nicely polished shinogi-ji.
-Beautifully mounted in subtle koshirae.
-Interesting hada.
Cons:
-Hada barely visible on one side of blade.
-Cosmetic yokote.
-Typical Hanwei saya rattle and fit at koiguchi to habaki.
Bottomline:
Would I recommend this blade to someone? Hmm. I will have to ride the fence of indecision on this one, probably based mostly on the yokote. Given what I paid, it was worth it to me. If this blade were closer to $350-400, I could say yes.
Would I recommend adding wak's to your collection? YES!
I hope this review helps someone out there.
Thanks for reading,
Troy/Shoboshi
Edit: just noticed I posted the first picture twice. Corrected.
I recently acquired a Hanwei Orchid wakizashi in a combined purchase with Violentserenade and thought I would provide those interested with a review. I'm keeping the blade and saya, and he is getting all the fittings.
Introduction:
I have found myself more interested in waks lately as a compliment to my kats and when Violentserenade posted that he had found an Orchid at Arms of Valor in their scratch and dent
section I thought I'd take a look.
Previously, I hadn't had any interest in the Orchid because the fittings don't really appeal to me. But looking at it more closely, I realized it was a folded blade and that it was going to be difficult to find a better deal since we were splitting the cost evenly. So I went for it and here we are.
Historical overview:
Most of you are well aware of the wakizashi's history as a companion blade to the longer katana. The shinogi zukuri geometry is the most prevalent blade in modern and historical japanese swords and I think this one is a fairly good representation.
Initial impressions:
The sword arrived in about a week from the time I got the email stated that it had been shipped. It was well packaged in a sturdy cardboard box within a cardboard box, with wadded up heavy wrapping paper padding between them and suffered no evident damage.
Having never purchased a wak before I'm not sure what I was expecting. Not being particularly turned on by the fittings theme, I found myself a little surprised when I got it unpacked. The fittings are actually quite beautiful and well done. Overall, I was impressed. The subtleness of the orchid design seems to capture the essence of the japanese culture that so many of us admire.
Being a Hanwei, I did expect a larger tsuka but instead found a pleasingly appropriate diameter tsuka that fits the sword perfectly. The blade itself was narrower than I thought it would be, but I wouldn't say dissappointingly so.
It is very sharp and dry handles very well. Very quick but controllable.
Stats: (from Hanwei)
Specifications:
Blade length: 18 3/4“
Handle length: 6 1/2”
Overall length: 26 1/4“
Weight: 1lb 4oz
Point of Balance: 4"
Width at Guard: 1.03"
Width at Tip: .67"
Thickness at Guard: .22"
Thickness at Tip: .17"
Sori: 1/2"
All I will add is the nakago: 6" even.
Components:
Nagasa:
Overall, I found this blade very nice. It is light and quick and very sharp, which I think most of us expect from Hanwei. But with an msrp of $1000 and an average price of over $500, there were two things to dissapoint me here.
One is the fact that the yokote is counter polished. For a blade in this price range, I expected a geometric yokote. Further, if they were not going to make it geometric I would have much preferred that they did not bother with counter polishing.
The second is the hada. While it is visible and beautiful on one side, on the other it is very difficult to make out and the pattern of the folds does not match. They are much more linear. Illustrated in the following pics.
In Hanwei's defense, I would not expect this on every Orchid and am guessing that it was an anomoly with this blade only.
On the other hand, there is some very good polish on the shinogi-ji. Mirror. Just look at the texure of my stucco.
The hamon is nice to my eyes, though there is a bit of a black tinge to it. I don't know what's up with that. Since I intend to clean the light frostiness off and do an etch, this doesn't bother me. It has a boshi, though it doesn't turn back much. You can see it pretty well below as well as see how this blade might have looked if they hadn't done a cosmetic yokote.
Tsuka:
As I've already stated, I was expecting the typical Hanwei 'axe handle' grip but was pleasantly surprised by a nicely shaped tsuka that fits well in the hand.
The ito is blue and pretty tight. Knots are well done and the overlaps properly alternate.
One odd thing here is that this handle is supposed to be wrapped with 'high quality japanese cotton'. I may be wrong and I'm not stating for a fact that it is, but this really feels like silk to me. It has that slightly slick feeling that I've come to expect from silk and felt nothing like the ito on a Tiger I had the opportunity to handle, so I'm pretty confident that this tsuka was wrapped in silk.
The same/rayskin seems to be of average quality. Nothing to write home about there. One side did come with a nice antique look to it.
This:
Compared to this:
On disassembly, there were no cracks in the core, though there was a funny shim on the front of it, which came loose when I removed the fuchi and has since been glued back down.
The nakago seems nicely shaped and includes file marks that some other makers don't bother with.
Tsuba:
Blued steel and very well executed in my opinion.
Fuchi/kashira:
Also blued steel and beauuutiful. The fuchi was also very tightly fit to the core and took some effort to remove.
Interestingly, the shitodome on the kashira actually fit into a hole in the end of the tsuka, essentially locking the kashira in place.
One of the things I like about Hanwei is their use of original designs on their koshirae. I haven't seen menuki like these produced by anyone else.
Saya:
Nicely done in a lacquered blue with an uncommon shape to the tip and a nice kojiri that I think really sets it apart.
There is some saya rattle when sheathed, but I don't think I've heard of a Hanwei that didn't have that problem.
The koiguchi is nicely finished, though it does have the typical grip on the habaki that will release the blade with a mild tap.
Handling:
I think this wak handles beautifully and I now have a much better understanding of why they were carried. I can see it being a very effective weapon inside or out.
Conclusions:
I am very happy I decided to go in with Violentserenade and purchase this wak. They seem to be a sort of forgotten aspect of sword collecting for most and I hope this review will help someone to discover them for themselves.
Pros:
-Very sharp.
-Agile and quick blade.
-Nicely polished shinogi-ji.
-Beautifully mounted in subtle koshirae.
-Interesting hada.
Cons:
-Hada barely visible on one side of blade.
-Cosmetic yokote.
-Typical Hanwei saya rattle and fit at koiguchi to habaki.
Bottomline:
Would I recommend this blade to someone? Hmm. I will have to ride the fence of indecision on this one, probably based mostly on the yokote. Given what I paid, it was worth it to me. If this blade were closer to $350-400, I could say yes.
Would I recommend adding wak's to your collection? YES!
I hope this review helps someone out there.
Thanks for reading,
Troy/Shoboshi
Edit: just noticed I posted the first picture twice. Corrected.