Mokko Wakizashi Arrives.
Feb 27, 2007 4:30:26 GMT
Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2007 4:30:26 GMT
Last week, I ordered a Cheness Mokko Wakizashi from the SBG Katana Store. I received a couple of emails from Paul (Southren) letting me know payment had been received and telling me the sword should arrive soon. I came home today, and there was the Mokko waiting on the doorstep.
The sword was packed snugly in an outer cardboard box with some smaller, flattened boxes stuffed inside to take up the extra room. The sword itself comes in a smaller inner cardboard box. Upon opening the inner box, I was greeted with the familiar Cheness display/storage box, with its multi-colored cloth outer cover, yellow nylon silk-like inner surface, and aged brass latches. Inside this was the Mokko in its black cotton cover bag and a laminated Cheness Business card.
Upon stripping the sword from its bag, I did a double take. What the...this looks like...yep, it sure is. The wak that greeted me was an older Mokko that I remember seeing pics of when Cheness's website first came to my attention. The differences between the old and newer are that the older versions have bright goldish finished fittings and double mekugi, while the newer ones have blackened fittings and a single mekugi. The fittings themselves are identical except for color differences. In fact, the Masahiro Bamboo uses the exact same ones (blackened). While double mekugi are not usually encountered on waks, I actually like the setup. The more mekugi the merrier, I always say. I say that the tsuba, fuchi, kashira, and menuki are all goldish in appearance because they aren't outright gold, per se (except the menuki), but are sort of a dark metallic color that looks rather like gold. Did that make sense? ;D Though the fittings could easily be described as "garish", they appeal to me in a "Bling-y" sort of way.
The ito is pretty snug (almost on par with my Bamboo), and the whole hilt is totally solid and comfy.
The blade is nicely polished (moreso than my Bamboo), and super sharp. It has the typical pseudo hamon, but (as on the Bamboo) it is nicely done. I happened to get some documents in the mail today in a large manilla envelope, which this blade cut through effortlessly. I basically just let the weight of the blade carry the edge through the thick paper of the envelope, without any real pressure. It cut very cleanly with no snags or grabs. The blade is 7.5mm thick at the habaki and tapers down to 4.5mm just behind the little "bulge" near the tip (sorry, don't recall the Japanese term). The bohi are nice and even on both sides.
The saya is pretty much what you'd expect at this price. It's nice and solid and fits the blade well, with just the right amount of friction and the sageo is decent. The whole things is functional, but rather unremarkable. I couldn't fit the whole thing in the pic, but you get the idea.
What else can I say? I will certainly add some cutting results when I get a chance to take on something tougher than a heavy duty envelope ;D.
The obligatory hilt-in-hand photo:
Also, the wak came with a small cleaning kit in a wooden box (mekugi hammer, powder ball, soft coth, oil):
While the proof is in the cutting, it so far appears to be a great deal for $140 USD.
edit I was going to mention, I'm not sure why I was sent an older one, but I like it just fine.
The sword was packed snugly in an outer cardboard box with some smaller, flattened boxes stuffed inside to take up the extra room. The sword itself comes in a smaller inner cardboard box. Upon opening the inner box, I was greeted with the familiar Cheness display/storage box, with its multi-colored cloth outer cover, yellow nylon silk-like inner surface, and aged brass latches. Inside this was the Mokko in its black cotton cover bag and a laminated Cheness Business card.
Upon stripping the sword from its bag, I did a double take. What the...this looks like...yep, it sure is. The wak that greeted me was an older Mokko that I remember seeing pics of when Cheness's website first came to my attention. The differences between the old and newer are that the older versions have bright goldish finished fittings and double mekugi, while the newer ones have blackened fittings and a single mekugi. The fittings themselves are identical except for color differences. In fact, the Masahiro Bamboo uses the exact same ones (blackened). While double mekugi are not usually encountered on waks, I actually like the setup. The more mekugi the merrier, I always say. I say that the tsuba, fuchi, kashira, and menuki are all goldish in appearance because they aren't outright gold, per se (except the menuki), but are sort of a dark metallic color that looks rather like gold. Did that make sense? ;D Though the fittings could easily be described as "garish", they appeal to me in a "Bling-y" sort of way.
The ito is pretty snug (almost on par with my Bamboo), and the whole hilt is totally solid and comfy.
The blade is nicely polished (moreso than my Bamboo), and super sharp. It has the typical pseudo hamon, but (as on the Bamboo) it is nicely done. I happened to get some documents in the mail today in a large manilla envelope, which this blade cut through effortlessly. I basically just let the weight of the blade carry the edge through the thick paper of the envelope, without any real pressure. It cut very cleanly with no snags or grabs. The blade is 7.5mm thick at the habaki and tapers down to 4.5mm just behind the little "bulge" near the tip (sorry, don't recall the Japanese term). The bohi are nice and even on both sides.
The saya is pretty much what you'd expect at this price. It's nice and solid and fits the blade well, with just the right amount of friction and the sageo is decent. The whole things is functional, but rather unremarkable. I couldn't fit the whole thing in the pic, but you get the idea.
What else can I say? I will certainly add some cutting results when I get a chance to take on something tougher than a heavy duty envelope ;D.
The obligatory hilt-in-hand photo:
Also, the wak came with a small cleaning kit in a wooden box (mekugi hammer, powder ball, soft coth, oil):
While the proof is in the cutting, it so far appears to be a great deal for $140 USD.
edit I was going to mention, I'm not sure why I was sent an older one, but I like it just fine.