Musashi Zetsurin Initial Review
Mar 15, 2007 23:44:13 GMT
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2007 23:44:13 GMT
My Zetsurin arrived the other day and I have looked it over quite carefully, though I haven't had the chance to cut with it yet (hence, the Initial Review part of the title).
The sword came in a plain square cardboard box with the actual sword box encased in newspaper inside. Meh...your basic box: functional but plain.
Inside the sword box was the sword in its black sword bag with some styrofoam inserts to hold it in place.
The blade is the same as the rosewood shirasaya Paul reviewed, so specs can be found there. The blade is polished pretty evenly (though it isn't super shiny) throughout except where the wire-brushed hamon is. The edge is a true convex with pletny of "niku", and it is just shy of "razor sharp". I performed my half-a**ed version of the British Proof Test, where I place the tip on a piece of wood on the floor and brace it between my feet, then push down on the hilt. The blade is very rigid, so I could only bend it maybe 4" out of line. I did so 3 times in each direction and the blade returned to true each time. As Paul noted in his shirasayareview, the heat treat seems quite good.
The saya is very similar to the ones that come with Cheness and Masahiro. A simple black lacquered affair that fits snugly without being too snug. The main difference, of course, is the addition of a slot for the kozuka, or small accessory knife. The strange thing on my saya is that the sageo was largely untied. It looked like the guy who was tying it got bored halfway through and just left it loose. Well, I've always wanted to learn to tie sageo, so here's my chance. Sword in saya:
Speaking of the kozuka, the first thing that popped into my mind was letter opener. ;D Seriously, that's what it looks and feels like. Since this had absolutely nothing to do with my interest in this sword (in fact, I would be just as happy if they left it out and just had a normal saya), it's no big deal, I just thought it was worth noting. It isn't sharp, but (if so desired) should be very easy to sharpen, given its thinness.
The tsuba-less hilt and white ito wrap were the main things of interest to me. The tsuka core is wood wrapped in black fake same. The same is actually attractive enough, though a bit on the shiny side for my taste. The ito is white cotton and exceptionally flat. That was the first thing I noticed, was how thin the tsuka felt. Compare in this photo next to my Masahiro "Bamboo".
The ito is definitely thinner than that on the "Bamboo" but it doesn't seem thatmuch thinner! Since the actual core doesn't appear to be significantly thinner (I'm going to disassemble tonight and take a close look), the whole thing is a bit of a mystery to me, since I know zero about wrapping a tsuka.. ANyway, the ito feels pretty tough and is wrapped very tightly. The wrap could be more even, but isn't horrible (considering the price).
The habaki is brass, cleanly done, and has the Musashi name and logo on the left side. The menuki are brass colored plastic, and are really the only items in the hilt that I don't like (because they are plastic [another cost consideration, but still...]). The fuchi and kashira seem to be zinc alloy (nicely cold to the touch) and are very nicely finished with a common theme of a three-pronged "swirly" figure (I'm sure this symbol will be recognized by someone here, I'm not well-versed enough in Asian symbology to know exactly what to call it). Here, you can see it on the end of the kashira.
The tsuka is held on by two mekugi and is rock solid and tight.
Overall, I really like this sword. Of course, I'd like metal menuki and real same, but those are aesthetic aspects dictated by cost. The blade is nicely-shaped, well-tempered, and sharp, and (as stated above) the tsuka is tight and solid. Considering that $55 USD (only good while the dual discounts are in effect) won't even buy most of the crap, 420J2 stainless, rat-tail tang wallhangers available nowadays, I'm impressed as hell with this offering from Musashi.
More (and hopefully better) pics, further review, and test cutting still to come! Stay tuned!*
*I tend to write reviews in spurts these days, as it allows me to do a bit at a time (so I don't get bogged down writing and posting pics, etc.) and gives me more time to "get to know" the piece.
Okay, some more pics to tide you guys over.
The tang from the side (two small Chinese characters on the tang and the Musashi logo on the habaki can be faintly seen here)
A slightly different angle to show thickness (it's thick!)
The "letter opener" nestled in its home
And, the untied sageo (I looped it around a few times so it wouldn't fall off)
A further note: the tsuka fits the tang very snugly (observe the rubber mallet and homemade splint [made last night for a total cost of $4]). The mukegi were also very snug, well fitted, and look like real bamboo. No wonder the hilt feels so solid.
BTW, the tsuka core and fittings are, in fact, thinner than those of the "Bamboo", though only by maybe 1/8" (approx. 3mm) total.
The sword came in a plain square cardboard box with the actual sword box encased in newspaper inside. Meh...your basic box: functional but plain.
Inside the sword box was the sword in its black sword bag with some styrofoam inserts to hold it in place.
The blade is the same as the rosewood shirasaya Paul reviewed, so specs can be found there. The blade is polished pretty evenly (though it isn't super shiny) throughout except where the wire-brushed hamon is. The edge is a true convex with pletny of "niku", and it is just shy of "razor sharp". I performed my half-a**ed version of the British Proof Test, where I place the tip on a piece of wood on the floor and brace it between my feet, then push down on the hilt. The blade is very rigid, so I could only bend it maybe 4" out of line. I did so 3 times in each direction and the blade returned to true each time. As Paul noted in his shirasayareview, the heat treat seems quite good.
The saya is very similar to the ones that come with Cheness and Masahiro. A simple black lacquered affair that fits snugly without being too snug. The main difference, of course, is the addition of a slot for the kozuka, or small accessory knife. The strange thing on my saya is that the sageo was largely untied. It looked like the guy who was tying it got bored halfway through and just left it loose. Well, I've always wanted to learn to tie sageo, so here's my chance. Sword in saya:
Speaking of the kozuka, the first thing that popped into my mind was letter opener. ;D Seriously, that's what it looks and feels like. Since this had absolutely nothing to do with my interest in this sword (in fact, I would be just as happy if they left it out and just had a normal saya), it's no big deal, I just thought it was worth noting. It isn't sharp, but (if so desired) should be very easy to sharpen, given its thinness.
The tsuba-less hilt and white ito wrap were the main things of interest to me. The tsuka core is wood wrapped in black fake same. The same is actually attractive enough, though a bit on the shiny side for my taste. The ito is white cotton and exceptionally flat. That was the first thing I noticed, was how thin the tsuka felt. Compare in this photo next to my Masahiro "Bamboo".
The ito is definitely thinner than that on the "Bamboo" but it doesn't seem thatmuch thinner! Since the actual core doesn't appear to be significantly thinner (I'm going to disassemble tonight and take a close look), the whole thing is a bit of a mystery to me, since I know zero about wrapping a tsuka.. ANyway, the ito feels pretty tough and is wrapped very tightly. The wrap could be more even, but isn't horrible (considering the price).
The habaki is brass, cleanly done, and has the Musashi name and logo on the left side. The menuki are brass colored plastic, and are really the only items in the hilt that I don't like (because they are plastic [another cost consideration, but still...]). The fuchi and kashira seem to be zinc alloy (nicely cold to the touch) and are very nicely finished with a common theme of a three-pronged "swirly" figure (I'm sure this symbol will be recognized by someone here, I'm not well-versed enough in Asian symbology to know exactly what to call it). Here, you can see it on the end of the kashira.
The tsuka is held on by two mekugi and is rock solid and tight.
Overall, I really like this sword. Of course, I'd like metal menuki and real same, but those are aesthetic aspects dictated by cost. The blade is nicely-shaped, well-tempered, and sharp, and (as stated above) the tsuka is tight and solid. Considering that $55 USD (only good while the dual discounts are in effect) won't even buy most of the crap, 420J2 stainless, rat-tail tang wallhangers available nowadays, I'm impressed as hell with this offering from Musashi.
More (and hopefully better) pics, further review, and test cutting still to come! Stay tuned!*
*I tend to write reviews in spurts these days, as it allows me to do a bit at a time (so I don't get bogged down writing and posting pics, etc.) and gives me more time to "get to know" the piece.
Okay, some more pics to tide you guys over.
The tang from the side (two small Chinese characters on the tang and the Musashi logo on the habaki can be faintly seen here)
A slightly different angle to show thickness (it's thick!)
The "letter opener" nestled in its home
And, the untied sageo (I looped it around a few times so it wouldn't fall off)
A further note: the tsuka fits the tang very snugly (observe the rubber mallet and homemade splint [made last night for a total cost of $4]). The mukegi were also very snug, well fitted, and look like real bamboo. No wonder the hilt feels so solid.
BTW, the tsuka core and fittings are, in fact, thinner than those of the "Bamboo", though only by maybe 1/8" (approx. 3mm) total.