Review: $49 (current price) Musashi Ehada Katana
Dec 12, 2007 1:23:26 GMT
Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2007 1:23:26 GMT
The names Lee F. and I live in St. Pete Florida.
This evening I received my Musashi Ehada Katana
I photographed it along with my Paul Chen PK for comparison (PK on the bottom with straight hamon)
I've recently re-kindled my interest in Katanas and these, after some research, really looked like a good inexpensive way to start collecting. I figured for the money I really couldn't go wrong considering what I had paid for SLO's prior to really investigating what I was doing. The shots on their site and threads that I had read about these clinched it. But mostly it was the price ;D
It was well packed. They threw extra newspaper in the packing to limit movement during transport and it worked very well.
UPS screwed me by a day (bastages!), it was supposed to be here yesterday, but when I tracked it last Saturday it had been "rescheduled"
Here's a cut n' paste of the specs from their site:
This sword measures 40.5” inches overall with the saya and 39” inches without. The carbon blade measures 28.25” inches overall that is full tang fitted with dual pegs for better stability and brass fittings. The handle has a ray skin overlay wrapped inside a black cotton cord wrap. The tsuba and ornate fittings are made from a zinc alloy in a rustic charcoal black finish. The saya has a nice black lacquered finish complete with a sword bag to keep it dust free.
First impression upon feeling it in my hand, it lacks much of the heft that my PK has. I think a lot of it has to do with the Bo Hi. It's so much lighter that I'm not used to it.
The fake Hamon isn't bad. Very obviously brushed, as is the yokote, but nicely done.
DESIGN, FIT & FINISH
---------------------------
Pleasant and attractive, but every bit a sub $90 sword upon close up inspection (which is fine with me, it's exactly what I expected and maybe a shade more).
THE BLADE
-------------
The Blade is very sharp, but it doesn't feel "smooth sharp" if you know what I mean. My PK is razor sharp but the edge is so smooth. The kind of smooth where you don't realized you just laid yourself open.
THE GRIP
-----------
The tsuka is...okay... but it has some shortcomings.
The ito is looser than I would prefer. Not sure I will do much cutting before I rectify this. The spacing is spotty at best. It's enough to motivate me to attempt to re-wrap it (after much trial and error practicing first).
The same is real... I guess. I don't have a lot of experience with brand new same so to me it doesn't look that much different from the fake stuff on my PK. The grains a little smaller, that's all.
KOSHIRAE & TSUBA
------------------------
The fittings are quite attractive. I like the theme, the reason I picked this one out of the 7 they have available.
Whatever alloy they make it of, the patina looks nice, very much like the blackened copper it's supposed to mimic. The menuki look a little funky, but there's not much of them showing anyway.
Compared to the PK's very plain fittings
SAYA
------
A weak spot if you ask me. It's very thin and just feels frail in general. The blade rattles when sheathed, and I can feel that the current fit of the koiguchi is barely snug, bordering on loose. It will probably loosen up after just a few more draws, it just has that feeling. I'll be hittin' up the "Fixing a loose Saya throat/KoiGuchi" thread, I'm sure.
by comparison, look at the PK koiguchi compared to the Ehada:
yes, the photo sucks, but the PK saya has almost 3" on the Ehada, so it looks a ton larger but in fact is just a bit larger. The fit is a lot better as well.
Lacquer looks nice, and is super shiny. I have a friend with a powdercoating company though, so I might see what he can do. Like to change the color if possible.
TESTING
----------
I haven't had a chance to test yet. Opened it up when I got home, but it was already getting dark. I will try to get some test cutting done this weekend and post some vids if I'm able to get it worked out.
My personal opinion is, this sword is worth every penny of the $60 I paid for it. It's a beautifully designed blade, with aesthetically pleasing fittings. And it's obvious where they cut back quality for the sake of price, which is fine.
In conclusion, If I had the cash, I'd buy one of every version of this blade, Especially at the current price of $49. For under $350 you could have 7 beautiful blades. Heck you could get friends to pitch in and get a bunch together, or give 'em away as Christmas presents
Historical Accuracy: 4/5? (not an expert, looks authentic enough for me)
Fit and Finish: 4/5
Handling: 4/5
Structural Integrity: 3/5 (Changed 12/17/07 for cracked tsuka)
Value for Money: 6/5 (ok, 5/5 but it deserves more )
OVERALL: 5/5
buy one. They're damn nice for the money. And also I see a real foundation as a project blade for me. I will try to get more of them before they're all gone heh.
more to come when I'm able.
This evening I received my Musashi Ehada Katana
I photographed it along with my Paul Chen PK for comparison (PK on the bottom with straight hamon)
I've recently re-kindled my interest in Katanas and these, after some research, really looked like a good inexpensive way to start collecting. I figured for the money I really couldn't go wrong considering what I had paid for SLO's prior to really investigating what I was doing. The shots on their site and threads that I had read about these clinched it. But mostly it was the price ;D
It was well packed. They threw extra newspaper in the packing to limit movement during transport and it worked very well.
UPS screwed me by a day (bastages!), it was supposed to be here yesterday, but when I tracked it last Saturday it had been "rescheduled"
Here's a cut n' paste of the specs from their site:
This sword measures 40.5” inches overall with the saya and 39” inches without. The carbon blade measures 28.25” inches overall that is full tang fitted with dual pegs for better stability and brass fittings. The handle has a ray skin overlay wrapped inside a black cotton cord wrap. The tsuba and ornate fittings are made from a zinc alloy in a rustic charcoal black finish. The saya has a nice black lacquered finish complete with a sword bag to keep it dust free.
First impression upon feeling it in my hand, it lacks much of the heft that my PK has. I think a lot of it has to do with the Bo Hi. It's so much lighter that I'm not used to it.
The fake Hamon isn't bad. Very obviously brushed, as is the yokote, but nicely done.
DESIGN, FIT & FINISH
---------------------------
Pleasant and attractive, but every bit a sub $90 sword upon close up inspection (which is fine with me, it's exactly what I expected and maybe a shade more).
THE BLADE
-------------
The Blade is very sharp, but it doesn't feel "smooth sharp" if you know what I mean. My PK is razor sharp but the edge is so smooth. The kind of smooth where you don't realized you just laid yourself open.
THE GRIP
-----------
The tsuka is...okay... but it has some shortcomings.
The ito is looser than I would prefer. Not sure I will do much cutting before I rectify this. The spacing is spotty at best. It's enough to motivate me to attempt to re-wrap it (after much trial and error practicing first).
The same is real... I guess. I don't have a lot of experience with brand new same so to me it doesn't look that much different from the fake stuff on my PK. The grains a little smaller, that's all.
KOSHIRAE & TSUBA
------------------------
The fittings are quite attractive. I like the theme, the reason I picked this one out of the 7 they have available.
Whatever alloy they make it of, the patina looks nice, very much like the blackened copper it's supposed to mimic. The menuki look a little funky, but there's not much of them showing anyway.
Compared to the PK's very plain fittings
SAYA
------
A weak spot if you ask me. It's very thin and just feels frail in general. The blade rattles when sheathed, and I can feel that the current fit of the koiguchi is barely snug, bordering on loose. It will probably loosen up after just a few more draws, it just has that feeling. I'll be hittin' up the "Fixing a loose Saya throat/KoiGuchi" thread, I'm sure.
by comparison, look at the PK koiguchi compared to the Ehada:
yes, the photo sucks, but the PK saya has almost 3" on the Ehada, so it looks a ton larger but in fact is just a bit larger. The fit is a lot better as well.
Lacquer looks nice, and is super shiny. I have a friend with a powdercoating company though, so I might see what he can do. Like to change the color if possible.
TESTING
----------
I haven't had a chance to test yet. Opened it up when I got home, but it was already getting dark. I will try to get some test cutting done this weekend and post some vids if I'm able to get it worked out.
My personal opinion is, this sword is worth every penny of the $60 I paid for it. It's a beautifully designed blade, with aesthetically pleasing fittings. And it's obvious where they cut back quality for the sake of price, which is fine.
In conclusion, If I had the cash, I'd buy one of every version of this blade, Especially at the current price of $49. For under $350 you could have 7 beautiful blades. Heck you could get friends to pitch in and get a bunch together, or give 'em away as Christmas presents
Historical Accuracy: 4/5? (not an expert, looks authentic enough for me)
Fit and Finish: 4/5
Handling: 4/5
Structural Integrity: 3/5 (Changed 12/17/07 for cracked tsuka)
Value for Money: 6/5 (ok, 5/5 but it deserves more )
OVERALL: 5/5
buy one. They're damn nice for the money. And also I see a real foundation as a project blade for me. I will try to get more of them before they're all gone heh.
more to come when I'm able.