Double Musashi Review: Shizoku and Hiryuu Review
Jan 8, 2008 1:14:04 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2008 1:14:04 GMT
Shizoku and Hiryuu Reviewed!
Gabriel R., Louisiana, USA
Shizoku
Hiryuu
(above pictures from Musashi's website)
Hey there, Beasao here with the Double Musashi Review! Let's get to it!
All right, both of the swords arrived in about a week. Both came in a greenish box with some sort of Japanese(?) symbol. They were set on styrofoam blocks with an ample supply of styrofoam peanuts and newspaper around them. They came with some simple black cotton sword bags, and I promptly unwrapped them.
Stats:
Blade Length:.....................28.25"
Tsuka Length:.....................11"
Overall:...............................40.5
Fit and Finish: Hiryuu
Tsuka
The Hiryuu is a rather unattractive katana. The tsuba is plain black and it depicts a dragon winding through some clouds. I think it looks pretty nice.
The thing that makes the Hiryuu look kind of ugly is its tsuka and seppa (you can see the gigantic "CHINA" stamp on them). It has cotton handle wrapping and real rayskin under it. The rayskin quality is pretty bad, though, since it looks old and yellowed, and there are some unremarkable metal menuki. Plus, the ito is rather strange. It is bunched up over itself, but it is really tight. I'm thinking about redoing it myself, too, since the diamonds are kind of uneven (but not incredibley ugly). But, I can't complain for the price I paid. One good thing about the tsuka is that it is bound to the tang by two mekugi pegs (I can't tell whether they are wooden or bamboo).
The fuchi has the same design as the Kishuu katana's tsuba. You can check it out on the Musashi website. It is kind of ugly. The same goes for the kashira, except that there is a mountain range on the flipside.
Blade
The Hiryuu's blade is where it really shines. It is nice and thick, with a close-but-not-quite mirror polish and a cosmetic yokote. But trust me, this thing is sharp! It cut thru newspaper like an knife thru butter (a dull blade would just push the newspaper and rip it). A few scratches here and there, but nothing major. There are two things that really set it back, and those are the wire-brushed hamon and the Musashi logo on the Habaki. The hamon isn't wallhanger bad, but it could be much better. One nice thing about it is that there are a few irregularities, so it doesn't look extremely fake. The stamp on the habaki is on very light, and it could probably be polished off with some sandpaper. I'm crazy about the Hiryuu's kissaki. It is a nice, long chu-kissaki (almost an o-kissaki), but there is a problem. The yokote sort of wanders off somewhere around the middle. So, all in all, a very nice blade, but it takes a -1 hit on the blade's fit and finish because of some scratches up and down the blade and because of that problem with the yokote.
Saya
Shiny wooden black laquered saya. Nothing special.
Fit and Finish: Shizoku
Tsuka
The Shizoku is much better looking than the Hiryuu. The tsuba depicts two Chinese warriors, one with a Jian and the other with a banjo (wow. a chinese hillbilly). There are some highlights on the Jian and on some floaty golden stuff around the non-hillbilly guy. Flipside has a temple with some clouds and birds. I really like the tsuba on the Shizoku, therefore it only takes a 1.5 hit on historical accuracy (-1 one for being monosteel).
The tsuka is much nicer looking on the Shizoku. Rayskin quality on the Shizoku is much better, as it looks nice and white and clean. Everything else is pretty much the same as the Hiryuu, double pegged, a huge CHINA stamp on the seppa, with the only exception being the tsuka's wrapping. It has been wrapped much better than the Shizoku. Diamonds are still a bit uneven with some of the tsuka showing through on one part.
The fuchi is a dragon thing with some golden highlights, while the kashira has a white swan and a few roses on the flipside.
Blade
I was a little disapointed in the Shizoku's blade. It looks a little thicker than the Hiryuu and its polish is about the same. But there are a bunch of very visible scratch marks near the habaki, and the habaki itself has the Musashi engraving on it. The thing that really let me down was its edge. It isn't sharpened down near the habaki (same problem with the Hiryuu). This isn't really a problem, but it doesn't get an edge until an inch above the habaki and it doesn't get paper-cutting sharp until an after it gets an edge. Then there is another problem! It is sharp until maybe about four inches from the yokote, where it gets a little duller. It can still cut paper, but it can't cut newspaper very well. It cuts then rips then cuts again. Otherwise it is an okay blade. Same cheesy hamon as the Hiryuu, and the Shizoku's yokote also wanders off. So it takes a -1.5 for all the problems.
Saya
Same as the Hiryuu's.
Cutting Tests! Hiryuu
The Hiryuu cuts like a dream! It handles extremely well, too! With a POB of around 4" it is crazy fast and it feels very light in my hands! Plus, it is very forgiving of my form. Very forgiving. My form is really bad, and it has batted many a bottle across my lawn and into the outer wall of my shed. On my first cut on a milk bottle I actually left the bottom of the bottle completely still on the stand. NO WOBBLING! w00t! ;D That shows just how great of a cutter the Hiryuu is. I went on to some water bottles and cut thru all of them, except for one that hung on by a thread. I inspected the Hiryuu after cutting and everything felt very solid.
Shizoku
When I first took the Shizoku into my hands, it felt a bit unwieldy, but I soon realized that the Shizoku was just built to cut! With a POB of around 5", a thicker blade, and a wider tsuka, this katana is much bigger and tougher than the Hiryuu, but it still handles pretty well. It is not as forgiving of my form, though, as I batted two or three bottles away. But this sword is surprisingly tough. My "cutting stand" is actually just a buch of huge plasic buckets stacked on top of each other. The caps are made of hard, thick plastic. One time during the tests my aim was a bit low, so the sword's edge hit the hard plastic. I expected chipping or bending, but when I inspected the blade it was fine. The Shizoku actually bit very deeply into the cap! It was straight and all the fittings were on tight. Impressive!
Conclusion
Hiryuu
Historical Accuracy:................4/5
Fit and Finish:........................4/5
Handling................................6/5
Structural Integrity................5/5
Value for Money.....................5/5
OVERALL................................5.5/5
Shizoku
Historical Accuracy.................3.5/5
Fit and Finish.........................3.5/5
Handling................................4.5/5
Structural Integrity................6/5
Value for Money....................5/5
OVERALL...............................5/5
I am extremely pleased with both katanas and I would heartily recommend either one to any of you! ;D ;D
Both are usually $69.99, but Musashi Swords.Com is having a closeout sale on all Charcoal Black Tsuba Series Katana, so both are now only 49.99! Get one before they're gone! Happy Sword-Shopping!
Gabriel R., Louisiana, USA
Shizoku
Hiryuu
(above pictures from Musashi's website)
Hey there, Beasao here with the Double Musashi Review! Let's get to it!
All right, both of the swords arrived in about a week. Both came in a greenish box with some sort of Japanese(?) symbol. They were set on styrofoam blocks with an ample supply of styrofoam peanuts and newspaper around them. They came with some simple black cotton sword bags, and I promptly unwrapped them.
Stats:
Blade Length:.....................28.25"
Tsuka Length:.....................11"
Overall:...............................40.5
Fit and Finish: Hiryuu
Tsuka
The Hiryuu is a rather unattractive katana. The tsuba is plain black and it depicts a dragon winding through some clouds. I think it looks pretty nice.
The thing that makes the Hiryuu look kind of ugly is its tsuka and seppa (you can see the gigantic "CHINA" stamp on them). It has cotton handle wrapping and real rayskin under it. The rayskin quality is pretty bad, though, since it looks old and yellowed, and there are some unremarkable metal menuki. Plus, the ito is rather strange. It is bunched up over itself, but it is really tight. I'm thinking about redoing it myself, too, since the diamonds are kind of uneven (but not incredibley ugly). But, I can't complain for the price I paid. One good thing about the tsuka is that it is bound to the tang by two mekugi pegs (I can't tell whether they are wooden or bamboo).
The fuchi has the same design as the Kishuu katana's tsuba. You can check it out on the Musashi website. It is kind of ugly. The same goes for the kashira, except that there is a mountain range on the flipside.
Blade
The Hiryuu's blade is where it really shines. It is nice and thick, with a close-but-not-quite mirror polish and a cosmetic yokote. But trust me, this thing is sharp! It cut thru newspaper like an knife thru butter (a dull blade would just push the newspaper and rip it). A few scratches here and there, but nothing major. There are two things that really set it back, and those are the wire-brushed hamon and the Musashi logo on the Habaki. The hamon isn't wallhanger bad, but it could be much better. One nice thing about it is that there are a few irregularities, so it doesn't look extremely fake. The stamp on the habaki is on very light, and it could probably be polished off with some sandpaper. I'm crazy about the Hiryuu's kissaki. It is a nice, long chu-kissaki (almost an o-kissaki), but there is a problem. The yokote sort of wanders off somewhere around the middle. So, all in all, a very nice blade, but it takes a -1 hit on the blade's fit and finish because of some scratches up and down the blade and because of that problem with the yokote.
Saya
Shiny wooden black laquered saya. Nothing special.
Fit and Finish: Shizoku
Tsuka
The Shizoku is much better looking than the Hiryuu. The tsuba depicts two Chinese warriors, one with a Jian and the other with a banjo (wow. a chinese hillbilly). There are some highlights on the Jian and on some floaty golden stuff around the non-hillbilly guy. Flipside has a temple with some clouds and birds. I really like the tsuba on the Shizoku, therefore it only takes a 1.5 hit on historical accuracy (-1 one for being monosteel).
The tsuka is much nicer looking on the Shizoku. Rayskin quality on the Shizoku is much better, as it looks nice and white and clean. Everything else is pretty much the same as the Hiryuu, double pegged, a huge CHINA stamp on the seppa, with the only exception being the tsuka's wrapping. It has been wrapped much better than the Shizoku. Diamonds are still a bit uneven with some of the tsuka showing through on one part.
The fuchi is a dragon thing with some golden highlights, while the kashira has a white swan and a few roses on the flipside.
Blade
I was a little disapointed in the Shizoku's blade. It looks a little thicker than the Hiryuu and its polish is about the same. But there are a bunch of very visible scratch marks near the habaki, and the habaki itself has the Musashi engraving on it. The thing that really let me down was its edge. It isn't sharpened down near the habaki (same problem with the Hiryuu). This isn't really a problem, but it doesn't get an edge until an inch above the habaki and it doesn't get paper-cutting sharp until an after it gets an edge. Then there is another problem! It is sharp until maybe about four inches from the yokote, where it gets a little duller. It can still cut paper, but it can't cut newspaper very well. It cuts then rips then cuts again. Otherwise it is an okay blade. Same cheesy hamon as the Hiryuu, and the Shizoku's yokote also wanders off. So it takes a -1.5 for all the problems.
Saya
Same as the Hiryuu's.
Cutting Tests! Hiryuu
The Hiryuu cuts like a dream! It handles extremely well, too! With a POB of around 4" it is crazy fast and it feels very light in my hands! Plus, it is very forgiving of my form. Very forgiving. My form is really bad, and it has batted many a bottle across my lawn and into the outer wall of my shed. On my first cut on a milk bottle I actually left the bottom of the bottle completely still on the stand. NO WOBBLING! w00t! ;D That shows just how great of a cutter the Hiryuu is. I went on to some water bottles and cut thru all of them, except for one that hung on by a thread. I inspected the Hiryuu after cutting and everything felt very solid.
Shizoku
When I first took the Shizoku into my hands, it felt a bit unwieldy, but I soon realized that the Shizoku was just built to cut! With a POB of around 5", a thicker blade, and a wider tsuka, this katana is much bigger and tougher than the Hiryuu, but it still handles pretty well. It is not as forgiving of my form, though, as I batted two or three bottles away. But this sword is surprisingly tough. My "cutting stand" is actually just a buch of huge plasic buckets stacked on top of each other. The caps are made of hard, thick plastic. One time during the tests my aim was a bit low, so the sword's edge hit the hard plastic. I expected chipping or bending, but when I inspected the blade it was fine. The Shizoku actually bit very deeply into the cap! It was straight and all the fittings were on tight. Impressive!
Conclusion
Hiryuu
Historical Accuracy:................4/5
Fit and Finish:........................4/5
Handling................................6/5
Structural Integrity................5/5
Value for Money.....................5/5
OVERALL................................5.5/5
Shizoku
Historical Accuracy.................3.5/5
Fit and Finish.........................3.5/5
Handling................................4.5/5
Structural Integrity................6/5
Value for Money....................5/5
OVERALL...............................5/5
I am extremely pleased with both katanas and I would heartily recommend either one to any of you! ;D ;D
Both are usually $69.99, but Musashi Swords.Com is having a closeout sale on all Charcoal Black Tsuba Series Katana, so both are now only 49.99! Get one before they're gone! Happy Sword-Shopping!