'Wraiths first review
Jun 17, 2008 12:50:02 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2008 12:50:02 GMT
Global Gear Sakura Katana
Review by Troy Stuart, Adelaide, Australia
Steel: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
PoB: Unknown
Price Range: $350
This is my first sword that I have purchased but I am no stranger to handling blades of all types from Ryanswords katanas to custom pieces made by Australia’s own Michael Fechner. Now I had heard some terrible things about Global Gears quality and I have to admit that it was a nail biting couple days after Brenno sniped this one for me. With great trepidation I opened the box and reverently lifted out my new katana. I drew it gently from its saya, butterflies were dancing in my stomach, and this was the moment of truth. Running an experienced eye along the blade, I caught my breath in wonder. One of the most beautiful hamons I have seen, dancing and frolicking along the length of the blade. I sat and stared at it for minutes, this blade that had cost me so little was exquisite!
With it came the usual goodies, a material lined box, some sort of fake silk I believe, a cleaning kit and a certificate which is in Chinese and I can’t really read it. My impressions of this blade were “love at first sight.” Everything was tight like you wouldn’t believe. The ito is beautifully wrapped and very tight. The fittings are not half arsed zinc crap that you find on a lot of blades. The tsuba is quite plain with two flowers embedded but it seems to be made of iron as do the other fittings.
The blade is beautiful, not just for the hamon but the blade itself, it seems to be perfectly designed to cut with. It is very light and fast in the hand and is the best blade I have used for kata and general shadow drilling. The hamon has a lot of activity in it and is very beautifully done, I would say that this blade has been created by a master’s hand. For a katana in this price range, the polish was not too bad and is better than some swords I have seen. If I were of a mind I might try to polish it some more but I don’t want to wreck the beauty of the blade or the hamon. Oh and as you can see in one of the photos below the hamon runs the full length of the blade right to the tip of kissaki.
The saya is the usual run of the mill black lacquered gloss saya. Though I must say that the fit of the saya to the katana is beautifully tight, it will take a lot of drawing and sheathing to loosen it up but that is the way it should be.
This katana in my opinion feels like it has been custom made and custom wrapped with the saya painstakingly made to fit the blade.
The ito is part of what drew me to the blade; it is rather unusual to have purple ito and a pretty purple ito not the really dark almost black stuff. I was a little bit skeptical about the purple ito with the blue sageo but my worries are unfounded, they go together extraordinarily well.
I have not yet disassembled it as it feels fine, there are no rattles or weaknesses that I can ascertain. I have done some dry handling with it and I love the way it feels in the hand. I made a cut on the box it came in, double thickness cardboard, and whilst it didn’t cut right through the cardboard was only held on by the very thin paper skin on the outside of the cardboard. I felt no resistance whatsoever, the reason the cut didn’t travel straight through is because the wind pulled the free standing box sideways a split second before I made the cut. I hit in the sweet spot on the blade. I have no doubt that had the wind not jumped up at the wrong time I would have cut through the box with no difficulties whatsoever.
Test cutting will be coming in time I am just working out the best way to do it, I am thinking just doing some basic bottle cutting and then showcasing tatami cutting when we do our get together with our SBG BBQ I might even do a comparative piece showcasing the difference between this sword and the Kokoro Ichi.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, for $350 this blade is a well priced blade, for the $102 I bought it for plus postage and handling of $35 this is an absolute steal, a bargain beyond my wildest dreams if you want the truth. This blade is everything I hoped it would be and more, I could wish I had done more cutting with it, but there is plenty of time to do that.
I hope you enjoyed my first review and I hope to do many more in future
Here is the video review of the Sakura;
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v458/warlord_gorbad/?action=view¤t=lamethingostrikesback.flv
Pros
The sword is very sharp
beautiful hamon, like nothing I have seen before even in higher market blades
great handling
quick in the hand
beautiful fittings
Cons
I personally found it tip heavy
Would I reccomend this? You bet your sweet hiney I would, I think this would make an absolutely fantastic cutting blade if you like a slightly tip heavy blade. Even for the price Globalgear want for it at the moment it is still a steal.
Review by Troy Stuart, Adelaide, Australia
Steel: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
PoB: Unknown
Price Range: $350
This is my first sword that I have purchased but I am no stranger to handling blades of all types from Ryanswords katanas to custom pieces made by Australia’s own Michael Fechner. Now I had heard some terrible things about Global Gears quality and I have to admit that it was a nail biting couple days after Brenno sniped this one for me. With great trepidation I opened the box and reverently lifted out my new katana. I drew it gently from its saya, butterflies were dancing in my stomach, and this was the moment of truth. Running an experienced eye along the blade, I caught my breath in wonder. One of the most beautiful hamons I have seen, dancing and frolicking along the length of the blade. I sat and stared at it for minutes, this blade that had cost me so little was exquisite!
With it came the usual goodies, a material lined box, some sort of fake silk I believe, a cleaning kit and a certificate which is in Chinese and I can’t really read it. My impressions of this blade were “love at first sight.” Everything was tight like you wouldn’t believe. The ito is beautifully wrapped and very tight. The fittings are not half arsed zinc crap that you find on a lot of blades. The tsuba is quite plain with two flowers embedded but it seems to be made of iron as do the other fittings.
The blade is beautiful, not just for the hamon but the blade itself, it seems to be perfectly designed to cut with. It is very light and fast in the hand and is the best blade I have used for kata and general shadow drilling. The hamon has a lot of activity in it and is very beautifully done, I would say that this blade has been created by a master’s hand. For a katana in this price range, the polish was not too bad and is better than some swords I have seen. If I were of a mind I might try to polish it some more but I don’t want to wreck the beauty of the blade or the hamon. Oh and as you can see in one of the photos below the hamon runs the full length of the blade right to the tip of kissaki.
The saya is the usual run of the mill black lacquered gloss saya. Though I must say that the fit of the saya to the katana is beautifully tight, it will take a lot of drawing and sheathing to loosen it up but that is the way it should be.
This katana in my opinion feels like it has been custom made and custom wrapped with the saya painstakingly made to fit the blade.
The ito is part of what drew me to the blade; it is rather unusual to have purple ito and a pretty purple ito not the really dark almost black stuff. I was a little bit skeptical about the purple ito with the blue sageo but my worries are unfounded, they go together extraordinarily well.
I have not yet disassembled it as it feels fine, there are no rattles or weaknesses that I can ascertain. I have done some dry handling with it and I love the way it feels in the hand. I made a cut on the box it came in, double thickness cardboard, and whilst it didn’t cut right through the cardboard was only held on by the very thin paper skin on the outside of the cardboard. I felt no resistance whatsoever, the reason the cut didn’t travel straight through is because the wind pulled the free standing box sideways a split second before I made the cut. I hit in the sweet spot on the blade. I have no doubt that had the wind not jumped up at the wrong time I would have cut through the box with no difficulties whatsoever.
Test cutting will be coming in time I am just working out the best way to do it, I am thinking just doing some basic bottle cutting and then showcasing tatami cutting when we do our get together with our SBG BBQ I might even do a comparative piece showcasing the difference between this sword and the Kokoro Ichi.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, for $350 this blade is a well priced blade, for the $102 I bought it for plus postage and handling of $35 this is an absolute steal, a bargain beyond my wildest dreams if you want the truth. This blade is everything I hoped it would be and more, I could wish I had done more cutting with it, but there is plenty of time to do that.
I hope you enjoyed my first review and I hope to do many more in future
Here is the video review of the Sakura;
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v458/warlord_gorbad/?action=view¤t=lamethingostrikesback.flv
Pros
The sword is very sharp
beautiful hamon, like nothing I have seen before even in higher market blades
great handling
quick in the hand
beautiful fittings
Cons
I personally found it tip heavy
Would I reccomend this? You bet your sweet hiney I would, I think this would make an absolutely fantastic cutting blade if you like a slightly tip heavy blade. Even for the price Globalgear want for it at the moment it is still a steal.