roninkatana.com's Wheel katana
Aug 21, 2008 2:43:01 GMT
Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2008 2:43:01 GMT
Wheel katana
Kenny H. Oregon usa.
Hey, I'll be making comparisons between this katana and the Cheness 30" katana through the review.
I ordered this katana because I was looking for a different feel from the cheness katana, something I could use for kata practice when I get back into Kenjutsu and also a solid platform for cutting. Let me tell ya, I got exactly what I wanted.
When I ordered the katana from www.roninkatana.com I wasn't really expecting much from a 170$ katana(+shipping) and at first I was starting to think I was going to get a pile of sparkly turd due to the somewhat poor service I received. Firstly I never got an email telling me the package had been shipped so I was a little annoyed by that but when I contacted chris over at roninkatana he replied less than 5 hours later, I was very pleased with that. He then proceeded to tell me that the reason I didn't get an email was because he included a shogun stand without charging more shipping so something got quirked. so everything was cleared up, but then I received the package, a god awful tape job with two seperate boxes taped together and the sword and stand crashing all over the place. I didn't even have to use a knife to open it, I just set it down and the tape fell off so I was very mad.
After opening it the sword was in another cardboard box with a picture of some random katana but not what was inside. I opened that box and was greeted with a plastic wrapped box with Styrofoam wedges to keep it in place so thankfully no damage to the katana.
I pulled it out and gave it a once over and immediately fell in love with the beautiful katana that lay before me.
The specs.
blade: 28" 1045 carbon steel
tsuka length: about 12"
Sori: 7"
Weight: 2.5 lbs
total length: 40"
Now the review, the yokote and Kissaki weren't the prettiest thing about, the kissaki was slightly straight but the counter grind was completely polished out so it was nowhere near as ugly as the Cheness katana. The Yokote wasn't very prominent though, it kind of just flows into the blade you can barely notice it, but it too is cleanly there and there's no odd shape to it or anything.
The finish of the blade was very nice at certain angles but a bit rough looking at other angles, the hamon is wire brushed so it's a lot easier to see than that of the Cheness katana but that makes it easier to notice when it's being removed from cutting.
I have two pictures one with and without flash.
Moving down to the tsuba I was very pleased with it, the edges were perfectly flat and there weren't any grinding marks I could see, the Seppa and the collar are decent quality brass, the collar much like the cheness katana had some weird marks on it from the saya. The Fuchi had smoothed out marks on the ha and shinogi-ji sides of it where the cast lines were removed. The detailing was matte gold colored and wasn't painted on very well but it looks better than the plan black cheness fittings. The Kashira has two brass ringlets where the Tsuka-ito ties into much like the Hanwei PK series and once again the painting was rather bad.
The tsuka was my biggest complaint, it's off center by quite a bit. The Tsuka-ito is Silk, slight frays here and there but it's decent quality none the less. The rayskin has really small .."scales?" and is quite nice. There isn't a curve to the handle at all but it does taper
slightly.
The saya is fantastic, mine has the upper part covered in Rattan which has been given a dark redwood sort of look. The Sageo I think is silk too, it doesn't feel anything like nylon synthetic crap I'm used to, it's held in by more brass ringlets just like the hanwei katanas. The saya is great though, it hugs the blade and there's no rattle; exactly what I want.
As for handling, with the Cheness spring steel katanas you get a more springy feeling, obviously but with this " Wheel" katana it's solid as a rock it feels like swinging a stone it's just perfectly solid, no rattles, no tsuba movement and absolutely no springing of the blade ;D
My first cut with the katana I wasn't able to get a picture of, I cut through a milk jug like butter, it hit beneath the cap and went straight through the handle and jug with ease. The second cut was rather poor due to my twisting of the blade because of the handle's off center-ness.
Overall it's a great Katana, I love it far more than my Cheness in almost every aspect, I received a shogun stand with it which was poorly constructed but does the job. I highly recommend it, being only 170 shipped this is a great deal, it included a standard sword bag and certificate of authenticity which is signed by the maker of the sword and the man who inspected it before it left the forge I suppose.
Historical accuracy 3/5
Handling 4/5
Fit and finish 3/5
Structural integrity 4/5 I didn't test it on anything but bottles and dry handling.
Value for money 5/5
Kenny H. Oregon usa.
Hey, I'll be making comparisons between this katana and the Cheness 30" katana through the review.
I ordered this katana because I was looking for a different feel from the cheness katana, something I could use for kata practice when I get back into Kenjutsu and also a solid platform for cutting. Let me tell ya, I got exactly what I wanted.
When I ordered the katana from www.roninkatana.com I wasn't really expecting much from a 170$ katana(+shipping) and at first I was starting to think I was going to get a pile of sparkly turd due to the somewhat poor service I received. Firstly I never got an email telling me the package had been shipped so I was a little annoyed by that but when I contacted chris over at roninkatana he replied less than 5 hours later, I was very pleased with that. He then proceeded to tell me that the reason I didn't get an email was because he included a shogun stand without charging more shipping so something got quirked. so everything was cleared up, but then I received the package, a god awful tape job with two seperate boxes taped together and the sword and stand crashing all over the place. I didn't even have to use a knife to open it, I just set it down and the tape fell off so I was very mad.
After opening it the sword was in another cardboard box with a picture of some random katana but not what was inside. I opened that box and was greeted with a plastic wrapped box with Styrofoam wedges to keep it in place so thankfully no damage to the katana.
I pulled it out and gave it a once over and immediately fell in love with the beautiful katana that lay before me.
The specs.
blade: 28" 1045 carbon steel
tsuka length: about 12"
Sori: 7"
Weight: 2.5 lbs
total length: 40"
Now the review, the yokote and Kissaki weren't the prettiest thing about, the kissaki was slightly straight but the counter grind was completely polished out so it was nowhere near as ugly as the Cheness katana. The Yokote wasn't very prominent though, it kind of just flows into the blade you can barely notice it, but it too is cleanly there and there's no odd shape to it or anything.
The finish of the blade was very nice at certain angles but a bit rough looking at other angles, the hamon is wire brushed so it's a lot easier to see than that of the Cheness katana but that makes it easier to notice when it's being removed from cutting.
I have two pictures one with and without flash.
Moving down to the tsuba I was very pleased with it, the edges were perfectly flat and there weren't any grinding marks I could see, the Seppa and the collar are decent quality brass, the collar much like the cheness katana had some weird marks on it from the saya. The Fuchi had smoothed out marks on the ha and shinogi-ji sides of it where the cast lines were removed. The detailing was matte gold colored and wasn't painted on very well but it looks better than the plan black cheness fittings. The Kashira has two brass ringlets where the Tsuka-ito ties into much like the Hanwei PK series and once again the painting was rather bad.
The tsuka was my biggest complaint, it's off center by quite a bit. The Tsuka-ito is Silk, slight frays here and there but it's decent quality none the less. The rayskin has really small .."scales?" and is quite nice. There isn't a curve to the handle at all but it does taper
slightly.
The saya is fantastic, mine has the upper part covered in Rattan which has been given a dark redwood sort of look. The Sageo I think is silk too, it doesn't feel anything like nylon synthetic crap I'm used to, it's held in by more brass ringlets just like the hanwei katanas. The saya is great though, it hugs the blade and there's no rattle; exactly what I want.
As for handling, with the Cheness spring steel katanas you get a more springy feeling, obviously but with this " Wheel" katana it's solid as a rock it feels like swinging a stone it's just perfectly solid, no rattles, no tsuba movement and absolutely no springing of the blade ;D
My first cut with the katana I wasn't able to get a picture of, I cut through a milk jug like butter, it hit beneath the cap and went straight through the handle and jug with ease. The second cut was rather poor due to my twisting of the blade because of the handle's off center-ness.
Overall it's a great Katana, I love it far more than my Cheness in almost every aspect, I received a shogun stand with it which was poorly constructed but does the job. I highly recommend it, being only 170 shipped this is a great deal, it included a standard sword bag and certificate of authenticity which is signed by the maker of the sword and the man who inspected it before it left the forge I suppose.
Historical accuracy 3/5
Handling 4/5
Fit and finish 3/5
Structural integrity 4/5 I didn't test it on anything but bottles and dry handling.
Value for money 5/5