Musashi Mokko Katana
Dec 11, 2008 3:20:53 GMT
Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2008 3:20:53 GMT
Musashi Mokko katana (Santa Special)
First Impressions by Debbie Mahoney
I bought this sword because there were some nice comments here about the Musashi Bamboo Warrior (that has the same 1045 DH blade), and this was a deal I felt I couldn’t pass up at $63 with my SBG discount
The katana came a day earlier than expected via UPS from California on a very cold morning here in New York, so I let it warm up a little while before opening it all up. The sword was double boxed, bagged (in a cotton bag), and nestled in three substantial (6 inch) Styrofoam supports that also protected each end. Very good packaging. I’ll skip those pictures if you don’t mind.
The certificate is identical to the one posted by Cold Napalm. My measurements differ from those in the certificate in several places.
Vital Statistics
Nagasa: 27.5 inches, 69.8 cm
Tsuka including fuchi and kashira: 10.75 inches, 27.3 cm
Steel: Differentially hardened 1045
Sori: .625 inch, 1.59 cm
Kissaki: 1.875 inches, 4.76 cm
Hamon: Squiggly, gunome?
HRC: 55 (as per the certificate)
Tsuba size: 3.1 inches, 78mm X 2.9 inches, 74mm (Mokko is an oval shape)
Point of balance: 5 inches, 12.7cm from tsuba
Weight without saya: 2 lbs, 910 grams
Saya length: 29.75 inches, 75.5 cm
Overall length: 39.75 inches, 101 cm
The Blade
The blade geometry (sugata) is an approximation of Shinogi Zukuri, with the shinogi starting at the bohi and being 1mm thicker than the mune. The bohi depth feels slightly uneven when I run my finger down the length, but this is not visible to the eye. I like the taper on the bohi termination. The sides are pretty straight from the shinogi down to the ha.
I really like the aesthetics of the hamon, it shows up well in the pictures, but (thankfully) is not so “in your face” in person. I am concerned that some parts of the nioi extend all the way to the ha, making this blade appear “tired” or overpolished. I hope that this does not affect cutting or the ability to keep an edge too much.
The kissaki is the weakest part of this blade, both literally and figuratively. The Yokote is sort of haphazardly counter-polished in. Cold Napalm reported that he bent the tip quite easily, so when mine came I inspected the tip carefully, and sure enough the hamon ends about .75 inches (2cm) from the tip with no apparent boshi. So, I will be doing no thrusting with this sword. I can live with that for this sword.
Habaki
cowboy habaki ;D
The Habaki and seppa are plain brass and fitted without any large gaps showing. More when disassembled.
Tsuba
The iron tsuba is a simple mokko shape. On the Musashi website the tsuba looked like it had sharp edges, but they are not so sharp on mine. There is the barest hint of movement when I really wiggle the tsuba, and it may loosen up over time. I think it will be fine for a while yet, but we will see after cutting.
Tsuka
I like the shape. The tsuka is tapered and slimmer than others I have held and it fits me nicely. The menuki are gold/brass colored Ken and made of alloy or plastic. They have a pretty low profile (about 3 mm). The ito is cotton (slightly discolored in spots) and pretty tightly fitted over panels of real same. There is a small visible gap between the same and fuchi. The two mekugi ana are fitted with bamboo mekugi and drilled at opposing angles to one another.
Fuchi and Kashira
I quite like these simple iron fittings, I think they are a variation of Higo fittings. Some slight rust is apparent on the fuchi, but that does not bother me in the least, and doesn’t look so obvious in person. A few scratches are present on the kashira, again no biggie (it will be more scratched soon enough), but I thought I should point them out.
Saya
The saya is wood and has a black glossy finish with one obvious lacquer imperfection along the length and a ding on the bottom of the kojiri. The koiguchi and kojiri are covered with a black material around the edges. The saya and sword fit together pretty well. The saya tapers towards the kojiri and holds the sword in place even when turned upside down. I have to shake pretty vigorously to make it rattle. The Mokko does not seem to rattle while wearing it, and is smoothly drawn from the saya - which is a very nice surprise
The kurigata has a gold tone shittodome and is fitted with a cotton sageo tied in the standard presentation knot.
Dry handling
This sword feels nice in my hands, it is more forward balanced than my iaito and makes a very nice tachikaze with little effort. I like the way it handles . It cuts paper pretty well.
Test cutting
Then I fixed my stand and tried a few more jugs the next day:
The Mokko seems to be sharp enough to cut Milk jugs and bottles, even if it was a little lackluster on the paper test. There was no change in the tightness of the fittings, even after botching a cut and sending it 3+ inches into the top of the stand (the sword was fine too .
Conclusion and Ratings
Overall I am very impressed with the fit and finish of this sword, for the price I cannot believe how well it is put together. I pointed out the flaws, but really it is a nice package as a whole. I like the fittings very much. They are simple and utilitarian - good for a cutting sword. I do like bling as much as the next gal, but I would rather have the real deal over a lot of flash, so this suits me fine (as long as it cuts). The rust doesn’t bother me much, but they lost points for it. It is a shame that their differential hardening needs work (lost points for this), but for the price I really can’t complain. I am very happy with my purchase so far.
Historical Accuracy: ?/5
Fit and Finish: 3.5/5
Handling: 4/5
Structural Integrity: ?/5 seems OK so far
Value for Money: 5+/5
I am not knowledgeable enough to determine historical accuracy, so please excuse me while I ignore that. Structural integrity will have to wait until I take it apart - which will be after I get another sword (in case I do something stupid like ruining the habaki to get the habaki off) .
Addendum:
There have been concerns by the sudden appearance of "fancy" hamons among the sub $300 katana market. See this thread started by Marc Ridgeway over at SFI. I had the same suspicions, and could not (comfortably) cut with this sword until I knew for sure what I was dealing with.
To address this issue I bought some 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 2000 grit sandpapers. I picked an area, started with the 600 grit paper and removed as much of the hamon line as I could. Then I started polishing with successively higher grit. I could barely see the line after the 1000 grit pass. I heated up some lemon juice and applied it to the area in question, and remarkably the effect was an immediate but subtle enhancing of the line following along the same profile as the original line. I repeated the acid etching again after the 2000 grit pass and again saw an enhancement. I tried to document the process by taking some pictures:
Pretreatment:
Posttreatment:
It is pretty obvious in person that the original hamon line was real and has been redefined after my mistreatments. However, the "fuzzy white parts" that were also present have not been redefined as strongly. This is probably due to the poor quality of my polish job, but it could also be due to an additional artistic enhancement by the manufacturer.
And so you know how bad a job at polishing I did:
800 grit
1000grit
Edited to add vids and pics
First Impressions by Debbie Mahoney
I bought this sword because there were some nice comments here about the Musashi Bamboo Warrior (that has the same 1045 DH blade), and this was a deal I felt I couldn’t pass up at $63 with my SBG discount
The katana came a day earlier than expected via UPS from California on a very cold morning here in New York, so I let it warm up a little while before opening it all up. The sword was double boxed, bagged (in a cotton bag), and nestled in three substantial (6 inch) Styrofoam supports that also protected each end. Very good packaging. I’ll skip those pictures if you don’t mind.
The certificate is identical to the one posted by Cold Napalm. My measurements differ from those in the certificate in several places.
Vital Statistics
Nagasa: 27.5 inches, 69.8 cm
Tsuka including fuchi and kashira: 10.75 inches, 27.3 cm
Steel: Differentially hardened 1045
Sori: .625 inch, 1.59 cm
Kissaki: 1.875 inches, 4.76 cm
Hamon: Squiggly, gunome?
HRC: 55 (as per the certificate)
Tsuba size: 3.1 inches, 78mm X 2.9 inches, 74mm (Mokko is an oval shape)
Point of balance: 5 inches, 12.7cm from tsuba
Weight without saya: 2 lbs, 910 grams
Saya length: 29.75 inches, 75.5 cm
Overall length: 39.75 inches, 101 cm
The Blade
The blade geometry (sugata) is an approximation of Shinogi Zukuri, with the shinogi starting at the bohi and being 1mm thicker than the mune. The bohi depth feels slightly uneven when I run my finger down the length, but this is not visible to the eye. I like the taper on the bohi termination. The sides are pretty straight from the shinogi down to the ha.
I really like the aesthetics of the hamon, it shows up well in the pictures, but (thankfully) is not so “in your face” in person. I am concerned that some parts of the nioi extend all the way to the ha, making this blade appear “tired” or overpolished. I hope that this does not affect cutting or the ability to keep an edge too much.
The kissaki is the weakest part of this blade, both literally and figuratively. The Yokote is sort of haphazardly counter-polished in. Cold Napalm reported that he bent the tip quite easily, so when mine came I inspected the tip carefully, and sure enough the hamon ends about .75 inches (2cm) from the tip with no apparent boshi. So, I will be doing no thrusting with this sword. I can live with that for this sword.
Habaki
cowboy habaki ;D
The Habaki and seppa are plain brass and fitted without any large gaps showing. More when disassembled.
Tsuba
The iron tsuba is a simple mokko shape. On the Musashi website the tsuba looked like it had sharp edges, but they are not so sharp on mine. There is the barest hint of movement when I really wiggle the tsuba, and it may loosen up over time. I think it will be fine for a while yet, but we will see after cutting.
Tsuka
I like the shape. The tsuka is tapered and slimmer than others I have held and it fits me nicely. The menuki are gold/brass colored Ken and made of alloy or plastic. They have a pretty low profile (about 3 mm). The ito is cotton (slightly discolored in spots) and pretty tightly fitted over panels of real same. There is a small visible gap between the same and fuchi. The two mekugi ana are fitted with bamboo mekugi and drilled at opposing angles to one another.
Fuchi and Kashira
I quite like these simple iron fittings, I think they are a variation of Higo fittings. Some slight rust is apparent on the fuchi, but that does not bother me in the least, and doesn’t look so obvious in person. A few scratches are present on the kashira, again no biggie (it will be more scratched soon enough), but I thought I should point them out.
Saya
The saya is wood and has a black glossy finish with one obvious lacquer imperfection along the length and a ding on the bottom of the kojiri. The koiguchi and kojiri are covered with a black material around the edges. The saya and sword fit together pretty well. The saya tapers towards the kojiri and holds the sword in place even when turned upside down. I have to shake pretty vigorously to make it rattle. The Mokko does not seem to rattle while wearing it, and is smoothly drawn from the saya - which is a very nice surprise
The kurigata has a gold tone shittodome and is fitted with a cotton sageo tied in the standard presentation knot.
Dry handling
This sword feels nice in my hands, it is more forward balanced than my iaito and makes a very nice tachikaze with little effort. I like the way it handles . It cuts paper pretty well.
Test cutting
Then I fixed my stand and tried a few more jugs the next day:
The Mokko seems to be sharp enough to cut Milk jugs and bottles, even if it was a little lackluster on the paper test. There was no change in the tightness of the fittings, even after botching a cut and sending it 3+ inches into the top of the stand (the sword was fine too .
Conclusion and Ratings
Overall I am very impressed with the fit and finish of this sword, for the price I cannot believe how well it is put together. I pointed out the flaws, but really it is a nice package as a whole. I like the fittings very much. They are simple and utilitarian - good for a cutting sword. I do like bling as much as the next gal, but I would rather have the real deal over a lot of flash, so this suits me fine (as long as it cuts). The rust doesn’t bother me much, but they lost points for it. It is a shame that their differential hardening needs work (lost points for this), but for the price I really can’t complain. I am very happy with my purchase so far.
Historical Accuracy: ?/5
Fit and Finish: 3.5/5
Handling: 4/5
Structural Integrity: ?/5 seems OK so far
Value for Money: 5+/5
I am not knowledgeable enough to determine historical accuracy, so please excuse me while I ignore that. Structural integrity will have to wait until I take it apart - which will be after I get another sword (in case I do something stupid like ruining the habaki to get the habaki off) .
Addendum:
There have been concerns by the sudden appearance of "fancy" hamons among the sub $300 katana market. See this thread started by Marc Ridgeway over at SFI. I had the same suspicions, and could not (comfortably) cut with this sword until I knew for sure what I was dealing with.
To address this issue I bought some 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 2000 grit sandpapers. I picked an area, started with the 600 grit paper and removed as much of the hamon line as I could. Then I started polishing with successively higher grit. I could barely see the line after the 1000 grit pass. I heated up some lemon juice and applied it to the area in question, and remarkably the effect was an immediate but subtle enhancing of the line following along the same profile as the original line. I repeated the acid etching again after the 2000 grit pass and again saw an enhancement. I tried to document the process by taking some pictures:
Pretreatment:
Posttreatment:
It is pretty obvious in person that the original hamon line was real and has been redefined after my mistreatments. However, the "fuzzy white parts" that were also present have not been redefined as strongly. This is probably due to the poor quality of my polish job, but it could also be due to an additional artistic enhancement by the manufacturer.
And so you know how bad a job at polishing I did:
800 grit
1000grit
Edited to add vids and pics