Musashi's Best Miyamoto (aka SS783) *BAD PICS*
Apr 10, 2009 2:49:13 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2009 2:49:13 GMT
*Borrowed a camera to take a few pictures*
This is my first Katana review so I'm sorry it's not the best! ;D
Introduction
I was originally looking for a simple sword to do some light cutting and yet not break the bank! I originally found the three Takeo Katana on the Musashiswords.com website but sadly they were sold out everywhere! Then when I heard that MS was taking preorders on their Takeo line I immediately placed an order. Everyone seemed to have really liked the Bamboo and since the blades were supposedly the same I wanted something different. I used to own a sword that looked the same as the Miyamoto but in a deep red color and really liked it. I also wanted a sword with just plain furnashings that I could choose to swap out later if I wanted.
Initial Impressions
I must admit there was allot of hype on everyone's part waiting for these blades to show up, even after the whole misunderstanding that these were NOT differentially hardened like most (including me) thought they were. But even after that fact I was still looking forward to it.
When the parcel arrived it was a simple brown box with a bunch of "Priority Mail USPS" stickers all over it along with the Dragons Cavern sticker.
Upon opening that cardboard box I was awared with ANOTHER box but this time a multicolored (red, black, gold, etc) with Musashi on the box. So I opened that box.
In the Musashi box was the Katana inside a sword bag held in the middle of the box with styrofoam to stop the sword from bouncing around. Also in the box was a tag that had a picture of the sword, SS783, and a few very basic stats.
ATTENTION
I got a really RARE lemon either through a simple mistake on MS' part or that someone used the sword before it reached me (although there is no real evidence on that). Please do NOT think of this as something to expect because it is extremely rare!
When I opened the sword back I pulled out a very sharp looking Katana and was really impressed until I saw what was a gash in the side of the Saya up near the Kurikata. This wasn't really a big problem since the sword was purchased to be used.
When I pulled out the Katana from the saya the first thing I noticed was the blade wasn't oiled, or at least not as oiled as some people have stated (dripping in oil). Once again not another big deal since the blade still had an oil coating.
What really made me stop was when I noticed that the top 1/3 of the blade is bent to one side to the point that the Kissaki was actually about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch to the side.
Now I've heard of people dealing with this with expensive blades but it still popped my balloon.
Dealing With Musashiswords.com
I immediately contacted MS about the sword mainly just to let them know about my sword incase there happened to be a "bad batch". When MS heard about this they offered to ship me a new Takeo Katana and all I had to do was pay the shipping costs and an apology. Within a couple days a new sword was in the mail on the way to Canada even though I told them to take their time and deal with actual orders first. This company gets an A+ for the way they handle business!
Statistics
Blade/Nagasa Length: 28 1/2"
Handle/Tsuka Length: 13"
Overall Length: 41 1/2"
Guard/Tsuba Width: 0.20"
POB (Point of Balance): Unknown
Weight: approx 2.5 - 3 lbs
Blade: 1060 Carbon Steel
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
Allot of people were expecting the blades on the Takeo Katana to be DH and thus have real hamon but on this particular Katana the hamon has been wire brushed on which is fairly obvious to see. Other than my blade being slightly bent, the blade looks really good even with the fake hamon. I've also owned lots of cheap Katana and one thing I've always hated was a secondary bevel. If this blade has one I certainly can't notice it.
The Handle/Tsuka
Standard cloth wrap over what appears to be real rayskin although I'm not really sure if it's fake or not. Side not, the tsuka on mine is on REALLY tight to the point that I still haven't been able to get it off!
Menuki looks like pot metal painted gold.
It is double pegged and the only problem is that their is a gap between one of the pags and the rayskin (the end of the peg are slightly smaller than the hole). The pegs hold tight though so they won't fall out.
Well I got the tsuka off only to find that it was cracked in 4 different places! I didn't realize this until AFTER I did my test cutting!
The tsuka was NOT glued on as some said it was, it was just a really tight fit....
The Guard/Tsuba
The tsuba is a simple iron Miyamoto style painted black.
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
Black with a dragon's face on the bottom.
The Scabbard/Saya
When the Katana is sheathed there is a little play and you can hear the blade bump the insides of the Saya. If it wasn't got the gash in the side of mine I'd say it looks perfect.
Seppa and Habaki
Sadly the top Seppa has "China" stamped into it and the Habaki says "Musashi" and the MS logo.
Handling Characteristics
A very good handling weight and is fairly balanced in the hand. It's not too heavy and not too light, actually what I think the perfect weight for a Katana would be for light cutting.
Test Cutting
The only thing I've cut so far (due to the weather) is the cardboard box the sword originally came in. I stood the box up (freestanding) on top of a small table and took a downward swing. The Katana cut the box so easily that I actually lost my balance. I'm really new at cutting.
UPDATE:
I decided to take the only 600ml plastic pop bottle I had and cut it. Now as you can see I flubbed the cut pretty badly but one thing you need to understand, we still have about 3 feet of snow on the ground as of today so it's not the easiest to stand on let alone do a cut. I sunk shovel into the snow and ice and balanced the pop bottle on the top of the handle to cut it. But I must admit that I was expecting a little more resistance but the sword went through the bottle easily even with flubbing the cut!
The blade after the above cut didn't even have a scratch on it!
UPDATE 2:
Well after cutting a 1 liter bottle, 2 more 600ml bottles, milk carton, and a jug for antifreeze I FINALLY managed to put some scratches onto the blade!
Conclusions
For the price I paid I was fairly happy with the purchase, I would be perfectly happy if it didn't have the flaws that I mentioned earlier! A really good blade for the price and perfect for beginners or for someone to buy and customize when dealing with a budget.
I might have just gotten the 1 in 10000 lemon on everything else but the blade is good.....
Pros
- Very good price
- Weight and balance are pretty good
- No secondary bevel (that I can see)
Cons
- Fit of the Mekugi
- "China" on the top Seppa
- Musashi and Logo on Habaki
- Cracked Tskuka in 4 places
This is my first Katana review so I'm sorry it's not the best! ;D
Introduction
I was originally looking for a simple sword to do some light cutting and yet not break the bank! I originally found the three Takeo Katana on the Musashiswords.com website but sadly they were sold out everywhere! Then when I heard that MS was taking preorders on their Takeo line I immediately placed an order. Everyone seemed to have really liked the Bamboo and since the blades were supposedly the same I wanted something different. I used to own a sword that looked the same as the Miyamoto but in a deep red color and really liked it. I also wanted a sword with just plain furnashings that I could choose to swap out later if I wanted.
Initial Impressions
I must admit there was allot of hype on everyone's part waiting for these blades to show up, even after the whole misunderstanding that these were NOT differentially hardened like most (including me) thought they were. But even after that fact I was still looking forward to it.
When the parcel arrived it was a simple brown box with a bunch of "Priority Mail USPS" stickers all over it along with the Dragons Cavern sticker.
Upon opening that cardboard box I was awared with ANOTHER box but this time a multicolored (red, black, gold, etc) with Musashi on the box. So I opened that box.
In the Musashi box was the Katana inside a sword bag held in the middle of the box with styrofoam to stop the sword from bouncing around. Also in the box was a tag that had a picture of the sword, SS783, and a few very basic stats.
ATTENTION
I got a really RARE lemon either through a simple mistake on MS' part or that someone used the sword before it reached me (although there is no real evidence on that). Please do NOT think of this as something to expect because it is extremely rare!
When I opened the sword back I pulled out a very sharp looking Katana and was really impressed until I saw what was a gash in the side of the Saya up near the Kurikata. This wasn't really a big problem since the sword was purchased to be used.
When I pulled out the Katana from the saya the first thing I noticed was the blade wasn't oiled, or at least not as oiled as some people have stated (dripping in oil). Once again not another big deal since the blade still had an oil coating.
What really made me stop was when I noticed that the top 1/3 of the blade is bent to one side to the point that the Kissaki was actually about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch to the side.
Now I've heard of people dealing with this with expensive blades but it still popped my balloon.
Dealing With Musashiswords.com
I immediately contacted MS about the sword mainly just to let them know about my sword incase there happened to be a "bad batch". When MS heard about this they offered to ship me a new Takeo Katana and all I had to do was pay the shipping costs and an apology. Within a couple days a new sword was in the mail on the way to Canada even though I told them to take their time and deal with actual orders first. This company gets an A+ for the way they handle business!
Statistics
Blade/Nagasa Length: 28 1/2"
Handle/Tsuka Length: 13"
Overall Length: 41 1/2"
Guard/Tsuba Width: 0.20"
POB (Point of Balance): Unknown
Weight: approx 2.5 - 3 lbs
Blade: 1060 Carbon Steel
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
Allot of people were expecting the blades on the Takeo Katana to be DH and thus have real hamon but on this particular Katana the hamon has been wire brushed on which is fairly obvious to see. Other than my blade being slightly bent, the blade looks really good even with the fake hamon. I've also owned lots of cheap Katana and one thing I've always hated was a secondary bevel. If this blade has one I certainly can't notice it.
The Handle/Tsuka
Standard cloth wrap over what appears to be real rayskin although I'm not really sure if it's fake or not. Side not, the tsuka on mine is on REALLY tight to the point that I still haven't been able to get it off!
Menuki looks like pot metal painted gold.
It is double pegged and the only problem is that their is a gap between one of the pags and the rayskin (the end of the peg are slightly smaller than the hole). The pegs hold tight though so they won't fall out.
Well I got the tsuka off only to find that it was cracked in 4 different places! I didn't realize this until AFTER I did my test cutting!
The tsuka was NOT glued on as some said it was, it was just a really tight fit....
The Guard/Tsuba
The tsuba is a simple iron Miyamoto style painted black.
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
Black with a dragon's face on the bottom.
The Scabbard/Saya
When the Katana is sheathed there is a little play and you can hear the blade bump the insides of the Saya. If it wasn't got the gash in the side of mine I'd say it looks perfect.
Seppa and Habaki
Sadly the top Seppa has "China" stamped into it and the Habaki says "Musashi" and the MS logo.
Handling Characteristics
A very good handling weight and is fairly balanced in the hand. It's not too heavy and not too light, actually what I think the perfect weight for a Katana would be for light cutting.
Test Cutting
The only thing I've cut so far (due to the weather) is the cardboard box the sword originally came in. I stood the box up (freestanding) on top of a small table and took a downward swing. The Katana cut the box so easily that I actually lost my balance. I'm really new at cutting.
UPDATE:
I decided to take the only 600ml plastic pop bottle I had and cut it. Now as you can see I flubbed the cut pretty badly but one thing you need to understand, we still have about 3 feet of snow on the ground as of today so it's not the easiest to stand on let alone do a cut. I sunk shovel into the snow and ice and balanced the pop bottle on the top of the handle to cut it. But I must admit that I was expecting a little more resistance but the sword went through the bottle easily even with flubbing the cut!
The blade after the above cut didn't even have a scratch on it!
UPDATE 2:
Well after cutting a 1 liter bottle, 2 more 600ml bottles, milk carton, and a jug for antifreeze I FINALLY managed to put some scratches onto the blade!
Conclusions
For the price I paid I was fairly happy with the purchase, I would be perfectly happy if it didn't have the flaws that I mentioned earlier! A really good blade for the price and perfect for beginners or for someone to buy and customize when dealing with a budget.
I might have just gotten the 1 in 10000 lemon on everything else but the blade is good.....
Pros
- Very good price
- Weight and balance are pretty good
- No secondary bevel (that I can see)
Cons
- Fit of the Mekugi
- "China" on the top Seppa
- Musashi and Logo on Habaki
- Cracked Tskuka in 4 places