Musashi - 1060 Carbon Steel - Bamboo Warrior Sword
Apr 25, 2009 8:09:44 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2009 8:09:44 GMT
Hello everybody, your friend hank here with another review on the fabled musashi DH sub $100 bamboo warrior katana.
Well for starters I would like to thank everyone here @ SBG for making available so easily all the info and opinions that helped guide me to this purchase. I have always been fascinated with swords and the stories surrounding them so it was only a matter of time before I broke down and bought one. Stumbling upon this site was a great discovery and probably saved me from making a few bad decisions on ebay (where i began looking) and I really learned a lot of things that helped me make an informed decision instead of a guess based on a picture. So to Paul Southren and everybody else that has contributed to this site I extend my appreciation. Now to the good stuff...
I ordered this sword and a shinto katana stand from trueswords.com who were very courteous and prompt with not only my order but also my emails and questions. I would definitely recommend them. I found a coupon for 8% off order which brought the total with shipping to Ohio to just under 100$.
The sword was shipped via fedex in a black cotton sword bag inside a musashi retail box with styrofoam to hold it in place and prevent damage. Removing the sword from the bag and unsheathing it I was struck by how solid and just how dangerous it was (2ish lbs of steel is pretty heavy when its pointy and sharp.)
The stats of the sword as far as I know are listed on a "certificate of authenticity" and having no tools to accurately measure these things I fear I must take its word for it.
I did not buy a maintenance kit and have yet to "pop the hood" as it were, so as far as the integrity of the tsuka and fittings I can only say everything feels very tight and solid and I cannot move anything or feel anything rattle despite having tried.
-The ito is very tight and even.
-The same is very nice and genuine looking (not quite white color that i quite like)
-Menuki, fuchi and kashira are bamboo theme, black and very subtle, which i find quite appealing.
-The tsuba is also a bamboo theme that i quite like (more in person now that ive handled it)
-the saya is nice as far as i can tell, very tight (but not too tight)
with a standard black glossy finish with a cotton shoelacey sageo which i am quite happy with and will likely never untie for fear of my incompetence to redo it.
-the blade...
There seems to be some debate about the blade of this sword and its brothers. Its advertised as 1060 steel with a natural DH hamon. The only evidence that i can give is again, the certificate which may or may not be accurate. My own opinion is simple. I dont know. Any input I have would be like a grade school student advising a nuclear physicist on particle acceleration so, I hope it is a natural hamon as this was the final deciding factor for me to get this blade, but if its not, I dont know the difference and as they say, ignorance is bliss.
-The blade has a nice polish as far as i know, it looks nice anyway no obvious defects or scratches marring its beauty. Not a mirror but very nice.
-The sharpness of this blade was at first somewhat disappointing. I tried to cut some copy paper held in one hand and only succeeded in tearing and mangling it.
However I have read a few times about the geometry and form being more important so i did not despair. Hoping that the geometry would pull me through a lack of any form I attacked 2 milk jugs and a bottle of water. Sliced through jugs like butter, despite every effort by me to botch things up.(video soon) I was unable however to cut through the fedex box it was shipped in, although i think a combination of poor form, loose free standing boxiness and the villainous packing tape played their parts. After hitting a fiberglass table,packing tape, 2 milk jugs and a bottle of water there seemed to be almost no marks on the blade, save a few bits of tape which i rigorously removed with rubbing alcohol ( thanks vafarmer).
after cleaning and oiling the blade looks virtually the same as when it arrived.
All in all I am quite pleased with the performance. Once ive got a few more cuts under my belt and with a little help from shootermike's sharpening guide im sure ill be slicing molecules in half in no time.
In conclusion-
I fully believe this was an excellent buy for me. A relatively inexpensive, beautiful, and functional katana for under $100. I would highly recommend this sword to anyone and look forward to many hours of slicing oiling and drooling.
Well for starters I would like to thank everyone here @ SBG for making available so easily all the info and opinions that helped guide me to this purchase. I have always been fascinated with swords and the stories surrounding them so it was only a matter of time before I broke down and bought one. Stumbling upon this site was a great discovery and probably saved me from making a few bad decisions on ebay (where i began looking) and I really learned a lot of things that helped me make an informed decision instead of a guess based on a picture. So to Paul Southren and everybody else that has contributed to this site I extend my appreciation. Now to the good stuff...
I ordered this sword and a shinto katana stand from trueswords.com who were very courteous and prompt with not only my order but also my emails and questions. I would definitely recommend them. I found a coupon for 8% off order which brought the total with shipping to Ohio to just under 100$.
The sword was shipped via fedex in a black cotton sword bag inside a musashi retail box with styrofoam to hold it in place and prevent damage. Removing the sword from the bag and unsheathing it I was struck by how solid and just how dangerous it was (2ish lbs of steel is pretty heavy when its pointy and sharp.)
The stats of the sword as far as I know are listed on a "certificate of authenticity" and having no tools to accurately measure these things I fear I must take its word for it.
I did not buy a maintenance kit and have yet to "pop the hood" as it were, so as far as the integrity of the tsuka and fittings I can only say everything feels very tight and solid and I cannot move anything or feel anything rattle despite having tried.
-The ito is very tight and even.
-The same is very nice and genuine looking (not quite white color that i quite like)
-Menuki, fuchi and kashira are bamboo theme, black and very subtle, which i find quite appealing.
-The tsuba is also a bamboo theme that i quite like (more in person now that ive handled it)
-the saya is nice as far as i can tell, very tight (but not too tight)
with a standard black glossy finish with a cotton shoelacey sageo which i am quite happy with and will likely never untie for fear of my incompetence to redo it.
-the blade...
There seems to be some debate about the blade of this sword and its brothers. Its advertised as 1060 steel with a natural DH hamon. The only evidence that i can give is again, the certificate which may or may not be accurate. My own opinion is simple. I dont know. Any input I have would be like a grade school student advising a nuclear physicist on particle acceleration so, I hope it is a natural hamon as this was the final deciding factor for me to get this blade, but if its not, I dont know the difference and as they say, ignorance is bliss.
-The blade has a nice polish as far as i know, it looks nice anyway no obvious defects or scratches marring its beauty. Not a mirror but very nice.
-The sharpness of this blade was at first somewhat disappointing. I tried to cut some copy paper held in one hand and only succeeded in tearing and mangling it.
However I have read a few times about the geometry and form being more important so i did not despair. Hoping that the geometry would pull me through a lack of any form I attacked 2 milk jugs and a bottle of water. Sliced through jugs like butter, despite every effort by me to botch things up.(video soon) I was unable however to cut through the fedex box it was shipped in, although i think a combination of poor form, loose free standing boxiness and the villainous packing tape played their parts. After hitting a fiberglass table,packing tape, 2 milk jugs and a bottle of water there seemed to be almost no marks on the blade, save a few bits of tape which i rigorously removed with rubbing alcohol ( thanks vafarmer).
after cleaning and oiling the blade looks virtually the same as when it arrived.
All in all I am quite pleased with the performance. Once ive got a few more cuts under my belt and with a little help from shootermike's sharpening guide im sure ill be slicing molecules in half in no time.
In conclusion-
I fully believe this was an excellent buy for me. A relatively inexpensive, beautiful, and functional katana for under $100. I would highly recommend this sword to anyone and look forward to many hours of slicing oiling and drooling.