Some impressions of my new Musha, pictures.
Apr 25, 2009 18:23:10 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2009 18:23:10 GMT
I hope the pictures'll work.
Since discovering the world of production swords in December or so last year, I've wanted to buy a sword. At first I didn't want to use any money, so I was actually going to buy a cheap Depeeka or a Masahiro White Ronin. I'm glad I didn't. Since then I've posted improportionally much on these forums, swaying from planning to buy a Kaze, a Tenchi, a Hanwei practical light and finally ending on the DF Musha. At firsts the vague hints and seemingly high regard Dynasty Forge is held in was tempting, and then finally, not long ago, after reading Kenpachi's glowing review, I ordered it. Specifically, I ordered the DF Musha in Musashi theme with Bo-Hi, bo-hi because I thought the blade would've been strong enough anyway and because it was my first sword and I wanted something easily manageable.
I ordered it from SBG store despite a higher base price than Reliks, because I thought the shipping would be cheaper, but it turned out that was not the case. But what is 30 dollars or so when you can buy from someone trustworthy like Southren rather than some bigger dealer. Since DF ships from Canada and then to the US and then to Europe, I expected 1-2 months of shipping atleast, but I got it earlier than expected. Just over one week before Southern got it and it was shipped to Europe I believe, and then two short weeks before it arrived earlier than UPS estimated at first.
After a while tracking reported an "UPS exception", as I've made a needless topic elsewhere about, and some googling made me pretty worried, especially after seeing what Customs have done to various other swords. The exception was revealed to be UPS giving it over to Norway's national delivery service, Posten, and I got it two days before what UPS had estimated before reporting an exception. When I went down to the local post office to fetch it last Tuesday, my heart almost jumped out when the attendant down there almost dropped the entire package hard down to the floor, although the protective packaging and the magnitude of bubble wrap would probably not even register any damage, hehe.
Now, before reading on, note that I have lousy technique, that this is my first sword and that I might've had too high expectations from e.g Kenpachi's review. I also have no experience of my own to compare with, and the stand(s) I've used suck.
The Musha arrived in cardboard as usual, and without any cool dragon themed box, just a smaller cardboard inside the outer one. It also came with a blue, thin sword bag, and without any documents or text etc except the UPS delivery thing and "1kat musa" scribbled on.
The "Musa" in scabbard. It seems the scabbard I got is different from the black glossy that Kenpachi got, mine is kind of filled with small dots, I think its supposed to resemble the traditional outer layer of the Japanese scabbards. It doesn't show every single hand/finger print, but, in my opinion, it's not as attractive as the more normal, glossy thing.
Without scabbard.
As you can see it looks pretty good, one of the most attractive 300$ish katana. The ito is pretty amazing, it is pretty hard and rather tight (though not extremely so), not comfortable in the sense I atleast imagine good leather/silk to be, but far from abrasive or "fluffy" as I've heard similar price class ito considered.
Ito.
The blade is pretty attractive, atleast at first, without Hamon of course since it's Through Hardened, and no fake Hamon either. Honestly I'm glad, even if I had a sword that was Differentially Hardened, I wouldn't like acid etching to make it more pronounced. The finish is rather good, it's not a "crazy mirror glass polish" as Kenpachi described his to have, only in very good conditions can you see any half-clear reflections, even just after I got it. The transition from blade to kisaki is far from seamless.
One of my disappointments is the tsuba. I ordered the Musashi style, but what I got wasn't the double ring style that Kenpachi has. As you can see in the pictures, the tsuba I got is almost a complete circle, and not like any other Musashi tsuba I've seen (the Tenchi tsuba, normal DF Musashi tsuba, the higher class Hanwei Musashis etc.) It's a shame, cause the Musashi style is my favorite, and I saw no disclaimers or information that I might/would get another tsuba than the one in the pictures.
The tsuba.
The advertised Musashi style is this.
The one I got is like this.
I guess I was also unlucky with the pommel, as it was pretty loose before I even touched it.
The pommel. It's hard to see, but I can barely touch the pommel before the wood underneath is shown.
Handling: I'll part this into dry handling - how holding it is and such, and how cutting stuff with it is.
Holding it:
Even for a production sword like this, merely holding it in your hand is nearly undescribable. It's really cool dry handling it, depending on whether I cut diagonally, vertically or horizontally and how much force I use, a pretty clear tachi-kaze can be heard, perhaps due to the bo-hi. I cut roughly according to what the SBG guide described, overhead blows stopping pretty early vertically, rather low, horizontal cuts stressing not using full-body movements (Japanese sword cutting isn't like boxing I gather) and starting diagonall cuts like vertical ones, and then adjusting your arms for a diagonal cut, stepping forward with one foot at all of these cuts. That about the basics or am I doing something wrong?
I must also comment that I almost find the sword too small, although that's hardly something that can be blamed at anyone but me. I think I'm just short of 6' I guess (I'm one of the dwarves in my family), and I found the 11-inch handle atleast not too big (I always though Japanese swords had extreme handles, but now I think a 12-13 inch one would be good for me), and the blade seemed oddly small too. Atleast I'm glad I didn't go with a Tenchi/Kaze Ko, which I had originally planned.
Cutting stuff with it, the blade etc:
Here lie probably my biggest disappointments. After three small cutting sessions, I already have several clear scratches, a annoying small-yet-prominent very jagged cut into the edge itself, and quite a few mysterious discolouration marks. Still, so far I've only cut soda bottles (that are of the European kind and somewhat denser than their American counterparts, but which should still be very easily doable for a Musha, and not as hard targets as the industrial plastic stuff I've seen other people on SBG do with 'lesser' swords), a few very, very small twigs with less than 1 inch circumference, most of the cardboard the sword arrived in and some paper.
Using enough force so that the soda bottles filled with 1.5 litre cold water flew several meters away from the stand every single time, I managed to cut through them, most of the time. The cuts into the plastic bottles were very jagged almost all the time, I managed to get some halfway straight cuts into the paper, but while holding it in my hand and cutting there was alot of tearing. Hell, there were even times when I couldn't get the sword completely through the soda bottles or large cardboard. I think Kenpachi describes cutting water bottles as cutting air, and since I think he's British, I also assume he cuts the same, European bottles I do. Air is far, far from what cutting water bottles with mine is.
Here's the result of the soda bottles. Yeah the pictures suck. Most of the cuts are even more jagged than the ones some review, I belive Southren, got with his 100$ Rosewood Shirasaya.
I've also heard people being described as reckless for touching their katana edge barehanded, I think it was about someone starting to bleed from merely touching a 200-300$ Handwei, and Kenpachi described the Musha as sharper than any of his Hanweis and on par with the far more expensive Hanweis. On my Musha however, even if I press my thumb or another fingertip down pretty/moderately hard, it doesn't even pentrate skin.
No wound from that whatsoever, just a pretty deep imprint that faded almost instantly. I'm not pressing as hard as I can, but stil pretty hard.
This picture shows the jagged cut and a few of the odd discolouring points.
There is a slight chance that the jagged cut comes from hitting gravel; the day I cut the cardboard it was pretty windy so I filled the bottom of the box with a little gravel, and there's a slight chance that a little gravel got stuck further up in the cardboard where I cut. Still, I don't think the sword has gotten a single scratch from soda bottles alone, so I think the scratches and possibly the cut is from the cardboard. Weird, since I've heard of people with DH Hanweis jovially cutting up their cardboards without mentioning any damage.
I think some of the discoloring comes from the slight twigs I've cut (some sap), but the new, brown spots are still a mystery. I've kept the sword in a "fine" film of valve oil that I usually use on trumpets all the time, except ofcourse when cutting (according to wikipedia, valve oil is usually made of mineral oil, and someone on this forum told me pretty much any mineral oil is okay.)
To summarize;
Historical Accuracy If 1 is some object resembling a Japanese sword, 2 a Kris Cutlery Katana (EDIT: I mean a Ritter Steel 100$ish katana), 4 something like a Bugei, 6 a traditionally, Japanese forged and 5 a accurate replica of a real sword, then 3/5
Handling: In terms of holding it and dry handling etc its amazing except for it being slightly heavy even with bo-hi (I've heard people talk of swords feeling weightless or becoming "like another limb", this thing doesn't inspire such words from me.) 5/5
In terms of cutting things, it's horrible, this sharpness can't possibly be the common standard for Mushas, or indeed these price classes. 2/5
Structural Intergrity Except for the blade, while durable not something I'd call a tank (this is Bo-Hi though) and of course the very loose pommel, all is very sound. 3/5
Value for Money 2/5, I hope mine is a fluke.
Overall 2/5 It has a few good features, especially what other have experienced, but really, I can't imagine mine to be sharp enough, the pommel is loose, wrong tsuba and it's not as resillient as described.
I think and hope mine is a fluke. At first I though my technique was very wrong, but honestly, if I actually hit what I want with more fervor than even the most fervent cutters I've seen in reviews etc, then surely a Musha should get through it easily? If I hit something with enough water in the right spot with enough force so that the bottle flies far away, then surely I should've gotten through it? I'd also love it if someone clarified the touching the edge thing for me, and whether or not a Musha should be able to evenly cut paper with ease and no tearing. Sure the discolouring, the jag and even the unexpected scratches are probably my fault, but the pommel was loose before I got the sword, and I couldn't have possibly dulled the edge myself.
If theres anything I've learned then it is that I should carefully check any sword when it arrives for faults, by now my sword is somewhat banged up and I've used it several times, so no returns or refund. What I got was hardly as described, but before I truly realized it the sword is far from in its original condition.
If this turns out not to be a fluke, the sharpness and everything else I got was what it's supposed to be and all other DF owners brag of, then I can atleast say that this'll be the last and first sword for me. The only thing I'm impressed with is the ito. To sum this entire thing up; this was a disappointment.
Since discovering the world of production swords in December or so last year, I've wanted to buy a sword. At first I didn't want to use any money, so I was actually going to buy a cheap Depeeka or a Masahiro White Ronin. I'm glad I didn't. Since then I've posted improportionally much on these forums, swaying from planning to buy a Kaze, a Tenchi, a Hanwei practical light and finally ending on the DF Musha. At firsts the vague hints and seemingly high regard Dynasty Forge is held in was tempting, and then finally, not long ago, after reading Kenpachi's glowing review, I ordered it. Specifically, I ordered the DF Musha in Musashi theme with Bo-Hi, bo-hi because I thought the blade would've been strong enough anyway and because it was my first sword and I wanted something easily manageable.
I ordered it from SBG store despite a higher base price than Reliks, because I thought the shipping would be cheaper, but it turned out that was not the case. But what is 30 dollars or so when you can buy from someone trustworthy like Southren rather than some bigger dealer. Since DF ships from Canada and then to the US and then to Europe, I expected 1-2 months of shipping atleast, but I got it earlier than expected. Just over one week before Southern got it and it was shipped to Europe I believe, and then two short weeks before it arrived earlier than UPS estimated at first.
After a while tracking reported an "UPS exception", as I've made a needless topic elsewhere about, and some googling made me pretty worried, especially after seeing what Customs have done to various other swords. The exception was revealed to be UPS giving it over to Norway's national delivery service, Posten, and I got it two days before what UPS had estimated before reporting an exception. When I went down to the local post office to fetch it last Tuesday, my heart almost jumped out when the attendant down there almost dropped the entire package hard down to the floor, although the protective packaging and the magnitude of bubble wrap would probably not even register any damage, hehe.
Now, before reading on, note that I have lousy technique, that this is my first sword and that I might've had too high expectations from e.g Kenpachi's review. I also have no experience of my own to compare with, and the stand(s) I've used suck.
The Musha arrived in cardboard as usual, and without any cool dragon themed box, just a smaller cardboard inside the outer one. It also came with a blue, thin sword bag, and without any documents or text etc except the UPS delivery thing and "1kat musa" scribbled on.
The "Musa" in scabbard. It seems the scabbard I got is different from the black glossy that Kenpachi got, mine is kind of filled with small dots, I think its supposed to resemble the traditional outer layer of the Japanese scabbards. It doesn't show every single hand/finger print, but, in my opinion, it's not as attractive as the more normal, glossy thing.
Without scabbard.
As you can see it looks pretty good, one of the most attractive 300$ish katana. The ito is pretty amazing, it is pretty hard and rather tight (though not extremely so), not comfortable in the sense I atleast imagine good leather/silk to be, but far from abrasive or "fluffy" as I've heard similar price class ito considered.
Ito.
The blade is pretty attractive, atleast at first, without Hamon of course since it's Through Hardened, and no fake Hamon either. Honestly I'm glad, even if I had a sword that was Differentially Hardened, I wouldn't like acid etching to make it more pronounced. The finish is rather good, it's not a "crazy mirror glass polish" as Kenpachi described his to have, only in very good conditions can you see any half-clear reflections, even just after I got it. The transition from blade to kisaki is far from seamless.
One of my disappointments is the tsuba. I ordered the Musashi style, but what I got wasn't the double ring style that Kenpachi has. As you can see in the pictures, the tsuba I got is almost a complete circle, and not like any other Musashi tsuba I've seen (the Tenchi tsuba, normal DF Musashi tsuba, the higher class Hanwei Musashis etc.) It's a shame, cause the Musashi style is my favorite, and I saw no disclaimers or information that I might/would get another tsuba than the one in the pictures.
The tsuba.
The advertised Musashi style is this.
The one I got is like this.
I guess I was also unlucky with the pommel, as it was pretty loose before I even touched it.
The pommel. It's hard to see, but I can barely touch the pommel before the wood underneath is shown.
Handling: I'll part this into dry handling - how holding it is and such, and how cutting stuff with it is.
Holding it:
Even for a production sword like this, merely holding it in your hand is nearly undescribable. It's really cool dry handling it, depending on whether I cut diagonally, vertically or horizontally and how much force I use, a pretty clear tachi-kaze can be heard, perhaps due to the bo-hi. I cut roughly according to what the SBG guide described, overhead blows stopping pretty early vertically, rather low, horizontal cuts stressing not using full-body movements (Japanese sword cutting isn't like boxing I gather) and starting diagonall cuts like vertical ones, and then adjusting your arms for a diagonal cut, stepping forward with one foot at all of these cuts. That about the basics or am I doing something wrong?
I must also comment that I almost find the sword too small, although that's hardly something that can be blamed at anyone but me. I think I'm just short of 6' I guess (I'm one of the dwarves in my family), and I found the 11-inch handle atleast not too big (I always though Japanese swords had extreme handles, but now I think a 12-13 inch one would be good for me), and the blade seemed oddly small too. Atleast I'm glad I didn't go with a Tenchi/Kaze Ko, which I had originally planned.
Cutting stuff with it, the blade etc:
Here lie probably my biggest disappointments. After three small cutting sessions, I already have several clear scratches, a annoying small-yet-prominent very jagged cut into the edge itself, and quite a few mysterious discolouration marks. Still, so far I've only cut soda bottles (that are of the European kind and somewhat denser than their American counterparts, but which should still be very easily doable for a Musha, and not as hard targets as the industrial plastic stuff I've seen other people on SBG do with 'lesser' swords), a few very, very small twigs with less than 1 inch circumference, most of the cardboard the sword arrived in and some paper.
Using enough force so that the soda bottles filled with 1.5 litre cold water flew several meters away from the stand every single time, I managed to cut through them, most of the time. The cuts into the plastic bottles were very jagged almost all the time, I managed to get some halfway straight cuts into the paper, but while holding it in my hand and cutting there was alot of tearing. Hell, there were even times when I couldn't get the sword completely through the soda bottles or large cardboard. I think Kenpachi describes cutting water bottles as cutting air, and since I think he's British, I also assume he cuts the same, European bottles I do. Air is far, far from what cutting water bottles with mine is.
Here's the result of the soda bottles. Yeah the pictures suck. Most of the cuts are even more jagged than the ones some review, I belive Southren, got with his 100$ Rosewood Shirasaya.
I've also heard people being described as reckless for touching their katana edge barehanded, I think it was about someone starting to bleed from merely touching a 200-300$ Handwei, and Kenpachi described the Musha as sharper than any of his Hanweis and on par with the far more expensive Hanweis. On my Musha however, even if I press my thumb or another fingertip down pretty/moderately hard, it doesn't even pentrate skin.
No wound from that whatsoever, just a pretty deep imprint that faded almost instantly. I'm not pressing as hard as I can, but stil pretty hard.
This picture shows the jagged cut and a few of the odd discolouring points.
There is a slight chance that the jagged cut comes from hitting gravel; the day I cut the cardboard it was pretty windy so I filled the bottom of the box with a little gravel, and there's a slight chance that a little gravel got stuck further up in the cardboard where I cut. Still, I don't think the sword has gotten a single scratch from soda bottles alone, so I think the scratches and possibly the cut is from the cardboard. Weird, since I've heard of people with DH Hanweis jovially cutting up their cardboards without mentioning any damage.
I think some of the discoloring comes from the slight twigs I've cut (some sap), but the new, brown spots are still a mystery. I've kept the sword in a "fine" film of valve oil that I usually use on trumpets all the time, except ofcourse when cutting (according to wikipedia, valve oil is usually made of mineral oil, and someone on this forum told me pretty much any mineral oil is okay.)
To summarize;
Historical Accuracy If 1 is some object resembling a Japanese sword, 2 a Kris Cutlery Katana (EDIT: I mean a Ritter Steel 100$ish katana), 4 something like a Bugei, 6 a traditionally, Japanese forged and 5 a accurate replica of a real sword, then 3/5
Handling: In terms of holding it and dry handling etc its amazing except for it being slightly heavy even with bo-hi (I've heard people talk of swords feeling weightless or becoming "like another limb", this thing doesn't inspire such words from me.) 5/5
In terms of cutting things, it's horrible, this sharpness can't possibly be the common standard for Mushas, or indeed these price classes. 2/5
Structural Intergrity Except for the blade, while durable not something I'd call a tank (this is Bo-Hi though) and of course the very loose pommel, all is very sound. 3/5
Value for Money 2/5, I hope mine is a fluke.
Overall 2/5 It has a few good features, especially what other have experienced, but really, I can't imagine mine to be sharp enough, the pommel is loose, wrong tsuba and it's not as resillient as described.
I think and hope mine is a fluke. At first I though my technique was very wrong, but honestly, if I actually hit what I want with more fervor than even the most fervent cutters I've seen in reviews etc, then surely a Musha should get through it easily? If I hit something with enough water in the right spot with enough force so that the bottle flies far away, then surely I should've gotten through it? I'd also love it if someone clarified the touching the edge thing for me, and whether or not a Musha should be able to evenly cut paper with ease and no tearing. Sure the discolouring, the jag and even the unexpected scratches are probably my fault, but the pommel was loose before I got the sword, and I couldn't have possibly dulled the edge myself.
If theres anything I've learned then it is that I should carefully check any sword when it arrives for faults, by now my sword is somewhat banged up and I've used it several times, so no returns or refund. What I got was hardly as described, but before I truly realized it the sword is far from in its original condition.
If this turns out not to be a fluke, the sharpness and everything else I got was what it's supposed to be and all other DF owners brag of, then I can atleast say that this'll be the last and first sword for me. The only thing I'm impressed with is the ito. To sum this entire thing up; this was a disappointment.