DF Class B, O-katana
Nov 29, 2009 20:38:48 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2009 20:38:48 GMT
Greetings folks,
I recently purchased a Dynasty Forge Class B O-katana from Marc at Wiwingti Sword Supply and thought that since I have seen no previous reviews of this sword that one might be in order.
Introduction:
I was attracted to this blade style because of its length. O-katana, meaning 'great sword' seems to imply power and strength. I had also heard that due to the increased length of blade that they were a bit better cutters, having more follow through.
I will admit that this sword was not all that high on my list of blades but I think that is mostly due to the fact that there are so many other blades that interest me. When I saw it in Marc's Special of the Year, well, impulse took over and here we are. Shipping was quick from Canada, taking just about a week from the time Marc emailed to let me know it had been sent out.
History:
I will admit that I was able to find very little in the way of history on the O-katana. Knowing that katana were not made to a specified length, but instead to the wielder, it is possible they were simply made for taller samurai. The standard seems to be that anything under 12" is a tanto, more than 12" but less than 24" a wakizashi, and more than 24" but less than 30" a katana. More than 30" an O-katana.
Initial impressions:
When I recieved the package, I have to say the box was in the worst shape of any sword I have yet recieved and I was more than a little worried that when I opened it, I would find some damage to the contents. Inside the mangled box, however, I saw that Marc had done a superb job. In fact, it was so tightly and well wrapped that it took a while to finally get it out.
Once out of the wrappings, I saw what I expected to see from Dynasty Forge. But I was also really struck by how LONG this sword was. It's an O-kat after all, but I still found myself impressed by the length of this thing.
A pic with my other DF's to give you an idea of the size.
Statistics:
Tsuka- 12".
Blade/nagasa- 32", from notch in habaki.
Bo hi- Yes.
Sori- 7/8".
Tsuba- 3" diameter
POB- 7 1/2" from tsuba.
Blade width at habaki- 1 3/8".
Blade width at yokote- 1 1/8".
Yokote- I am not sure if it is cosmetic or real. Sorry. It does have the snake head flairing on the mune at the tip, which I like.
Weight- I can only guess here, having no suitable scale. I can also find no data on the Class B O-kat, only the current Musha O-kat which is listed at 2 lbs 11 oz. I had surmised they would be about the same and that does seem to be the case. In hand, it feels very much like my shinogi zukuri Musha, which is 2 lbs 10.5 oz.
Components:
Blade/nagasa:
At 32", a very long blade for me. I have heard the Class B models are not as well polished as the current generation but with the bo-hi where the flat of the shinogi-ji would normally be, it is hard to tell. It has a utilitarian satin like finish on the ha and inside the bo-hi the level of polish is the same. Honestly, it is better than I expected from the Class B.
This blade is VERY sharp, with a uniform edge from the tip all the way down to the habaki.The different geometric lines on the blade are typical Dynasty Forge, very well defined and crisp.
The bo-hi is very well executed.
The blade is 1060 Through Hardened and without a cosmetic hamon.
I am a little struck by how wide the blade is. There is very little niku but a straight edge will not lie flat on the ha. It reminds me of what I might see if I had one of the Hanwei XL's.
Habaki:
Brass and well fit with no movement.
Tsuba:
A sukashi design of a Koi fish in some turbulent water. Though I don't particularly love the design itself, it is very well done in what appears to be iron.
Seppa:
Copper with a coin edge.
Fuchi/Kashira:
Iron in a turbulent wave theme. Nice and thick for strength, well fit and IMO detailed very nicely. I am actually quite impressed with the level of craftsmanship on these.
The kashira does rock a bit but it is still tight.
Mekugi:
It is single pegged with bamboo.
Tsuka:
It is nicely shaped, being neither too big nor too thin. Real white same of decent quality was used and then wrapped very tightly with course black cotton ito in an alternating pattern. Hishi gami wedges were used.
The tsuka was well fit to the nakago.
I can't say what the tsuka core is made of, but on removal I did find it cracked. At some point I will remount this blade and at that time I will remove the ito to determine the extent of damage and whether it is repairable.
Given that this was a blade from Marc's personal collection I of course contacted him concerning this. We all know Marc to be a stand up guy and my opinion has not changed. I believe that he did not recieve this tsuka cracked from DF but that it happened at some point after his initial inspection. Possibly during cutting or possibly due to humidity issues.
While this is not a deal breaker to me, for those that do not have the option of reworking their own tsukas I advise removal of the tsuka prior to any use for a thorough inspection.
Menuki:
Brass catfish. Again, I don't particularly care for the design, but they are well crafted with each fish facing a different direction instead of two of the same fish placed on different sides of the tsuka. They are placed on the fingertip side.
Saya:
This is the first saya I have gotten that is not glossy. The Ishime finish does hide fingerprints very well and while I like that, I think I prefer the look of glossy.
There is a bit of rattle with the blade sheathed but the fit of the habaki in the koiguchi is very good. I would call it tight at this point but have faith that it will loosen over time and with use.
Sageo:
It is the same course black sageo DF is supplying on their current offerings. I neither like or dislike it. It serves its purpose and I can really find nothing else to note with it.
Handling:
This is the characteristic that I was most concerned about when I first ordered. In spite of the fact that I had an idea of it's weight, I still expected it to be heavy and to handle like a crow bar.
That perception couldn't be further from the truth. This blade handles beautifully. The bo-hi has really done it's job of lightening as well as supplying a nice tachi kaze wind cutting sound.
It handles very closely to the way my shinogi zukuri Musha does, the difference being that it is a bit harder to stop during cuts. Being longer, is has more inertia, but it does not have the tippy sort of feeling that I found on my Kaze.
I am quite impressed with the lightness and handling on this one.
Cutting:
I am anxious to cut something with this, but due to the safety issue of the cracked tsuka I will not be cutting with it in the near future.
Conclusions:
I am much more impressed with this blade than I ever thought I would be. I had thought that Class B would also mean second class, but that is not the case at all. The only difference I can readily see from the current offerings from DF is that this tsuka is single pegged and the polish is satin overall instead of the more mirrorlike polish present on the shinogi ji.
In spite of the cracked tsuka I would buy Dynasty Forge again in a heartbeat. I would also buy from Marc again. He is top notch, cares about his customers and I believe he does his best every single time to treat us the way he would wish to be treated.
Pros:
*Overall quality is miles above what I expected from something called a 'Class B'.
*A uniform and very sharp edge along the entire edge.
*A surprisingly light blade for its length.
*No fake hamon.
*Solidly put together and without movement except in those cases noted.
Cons:
*Cracked tsuka.
*Blade rattle in the saya.
*Single pegged. (I've just gotten comfortable with two.)
Bottome line:
Would I recommend this sword to my best friend?
Yes! The only real disappointment I had in this blade was the cracked tsuka and it is unclear why it cracked.
In nearly every other way, it has surpassed my expectations. It is amazing to me that they were able to take a blade so long and make it so light.
The level of craftsmanship on this model seems to be on par with the regular Musha line but at a better price. Given that, I would say the money to value ratio is very good. I find myself wishing they had a Class B model of all their blades.
Thanks for reading guys. Hope this helped someone.
Troy/Shoboshi
Some parting shots.
I recently purchased a Dynasty Forge Class B O-katana from Marc at Wiwingti Sword Supply and thought that since I have seen no previous reviews of this sword that one might be in order.
Introduction:
I was attracted to this blade style because of its length. O-katana, meaning 'great sword' seems to imply power and strength. I had also heard that due to the increased length of blade that they were a bit better cutters, having more follow through.
I will admit that this sword was not all that high on my list of blades but I think that is mostly due to the fact that there are so many other blades that interest me. When I saw it in Marc's Special of the Year, well, impulse took over and here we are. Shipping was quick from Canada, taking just about a week from the time Marc emailed to let me know it had been sent out.
History:
I will admit that I was able to find very little in the way of history on the O-katana. Knowing that katana were not made to a specified length, but instead to the wielder, it is possible they were simply made for taller samurai. The standard seems to be that anything under 12" is a tanto, more than 12" but less than 24" a wakizashi, and more than 24" but less than 30" a katana. More than 30" an O-katana.
Initial impressions:
When I recieved the package, I have to say the box was in the worst shape of any sword I have yet recieved and I was more than a little worried that when I opened it, I would find some damage to the contents. Inside the mangled box, however, I saw that Marc had done a superb job. In fact, it was so tightly and well wrapped that it took a while to finally get it out.
Once out of the wrappings, I saw what I expected to see from Dynasty Forge. But I was also really struck by how LONG this sword was. It's an O-kat after all, but I still found myself impressed by the length of this thing.
A pic with my other DF's to give you an idea of the size.
Statistics:
Tsuka- 12".
Blade/nagasa- 32", from notch in habaki.
Bo hi- Yes.
Sori- 7/8".
Tsuba- 3" diameter
POB- 7 1/2" from tsuba.
Blade width at habaki- 1 3/8".
Blade width at yokote- 1 1/8".
Yokote- I am not sure if it is cosmetic or real. Sorry. It does have the snake head flairing on the mune at the tip, which I like.
Weight- I can only guess here, having no suitable scale. I can also find no data on the Class B O-kat, only the current Musha O-kat which is listed at 2 lbs 11 oz. I had surmised they would be about the same and that does seem to be the case. In hand, it feels very much like my shinogi zukuri Musha, which is 2 lbs 10.5 oz.
Components:
Blade/nagasa:
At 32", a very long blade for me. I have heard the Class B models are not as well polished as the current generation but with the bo-hi where the flat of the shinogi-ji would normally be, it is hard to tell. It has a utilitarian satin like finish on the ha and inside the bo-hi the level of polish is the same. Honestly, it is better than I expected from the Class B.
This blade is VERY sharp, with a uniform edge from the tip all the way down to the habaki.The different geometric lines on the blade are typical Dynasty Forge, very well defined and crisp.
The bo-hi is very well executed.
The blade is 1060 Through Hardened and without a cosmetic hamon.
I am a little struck by how wide the blade is. There is very little niku but a straight edge will not lie flat on the ha. It reminds me of what I might see if I had one of the Hanwei XL's.
Habaki:
Brass and well fit with no movement.
Tsuba:
A sukashi design of a Koi fish in some turbulent water. Though I don't particularly love the design itself, it is very well done in what appears to be iron.
Seppa:
Copper with a coin edge.
Fuchi/Kashira:
Iron in a turbulent wave theme. Nice and thick for strength, well fit and IMO detailed very nicely. I am actually quite impressed with the level of craftsmanship on these.
The kashira does rock a bit but it is still tight.
Mekugi:
It is single pegged with bamboo.
Tsuka:
It is nicely shaped, being neither too big nor too thin. Real white same of decent quality was used and then wrapped very tightly with course black cotton ito in an alternating pattern. Hishi gami wedges were used.
The tsuka was well fit to the nakago.
I can't say what the tsuka core is made of, but on removal I did find it cracked. At some point I will remount this blade and at that time I will remove the ito to determine the extent of damage and whether it is repairable.
Given that this was a blade from Marc's personal collection I of course contacted him concerning this. We all know Marc to be a stand up guy and my opinion has not changed. I believe that he did not recieve this tsuka cracked from DF but that it happened at some point after his initial inspection. Possibly during cutting or possibly due to humidity issues.
While this is not a deal breaker to me, for those that do not have the option of reworking their own tsukas I advise removal of the tsuka prior to any use for a thorough inspection.
Menuki:
Brass catfish. Again, I don't particularly care for the design, but they are well crafted with each fish facing a different direction instead of two of the same fish placed on different sides of the tsuka. They are placed on the fingertip side.
Saya:
This is the first saya I have gotten that is not glossy. The Ishime finish does hide fingerprints very well and while I like that, I think I prefer the look of glossy.
There is a bit of rattle with the blade sheathed but the fit of the habaki in the koiguchi is very good. I would call it tight at this point but have faith that it will loosen over time and with use.
Sageo:
It is the same course black sageo DF is supplying on their current offerings. I neither like or dislike it. It serves its purpose and I can really find nothing else to note with it.
Handling:
This is the characteristic that I was most concerned about when I first ordered. In spite of the fact that I had an idea of it's weight, I still expected it to be heavy and to handle like a crow bar.
That perception couldn't be further from the truth. This blade handles beautifully. The bo-hi has really done it's job of lightening as well as supplying a nice tachi kaze wind cutting sound.
It handles very closely to the way my shinogi zukuri Musha does, the difference being that it is a bit harder to stop during cuts. Being longer, is has more inertia, but it does not have the tippy sort of feeling that I found on my Kaze.
I am quite impressed with the lightness and handling on this one.
Cutting:
I am anxious to cut something with this, but due to the safety issue of the cracked tsuka I will not be cutting with it in the near future.
Conclusions:
I am much more impressed with this blade than I ever thought I would be. I had thought that Class B would also mean second class, but that is not the case at all. The only difference I can readily see from the current offerings from DF is that this tsuka is single pegged and the polish is satin overall instead of the more mirrorlike polish present on the shinogi ji.
In spite of the cracked tsuka I would buy Dynasty Forge again in a heartbeat. I would also buy from Marc again. He is top notch, cares about his customers and I believe he does his best every single time to treat us the way he would wish to be treated.
Pros:
*Overall quality is miles above what I expected from something called a 'Class B'.
*A uniform and very sharp edge along the entire edge.
*A surprisingly light blade for its length.
*No fake hamon.
*Solidly put together and without movement except in those cases noted.
Cons:
*Cracked tsuka.
*Blade rattle in the saya.
*Single pegged. (I've just gotten comfortable with two.)
Bottome line:
Would I recommend this sword to my best friend?
Yes! The only real disappointment I had in this blade was the cracked tsuka and it is unclear why it cracked.
In nearly every other way, it has surpassed my expectations. It is amazing to me that they were able to take a blade so long and make it so light.
The level of craftsmanship on this model seems to be on par with the regular Musha line but at a better price. Given that, I would say the money to value ratio is very good. I find myself wishing they had a Class B model of all their blades.
Thanks for reading guys. Hope this helped someone.
Troy/Shoboshi
Some parting shots.