handmadesword.com black pine katana#307
Feb 21, 2010 21:56:44 GMT
Post by Cottontail Customs on Feb 21, 2010 21:56:44 GMT
I recently received my very first Katana and while I am new to this forum as well as message boards/forums in general I will attempt to give as thorough a review as possible. I greatly appreciate any comments, tips, corrections, etc.
I have been a weapons enthusiast for as long as I can remember and have been particularly interested in edged weapons. I almost got sent back from summer camp one year when I was about 12 years old for smuggling in knives, throwing stars, and a blowgun!!
I am also a practitioner of many different martial arts including kung fu, grappling, bjj, muay thai, kali, arnis, pencak silat, jeet kune do and boxing.
My main focus with swords for a long time was with a single and double pinuti style stemming from my love for stick fighting (dog brothers martial arts)
I have always liked the allure of jsa and katanas but admired from a distance for multiple reasons, the main one being the price of a decent blade. I have purchased many, many rattan sticks along with two pinuti and a korambit for little more than $400. combined.
For the last few years I have been doing as much research on the web as possible to find out which katana I should start with.
I was going back and forth between Cheness, Hanwei, Kris Cutlery, and Handmadesword to name a few. Pretty confusing without a site like SBG which I didn't really get into viewing until very recently.
I was trying to determine which sites were describing their pieces accurately or were just saying what they thought we wanted to hear e.g. "real hamon", "hand forged", "differentially tempered", and so on.
An initial thought was that the ones that were most expensive were obviously the best. I have since been educated as to the inaccuracy of that presumption.
While this review is on a handmadesword model I am also waiting for my SBG pro Kuramono to arrive.
It's not so much that I'm impatient but more so that I have had my eye on the HMS model for a long time. They look and sound(from the description) like a quality product despite the lack of reviews anywhere.
I live in an apartment in the Bronx and unfortunately will not have many opportunities for "backyard cutting" although I greatly appreciate well made weapons from the materials they are made from as well as the purpose for using those materials. I have a love for finely crafted items of all kinds whether its a sword or my leather satchel bag I purchased from London after almost a years
research.
I hope that this has been enough of a backround for my first real entry to this forum. Well....onto my review
model #307 "black pine katana"
the manufacturers description is as follows:
Blade: High Carbon steel 1095,clay tempered;
Edge: Razor sharp;
Hamon: Real hamon, Clay tempered on;
Hi(blood groove): long Hi on each side;
Tsuka(handle): Genuine Rayskin handle wrapped with black Japan Cotton Ito with Menuki(Ornament);
Saya: black lacquered wood with black cotton Sageo;
Tsuba: Pine Tsuba;
Tang: full tang engraved with black smith's signature & unique number;
Condition: Brand new & can be fully disassembled and assembled
Blade Thickness: 0.3"
Blade Length (with Habaki): 28.3"
Handle Length: 10.8"
Overall Length (with Saya): 42.5"
Weight (with Saya): 3 lb 3 oz
Weight (without Saya): 2 lb 8 oz
Package Includes:
1 * Assembled Katana
1 * Maintenance Kit
1 * Single Tier Black Katana Stand with Red Felt
1 * Black Silk Katana Bag
1 * Katana Certificate
1 * Deluxe Blue Silk Box
I don't have a scale and currently have lent all of my tape measures to my training designers so I could not check the weight and measurements, though I can see that they are very close if not completely accurate.
Upon arrival the first thing I thought was I hope there was some kind of padding between the outer shipping box and the silk display box to prevent dents or tearing of the fabric. Luckily, even though there was not, there was no apparent dings or rips in the shipping box. thanks FEDEX!
The box was as pictured and included all said items.
Once the sword was pulled from the silk bag I was already grinning.
It felt very solid and looked better than the site photos.
I have read about the many flaws related to production line swords so was not too disappointed that the fit in the Saya was a little tight, no biggie, I can easily sand or file the inside of the mouth enough for the correct fit.
The Tsuka was solid as a rock with a very tight and neatly wrapped Ito over real same. I have heard that a lot of Mekugi were of cheaper quality bamboo but I put a knife point to it with decent pressure and it did not even break the surface, I guess it's pretty sound bamboo?
The Kashira and Fuchi seem to be made of iron and the Seppa, Menuki and cord fittings(not sure of the proper name) of brass with a serrated pattern on the Seppa, without looking like a "gear cog"
The Saya is very solid and nicely lacquered with a well knotted Sageo. I liked that the mouth appeared to be centered within the layers of lacquer unlike some of the others I've seen which seem a little too close to one side or another. Just aesthetics I guess?
see picture near top of review.
I like the pine themed Tsuba well enough and it is very solid and well machined. I believe that they use a cnc machine as there are no casting seams anywhere, no stray slivers of metal and only very slight grind marks which are under the finish and wont snag anything. I have since ordered the model I really liked, the round "smoke" Tsuba and will change it out when it arrives.
I was very happy to see that the Habaki was dead on center and was very well fitted with no awkward gaps. Just a few scrapes from the tight fit into the Saya, soon to be remedied.
Well, I gues this leaves me with my impression of the blade itself....Ahhhhhh!!,
beautiful
before you see the pics, be assured that there were no blemishes or issues at all but as I was so eager to shoot it, I did not wipe it completely clean. The small questionable bits and fuzzy marks were only some dust and cloth debris.
When it comes to the Hamon, I am basically very happy. See and judge for yourselves even though my camera was not able to get a perfect shot.
I also was very aware as I rubbed the cloth from Habaki to Kissaki that there were no lumps or hammer marks as I was used to on my two Pinuti.
The Ha is truly razor sharp and was tested on a few pieces of fabric as I was hesitant to test it on paper(I personally find the sound to be like fingernails on a chalk board!)
There was no snagging or tearing, just smooth effortless shearing.
Since I am very new to handling a Katana I will not really be able to say if it is perfectly balanced but it does feel good in the hands and I will research how to handle it before starting to practice. I will be back with a update on that soon.
Overview-
This model is all around very solid and sound. With good attention to detail and craftsmanship.
The customer service was quick and helpful with very fast shipping(4 days)
Very nice styling, I guess somewhere between traditional and modern while still implying functionality.
I am hoping that I made the right choice with the 1095 steel but can't wait to compare it with the T-10 tool steel of the Kuramono.
If and when I do get the opportunity to do some test cutting I will quickly post it for you to see.
As far as "bang for the buck" I admit that I probably do not know for sure but at just under $300 including shipping I think I could have done worse.
Anyway...thanks for reading and I hope I didn't forget anything major in my first review
If you have any questions I will do my best to answer.
Sayonara
Thank you to Daniel Sinclair and Taran for helping me figure out my way around a message board ;D +1 karma to each
edit-added a vid of the blade, sorry for the low light
pic of the "smoke" Tsuba. kinda looks like a wicked evilish smiley face