Cheness Kaze - My First Sword
Dec 18, 2006 16:30:30 GMT
Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2006 16:30:30 GMT
I arrived home to a wonderful sight Thursday evening. After a week of waiting, my Cheness Kaze had finally arrived.
I researched katanas for only about three weeks prior to making my decision. I am sure some may cringe, but I have no sword training. Hey, this forum IS for entry level right? My search did start off on Ebay and ultimately ended at Cheness Inc. Ok, ultimately, my search ended at Paul's review of the Kaze at SBG. A few emails later, Paul informed me that my sword was on the way.
The UPS man finally arrived after a week of waiting.
The sword arrived in display box wrapped in a cotton bag.
It looked impressive sitting in the box.
I drew the Kaze out of the saya. Again, this is my first sword and I am not sure what is standard (standard for a sub $300 sword), but I would have like a tighter fit in the saya. The fit is tight enough to keep the sword in place when turned upside down but it doesn't take much for it to come out.
The blade was coated with thin layer of grease. I assume this is comparable to cosmoline that is used on firearms. It is used to protect the item from moisture during the shipping process and storage. As you can see in the photo, it was a generous coating that needed to be wiped off.
The blade looked really nice once the grease was removed. I would have to disagree with the use of words like "subtle" to describe the hamon, sorry Paul. I was surprised at how much it stood out, but keep in mind I have not seen any other real swords so I have a limited point of reference.
The amount of polishing may have not brought out the full potential of the hamon but it certainly gave the blade of the Kaze a mirror finish. I thought the photo looked cool too. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I like to take photos. ;D
All of the fittings were tight. It was pretty evident to me that this was well put together. You can see bamboo shavings from an over-sized mekugi being being pounded into the hole. I tapped the mekugi out and the shavings were easy to clean up. Is it common for the mekugi to be at an angle to the nekago? Perhaps this was just done for ease of assembly allowing for the mekugi to miss the wraps of the ito. The tsuka is a very tight fit. This was somewhat expect thanks to gamestationx360's post
and I have not yet put forth the effort to removed it. It will take some work to do. I will try Paul's rubber mallet method. I can only assume the tsuba is just as stubborn.
I did not expect the samé to feel as hard as it did. It appears that the samé is responsible for shaving the mekugi. I was expecting more of a leather feel, but I am sure this is why the samé is used, for its strength and durability.
I can't quite make out what the menuki is. It is held tightly by the ito though. Is the ito the only thing keeping the menuki in place or is there an additional method of attachent in the production of these swords? The ito seems to be very tight. I can nudge the folds a bit if I apply pressure along the length of the tsuka but a lot of force would be need to permenantly move the ito. I imagine that the cotton may stretch under use and has the potential to loosen up a bit.
The folds on the ito are reletively uniform. They are not perfectly straight though. This is fine with me because it shows that it is hand made, even if it is made from a "cookie cutter" design.
Ok, back to the Kaze's blade. Yes, it is indeed sharp, very sharp. It was not quite sharp enough to take the hairs off my arm (yes, I tried) but it is pretty dag on close. The first 10 inches or so near the tsuba is not nearly as sharp as the rest of the blade. This made some sense to be since that portion of the blade would not be doing much of the cutting. The following photo show the hamon well.
It was about this time that my arm started getting tired from holding the sword for the photos. It never occured to me that the weight would be that substantial. My Kaze weighed in at 2 pounds 8 ounces. This is not much weight but does get heavy being held away from the body.
The kissaki seems to be uniform. The small light colored spots that you can see in the photos is probably dust from the paper towel I used to wipe the grease off of the blade. I must not have caught it when I was looking through the camera's viewfinder.
There were only two minor flaws that I found. These were both on the blade. The one that somewhat bothers me is a pair of markings on the shinogi-ji (flat portion of the blade). Please correct me if this is the wrong term. My guess is that the marks came from a vice or clamp during the assembly. I suppose it is possible that they will buff out but I haven't tried. I look forward to receiving suggestions, even if the suggestion is to leave it alone. I do have some experience with the buffing and polishing of gun parts but I don't want to screw up the blade or make it worse.
The other flaw I found was on the mune. There are some dark specks on the spine. I can feel them as I run my finger over them. I think some of them scraped off with my finger nail. It may just be dirt of some sort that a nylon dish scrubber (not an abrasive one, don't worry) will take care of.
There is a small gap between blade and the brass fitting (I have forgotten the proper name and can't seem to find it). This is not a big deal, part of the cookie cutter production process I imagine. It is something I thought I would just point out. I do have one question about the tsuba. What is the purpose of the oval opening? Is this the kozuka-ana, a hole for a small knife?
Well, I guess that is it, besides, I have run out of photos.
Overall, I am very impressed with the quality of the Kaze and the service Paul at SBG provided. I am certain this won't be my last sword. If you have any questions or comments, I look forward to hearing from you.
I have not really had a chance to use it yet. The shipping box is waiting patiently on death row for decapitation though. I am sure I will have some photos to share.
I researched katanas for only about three weeks prior to making my decision. I am sure some may cringe, but I have no sword training. Hey, this forum IS for entry level right? My search did start off on Ebay and ultimately ended at Cheness Inc. Ok, ultimately, my search ended at Paul's review of the Kaze at SBG. A few emails later, Paul informed me that my sword was on the way.
The UPS man finally arrived after a week of waiting.
The sword arrived in display box wrapped in a cotton bag.
It looked impressive sitting in the box.
I drew the Kaze out of the saya. Again, this is my first sword and I am not sure what is standard (standard for a sub $300 sword), but I would have like a tighter fit in the saya. The fit is tight enough to keep the sword in place when turned upside down but it doesn't take much for it to come out.
The blade was coated with thin layer of grease. I assume this is comparable to cosmoline that is used on firearms. It is used to protect the item from moisture during the shipping process and storage. As you can see in the photo, it was a generous coating that needed to be wiped off.
The blade looked really nice once the grease was removed. I would have to disagree with the use of words like "subtle" to describe the hamon, sorry Paul. I was surprised at how much it stood out, but keep in mind I have not seen any other real swords so I have a limited point of reference.
The amount of polishing may have not brought out the full potential of the hamon but it certainly gave the blade of the Kaze a mirror finish. I thought the photo looked cool too. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I like to take photos. ;D
All of the fittings were tight. It was pretty evident to me that this was well put together. You can see bamboo shavings from an over-sized mekugi being being pounded into the hole. I tapped the mekugi out and the shavings were easy to clean up. Is it common for the mekugi to be at an angle to the nekago? Perhaps this was just done for ease of assembly allowing for the mekugi to miss the wraps of the ito. The tsuka is a very tight fit. This was somewhat expect thanks to gamestationx360's post
and I have not yet put forth the effort to removed it. It will take some work to do. I will try Paul's rubber mallet method. I can only assume the tsuba is just as stubborn.
I did not expect the samé to feel as hard as it did. It appears that the samé is responsible for shaving the mekugi. I was expecting more of a leather feel, but I am sure this is why the samé is used, for its strength and durability.
I can't quite make out what the menuki is. It is held tightly by the ito though. Is the ito the only thing keeping the menuki in place or is there an additional method of attachent in the production of these swords? The ito seems to be very tight. I can nudge the folds a bit if I apply pressure along the length of the tsuka but a lot of force would be need to permenantly move the ito. I imagine that the cotton may stretch under use and has the potential to loosen up a bit.
The folds on the ito are reletively uniform. They are not perfectly straight though. This is fine with me because it shows that it is hand made, even if it is made from a "cookie cutter" design.
Ok, back to the Kaze's blade. Yes, it is indeed sharp, very sharp. It was not quite sharp enough to take the hairs off my arm (yes, I tried) but it is pretty dag on close. The first 10 inches or so near the tsuba is not nearly as sharp as the rest of the blade. This made some sense to be since that portion of the blade would not be doing much of the cutting. The following photo show the hamon well.
It was about this time that my arm started getting tired from holding the sword for the photos. It never occured to me that the weight would be that substantial. My Kaze weighed in at 2 pounds 8 ounces. This is not much weight but does get heavy being held away from the body.
The kissaki seems to be uniform. The small light colored spots that you can see in the photos is probably dust from the paper towel I used to wipe the grease off of the blade. I must not have caught it when I was looking through the camera's viewfinder.
There were only two minor flaws that I found. These were both on the blade. The one that somewhat bothers me is a pair of markings on the shinogi-ji (flat portion of the blade). Please correct me if this is the wrong term. My guess is that the marks came from a vice or clamp during the assembly. I suppose it is possible that they will buff out but I haven't tried. I look forward to receiving suggestions, even if the suggestion is to leave it alone. I do have some experience with the buffing and polishing of gun parts but I don't want to screw up the blade or make it worse.
The other flaw I found was on the mune. There are some dark specks on the spine. I can feel them as I run my finger over them. I think some of them scraped off with my finger nail. It may just be dirt of some sort that a nylon dish scrubber (not an abrasive one, don't worry) will take care of.
There is a small gap between blade and the brass fitting (I have forgotten the proper name and can't seem to find it). This is not a big deal, part of the cookie cutter production process I imagine. It is something I thought I would just point out. I do have one question about the tsuba. What is the purpose of the oval opening? Is this the kozuka-ana, a hole for a small knife?
Well, I guess that is it, besides, I have run out of photos.
Overall, I am very impressed with the quality of the Kaze and the service Paul at SBG provided. I am certain this won't be my last sword. If you have any questions or comments, I look forward to hearing from you.
I have not really had a chance to use it yet. The shipping box is waiting patiently on death row for decapitation though. I am sure I will have some photos to share.