Bushido Raijin Folded Katana
Oct 1, 2010 3:35:02 GMT
Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Oct 1, 2010 3:35:02 GMT
Short Review of the Bushido Raijin Folded Katana by Sean O. Stevens Grovetown, GA
I bought this sword second-hand from our very own classifieds here at SBG. I must admit, at least PART of why I wanted this sword was the purple ito and sageo. ;D Purple is my color. However, I also liked the hada on the blade and I got it for a good price, so I decided to give it a try.
I was VERY pleased when it found its way to my door. Initial impressions were favorable. It felt very light in the hand and moved well, and produced a very nice Tachi-kaze. The ito was wrapped nice and tight and the purple really worked for me.
Blade: 28in
Tsuka: 11in
Overall: 40.5in
Weight: 2.4Lbs
The Blade
I really liked the look of the blade... it has a Damascus steel sort of look to it. In my limited collection I have no other blade quite like it.
It has no counter polished yokote or fake hamon, the blade is just dominated by the hada and bo-hi.
The Tsuka
The tsuka is very tightly wrapped and comfortable. The Rayskin is real. The guy I bought the sword from practiced with it on VERY light targets (most paper I believe) and so it has been 'broken in' for me. Still, all and all, very nice, even more so when you consider I paid less the $100 for it.
The Tsuba
The tsuba, kashira and menuki are nothing to get excited about. In fact, I HATE the tsuba. It's a oxidized zinc thing with an ugly picture of Raijin, a thunder god I guess. The blade side of the tsuba isn't so bad, but the tsuka side, yuk. Aside from that, everything is tight and nice. Some of the fittings are plastic, I belive. The Saya is very basic but fits perfect.
Cutting
So... time to chop something with it. ;D
I didn't want to chop anything TOO heavy with it... it IS a very light blade with Bo-Hi and I have never seen any reviews on this sword before... so I had no idea where to gage it's durability. So, I set out some plastic 'victims'.
I figured these poor plastic targets would be fairly staple blade fooder... except for the two on the left. Those were thicker tougher plastic the the others... I would only try them if all went VERY well with the others.
I have no video... so I set up the results one at a time.
First, the small coke bottle.
Not the cleanest cut, but I was worried about this one. I have not swung a sword much in over 12 years, and I am VERY rusty. The bottle was so small and lightweight, I was worried about hitting the wood stand (Something I have done with my Gen 2 Chaos sword, but it's big and beefy and LAUGHS at wood.) and wreaking the blade. Or maybe the bottle was so light it would just swat across the yard. However, it DID cut, so I was happy. On to the bigger bottle.
A decent cut... but low and VERY close to the stand. A bit worried, I moved on... the Milk box.
CRAPPY cut. Sorta tore it in half. Not sure if thats my bad form or the cartons different make up. On to the 2-litter...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
The 2-liter got swatted, not cut... and the blade took a MAJOR set. It was bent a good 15'... I was devastated! So sad by this was I that I forgot to take a picture and immediately went to trying to bend the blade back into shape. Which I was mostly able to do... you have to look REALLY hard to see the bend now. However, in the course of re-bending it, I over corrected, had to repeat... it was a sad, sad thing.
There can't be much of a temper on this blade...it has VERY little flex and took a set very easily on a pretty weak target. I'm pretty sad about it...
After forgetting all about my pictures and my plans for the review to fix the blade... I was then angry and brought out my Gen 2 Chaos sword to finish off the remaining targets. Which it did, without any trouble, even destroying the heavy plastic bottles at the end.
Conclusion
So... in the end... the Bushido Raijin Folded Katana is, to me, a light, well balanced sword... but I don't trust it at ALL for any cutting beyond the lightest of possible targets.
Pros
Light and Well Balanced.
Interesting hada on the blade.
Cons
Weak blade only suitable for VERY light targets.
Tacky fittings.
Zinc and Plastic parts.
Bottom Line
While I was drawn to this sword because of the purple ito and unique looking blade... I can not recommend this sword for others to buy. For the price, I think there are better options out there, unless the aesthetics of the sword just really appeal to you. In that case, just be aware the sword is good only for very light targets in my opinion.
Where to buy
I know this sword can be found at Swords of Might for $150.00 right now. I think its an attractive sword, except for the tsuba, and I LOVE the look of the blade. If you want a sword to practice form with and cut VERY light targets, this might be a good deal. However, if you wanna cut anything tougher then a piece of paper or small water bottles, then you would be better off with one of the MANY other low budget katana out there from groups like Musashi and Masahiro.
Thanks for reading.
I bought this sword second-hand from our very own classifieds here at SBG. I must admit, at least PART of why I wanted this sword was the purple ito and sageo. ;D Purple is my color. However, I also liked the hada on the blade and I got it for a good price, so I decided to give it a try.
I was VERY pleased when it found its way to my door. Initial impressions were favorable. It felt very light in the hand and moved well, and produced a very nice Tachi-kaze. The ito was wrapped nice and tight and the purple really worked for me.
Blade: 28in
Tsuka: 11in
Overall: 40.5in
Weight: 2.4Lbs
The Blade
I really liked the look of the blade... it has a Damascus steel sort of look to it. In my limited collection I have no other blade quite like it.
It has no counter polished yokote or fake hamon, the blade is just dominated by the hada and bo-hi.
The Tsuka
The tsuka is very tightly wrapped and comfortable. The Rayskin is real. The guy I bought the sword from practiced with it on VERY light targets (most paper I believe) and so it has been 'broken in' for me. Still, all and all, very nice, even more so when you consider I paid less the $100 for it.
The Tsuba
The tsuba, kashira and menuki are nothing to get excited about. In fact, I HATE the tsuba. It's a oxidized zinc thing with an ugly picture of Raijin, a thunder god I guess. The blade side of the tsuba isn't so bad, but the tsuka side, yuk. Aside from that, everything is tight and nice. Some of the fittings are plastic, I belive. The Saya is very basic but fits perfect.
Cutting
So... time to chop something with it. ;D
I didn't want to chop anything TOO heavy with it... it IS a very light blade with Bo-Hi and I have never seen any reviews on this sword before... so I had no idea where to gage it's durability. So, I set out some plastic 'victims'.
I figured these poor plastic targets would be fairly staple blade fooder... except for the two on the left. Those were thicker tougher plastic the the others... I would only try them if all went VERY well with the others.
I have no video... so I set up the results one at a time.
First, the small coke bottle.
Not the cleanest cut, but I was worried about this one. I have not swung a sword much in over 12 years, and I am VERY rusty. The bottle was so small and lightweight, I was worried about hitting the wood stand (Something I have done with my Gen 2 Chaos sword, but it's big and beefy and LAUGHS at wood.) and wreaking the blade. Or maybe the bottle was so light it would just swat across the yard. However, it DID cut, so I was happy. On to the bigger bottle.
A decent cut... but low and VERY close to the stand. A bit worried, I moved on... the Milk box.
CRAPPY cut. Sorta tore it in half. Not sure if thats my bad form or the cartons different make up. On to the 2-litter...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
The 2-liter got swatted, not cut... and the blade took a MAJOR set. It was bent a good 15'... I was devastated! So sad by this was I that I forgot to take a picture and immediately went to trying to bend the blade back into shape. Which I was mostly able to do... you have to look REALLY hard to see the bend now. However, in the course of re-bending it, I over corrected, had to repeat... it was a sad, sad thing.
There can't be much of a temper on this blade...it has VERY little flex and took a set very easily on a pretty weak target. I'm pretty sad about it...
After forgetting all about my pictures and my plans for the review to fix the blade... I was then angry and brought out my Gen 2 Chaos sword to finish off the remaining targets. Which it did, without any trouble, even destroying the heavy plastic bottles at the end.
Conclusion
So... in the end... the Bushido Raijin Folded Katana is, to me, a light, well balanced sword... but I don't trust it at ALL for any cutting beyond the lightest of possible targets.
Pros
Light and Well Balanced.
Interesting hada on the blade.
Cons
Weak blade only suitable for VERY light targets.
Tacky fittings.
Zinc and Plastic parts.
Bottom Line
While I was drawn to this sword because of the purple ito and unique looking blade... I can not recommend this sword for others to buy. For the price, I think there are better options out there, unless the aesthetics of the sword just really appeal to you. In that case, just be aware the sword is good only for very light targets in my opinion.
Where to buy
I know this sword can be found at Swords of Might for $150.00 right now. I think its an attractive sword, except for the tsuba, and I LOVE the look of the blade. If you want a sword to practice form with and cut VERY light targets, this might be a good deal. However, if you wanna cut anything tougher then a piece of paper or small water bottles, then you would be better off with one of the MANY other low budget katana out there from groups like Musashi and Masahiro.
Thanks for reading.