United Black Yoru Doragon Forged Wakizashi Sword
Oct 4, 2010 20:23:36 GMT
Post by Sir Tre on Oct 4, 2010 20:23:36 GMT
Apr 7, 2010
The United Black Yoru Doragon Forged Wakizashi Sword
This started off as taking one for the team. There was a couple of the guys on the forum who were concerned about the reputation of United Cutlery in days gone by. The swords they have sold in the past have been stainless steel that have welded rat tailed tangs, being no more than wall-hangers for the use of display. This would be fine for the person who wants to decorate their home in a sword styled motif. However, if you are a sincere sword enthusiast, who likes to practice your swordsmanship styles, or do target cutting, that would not suffice.
Being a sword enthusiast, and martial artist, myself, I fall into the later category. Also being a person who has previously purchased a United Cutlery’s United Black line product before, I felt as I was not taking a big chance in getting this sword. I also prefer shorter blades, making a wakizashi a good choice for what I need in a Japanese styled sword.
My first impression of this sword was that the saya was nice, though not done in traditional paint. The saya throat has a chape of some sort, but I don’t believe that it is buffalo horn or such. The shitadome is rather low on the saya, and the saya doesn’t have the traditional sageo on it, but has a rather long cord. The fit of the sword in the saya is good and snug, as seen here.
The blade is wonderful for a through hardened blade. There is no fake/ wire-brush nor etched hamon. I feel if a hamon is not there naturally, there shouldn’t be one. There is a stamp on the blade assumed to be Japanese for “United, strong steel”. On the other side of the blade is a United Cutlery marking stating it to be 1060 carbon steel. The blade geometry is well done and not a secondary bevel seen in some of the other budget swords. The blade is 22 inches with a double bohi. There is probably not a historical styling here, but I still say well done. The seppa fits well on the blade without any play/ slack.
The tsuka is about 9 inches long, done in leather ito. The ito is snug and doesn’t have any play. The kashira and fuchi fit snugly on the tsuka. The tsuba is round in acutout style similar to the musashi tsuba, but round.
The sword handles well, with a POB of about 3 and a half inches. I found myself spinning it around like a kid watching a ninja movie, and yes I realize that is not how to use a sword, but no one said it isn’t fun. I have posted a vid here for you to see the handling and cutting abilities.
Over all, I found this to be excellent for the price that I paid. The pros of this sword is how well it is put together, the fact that it doesn’t have a fake hamon, since it is TH, the blade geometry, the hardening of 57 HRC, and the price.
The cons, of course, if you are a traditionalist, that it is not Differentially Hardened, so no hamon at all, leather ito, and no historical overview.
Ultimately, I am going to buy a couple more before they are all gone. I suggest that, should you be interested in a budget wakizashi, you should buy one as well.
the tsuka has NO cracks.
obvious decent tang length.
tsuba side view...for moondog.
after sanding the tsuba, it revealed to be brass.
mune view... hard to see, but stamp says China.
The United Black Yoru Doragon Forged Wakizashi Sword
This started off as taking one for the team. There was a couple of the guys on the forum who were concerned about the reputation of United Cutlery in days gone by. The swords they have sold in the past have been stainless steel that have welded rat tailed tangs, being no more than wall-hangers for the use of display. This would be fine for the person who wants to decorate their home in a sword styled motif. However, if you are a sincere sword enthusiast, who likes to practice your swordsmanship styles, or do target cutting, that would not suffice.
Being a sword enthusiast, and martial artist, myself, I fall into the later category. Also being a person who has previously purchased a United Cutlery’s United Black line product before, I felt as I was not taking a big chance in getting this sword. I also prefer shorter blades, making a wakizashi a good choice for what I need in a Japanese styled sword.
My first impression of this sword was that the saya was nice, though not done in traditional paint. The saya throat has a chape of some sort, but I don’t believe that it is buffalo horn or such. The shitadome is rather low on the saya, and the saya doesn’t have the traditional sageo on it, but has a rather long cord. The fit of the sword in the saya is good and snug, as seen here.
The blade is wonderful for a through hardened blade. There is no fake/ wire-brush nor etched hamon. I feel if a hamon is not there naturally, there shouldn’t be one. There is a stamp on the blade assumed to be Japanese for “United, strong steel”. On the other side of the blade is a United Cutlery marking stating it to be 1060 carbon steel. The blade geometry is well done and not a secondary bevel seen in some of the other budget swords. The blade is 22 inches with a double bohi. There is probably not a historical styling here, but I still say well done. The seppa fits well on the blade without any play/ slack.
The tsuka is about 9 inches long, done in leather ito. The ito is snug and doesn’t have any play. The kashira and fuchi fit snugly on the tsuka. The tsuba is round in acutout style similar to the musashi tsuba, but round.
The sword handles well, with a POB of about 3 and a half inches. I found myself spinning it around like a kid watching a ninja movie, and yes I realize that is not how to use a sword, but no one said it isn’t fun. I have posted a vid here for you to see the handling and cutting abilities.
Over all, I found this to be excellent for the price that I paid. The pros of this sword is how well it is put together, the fact that it doesn’t have a fake hamon, since it is TH, the blade geometry, the hardening of 57 HRC, and the price.
The cons, of course, if you are a traditionalist, that it is not Differentially Hardened, so no hamon at all, leather ito, and no historical overview.
Ultimately, I am going to buy a couple more before they are all gone. I suggest that, should you be interested in a budget wakizashi, you should buy one as well.
the tsuka has NO cracks.
obvious decent tang length.
tsuba side view...for moondog.
after sanding the tsuba, it revealed to be brass.
mune view... hard to see, but stamp says China.