Ryumon hand painted Dragon Katana
Oct 12, 2010 8:15:23 GMT
Post by serge021974 on Oct 12, 2010 8:15:23 GMT
Some of you will probably say, here is he AGAIN. Yes I know, I’ve been bitten and now I’ve some kind of review illness. For all the others, please enjoy my next review….
Ryumon hand painted Dragon Katana
First of all, I know that this is a sub 300$ website and it’s also one of my own principles to only buy sub 300$ swords. When I bought this katana it was a sub 300$ katana (now it’s a little bit more). But I still want to share with you this beautiful piece I received recently.
First some background information about dragon themes in the Japanese culture. The dragon in Japanese culture symbolizes power and excellence. In the early days of the dynasty’s some of the dynasty’s worshiped the dragon as their lord and some actually even asked them for help and guidance. The first and 15th of every month they use to perform rituals to worship the dragons. In Japanese Folklore there are nine types of dragons. In some legends they say that most of the dragons in stories evolved from fish, they as they grew they showed their strength and people started to respect them. The nine dragons on the Japanese culture are mostly related to the elements of the earth. The fire dragon is the most talked about and the most popular. The fire dragon is known to be in legends the most competitive and expects a lot from people. One of the other traits of the fire dragon is that it is very ambitious and very short-tempered, as everyone already knows. The fire dragon has to have a master in order to learn how to communicate without force. Another one of the dragons, which is one of the elements, is the water dragon. The water dragon is one of the quieter one’s besides the fire dragon. Some of the characteristics of this dragon is that is has a more positive attitude on things and also it has a more positive approach and also is less selfish and less power hungry than most dragons are. That is why that this dragon is on the most worshiped next to the fire dragon. Dragons are on of the most talked about myths in Japanese Culture and the world. An actual dragon or dragons bones have never been found, if they have existed, that is why a lot of people wonder why there is so much talk about dragons. The purpose of the dragon was meant to be for spiritual beliefs and just to make up stories and legends.
The dragon on this katana is definitely a water dragon.
Ryumon hand painted Dragon Katana
Review by Serge Winckelmans, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
The first thing that struck me also, when my Ryumon order came in was the size of the box
Opening this was even more surprising.
The box includes a certificate of authenticity, cloth sword bag, traditional cleaning kit and a reference guide.
DESIGN, FIT and FINISH
The Ryumon Hand Painted Dragon Katana features a sharpened 1065 high carbon steel blade. The blade has been hand forged and tempered and features a bo-hi groove and prominent hamon. The cast metal tsuba depicts a dragon and has been antiqued along with the other metal hilt components. The wood grip is covered in genuine rayskin and has a brown cord wrap. The most striking feature of this katana is the saya, featuring a hand caved and painted scene of a dragon over waves.
Stats:
Weight : 1025 gr
Blade : 72 cm
Overall length : 100 cm
Point of balance : 12 cm after tsuba
The Blade
A deep bo-hi runs the length of this light curved blade. The blade came sharp. Prominent real hamon.
I own a few katanas, but this has fairly the most beautiful hamon I’ve ever seen. It’s not brushed or etched it’s REAL!
The kissaki is well defined, but less prominent than other katanas I own.
The Tsuka
The tsuka is wood wrapped with real rayskin and wrapped with a beautiful brown cotton ito, also double pegged.
The fuchi is a dragon themed state of the art piece. Also the menuki are dragon themed fittings. This is what I call a DRAGON katana!
The Kashira
Needles to say : also dragon themed. This is all very beautiful and very attractive but has one side affect, how to clean all these well defined fittings (that’s a devil’s job!).
Disassembling the katana wasn’t an easy job. I had to use a hammer to remove the tsuka of the blade. Once everything was pulled out of each other, I saw the signature on the tang.
The Tsuba
This is why this katana felt in to my eye. I like this tsuba very much (and I still do). It’s very nice detailed. Now, the longer I have this katana, the more I like the saya.
The Saya
The saya is not lacquered but matt and hand painted. This is so beautiful and detailed that all of my friends think that this must be an ornamental katana, not a functional. The next tests will tell us something different, I think. ;D
The sageo is a high quality, thick brown cord and very tightly wrapped
The Ryumon Dragon katana fits very well in the saya. Maybe a little bit too good. Sometimes I’m afraid that I won’t get my katana out of the saya.
TESTING
And once again : CHAAAAARRGE !!!!
Video cutting plastic bottles
Video cutting tatami mat
As you can see on all my pictures this isn’t an ornamental piece, but a real all eater with only nice clean cuts!
CONCLUSION
Let’s make a summary. Is it a beautiful, polished blade with a hamon?
YES IT IS!
Are the fittings of a high quality and beautiful detailed?
YES THEY ARE !
Is the saya something different as usual?
OOH! YES HE IS…
Is this katana a functional sword?
MMMMM……I think he is.
THE VERDICT
Historical Accuracy: N/A
Fit and Finish: 6/5
Handling: 5/5
Structural Integrity: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
OVERALL: 5/5 (BUY IT NOW)
WHERE TO BUY
I bought mine at kult of Athena and he’s now still available for 309.95$ + shipping. I know it’s over the 300 mark but I think still the worth to mention.
Ryumon hand painted Dragon Katana
First of all, I know that this is a sub 300$ website and it’s also one of my own principles to only buy sub 300$ swords. When I bought this katana it was a sub 300$ katana (now it’s a little bit more). But I still want to share with you this beautiful piece I received recently.
First some background information about dragon themes in the Japanese culture. The dragon in Japanese culture symbolizes power and excellence. In the early days of the dynasty’s some of the dynasty’s worshiped the dragon as their lord and some actually even asked them for help and guidance. The first and 15th of every month they use to perform rituals to worship the dragons. In Japanese Folklore there are nine types of dragons. In some legends they say that most of the dragons in stories evolved from fish, they as they grew they showed their strength and people started to respect them. The nine dragons on the Japanese culture are mostly related to the elements of the earth. The fire dragon is the most talked about and the most popular. The fire dragon is known to be in legends the most competitive and expects a lot from people. One of the other traits of the fire dragon is that it is very ambitious and very short-tempered, as everyone already knows. The fire dragon has to have a master in order to learn how to communicate without force. Another one of the dragons, which is one of the elements, is the water dragon. The water dragon is one of the quieter one’s besides the fire dragon. Some of the characteristics of this dragon is that is has a more positive attitude on things and also it has a more positive approach and also is less selfish and less power hungry than most dragons are. That is why that this dragon is on the most worshiped next to the fire dragon. Dragons are on of the most talked about myths in Japanese Culture and the world. An actual dragon or dragons bones have never been found, if they have existed, that is why a lot of people wonder why there is so much talk about dragons. The purpose of the dragon was meant to be for spiritual beliefs and just to make up stories and legends.
The dragon on this katana is definitely a water dragon.
Ryumon hand painted Dragon Katana
Review by Serge Winckelmans, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
The first thing that struck me also, when my Ryumon order came in was the size of the box
Opening this was even more surprising.
The box includes a certificate of authenticity, cloth sword bag, traditional cleaning kit and a reference guide.
DESIGN, FIT and FINISH
The Ryumon Hand Painted Dragon Katana features a sharpened 1065 high carbon steel blade. The blade has been hand forged and tempered and features a bo-hi groove and prominent hamon. The cast metal tsuba depicts a dragon and has been antiqued along with the other metal hilt components. The wood grip is covered in genuine rayskin and has a brown cord wrap. The most striking feature of this katana is the saya, featuring a hand caved and painted scene of a dragon over waves.
Stats:
Weight : 1025 gr
Blade : 72 cm
Overall length : 100 cm
Point of balance : 12 cm after tsuba
The Blade
A deep bo-hi runs the length of this light curved blade. The blade came sharp. Prominent real hamon.
I own a few katanas, but this has fairly the most beautiful hamon I’ve ever seen. It’s not brushed or etched it’s REAL!
The kissaki is well defined, but less prominent than other katanas I own.
The Tsuka
The tsuka is wood wrapped with real rayskin and wrapped with a beautiful brown cotton ito, also double pegged.
The fuchi is a dragon themed state of the art piece. Also the menuki are dragon themed fittings. This is what I call a DRAGON katana!
The Kashira
Needles to say : also dragon themed. This is all very beautiful and very attractive but has one side affect, how to clean all these well defined fittings (that’s a devil’s job!).
Disassembling the katana wasn’t an easy job. I had to use a hammer to remove the tsuka of the blade. Once everything was pulled out of each other, I saw the signature on the tang.
The Tsuba
This is why this katana felt in to my eye. I like this tsuba very much (and I still do). It’s very nice detailed. Now, the longer I have this katana, the more I like the saya.
The Saya
The saya is not lacquered but matt and hand painted. This is so beautiful and detailed that all of my friends think that this must be an ornamental katana, not a functional. The next tests will tell us something different, I think. ;D
The sageo is a high quality, thick brown cord and very tightly wrapped
The Ryumon Dragon katana fits very well in the saya. Maybe a little bit too good. Sometimes I’m afraid that I won’t get my katana out of the saya.
TESTING
And once again : CHAAAAARRGE !!!!
Video cutting plastic bottles
Video cutting tatami mat
As you can see on all my pictures this isn’t an ornamental piece, but a real all eater with only nice clean cuts!
CONCLUSION
Let’s make a summary. Is it a beautiful, polished blade with a hamon?
YES IT IS!
Are the fittings of a high quality and beautiful detailed?
YES THEY ARE !
Is the saya something different as usual?
OOH! YES HE IS…
Is this katana a functional sword?
MMMMM……I think he is.
THE VERDICT
Historical Accuracy: N/A
Fit and Finish: 6/5
Handling: 5/5
Structural Integrity: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
OVERALL: 5/5 (BUY IT NOW)
WHERE TO BUY
I bought mine at kult of Athena and he’s now still available for 309.95$ + shipping. I know it’s over the 300 mark but I think still the worth to mention.