Review: $37 Ryan Sword Katana - "Unsharp for Iaido"
Oct 22, 2010 12:05:21 GMT
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2010 12:05:21 GMT
Over the past few weeks I have wanted to buy a cheap katana, but one that is not entirely crappy, in order to determine if I really wanted to get back into Iaido, at which point I would pay for a good one. The local Iaido crew suggested Ryansword, but I was dubious, especially after seeing the stories and movies of rat-tail tangs etc! So I hunted around on the net (especially this site) and then, of course, *really* wanted to buy a good one! However, I restrained myself and did actually buy a US$37 Ryansword ($38 postage to Australia). It is advertised on eBay as "40.6"HandMade Japanese Sword Katana UNSHARP For Iaido", being sold by seller swordmaker688. I figured that I could afford to lose $75 if it was awful.
This is entirely a good news story.
In this review, I am going to use mostly "common"or English names of components so that new beginners can understand what I am talking about.
I paid for the sword on 12th October and also requested a different Tsuba to be fitted. I received confirmation within 12 hours and received an email on the 15th stating that the sword had been shipped, with apologies for the delay. A courier tracking number and website was provided and I "watched" the parcel make its way to Shanghai. I received it today (22nd October), so only 10 days from ordering to possession! When I first picked up the box I thought "uh-oh.. this is too light", but I was mistaken - my perception was being tricked by the packaging
It was properly packed in Styrofoam:
The handle was shrink-wrapped in plastic and the blade was in a plastic sleeve and very oily. Good packing!
I was already pretty happy with what I saw and felt, and the correct Tsuba was fitted! Nothing rattled and it fitted firmly in the scabbard. As I expected, there were minor visible machine markings on some components and I really didn't like the bright gold paint that was used to paint over the designs (I have since rubbed off the paint and coloured it all black).
The blade had a very, very slight curve to the left, but this was completely unnoticeable without very carefully looking down the blade and being very picky. I tried to bend the blade back to be *perfectly* straight, but it just sprung back to exactly the same position! So that is good: it's sprung and resists bending!
As an "unsharp" blade, it obviously wasn't razor sharp, but some parts of the blade *were* quite sharp and very marginally rough (not visibly, just by touch) and could certainly still do some cutting damage! I used 1200 grit to sand the edge to a nice smooth line. I am very happy that it wasn't ground down to a 1 or 2 millimeter flat edge, which I think looks really bad.
There was no way I was going to even think about swinging this blade without checking the tang, so I pushed out the two bamboo pins, knocked the tsuba down gently to release the handle and found a full tang - hooray! Note that the handle (Tsuka) was nice and tightly over the tang and was not cracked. It is made of hardwood with ray skin etc etc, as advertised.
Note, in the following photos, all the metal filings from when they drilled the two holes for the bamboo pins? It is obviously a really good idea to always check for this when you first get your sword and knock them out of the handle: the filings can exacerbate corrosion of the tang. Note also that I used gun oil on the tang and on all components before reassembly to inhibit corrosion - do NOT use vegetable oil or sprays like WD40 (the former goes rancid and sticky and the latter evaporates). EDIT: Marc has advised me in the comments below NOT to oil the tang at all - a little rust on the tang is a good thing as it increases friction with the tsuka.
The tang did have light rust, which I sanded off and then applied gun oil. The tang still had some rough machining marks, but it *is* a cheap sword so I don't care!
After reassembly, I checked the specs. The dimensions are exactly as advertised:
Overall Length: 103 cm / 40.6 inch
Blade Length: 73 cm / 28.7 inch
Handle Length: 27 cm / 10.6 inch
Blade Material: AISI 1055 Carbon Steel (I can't test this!)
Saya Material: High quality wooden SAYA (ok... it IS wood!)
Handle Material: Genuine ray skin + Hard wood
The mass of the entire katana is 1.0kg and the balance point is as shown by the blue line of the circular tin in the photo below:
The above photo shows the blade before I gave it a good polish and oil - it really came up very well, but I have reached the maximum number of allowed attachments!
I have given the sword a few, tentative, Initial swings and it feels very solid and fast. It does not feel "tip-heavy" and the grip is firm. Will play more tomorrow when the mosquitoes aren't around to eat me alive.
I have looked very carefully at the (acid-etched) hamon and compared it to the photos on the Ebay listing (I always save the entire web page in case of de-listing or disputes etc), and I am fairly certain that it is NOT the actual blade that was in the pictures on Ebay, but it is almost identical in every way and I have no complaints at all.
OVERALL, for the very low price of just $38 ($75 if you include postage), this is an awesome sword! For the price I paid, I am very, very impressed with it. I would not try cutting with it (it's blunt!), but it will probably serve my amateur, somewhat embarrassing, Iaido attempts very nicely.
This is entirely a good news story.
In this review, I am going to use mostly "common"or English names of components so that new beginners can understand what I am talking about.
I paid for the sword on 12th October and also requested a different Tsuba to be fitted. I received confirmation within 12 hours and received an email on the 15th stating that the sword had been shipped, with apologies for the delay. A courier tracking number and website was provided and I "watched" the parcel make its way to Shanghai. I received it today (22nd October), so only 10 days from ordering to possession! When I first picked up the box I thought "uh-oh.. this is too light", but I was mistaken - my perception was being tricked by the packaging
It was properly packed in Styrofoam:
The handle was shrink-wrapped in plastic and the blade was in a plastic sleeve and very oily. Good packing!
I was already pretty happy with what I saw and felt, and the correct Tsuba was fitted! Nothing rattled and it fitted firmly in the scabbard. As I expected, there were minor visible machine markings on some components and I really didn't like the bright gold paint that was used to paint over the designs (I have since rubbed off the paint and coloured it all black).
The blade had a very, very slight curve to the left, but this was completely unnoticeable without very carefully looking down the blade and being very picky. I tried to bend the blade back to be *perfectly* straight, but it just sprung back to exactly the same position! So that is good: it's sprung and resists bending!
As an "unsharp" blade, it obviously wasn't razor sharp, but some parts of the blade *were* quite sharp and very marginally rough (not visibly, just by touch) and could certainly still do some cutting damage! I used 1200 grit to sand the edge to a nice smooth line. I am very happy that it wasn't ground down to a 1 or 2 millimeter flat edge, which I think looks really bad.
There was no way I was going to even think about swinging this blade without checking the tang, so I pushed out the two bamboo pins, knocked the tsuba down gently to release the handle and found a full tang - hooray! Note that the handle (Tsuka) was nice and tightly over the tang and was not cracked. It is made of hardwood with ray skin etc etc, as advertised.
Note, in the following photos, all the metal filings from when they drilled the two holes for the bamboo pins? It is obviously a really good idea to always check for this when you first get your sword and knock them out of the handle: the filings can exacerbate corrosion of the tang. Note also that I used gun oil on the tang and on all components before reassembly to inhibit corrosion - do NOT use vegetable oil or sprays like WD40 (the former goes rancid and sticky and the latter evaporates). EDIT: Marc has advised me in the comments below NOT to oil the tang at all - a little rust on the tang is a good thing as it increases friction with the tsuka.
The tang did have light rust, which I sanded off and then applied gun oil. The tang still had some rough machining marks, but it *is* a cheap sword so I don't care!
After reassembly, I checked the specs. The dimensions are exactly as advertised:
Overall Length: 103 cm / 40.6 inch
Blade Length: 73 cm / 28.7 inch
Handle Length: 27 cm / 10.6 inch
Blade Material: AISI 1055 Carbon Steel (I can't test this!)
Saya Material: High quality wooden SAYA (ok... it IS wood!)
Handle Material: Genuine ray skin + Hard wood
The mass of the entire katana is 1.0kg and the balance point is as shown by the blue line of the circular tin in the photo below:
The above photo shows the blade before I gave it a good polish and oil - it really came up very well, but I have reached the maximum number of allowed attachments!
I have given the sword a few, tentative, Initial swings and it feels very solid and fast. It does not feel "tip-heavy" and the grip is firm. Will play more tomorrow when the mosquitoes aren't around to eat me alive.
I have looked very carefully at the (acid-etched) hamon and compared it to the photos on the Ebay listing (I always save the entire web page in case of de-listing or disputes etc), and I am fairly certain that it is NOT the actual blade that was in the pictures on Ebay, but it is almost identical in every way and I have no complaints at all.
OVERALL, for the very low price of just $38 ($75 if you include postage), this is an awesome sword! For the price I paid, I am very, very impressed with it. I would not try cutting with it (it's blunt!), but it will probably serve my amateur, somewhat embarrassing, Iaido attempts very nicely.