|
|
Post by smt5141 on Nov 25, 2010 5:45:46 GMT
What are the best Ninjato on the market? Watched Ninja Assassin on TV last night haha...andd I think I may need to add one to my collection. Always liked the straight blade design. I have an SBG custom that I like, looking to expand a bit.
|
|
|
|
Post by Crimsoned on Nov 25, 2010 6:28:39 GMT
Hanwei's Ninja-to is one perhaps.
There is also Kris Cutlery's Ninja to (better to contact them directly)
There's also WWS' ko-katana. Not a ninjato but close enough to straight edged.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pete S on Nov 25, 2010 6:39:38 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Moondog on Nov 25, 2010 9:29:29 GMT
How wide is the KC ninja to. Heh. Looks awesome.but if the Iga is the widest seems Neato.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2010 10:27:22 GMT
I have the Hanwei Kouga Ninjato, it's quite a nice sword for the money. I bought the Hanwei Practical Ninja for my brother. It's a beater version of the Kouga and Iga. It's got a Tanto point, fake ray skin same and cheaper materials but still seems quite good.
|
|
|
|
Post by Google on Nov 25, 2010 12:46:39 GMT
Hanwei have the best looking ninjato IMO (the new models), but you can try also kensei (oni-no-tsume model)
and the WSS ko katana.
|
|
|
|
Post by SlayerofDarkness on Nov 25, 2010 17:22:03 GMT
Here's a comprehensive list of all the Ninja-To that I know of. I've been interested in them for a while, though never actively (e.g., I've never handled any, but I've read a decent amount and heard people's opinions of the swords so I have a large amount of 2nd hand info, lol). Hope it helps.  Musashi Ninja Sword: $50-$60
Best places to buy: Trueswords, KultofAthena, SwordnArmoryThis is the cheapest Ninja-To out there. Not much except a cheap 1045 beater with okay quality, TH blade, 'meh' fittings, and a serious case of 'bad tsuka shape', it's still well worth the price if you just want something cheap and vaguely 'Ninja-ish' to whack stuff with.  [ Note- this sword also comes in another version with a black blade. Many people have mentioned things about the black coating coming off easily, IIRC, so I'd avoid this blackened version for any purpose other than display] Masahiro 'Engraved Dragon Ninja-to Sword': $90
Best places to buy: Trueswords, or look around, as I can only find it thereI don't know much about this model, but Masahiro's generally not as good as Musashi. I'd be VERY surprised if this sword were a respective 'jewel' in the junk, but I also seem to recall a member who had it and liked it... IDK, but it's not to my taste. However, it offers a few significant 'stat upgrades' (as in, it should be better by the stats but we don't really know), including 1065 steel (TH, like the musashi), copper seppa/habaki (not 'better', per se, just cool), engraving on the blade (could be bad, or good), and real rayskin/same'. It sounds better than the musashi, but I am still nto a fan. I'd prefer the Musashi, but I'll admit don't know enough to call it either way. [ Note- 1st hand experience from Chrisperoni shows that this model may be 1045, despite claims of 1065 steel being used, and that the same' and ito are low and bad quality, respectively. Also, the wire-brushed hamon is apparantly less-than-gorgeous, lol.] Hanwei Practical Ninja-To: $150
Best places to buy: Wiwingti, KultofAthenaThis is the basic, stereotypical Ninja-To. Features, whether good or bad, include a straight blade, American 'Tanto' point, DH, etched hamon, 'axe handle' tsuka, fake same', cheap-but-functional fittings, decent ito, a cool sort of sageo suspension on the saya, and it's supposed to be quite light and fast, though not as easy to cut with as many other swords. Oh, and you can buy it with either black or white same', but it doesn't matter too much- it's fake either way. Black may be preferable as it apparantly makes the 'fakeness' harder to see, and looks 'Ninja-ish', though. Hanwei Kouga/Iga Ninja-To: $220-$230
Best places to buy: Ditto^This is Hanwei's upgraded pair of Ninja-To. They're everything the Practical is, but with the added benefits of really cool fittings, and a choice between two very different styles; both of which are awesome. These also have the feature of ditching the Americanized point for a traditional kissaki geometry, a stunning hamon that far out-shines the basic one of the Practical (IMO), and (from the pics on KoA's site) it appears that the tsuka may even be slightly waisted. All in all, an upgraded Practical Ninja-To. Cheness Oniyuri Ninja Sword: $250
Best place to buy: SBGI don't really like Cheness that much, and I don't know TOO much about this sword, so I'll leave the main explanation to others if you're interested. I DO know that this sword has a REALLY long grip coupled to a short blade, and is TH, but probably a bit too soft. The fittings and ito are also pretty sucky, lol, but the blade isn't horrible. The blade shape is non-traditional for a ninja-to: It's more of a short katana blade, curved and everything. Not to my tastes; I think it's overpriced, though YMMV. Kris Cutlery Ninja-To: $150
Best places to buy: Kris Cutlery, KultofAthenaThis may be the plainest of all the Ninja-To.... but I would bet $20 it's the toughest, too. Kris Cutlery is known for their less-than-beautiful-but-awesomely-well-made blades. This sword is made out of 5160, and is DH. The fittings are plain but tough, and the saya is unlaquered which is a unique look that I'm fond of. The saya is also much longer than the incredibly short 20" blade, for reasons of confusing the enemy. If you buy a ninja-to that's sub-$200, I reccomend this one, as have MANY members with more experience than myself. Munetoshi Ninja-To Mat Cutter: $150
Best places to buy: Wiwingti, SwordnarmoryThis is the best cutter of the bunch. A sword designed 100% to cut well, it will go through tatami like lightning. One issue? It's quite delicate. The blade is thin and has no niku supporting the edge, so hit a bottle cap... and you've got some bad news. It's a specialized sword, for sure, but is a superb deal for the price. Read up on the reviews of the 'Munetoshi Yuki' from SnA as well. This sword has the same geometry, just in a ninja style. Some bonus features include an epic habaki design, nice fittings, great tsuka shape and ito-wrap, standard non-Americanized kissaki, and a well-polished blade, if this sword holds true to what we've seen of other Munetoshi pieces. Munetoshi Nisshoku Ninja-To: $170
Best places to buy: Wiwingti, SwordnarmoryThis is more of a ko-katana than a ninja-to. Just a katana with a short blade and standard-length saya, for the same reasons mentioned above. It's a greta sword, I'm sure- I haven't heard anything specific about it, but my faith in Munetoshi is high as I think every sword of theirs that has been reviewed is spectacular. Heck, I have an $80 Beater, and it's one of the coolest katana I've seen, PERIOD, including swords 3x+ it's price. Basically, if you like the curved 'historically authentic' style ninja-to, this would be my vote. The blade is made of the mysterious t-10 steel and is DH. It has a standard kissaki, as befits a regular-style katana blade. WSS Ko-Katana: $300ish?
Best place to buy: WiwingtiIf you like the short katana style rather than standard ninja-to, this is the top of the line. DH, super great looking, light and fast, this is an epic sword worth the price and more from what I've heard. It's a katana geometry, but shorter, and looks a lot like a ninja-to, because it has almost NO curvature of the blade. This isn't much of a ninja-to, I'll be the first to admit, but it's just so epic that I had to include it. These are all the functional ninja-to that I can think of, though there may be a couple out there I'm not aware of. In summary, here's a quick list if you want to look them up--v
Musashi Ninja Sword
Musashi Black Ninja Sword
Masahiro Engraved Dragon Ninja-To Sword
Hanwei Practical Ninja-To
Hanwei Kouga Ninja-To
Hanwei Iga Ninja-To
Cheness Oniyuri Ninja Sword
Kris Cutlery Ninja-To
Munetoshi Ninja-To Mat Cutter
Munetoshi Nisshoku Ninja Sword
WSS Ko-KatanaI hope this helps, and good luck on your search! 
-Slayer
|
|
|
|
Post by chrisperoni on Nov 25, 2010 18:04:34 GMT
I have the Masahiro engraved Dragon and it's pretty much exactly as described above except I'm fairly sure it's only 1045. It was descibed and sold to me as 1065 but Chris Scoggin (operator of RoninKatana) told me he used to sell it and it's only 1045...
Does a great job cutting light targets
has real same panels but low quality
copper tsuba
awful wire brushed hamon
paper thin leather ito
edit/change: I checked and it looks like I paid about $90 for it shipped, back in 2007- at the time it seemed like a good deal and it's been a damn fun sword to use for years now but these days I don't think I'd spend $90 on it given what I now know about swords etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by SlayerofDarkness on Nov 25, 2010 18:17:18 GMT
Thanks for the info, Chris- I edited my post to include your info, as I want this list to be something people can copy and paste as a response whenever someone is interested in ninja-to. The question springs up every few months and it seemed like a useful idea to have a comprehensive list... so I made one. Isn't there another Masahiro Ninja-To? I'm sure it's of similar quality, but I want to try and include every known functional ninja sword on the list.  Thanks again!  -Slayer |
|
|
|
Post by chrisperoni on Nov 25, 2010 18:26:25 GMT
Cool stuff- but to be fair I think you should add that it has survived almost 3 years of abuse and stood up very well, still a nice tight tskua/tsuba and ito wrap, only some minor scratching and 1 little nick on the kissaki. it's been my main beat it up cutter so far.
|
|
|
|
Post by chrisperoni on Nov 25, 2010 18:33:14 GMT
It's so hard to know about Masahiro swords because they are a rebrander...they don't manufacture anything- they just buy swords in volume and repackage in their name- so stuff can show up from anywhere and be called a 'Masahiro'. Over the years I'm sure this has included other ninja-to's...
|
|
|
|
Post by smt5141 on Nov 25, 2010 19:22:35 GMT
The kouga is beautiful, and just the style I like. What type of steel?
|
|
|
|
Post by SlayerofDarkness on Nov 25, 2010 20:08:12 GMT
I *THINK* Hanwei uses 1060, but whatever it is, it's good. No need to worry about the steel type, when you know how good the sword is. -Slayer |
|
|
|
Post by chrisperoni on Nov 25, 2010 20:35:19 GMT
True dat. Ask any bladesmith and they'll tell ya it's the smith not the steel
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2010 13:56:31 GMT
Hanwei ninjato is the best sword.
|
|
[Note- this sword also comes in another version with a black blade. Many people have mentioned things about the black coating coming off easily, IIRC, so I'd avoid this blackened version for any purpose other than display]
