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Post by YlliwCir on Sept 28, 2007 21:01:36 GMT
Review of the Musashi Wind Dragon Katana by Richard Williams of Evansville Indiana USA. The abundance of reviews for Japanese type swords has finally drew me to the dark side and I decided to purchase my first functional katana. After much soul searching and consultation with fellow forumites I settled on this one. I ordered it on sunday night for a purchase price of $79 minus a store discount, minus the SBG discount, plus standard shipping via UPS got it to my door on wendsday morning for a grand total of $81.82. Great service, kudos to Swords of Might. It arrived in a plastic bag inside a fancy box incased in foam peanuts surrounded by a cardboard box. The blade was coated in nice protective coat of oil. The blade was scary sharp and carbon steel. I was impressed with the feel and look of the katana. Felt good and solid. I am surprized at what you can get for less than a hundred dollars. The only downside was two chips in the saya near the throat. in my opinon QC shouldn't have missed these, two points off finish. Otherwise, I was well pleased. Some stats; Overall length-39 in. Blade -27 in. Blade width -1 1/4 in. to 1 in. POB -3 1/2 in. from tsuba. Weight -2 1/2 lbs. Same' - imitation ray skin. Ito - cotton fairly tight. Tsuka - wood. Hamon - faux, looks nice to me. Mekugi - bamboo, two. Saya - black wood. Tsuba - brass antiqued, dragon and wind design. Katana fits tight in the saya, no rattle. Deluxe stand included. Now on to the cutting! After cutting I see what all the ado is about katana. Even with my limited experience it cut well. Tough too as you can see in the vid I wacked my stand pretty hard and clipped the cap on that milk jug without any damage at all to the blade. To sum up: historical accuracy 3/5 fit and finish 3/5 handling 5/5 stuctural integ. 4/5 value for money 5/5 overall 4.5/5 This katana far exceeded my expectations for the price.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2007 22:01:09 GMT
RW,
Thanks for posting this enlightening review.
I noticed some dark splotches on the boshi and ha at the yokote. What is this? Did it wipe off or is this pitting of the steel?
The reason I ask is that I recently ordered a Musashi Elite Wind Katana and discovered, much to my chagrin, "pitting" (tiny black squiggly things) in similar areas. (CLP and Hoppe's No. 9 had no effect.) I do not know if such pitting is merely cosmetic or a serious defect. I suspect the latter, since to polish away the corrosion would require altering the ha in this area.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 28, 2007 22:02:08 GMT
Those are some nasty chips. Can't imagine how that got through. Everything else looks good. I can't watch the video on my phone, so no comments on that till I get home.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2007 22:58:51 GMT
good review by ricwilly. everytime i read a review such as this, my urge to purchase increases by one notch ;D
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2007 23:38:57 GMT
Very nice review. That just makes me want to buy a sub $100 katana even more. Exactly how many waterbottles did you go through?
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Post by YlliwCir on Sept 29, 2007 9:12:39 GMT
Larry, nothing to those spotches, I should have cleaned it up better before posting, they wiped off. (I had to look up yokote, boshi, and ha) Love learning new things. btw, where did you order you elite from? Thanks for the good words. I took a new pic of the blade tip.
Yeah, Random, those chips were annoying and to be fair, I'm sure Swords of Might would have corrected the situation but it's not that big a deal for me as I use my toys rough anyhow. Still thought it bore mentioning to have a balanced review. I'm pleased with the purchase none the less. Thanks for commenting.
Hiead, it was you first pointed me in the direction of Swords of Might and Musashi, I thank you.
Yeah, Matt, I was a bit leary of buying a sub $100 katana for actual use but this one really does the trick, time will tell on the durability but looks good, so far I've wacked my stand and batted a bottle without any damage. LOL I have no idea how many bottles I don't stop to count them. I just did, I got sixteen in the video and probably five or six more after the vid stopped.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2007 15:13:13 GMT
IM a bit confused... So this is the ELITE wind dragon? Cause mine looks nothing like this
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Post by YlliwCir on Sept 29, 2007 17:04:04 GMT
Hey, Luke, no the one I have isn't the Elite, thats the one Larry has. It's confusing to me also as I am new to katana. I read about your troubles with your first sword and you have my condolences, I know it must be disheartening. Here is what I figure; mine is called the "Mushashi Wind Dragon". I gather yours is called the "Bushido Musashi - Wind Dragon"? Is this it? They appear to be two different swords with similar names. The one you have is the same one Paul reviews on the main site here. www.sword-buyers-guide.com/cheap-samurai-swords-for-sale.htmlI hope this clears up some confusion, tho I could just be making it worse. LOL Keep the faith, brother.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2007 18:08:50 GMT
Nice review, sucks that you got a saya with chips in it. Did you order it from musashi directly?
Also you look pretty badass in that first pic haha. Havent I seen you in Stargate?
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Post by YlliwCir on Sept 29, 2007 18:28:52 GMT
I got it from Swords of Might and to be fair I didn't give them a chance to make it right as it wasn't that big a deal to me. I have every faith they would have replaced it. Thanks for the compliment, I am a very manly man, ain't I? LOL
PS. I'm trying to keep the Stargate thing on the QT. I don't need the fan mail.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2007 1:40:42 GMT
glad to be of help ;D
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2007 1:58:06 GMT
Thanks for the review and the vid. I like how you pickle chipped that milk jug. some funny stuff too in the vid.
Good stuff!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2007 16:32:39 GMT
Larry, nothing to those spotches, I should have cleaned it up better before posting, they wiped off. (I had to look up yokote, boshi, and ha) Love learning new things. btw, where did you order you elite from? Thanks for the good words. BTW I took a new pic of the blade tip. <snip> I ordered my Elite Wind (different sword at $179.99 with unpainted copper tsuba) from Trueswords who had it posted for just a few hours before they sold all they had on hand. I wanted to see what the blade geometry was like firsthand. So, in a moment of weakness, I placed the order. And in eight days the sword arrived at my door. The boshi is better polished than on the Cheness swords. I'd post pics but my camera is beyond help and needs replacement. This was my first purchase from Trueswords. I sent them an email and they're sending me a replacement (!) along with prepaid shipping label next week when their next shipment arrives. If I am still displeased, I can return both for a refund. I read their return policy and it looks like they've relaxed it somewhat. It must be a very competitive environment. I know many have noted that Musashi dropped their price on the Elite series $40 (20%) across the board.
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Post by grahamts on Sept 30, 2007 23:55:24 GMT
Nice one RW ;D Obviously katanas suit you, you grinned at least TWICE!!! Whats with the successful cuts on those mini bottles You're letting the side down, obviously had too much contact with shooter mike ;D Although that was a fair old wack to your stand, glad the blade took it OK. I'll just have to keep up the batting average on my own Looking forward to your next purchase, it'll probably be another kat now you are on the slippery slope. With another entertaining review.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2007 2:00:08 GMT
Nice Review Mr. McGyver!!!!!!!! 1+ Karma for you
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Post by Brian of DBK on Oct 1, 2007 3:47:11 GMT
Good review and karma to you.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2007 19:06:57 GMT
Nice review Rick, noticed that your not stepping into it that much. Do you feel the pull on your forarm when you are cutting through. I think that is how I pulled mine a little last week. Also while I'm on here , Shooter Mike "Thanks for the tip" Just happen to be reading ChopChop' "In the beginning" right before I read your post. Karma for you and thanks. The advice seems to help but now I seem to be cutting at an extreme angle?
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Post by YlliwCir on Oct 2, 2007 20:51:04 GMT
Thanks guys for the comments and karma. Mark, my forearm got a little sore when I first started cutting. I didn't notice any discomfort with the katana. Maybe you should join us for workout after work. LOL
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2007 0:13:50 GMT
lol thanks for clearing that up ricwilly. Yes that one was the blade i purchased.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2007 1:27:58 GMT
I am surprized at what you can get for less than a hundred dollars. I love my several sub $100 Japanese style swords too. Alas, too bad there aren't any western swords of this quality at this price point. Oh, well. I was just out cutting with my Musashi Hand Honed, and I think I'm turning back to the Dark Side again. ;D Nicely done review, amigo. edit Actually, Windlass makes some decent American Civil War sabers close to this price range and fantastic quality, but I'm talking more about medieval style swords. Where oh where can they be....
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