Maynar's Stuff
Jan 2, 2011 22:02:03 GMT
Post by Maynar on Jan 2, 2011 22:02:03 GMT
Thought it time to share a little:
My Japanese stuff, an overview.
Another angle, with my Euros and guitars happily visible also:
From the top, left:
1) wall hanger kat, bought before I knew better. I keep it now to remind me what not to buy.
2) Cheapie kat from Tckruan88. Pattern weld 1045-1060-iron, nice looking hada. Kissaki, not so much. But the tsuka and maki are tight. Not fancy, not historical, but I would not hesitate to cut with this tsuka in my hand. Blade's rather sharp. Pretty darn cool for fifty bucks.
Next up, my Musashis.
3) The Wind Dragon, SS919. I have a soft spot in my heart for this blade. It's TH 1060, Musashi claims HRC 55. Wirebrushed hamon, wax in saya but I don't care. It's a workhorse cutter, and if I break it I won't cry. I keep it as an example of wirebrushing, before Musashi managed to get a real clayed hamon under $100.
Mokko Gata, SS807BK. Clayed hamon, rikko style tsuka (very tight) non-alternating wrap. I use it as a basic cutter, and I've pranged the stand a couple times. As a result, I managed to put a small set in the blade. Guess I've got some practicin' to do, Lucy!
Musashi Black Bamboo. I bought this last month to make a daisho with the short sword I bought last year from HMS of same theme. Mushy is stepping up their game yet again. This bad boy sports alternating ito wrap, a first at this price point.
Musashi Gekkou, as customized by Robby:
Fleshed out my tanto rack with a budget blade from ZS Sword (top). I used some 600 grit sandpaper to remove the wirebrush hamon, and it doesn't look too bad. Purple is moroha w/horimono, red is pattern weld with nice hada.
That's the left-hand side of the wall, let's see what's up on the right...
From the top:
Munetoshi Bonsai Wak. T-10, very satisfying niku. Hamon and boshi very pleasing. I got this on sale for $99, eat your hearts out.
But hey you can find it for $130 regular price, so it's not all bad.
2nd wak is a Cheness I bought second-hand for $50. Fakey hamon, fittings kinda gaudy, glad I didn't spend any more than I did. I had to re&re it to secure the fittings, maki a little loose. So I'd cut with it now, but I dunno if I'd buy another Cheness. Certainly not at full retail in any case.
3rd wak is a HMS 1095 ko-kat. It's Bamboo theme, I recently bought the Musashi Black Bamboo to daisho with it as I mentioned upthread. I like it a lot but the maki could be a bit tighter. www.handmadesword.com/345.html I did a little review of this one (on page) if anyone is so inclined.
Now we come to the meat and potatoes.
First up, a couple of eBay experiments. Actually, the purple Tckruan88 was part of this as well:
1. Hua Wei Swords made me a custom U-no-kubi zukuri. I love these guys' steel. The fittings and tsuka fit, not so much:
Steel is T-10. Hamon/boshi is gorgeous. Polish is very nice, geometric yokote. Too bad they didn't have their game up WRT tsukamaki. I'm going to get a local guy to re-wrap this bad boy. Other than that, I love this katana. Sori extends through the nagako, yay! At $240, it's great value for the money. New fittings/tsuka are in order tho.
2. The Green Machine.
Ordered from ST-Sword, another Longquan forge outlet. Customer service was not as good as Hua Wei, but overall I'm pleased with the blade. Kissaki needs a proper polish and the horimono could be cleaned up a bit.
The fittings are iron and the wrap is just as solid. I'm impressed with the tsuka and would not hesitate to cut with it. No hi, this thing is a heavy cutter for sure.
3. SoM katana #17. Originally a scratch-n-dent item, Robby gave it a tuneup. I did some cutting with it last summer, and it does the trick very nicely. Would not hesitate to cut bamboo with it.
4. Kris Cutlery tanto. I bought it second-hand from Moondog, and it's pretty great. I was never a fan of O-kissaki but this blade made me a believer. Dual hi, very nice hada. alternating ito. Sucker's heavy too, the weight surprised me. According to Hyoujinsama, the full size tsuba on this blade qualifies it as chisagatana:
And so we come to my latest infatuation, Euros. I originally bought a Valiant Armory Henry V, but it was a monstrous boat anchor, I had to send it back. Instead, I bought this Hanwei Agincourt for $109 and I'm digging it:
Hollow ground w/secondary bevel. No distal taper that I can see, and profile taper of only 1/4". Can't wait to cut some targets with it next spring. From dry handling, I'm liking this Euro stuff.
Got my eye on a Hanwei Tinker Single-hand, a Hanwei River Witham and a Hanwei Mercenary, among others.
For Xmas I received a saber:
Windlass 1840 heavy cavalry saber made in India from 1065 HCS.
I'm also digging this saber, looking fwd to ordering: therionarms.com/reenact/therionarms_c1249.html
Oh, I almost forgot: I have a kanmuri otoshi zukuri in transit from Hua Wei as we speak. Theme designed by our fellow forumite Wes. Thanks, Wes! *waves*
That's pretty much the State of the Onion for now, folks. Thanks for looking!
My Japanese stuff, an overview.
Another angle, with my Euros and guitars happily visible also:
From the top, left:
1) wall hanger kat, bought before I knew better. I keep it now to remind me what not to buy.
2) Cheapie kat from Tckruan88. Pattern weld 1045-1060-iron, nice looking hada. Kissaki, not so much. But the tsuka and maki are tight. Not fancy, not historical, but I would not hesitate to cut with this tsuka in my hand. Blade's rather sharp. Pretty darn cool for fifty bucks.
Next up, my Musashis.
3) The Wind Dragon, SS919. I have a soft spot in my heart for this blade. It's TH 1060, Musashi claims HRC 55. Wirebrushed hamon, wax in saya but I don't care. It's a workhorse cutter, and if I break it I won't cry. I keep it as an example of wirebrushing, before Musashi managed to get a real clayed hamon under $100.
Mokko Gata, SS807BK. Clayed hamon, rikko style tsuka (very tight) non-alternating wrap. I use it as a basic cutter, and I've pranged the stand a couple times. As a result, I managed to put a small set in the blade. Guess I've got some practicin' to do, Lucy!
Musashi Black Bamboo. I bought this last month to make a daisho with the short sword I bought last year from HMS of same theme. Mushy is stepping up their game yet again. This bad boy sports alternating ito wrap, a first at this price point.
Musashi Gekkou, as customized by Robby:
Fleshed out my tanto rack with a budget blade from ZS Sword (top). I used some 600 grit sandpaper to remove the wirebrush hamon, and it doesn't look too bad. Purple is moroha w/horimono, red is pattern weld with nice hada.
That's the left-hand side of the wall, let's see what's up on the right...
From the top:
Munetoshi Bonsai Wak. T-10, very satisfying niku. Hamon and boshi very pleasing. I got this on sale for $99, eat your hearts out.
But hey you can find it for $130 regular price, so it's not all bad.
2nd wak is a Cheness I bought second-hand for $50. Fakey hamon, fittings kinda gaudy, glad I didn't spend any more than I did. I had to re&re it to secure the fittings, maki a little loose. So I'd cut with it now, but I dunno if I'd buy another Cheness. Certainly not at full retail in any case.
3rd wak is a HMS 1095 ko-kat. It's Bamboo theme, I recently bought the Musashi Black Bamboo to daisho with it as I mentioned upthread. I like it a lot but the maki could be a bit tighter. www.handmadesword.com/345.html I did a little review of this one (on page) if anyone is so inclined.
Now we come to the meat and potatoes.
First up, a couple of eBay experiments. Actually, the purple Tckruan88 was part of this as well:
1. Hua Wei Swords made me a custom U-no-kubi zukuri. I love these guys' steel. The fittings and tsuka fit, not so much:
Steel is T-10. Hamon/boshi is gorgeous. Polish is very nice, geometric yokote. Too bad they didn't have their game up WRT tsukamaki. I'm going to get a local guy to re-wrap this bad boy. Other than that, I love this katana. Sori extends through the nagako, yay! At $240, it's great value for the money. New fittings/tsuka are in order tho.
2. The Green Machine.
Ordered from ST-Sword, another Longquan forge outlet. Customer service was not as good as Hua Wei, but overall I'm pleased with the blade. Kissaki needs a proper polish and the horimono could be cleaned up a bit.
The fittings are iron and the wrap is just as solid. I'm impressed with the tsuka and would not hesitate to cut with it. No hi, this thing is a heavy cutter for sure.
3. SoM katana #17. Originally a scratch-n-dent item, Robby gave it a tuneup. I did some cutting with it last summer, and it does the trick very nicely. Would not hesitate to cut bamboo with it.
4. Kris Cutlery tanto. I bought it second-hand from Moondog, and it's pretty great. I was never a fan of O-kissaki but this blade made me a believer. Dual hi, very nice hada. alternating ito. Sucker's heavy too, the weight surprised me. According to Hyoujinsama, the full size tsuba on this blade qualifies it as chisagatana:
And so we come to my latest infatuation, Euros. I originally bought a Valiant Armory Henry V, but it was a monstrous boat anchor, I had to send it back. Instead, I bought this Hanwei Agincourt for $109 and I'm digging it:
Hollow ground w/secondary bevel. No distal taper that I can see, and profile taper of only 1/4". Can't wait to cut some targets with it next spring. From dry handling, I'm liking this Euro stuff.
Got my eye on a Hanwei Tinker Single-hand, a Hanwei River Witham and a Hanwei Mercenary, among others.For Xmas I received a saber:
Windlass 1840 heavy cavalry saber made in India from 1065 HCS.
I'm also digging this saber, looking fwd to ordering: therionarms.com/reenact/therionarms_c1249.html
Oh, I almost forgot: I have a kanmuri otoshi zukuri in transit from Hua Wei as we speak. Theme designed by our fellow forumite Wes. Thanks, Wes! *waves*
That's pretty much the State of the Onion for now, folks. Thanks for looking!
