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Post by frankthebunny on Apr 1, 2011 20:16:10 GMT
thanks a.jordan  I could certainly customize a sword for zentesukenVII but I like to encourage those who feel they can do it themselves to go ahead and do it. while certain aspects can be difficult to get right the first few times most just require some crafting skill and patience. if you stick with it even the harder things will become a lot easier with practice. when you're done, it will make the sword so much more personal because you did it yourself. I asked a lot of questions and did a lot of reading and watched whatever video tutorials were available. I have purchased from Huawei before and had a great experience. I had them make me a custom T-10 shobu bare blade and they can also send a tsuka core and saya along with it for a very reasonable price. if you have any questions or need any sources for supplies just shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to assist if I can good luck and remember to have fun |
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TomK
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Posts: 2,377
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Post by TomK on Apr 3, 2011 3:28:40 GMT
The Katana Dojo Pro #6 was the one I had so maybe the cheaper line just doesn't measure up I've heard really good things from everyone who has gotten a dojo pro model.
as for Hauwei reviews, I thought we had a few on the old forum, did you look through the reviews on the old forum? they may not be listed in the review index it does has a few holes.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 3, 2011 4:10:05 GMT
Well once agian I'm in the "crap i have no idea what to buy" vibe. I dont really care so much about the unokubi blade anymore, my specifications are a sword with brown ito, white samegawa and a no hi DH blade. Or a sword thats TH but can hold a good edge, I'm not too worryed about botching my blade on a bad cut, im worried about it getting dull. All for under 300$.....kaze, custom whatever, so many options, yet so few. I'm really scared to get a cheness....idk why  I like any sword theme besides dragons, big square tsubas and gold. i like antique. |
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 3, 2011 4:17:43 GMT
or gold ito.....  idk if anyone has any ideas. This is so frustrating. literally stressed about this... |
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 3, 2011 4:41:25 GMT
I totally get that feeling. $300 is a lot of money to spend and I go back and forth constantly. Besides Kris Cutlery, the Ronin Dojo Pro, and the Cheness Kaze the only other things that I can think of that fits your needs is maybe a Munetoshi T10 or 1095 Katana. They start at $128 and go up to about $500. They come in a lot of colors and have everything from slight to heavy niku. The slight niku will generally be sharper at first, but the heavier niku will stay sharper longer. The Hanwei practical series generally come as what has been called "stupid sharp," but have a history of being somewhat brittle, leading to chipped or broken blades. However, most of these reviews are several years old, and for all I know Hanwei has rectified this problem. While the Kaze, Kris, and Ronin all have models with brown ito, none have gold that I know of.
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TomK
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Post by TomK on Apr 3, 2011 5:30:09 GMT
Munetoshi are generally really good swords for the price. I have seen many of them and cut with a few. They were all real nice.
The Cheness Kaze sounds a lot like what you are looking for. If you get one you might love it or you might hate it. I had one and liked it for a while. I still like it to some extent even though I don't own it anymore. the fittings are pretty much junk, you can see casting lines on them, the detail is poor like a fuzzy photo copy, they are sometimes loose, the saya mouth is almost always sloppily gouged out and rarely fits decently and even then it is bound to loosen dramatically with time. The ito doesn't alternate and the tsuka is pretty rectangular and tends to be thin from ura to omote for my tastes. And the kissaki has had a dreadful cross polish done on it. sometimes they come sharp sometimes they come dull, most of the time they are a bit of both at the same time (sharp in spot and flat in spots)
On the bright side the kaze handles and moves very well. It has authority and yet is still agile. It is extremely tough, I have cut through 4x4s with mine and barely felt it (with the grain on the end, not across it like you would a bottle or mat) I have cut triple mats of tatami and gotten silent cuts on empty bottles with the factory edge. Once you get a proper edge on it, it tends to stay sharp. The hamon is pretty nice looking if subtle.
I have seen a lot of Cheness swords and I don't really like them much.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 3, 2011 17:00:56 GMT
Yeah the kaze LOOKS perfect for me, tsuba is awesome, i like themes but sometimes i dont, kaze is just whatever, but I'm getting further and further away from buying a cheness sword. I want a nice hanwei blade, but none of their swords un der 300 have anything interesting about the look of them imo. My musashi bamboo is blackito, black saya, black/white check sageo. i did this to make my sword stand out a bit more. I dont want to have to have another black black black sword hanging below it when im not using them. Green swords are cool.....hmm gonna start doing some more reasearch on munetoshiiii
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 3, 2011 17:02:16 GMT
I know swordnarmory has a good selection, anyu other online sites that have alot of munetoshi selections?  |
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 3, 2011 17:12:12 GMT
Nope, Munetoshi is Swordnarmory's house brand. I just ordered a T10 Take from Munetoshi and got a green silk ito and black and white sageo to put on it. All in it only cost me $188. It is a lower end Munetoshi, but they have a few for between $200-$300. Their silk ito is only $2.50 a foot, and their cotton and chem-fiber both cost almost nothing. It may be worth your while to do something similar. Chrisperoni sent me a link to Nihonzashi with awesome ito selections as well. A bit more pricey, but still very good cost.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 3, 2011 18:05:59 GMT
my purchases have been based off the amount of info i could aquire of the particular sword, the musashi bamboo, i knew exactly what to excpect. I'm looking at the ronin dojo pro model, "Tsuru" no hi brown ito and sageo TH blade. looks pretty slick (although id prefer it DH, i dont think im gonna find what i want exactly though) I cant find anything about it though... If the sword is gonna keep its edge cutting through zombies then ill be happy with it, my reasoning for wanting a DH, but if a TH can do it, then whatever. the review on sbg looks good. I think this is gonna be my sword. I'm so worryed about edge retention on TH blades somone reassure me!!!!
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 3, 2011 19:47:48 GMT
Despite everything that I complain about with my Ronin, I have cut with it dozens of times, generally through thick laundry soap bottles and 20 gallon cat litter cartons(sans litter) and it has not bent or dulled. It is only the 1045 Dojo Budget version, so the 1060 Dojo Pro must be a monster. A TH blade wont hold an edge as sharp or as long as a DH blade, that's just science, but as far as I know Ronin's heat treatment and forging techniques are top notch. The Ronin's blade is not as thick or as wide as the Kaze, but it cuts smoother as a result and like I said, it really performs great, which is the reason behind me not sending it back or selling it. Also, I think TomK was on to something saying that the Dojo Pro and the Dojo Budget probably have different quality fittings, and the one you are looking at is my favorite behind the #6 Hagakure model. Very attractive.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 3, 2011 20:18:48 GMT
Yeah my only complaint is the gold menuki. I think ill get this one. Then as time passes andi get some more money to spend ill get an l6 blade or something really high end thats DH.i cant seem to find a single sword other than the kaze that has what i want. But ive been strongly advised to not buy it so ill trust everyones opinions. its a shame no one else makes a good DH blade with brown ito and sageo. I mean cmon! I'm still considering huawei custom, but not the unokubi, instead goign with a no hi shinogi. i really do want a DH blade, but a huwei could quite possible have the same edge retention dh, as a th ronin. I guess ill just never know |
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 8, 2011 7:21:33 GMT
Hey. Did you decide on what to get? I'd love to know.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 8, 2011 17:30:13 GMT
Not only have I decided what kat to get on my birthday but I've pretty much planned what to get for my next 2 after that as well!
I'm ordering the ronin dojo pro tsuru for my brithday, along with 2 tantos from swordnarmory, one being the black musashi shirasaya (like 20$, why not.) and the "brandless" shirasaya tanto in a walnut stained saya and tsuka. Blade has a fake hamon and bo hi. I'll be putting reviews up as soon as i get them and test them out, seeing as no one has for these items really!
Then I'm gonna buy a lion dog blade (or whatever the hanwei choji hamon hws-2 steel i belive) and custom mount it.
Then my first nihonto, no idea how its gona be mounted yet. I really hope japan is okay, they got another earthquake yesterday.
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Post by Crimsoned on Apr 8, 2011 19:50:10 GMT
Uhm you can always get a Kris Cutlery 29 III, they offer it in brown ito. However no samegawa.
I can venture to say the KC Differentially hardened 5160 blades are just as tough if not tougher then Ronin Katana or Dynasty Forge's offerings due to the medium to heavy niku.
I also agree Ronin Katana's blades are pretty tough. My 1045 Dojo ate through a 1" wooden dowel. However ultimate it did hit the concrete and chipped the tip+deformed it a little bit (I've filed it down- still I am surprised it didn't just break off, good stuff).
My Kris Cutlery 5160 has also hit the cement. Only micro nicks were visible, to give you an idea on how tough KC's blades are. Bamboo has yet to produce anything on the blade resembling micro nicks, albeit I have had a chance to use bamboo in a bit.. In fact the only damage thus far is what appears to be very deep scratches from when I hit an iron nail, even then it's mostly cosmetic.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Apr 8, 2011 20:12:36 GMT
ZentasukenVII: Sweet dude. I have been looking at that sword for a long time, and it looks great. I'm also looking into getting a tanto, one that is less than $100, so any reviews you put up on yours I'll definitely be keeping a look out for. Also, I've been looking at more reviews on the Ronin, and I can say that for sure, the Dojo Pro's that I've seen don't seem to have the problems that I encountered with my Dojo Budget. The components look better, as well as a better looking finish overall.
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 8, 2011 23:05:32 GMT
I'm looking forward to posting some reviews, because people need to learn what swords are about. No reviews=no idea what your getting.
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Post by bleachsword on Apr 9, 2011 5:44:08 GMT
You got the $32 tanto from SNA right?
If so I got two of the same and did a board cut test which it handled too well and i cut haf way down in a matter of a minnet and hit a nail a few times not seeing it was there put a few nicks in the blade not too deep but will take a while to sharpen out and i must say they do take a fantastic edge.
However the other one I recieved the handle was slightly spliting at the seem so i could not use that one and did not want to return it will probably make a new handle for it as practice.
They were both verry hard to remove from saya when they arrived and still are if you have the same problem do not put them all the way back in just till they are snug. On another note i beleive the handles are eithor really well stuck on or glued on.
If this was not the one you bought disreguard all that (hope this was helpful)
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Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 9, 2011 15:16:12 GMT
not sure if it is, link the exact one. If I cant get the tsuka off I'm going to be really upset. And I'm going to take out my anger with my wood chisel at the tsuka.
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Post by bleachsword on Apr 9, 2011 16:10:07 GMT
that would work, still working on taking off the tsuka on the one that split rtied to hammer lightly but it just wouldnt go so time for some real tools
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I could certainly customize a sword for zentesukenVII but I like to encourage those who feel they can do it themselves to go ahead and do it. while certain aspects can be difficult to get right the first few times most just require some crafting skill and patience. if you stick with it even the harder things will become a lot easier with practice. when you're done, it will make the sword so much more personal because you did it yourself.
idk if anyone has any ideas. This is so frustrating. literally stressed about this...
