32$ swordnarmory tanto
Apr 28, 2011 15:27:39 GMT
Post by zentesukenVII on Apr 28, 2011 15:27:39 GMT
Okay first off thanks for checking this out, I hope it helps. Secondly I purchased this sword to be a custom project all the way, all I wanted was the blade. I will try an cover everything but if there is anything I miss please feel free to ask!
I got this as a birthday request from my girlfriend, it came shipped from Swordnarmory with two bokken and a diamond king sharpening stone. It delivered after about a week and was all packaged together. Swordnarmory has not disappointed me with they're delivery service yet!
Initial Impressions
This Thing is LOOOONNNNGGGG
When I removed the sword form its box it was wrapped in a black sword bag, just like every other low priced katana ever. Upon removing it from its bag I found that it was alot longer than I thought it was. In its saya it comes to 21 1/2 inches, not 19 like the website says. The Nagasa (blade) is 11 1/2 inches and the tsuka is 7 inches, Again the measurements on the site are either wrong or different. I came paper cutting sharp right out of the box.
The Blade
The blade is a shinogi zukuri geometry and has a bo-hi on both sides. It is made from high carbon steel, exactly how high isnt specified. My guess is that it is 1045, its soft but not so soft that it has dulled at all. The wire brushed hamon is very attractive actually, its not as wavy and uniform as it is in the picture. The waves are much longer and drawn out. It reminds me of a Nihonto hamon. The mune has a triangle shaped angle that is dominant to the right side, but its barely noticable. Where it meets the habaki it is uneven and causes the habaki to fit a bit off. There are spaces between the blade and habaki and upon diassembly, it came loose and wiggles forward and backward, revealing a sharp overhang of the ha, I have filed this down a bit to get rid of the little edge it has, however I'm not sure how to tighten the habaki efficiently. All in all the blade is good, wonderful for the price! I cut a milk jug and a few soda bottles and it is my first one handed weapon cutting with and I'm amazed at how well it does. Its sharp and has a pretty slim niku, so it cuts like wind. My only complaint is that there is some small crack like activity near the kissaki. I cant really make it out seeing as its very small.
The small crack-like ativity on the blade.
If I move the Habaki one back toward the mune an overhanging Ha is present.
Slightly misaligned habaki.
Tsuka
The tsuka is wood and not specified on the website as to what kind. 7 inches in length, its way to big to be for a tanto and will be shortend. It is stained in a deep dark brown finish that matches the saya. The grain alignment of the two sides of the tsuka are correct, which is a shame because I'm replacing it. The nakago-ana is shaped nicely, however after some swinging and cutting, the nakago rattles inside which is a red flag for me and I've decided not to cut with it untill I mount it in proper koshirae....which really sucks, this thing is pretty fun.
The nakago lacks shape, its pretty much flat and doesent go with the blade geometry, not really a problem for me. However there is some discoloration that looks like they were going to weld it, but decided not to. The mei (signature) on the nakago is different than any ive seen, It is bubble letters, not single lines. The smith must have had a task with this, however its surprising to me that this sword appears to be handmade.
The tsuka grain is together correctly, my replacement tsuka is being craved atm.
Tsuka-ana looks like its carved well, however mine is loose.
Discoloration of the nakago, and the signature.
The Saya
The saya is the same wood as the tsuka and is stained to match it, and actually is pretty attractive. There was a oily residue when I first removed the blade from the saya, it had little pieces of the saya all over it and they still get on the blade sometimes. The Koiguchi Is not well done.There is a bull horn ring around the koiguchi and from what I can tell it looks real. The saya will fall off if I even hold it only by the tsuka. I am trying to figure out how to fix this problem Would wood putty work??? In turn the blade rattles ALOT.Infact it rattles so much that I have decided to not stain the saya and just go ahead and carve a new one, put on a kurigata etc...
Real bull horn koiguchi as far as I can tell.
Overall, this Tanto was in my opinion worth the money, sure its got crappy mountings but what do you expect, a blade for 32$ is awesome. I reccomend it only to you if you are going to custom mount it as I find the current mounts unsafe and just too friggen big. This is one long tanto, not a little doink knife. It will serve its purpose if you get a zombie ontop of you and cant swing your katana and need to stab they're rotten brains out. All in all great value, pick one up.
Pros
-Cheap
-Sharp blade
-Can be customized, no glued on tsuka
-Grain matched up on the tsuka
-Good looking fake hamon
-Handmade!
Cons
-Softer steel
-Weird crack thing on the blade, not dangerous though I wouldent think
-Tsuka is way to long
- Nakago ana is loose
-Saya fit is loose
-Loose habaki
-Lots of loose, not really a problem for me seeing as I'm remounting it.
Thanks for reading!!!
I got this as a birthday request from my girlfriend, it came shipped from Swordnarmory with two bokken and a diamond king sharpening stone. It delivered after about a week and was all packaged together. Swordnarmory has not disappointed me with they're delivery service yet!
Initial Impressions
This Thing is LOOOONNNNGGGG
When I removed the sword form its box it was wrapped in a black sword bag, just like every other low priced katana ever. Upon removing it from its bag I found that it was alot longer than I thought it was. In its saya it comes to 21 1/2 inches, not 19 like the website says. The Nagasa (blade) is 11 1/2 inches and the tsuka is 7 inches, Again the measurements on the site are either wrong or different. I came paper cutting sharp right out of the box.
The Blade
The blade is a shinogi zukuri geometry and has a bo-hi on both sides. It is made from high carbon steel, exactly how high isnt specified. My guess is that it is 1045, its soft but not so soft that it has dulled at all. The wire brushed hamon is very attractive actually, its not as wavy and uniform as it is in the picture. The waves are much longer and drawn out. It reminds me of a Nihonto hamon. The mune has a triangle shaped angle that is dominant to the right side, but its barely noticable. Where it meets the habaki it is uneven and causes the habaki to fit a bit off. There are spaces between the blade and habaki and upon diassembly, it came loose and wiggles forward and backward, revealing a sharp overhang of the ha, I have filed this down a bit to get rid of the little edge it has, however I'm not sure how to tighten the habaki efficiently. All in all the blade is good, wonderful for the price! I cut a milk jug and a few soda bottles and it is my first one handed weapon cutting with and I'm amazed at how well it does. Its sharp and has a pretty slim niku, so it cuts like wind. My only complaint is that there is some small crack like activity near the kissaki. I cant really make it out seeing as its very small.
The small crack-like ativity on the blade.
If I move the Habaki one back toward the mune an overhanging Ha is present.
Slightly misaligned habaki.
Tsuka
The tsuka is wood and not specified on the website as to what kind. 7 inches in length, its way to big to be for a tanto and will be shortend. It is stained in a deep dark brown finish that matches the saya. The grain alignment of the two sides of the tsuka are correct, which is a shame because I'm replacing it. The nakago-ana is shaped nicely, however after some swinging and cutting, the nakago rattles inside which is a red flag for me and I've decided not to cut with it untill I mount it in proper koshirae....which really sucks, this thing is pretty fun.
The nakago lacks shape, its pretty much flat and doesent go with the blade geometry, not really a problem for me. However there is some discoloration that looks like they were going to weld it, but decided not to. The mei (signature) on the nakago is different than any ive seen, It is bubble letters, not single lines. The smith must have had a task with this, however its surprising to me that this sword appears to be handmade.
The tsuka grain is together correctly, my replacement tsuka is being craved atm.
Tsuka-ana looks like its carved well, however mine is loose.
Discoloration of the nakago, and the signature.
The Saya
The saya is the same wood as the tsuka and is stained to match it, and actually is pretty attractive. There was a oily residue when I first removed the blade from the saya, it had little pieces of the saya all over it and they still get on the blade sometimes. The Koiguchi Is not well done.There is a bull horn ring around the koiguchi and from what I can tell it looks real. The saya will fall off if I even hold it only by the tsuka. I am trying to figure out how to fix this problem Would wood putty work??? In turn the blade rattles ALOT.Infact it rattles so much that I have decided to not stain the saya and just go ahead and carve a new one, put on a kurigata etc...
Real bull horn koiguchi as far as I can tell.
Overall, this Tanto was in my opinion worth the money, sure its got crappy mountings but what do you expect, a blade for 32$ is awesome. I reccomend it only to you if you are going to custom mount it as I find the current mounts unsafe and just too friggen big. This is one long tanto, not a little doink knife. It will serve its purpose if you get a zombie ontop of you and cant swing your katana and need to stab they're rotten brains out. All in all great value, pick one up.
Pros
-Cheap
-Sharp blade
-Can be customized, no glued on tsuka
-Grain matched up on the tsuka
-Good looking fake hamon
-Handmade!
Cons
-Softer steel
-Weird crack thing on the blade, not dangerous though I wouldent think
-Tsuka is way to long
- Nakago ana is loose
-Saya fit is loose
-Loose habaki
-Lots of loose, not really a problem for me seeing as I'm remounting it.
Thanks for reading!!!