Two Katana from Huawei Swords (Very Picture Heavy!)
May 6, 2011 2:05:26 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 6, 2011 2:05:26 GMT
Introduction
My wife and I have been married now for about a year and a half. We had discussed when we were getting married purchasing a set of Katanas as a wedding gift to each other, but at the time such a purchase was not feasible. Things are a bit more Katana friendly today and so we finally pulled the trigger on two swords from Huawei Swords. The goal was a nice "his and her" set that is attractive and functional.
We wanted both Katana to be attractive. We plan on displaying these on our upstairs mantel as a central focal point. Attractive fittings and a good fit and finish were desired. We wanted both to have a nice hamon, my wife finds this to be an important feature that should be present from an aesthetic point of view. We also wanted neither sword to have a bo-hi.
We also wanted both Katana to be functional. We both plan on doing some backyard cutting with the swords. We wanted something that would be able to take on light to medium targets with ease.
Disclaimer: These are our first katana, so please forgive any technical errors in this review.
Historical overview
From my understanding both are modeled after shinogi zukuri from the late Koto period.
Full Disclosure
I am very new to this.
Initial Impressions
The swords arrived very well packed and very quickly. They were ordered during the labor holiday in China. Nonetheless, they were shipped on 3 May 11 and arrived on 5 May 11. I really didn't expect them for another 10 days. I am very impressed with the fast ship time!
The swords came in some nice, well made cotton sword bags. The saya, blade, and tsuka were all wrapped in protective plastic. A coating of oil protected the blades.
Both katana are nicely balanced and feel great in the hand. They are both beefy and beg to cut when you hold them.
Statistics
Blade/Nagasa Length:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 70.5cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 70.5cm
Handle/Tsuka Length:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 27cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 27.5cm
Overall Length:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 103cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 103cm
Guard/Tsuba Width:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 8cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 8cm
POB (Point of Balance):
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 14cm from Tsuba
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 18cm from Tsuba
Sori:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 3.8cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 2cm
Motokasane:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 0.78cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 0.78
Weight:
I estimate them to be about 1.25 kilograms each.
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
The blades on both Katana are beautiful. Hand forged, clay tempered, water quenched and hand polished T10 steel. Very nice Nakago; see page 2 for photos.
The Hamon is eye-popping and very active. The blade is beefy with considerable motokasane and a geometric yokote. The polish job is very nice with both blades having a near mirror finish. The kissaki is not counter-polished. Both blades are razor sharp and cut paper effortlessly with no tearing. (More cutting tests to come!)
The Handle/Tsuka
Both Tsuka follow the curvature of the blade and exhibit some waisting, falling nicely into the hand. The wrap on both is exceptionally tight with no movement. The same on both is of decent quality with some occasionally larger nodes, particularly on Musashi style blade. The high sori katana sports a full same wrap. Two Bamboo Mekugi secure the tang of the sword into the Tsuka. No cracks in the Tsuka.
Everything is very solid and tight.
The Guard/Tsuba
The Musahi style Tsuba is iron and very plain, but well rounded and smooth with no sharp edges. The high sori katana has a beautiful gold and silver plated wave dragon themed antiqued copper Tsuba. The Seppa are typical gear-tooth design. The Habaki is not only beautiful, but fits snugly around the mune-machi with no gaps and is properly aligned with the hamachi.
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
The Fuchi-Kashira on both katana appear to be brass that has been copper plated (high sori) or painted, not remarkable, but not awful by any standard. The fit is tight.
The Scabbard/Saya
The Saya for both swords is made from African Panga Panga wood finished with a clear finish. The grain on both is beautiful. The Koiguchi is bull horn on both and well fitted and finished; the sword fits snugly and doesn't rattle in the saya at all. The Sageo is synthetic silk and a bit shoelacey, but given the beauty of the Saya overall, this is a minor nit to pick.
Handling Characteristics
These are both beefy blades that feel very solid in the hand. Despite their heft, both are balanced nicely. Everything is very solid with no rattles or loose fittings. The Tsukas are slightly tapered and fall nicely into the hand. Both beg to cut!
Test Cutting
No test cuts yet, but will update once we put these into action.
Conclusions
Overall I am deeply impressed with both katana. The blades of both are beautiful with lively Hamon, considerable motokasane, a geometric yokote and a near mirror polish. Both the fittings and wrap are very tight and nicely appointed for the price. Same is of good quality with a full wrap on the high sori katana. The saya are beautiful, unique and well fitted. For the price these are amazing swords.
Pros
+ Fittings and Ito wrap are very tight and secure
+ Blade has well executed geometric Yokote
+ Kissaki isn't counter-polished
+ Lively and prominent Hamon!
+ Nice near mirror polish
+ Beautiful Panga Panga natural finish Saya
+ Low price (Less than $500 total for two swords, putting these firmly in the sub $300 range)
+ Very sharp blades
+ Tsuka construction is solid with no cracks
+ Nice Nakago
Cons
- Shoelacey Sageo
- Alloy fittings could be better, but for the price it is hard to complain
The Bottom Line
I would definitely recommend Huawei to a friend! Outstanding value, good service and amazing quality for the price point.
Update: More photos on page 2.
My wife and I have been married now for about a year and a half. We had discussed when we were getting married purchasing a set of Katanas as a wedding gift to each other, but at the time such a purchase was not feasible. Things are a bit more Katana friendly today and so we finally pulled the trigger on two swords from Huawei Swords. The goal was a nice "his and her" set that is attractive and functional.
We wanted both Katana to be attractive. We plan on displaying these on our upstairs mantel as a central focal point. Attractive fittings and a good fit and finish were desired. We wanted both to have a nice hamon, my wife finds this to be an important feature that should be present from an aesthetic point of view. We also wanted neither sword to have a bo-hi.
We also wanted both Katana to be functional. We both plan on doing some backyard cutting with the swords. We wanted something that would be able to take on light to medium targets with ease.
Disclaimer: These are our first katana, so please forgive any technical errors in this review.
Historical overview
From my understanding both are modeled after shinogi zukuri from the late Koto period.
Full Disclosure
I am very new to this.
Initial Impressions
The swords arrived very well packed and very quickly. They were ordered during the labor holiday in China. Nonetheless, they were shipped on 3 May 11 and arrived on 5 May 11. I really didn't expect them for another 10 days. I am very impressed with the fast ship time!
The swords came in some nice, well made cotton sword bags. The saya, blade, and tsuka were all wrapped in protective plastic. A coating of oil protected the blades.
Both katana are nicely balanced and feel great in the hand. They are both beefy and beg to cut when you hold them.
Statistics
Blade/Nagasa Length:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 70.5cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 70.5cm
Handle/Tsuka Length:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 27cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 27.5cm
Overall Length:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 103cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 103cm
Guard/Tsuba Width:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 8cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 8cm
POB (Point of Balance):
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 14cm from Tsuba
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 18cm from Tsuba
Sori:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 3.8cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 2cm
Motokasane:
High SoriI Shinogi Zukuri: 0.78cm
Shinogi Zukuri with Musashi "Two Cucumber" Tsuba: 0.78
Weight:
I estimate them to be about 1.25 kilograms each.
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
The blades on both Katana are beautiful. Hand forged, clay tempered, water quenched and hand polished T10 steel. Very nice Nakago; see page 2 for photos.
The Hamon is eye-popping and very active. The blade is beefy with considerable motokasane and a geometric yokote. The polish job is very nice with both blades having a near mirror finish. The kissaki is not counter-polished. Both blades are razor sharp and cut paper effortlessly with no tearing. (More cutting tests to come!)
The Handle/Tsuka
Both Tsuka follow the curvature of the blade and exhibit some waisting, falling nicely into the hand. The wrap on both is exceptionally tight with no movement. The same on both is of decent quality with some occasionally larger nodes, particularly on Musashi style blade. The high sori katana sports a full same wrap. Two Bamboo Mekugi secure the tang of the sword into the Tsuka. No cracks in the Tsuka.
Everything is very solid and tight.
The Guard/Tsuba
The Musahi style Tsuba is iron and very plain, but well rounded and smooth with no sharp edges. The high sori katana has a beautiful gold and silver plated wave dragon themed antiqued copper Tsuba. The Seppa are typical gear-tooth design. The Habaki is not only beautiful, but fits snugly around the mune-machi with no gaps and is properly aligned with the hamachi.
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
The Fuchi-Kashira on both katana appear to be brass that has been copper plated (high sori) or painted, not remarkable, but not awful by any standard. The fit is tight.
The Scabbard/Saya
The Saya for both swords is made from African Panga Panga wood finished with a clear finish. The grain on both is beautiful. The Koiguchi is bull horn on both and well fitted and finished; the sword fits snugly and doesn't rattle in the saya at all. The Sageo is synthetic silk and a bit shoelacey, but given the beauty of the Saya overall, this is a minor nit to pick.
Handling Characteristics
These are both beefy blades that feel very solid in the hand. Despite their heft, both are balanced nicely. Everything is very solid with no rattles or loose fittings. The Tsukas are slightly tapered and fall nicely into the hand. Both beg to cut!
Test Cutting
No test cuts yet, but will update once we put these into action.
Conclusions
Overall I am deeply impressed with both katana. The blades of both are beautiful with lively Hamon, considerable motokasane, a geometric yokote and a near mirror polish. Both the fittings and wrap are very tight and nicely appointed for the price. Same is of good quality with a full wrap on the high sori katana. The saya are beautiful, unique and well fitted. For the price these are amazing swords.
Pros
+ Fittings and Ito wrap are very tight and secure
+ Blade has well executed geometric Yokote
+ Kissaki isn't counter-polished
+ Lively and prominent Hamon!
+ Nice near mirror polish
+ Beautiful Panga Panga natural finish Saya
+ Low price (Less than $500 total for two swords, putting these firmly in the sub $300 range)
+ Very sharp blades
+ Tsuka construction is solid with no cracks
+ Nice Nakago
Cons
- Shoelacey Sageo
- Alloy fittings could be better, but for the price it is hard to complain
The Bottom Line
I would definitely recommend Huawei to a friend! Outstanding value, good service and amazing quality for the price point.
Update: More photos on page 2.