Review - Wang Katana (Ebay) Tanto
Aug 14, 2011 0:18:43 GMT
Post by MLanteigne on Aug 14, 2011 0:18:43 GMT
As promised, here is a review of the Wang Katana (Ebay seller) tanto. Keep in mind I have purchased this as a practice piece, to obtain tsukamaki skills, as well as to practice tsuka construction with. I will not be doing any cutting with it...(pics below).
List price is $55.99, and currently has FREE shipping. So please bear in mind the cost when considering the fittings. Stats from the supplier as follows (bold text mine):
Blade: Carbon steel.Water to quench treatment;
Edge: sharp;
Hamon(Tempered line): No hamon. we can do hamon if you need;
Hi(Blood groove): Long Hi on each side;
Tsuka(Handle): Genuine Ray Skin wrapped with Japanese silk Ito & ornamented with Menuki (ornament);
Saya: Black piano lacquered wood tied with Japanese silk Sageo;
Tang: Full tang, signed with unique number;
Other Fittings: Alloy;
Condition: Brand new & can be fully disassembled and assembled;
Blade Length(with Habaki): 31.5cm / 12.4"
Blade Length(without Habaki): 30cm / 11.8"
Handle Length: 15.2cm / 6.0"
Overall Length: 52cm / 20.5"
Sword Weight (with Saya): 732g / 1.6 lb
Sword Weight(without Saya): 589g / 1.3 lb
First, the delivery was quick. I think I had this item in 2 weeks or less. Coming from China, I would consider this pretty decent. It was boxed in a thick styrofoam container, well taped up and sealed. The tanto came with a sword bag, and a thank you card, as well as a sheet on sword maintenance. (I am not sure who does the chinese-english translation, but they may want to consider firing them lol). The blade, while wrapped in some kind of clear plastic, was in fact oiled. Though it appears the oil stained the blade slightly.
I'll break the sword down into components.
Scabbard (Saya)
It has a fairly decent finish on it, I believe it would be termed Kuoro Ishime, which is a flat, textured finish to the lacquer. It lacks a koijiri (end cap on the saya), and the koiguchi (scabbard mouth) is somewhat small, but seems ok. The inside of the saya has some wood debris in it, which sometimes sticks to the blade but it is a very small amount and only came out after the first few times drawing. The Kurikata is prominent, and has two gold coloured shitodome. Not a bad touch.
Fittings
For $55 bucks, you definately get what you pay for. The seppa are decent and made of brass, the tsuba isn't bad either (stylistically). I'm not sure if it's alloy or steel. The fuchi and kashira are the typical low quality brass alloy, and the menuki may be plastic.
Tsuka
Well, there aren't any cracks at least lol. Unfortunately, when I took it apart, there was a lot of saw dust and general gunk (dry gunk) inside the tsuka. Most of it came out with a little shaking and probing with a screw driver. The ito seems to be a decent quality when compared with my Meirin Iaito from Japan, and it's fairly tight. The rayskin is black, and is actually real (panels, not a full wrap). The fight on the tang (nakago) is tight as well, and required some gentle coaxing off and on with a mallet.
Blade
Definately through hardened...geometry is pretty even, and the lines are crisp. I really like this style of blade, and given the length and slight curvature (sori), it's fairly appeasing aesthetically. It's fairly sharp, though if one was going to do some cutting with it, it would need some minor sharpening. As I mentioned, it was oiled upon shipping, but the oil seems to have stained the blade. This came out easily with some polishing compound. I would not normally do that to a sword, but it appears to have a buffed finish anyway. The tang is a decent shape, though a bit rough...there are a few burs on it near the mekugi-ana, and the ha-machi that I will take a file to later on.
Overall Impression
In all fairness, if you are in the market for a tanto under $100.00, you would be fool not to buy this. With some very minor work (if you wanted...the fittings and presentation are really OK as is), and little cost, you can (and I hopefully will) have a great tanto worth twice the price. There are no other tantos for this price currently on the market with an appealing shape as this one. I feel the blade alone is probably worth the $55.00.
The construction and fittings in some areas leave a bit to be desired, but the overall piece is worth the price of admission. Especially the size of it...it's a long but graceful blade, and dwarfs most other tanto on the market at this price.
Definately worth it!
List price is $55.99, and currently has FREE shipping. So please bear in mind the cost when considering the fittings. Stats from the supplier as follows (bold text mine):
Blade: Carbon steel.Water to quench treatment;
Edge: sharp;
Hamon(Tempered line): No hamon. we can do hamon if you need;
Hi(Blood groove): Long Hi on each side;
Tsuka(Handle): Genuine Ray Skin wrapped with Japanese silk Ito & ornamented with Menuki (ornament);
Saya: Black piano lacquered wood tied with Japanese silk Sageo;
Tang: Full tang, signed with unique number;
Other Fittings: Alloy;
Condition: Brand new & can be fully disassembled and assembled;
Blade Length(with Habaki): 31.5cm / 12.4"
Blade Length(without Habaki): 30cm / 11.8"
Handle Length: 15.2cm / 6.0"
Overall Length: 52cm / 20.5"
Sword Weight (with Saya): 732g / 1.6 lb
Sword Weight(without Saya): 589g / 1.3 lb
First, the delivery was quick. I think I had this item in 2 weeks or less. Coming from China, I would consider this pretty decent. It was boxed in a thick styrofoam container, well taped up and sealed. The tanto came with a sword bag, and a thank you card, as well as a sheet on sword maintenance. (I am not sure who does the chinese-english translation, but they may want to consider firing them lol). The blade, while wrapped in some kind of clear plastic, was in fact oiled. Though it appears the oil stained the blade slightly.
I'll break the sword down into components.
Scabbard (Saya)
It has a fairly decent finish on it, I believe it would be termed Kuoro Ishime, which is a flat, textured finish to the lacquer. It lacks a koijiri (end cap on the saya), and the koiguchi (scabbard mouth) is somewhat small, but seems ok. The inside of the saya has some wood debris in it, which sometimes sticks to the blade but it is a very small amount and only came out after the first few times drawing. The Kurikata is prominent, and has two gold coloured shitodome. Not a bad touch.
Fittings
For $55 bucks, you definately get what you pay for. The seppa are decent and made of brass, the tsuba isn't bad either (stylistically). I'm not sure if it's alloy or steel. The fuchi and kashira are the typical low quality brass alloy, and the menuki may be plastic.
Tsuka
Well, there aren't any cracks at least lol. Unfortunately, when I took it apart, there was a lot of saw dust and general gunk (dry gunk) inside the tsuka. Most of it came out with a little shaking and probing with a screw driver. The ito seems to be a decent quality when compared with my Meirin Iaito from Japan, and it's fairly tight. The rayskin is black, and is actually real (panels, not a full wrap). The fight on the tang (nakago) is tight as well, and required some gentle coaxing off and on with a mallet.
Blade
Definately through hardened...geometry is pretty even, and the lines are crisp. I really like this style of blade, and given the length and slight curvature (sori), it's fairly appeasing aesthetically. It's fairly sharp, though if one was going to do some cutting with it, it would need some minor sharpening. As I mentioned, it was oiled upon shipping, but the oil seems to have stained the blade. This came out easily with some polishing compound. I would not normally do that to a sword, but it appears to have a buffed finish anyway. The tang is a decent shape, though a bit rough...there are a few burs on it near the mekugi-ana, and the ha-machi that I will take a file to later on.
Overall Impression
In all fairness, if you are in the market for a tanto under $100.00, you would be fool not to buy this. With some very minor work (if you wanted...the fittings and presentation are really OK as is), and little cost, you can (and I hopefully will) have a great tanto worth twice the price. There are no other tantos for this price currently on the market with an appealing shape as this one. I feel the blade alone is probably worth the $55.00.
The construction and fittings in some areas leave a bit to be desired, but the overall piece is worth the price of admission. Especially the size of it...it's a long but graceful blade, and dwarfs most other tanto on the market at this price.
Definately worth it!