custom Aaron df tamahagane kat
Apr 26, 2012 5:44:54 GMT
Post by mrvei on Apr 26, 2012 5:44:54 GMT
Introduction
this sword is a dynasty forge tamahagane katana mounted by Aaron. This project for me started over a year ago. I wanted a custom done blade done to my specs. I have owned many swords for all the the major production makers, kc, hanwei, even a munetoshi kumo. After cutting with all them, each had things I liked, but none had all in one. Kc is very well made, but the blades are too ruff around the edges. Hanwei has very well done lines but are thin and don’t perform well compared to the likes of kc. The kumo is a bit ugly but is from the same forge as the ronin elites, and the the laminated blade is so stupid strong. It holds a edge super well and is very hard to set a bend on it. But the tsuba is poorly done and the fittings are also poor. The elites from ronin are far better done, but the fittings are so super ugly. I just couldn’t spend 800$ on the sword that would have to be totally redone. But after cutting with the kumo I have a new love for higher carbon steel edge. The 1095 edge just never dulls! So after talking to Aaron for a few months look for a a blade that has some niku and no bo-hi, I stayed away from the 1095 mono steel blades as from talking to a few people they don’t flex well. I don’t care for the hada of the forged folded line, and so I ended up with a tamahagane 29” blade. Aaron shortened the blade down to 27” just where I liked it.
Historical overview
just the standard shinogi-zukur style blade we all know and love.
Full Disclosure
I am by no means a pro with katana swords, I have never owned a high-end repo or owned a nihonto. I just know what I like and dislike...
Initial Impressions
ups dropped off a plain box, inside was a well packed blue plain sword bag. Sliding off the sword bad showed a sword that had exceeded my expatiation! In the saya the sword has good heft to it. Slowly pulling the blade out showed me a beautiful aged copper habaki that pics don’t do justice for. Then, omg, the most amazing blade I have ever set eyes on came into light. The balance and over all weight in one hand felt as if it was a part of my body, the tsuka fit my hand like a well made glove. Words can not put across how amazing and perfect this sword is!! and it cut paper with laser ease. The hamon is very nice and the hada is very visible but not over whelming like many forge folded blades like hanwei powder steel. I was in love at first sight ^.^
Statistics
now for the best part!
Blade/Nagasa Length:27”
Handle/Tsuka Length:12”
blade width, 32mm-24mm
Blade thickness: 7mm-5.5mm
POB (Point of Balance):5”
Sori:19mm
Weight:2.6lbs
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
the blade is very well done, the lines are super crisp, the blade is made for tamahagane that I am told that is made in house. Aaron did a great job of showing the hamon. The folded blade has a very beautiful grain to it. Its done in a shinogi-zukur, the niku is next to none. The blade came super crazy sharp. It is wide and of avg thickness. It has a small amount of taper in both width and thickness, as it is still a 1” wide at the yokote, that is geometric. The kissaki is longer then normal and I like it that way.
The Handle/Tsuka
the tsuka is done by Aaron with a full wrap that has a visible seem, the ito is a dark red, the is super tight and the diamonds are perfect. It was a slight wasting to it. The habaki is copper and a cast style Aaron was trying out. It came out very nice
The Guard/Tsuba
the tsuba is one of Aaron's, it was the 2nd one he offered me, I had just asked for simple tsuba that would keep the pob as close to 5” as possible. I really enjoy the clean lines and simplistic of it. It is blackened steel
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
the fuchi and kashira are steel from japan that Aaron had on hand, and he blackened them. I really like that they are a bit plain but the small detail on them is very well done. They go very well with the simplistic and traditional them I had in mind.
The Scabbard/Saya
the saya is the stock dynasty forge saya, fit is OK and I like the black-stone finish. The kurikata is a bit to far down the saya but very nice and made of horn.
Handling Characteristics
looking at the sword it would look to be a bit tip heavy with how wide and thick it is at the tip, but the long tsuba and a tang that is almost 11” long inside give it the feel of a blade with a bo-hi. At 4.75”-5” pob it moves with easy and yet still feels powerful in your hands. It starts and stops with just the easy of a blink. It is such a joy to handle!
Test Cutting (if applicable)
I did do a few days of test cutting on as many targets as I could, including:
Plastic Bottles
Plastic 1-gallon Jugs
heavy cardboard tubes
this sword, due to the wide edge and low niku, cuts bottles with super ease, I cut many 2lts caps off with ease and the cuts are so smooth it was a bit mind blowing. This sword would remove a hand or even a arm with such ease that it is almost spooky. The heavy cardboard tube is about 3/16th thick and so hard I can stand on it. With a strong cut it was able to cut all the way thru, a feat only the heavy and powerful kumo has been able to do. And the higher carbon of the tamahagane takes and holds a edge far better then all the xx60 steel blade I have had over the years!! still cuts paper like a laser
Conclusions
over all I love this sword, is it perfect? No, but it is perfect for me for what I have into it I could not ask for more, fact I got a lot more
Pros
-very well done tsuka, the ito is silk and just the color I was hoping for.
-beautiful well made blade that takes and holds a edge well
-hamon and hada
-tamahagane, its higher carbon then most steels, and it adds a traditional flavor to it
Cons
not many, but:
-very little niku, cutting caps did roll the edge a bit
-black on the fittings has come off slightly form use, but I feel it looks better now lol
-tamahagane, its a unalloyed steel that is not as forgiving as some of the “super” steels that are out there today
The Bottom Line
over all this sword is a dream come true, it is very thing I wanted in a katana, short of going to japan lol. Its beautiful to just look at as well as it performs just as well as it looks. Aaron was a awesome joy to work with and did a amazing job of making the sword I asked for the first time out of the box. I will be buying for blades form him again.
here are the pics, thanks for reading!
this sword is a dynasty forge tamahagane katana mounted by Aaron. This project for me started over a year ago. I wanted a custom done blade done to my specs. I have owned many swords for all the the major production makers, kc, hanwei, even a munetoshi kumo. After cutting with all them, each had things I liked, but none had all in one. Kc is very well made, but the blades are too ruff around the edges. Hanwei has very well done lines but are thin and don’t perform well compared to the likes of kc. The kumo is a bit ugly but is from the same forge as the ronin elites, and the the laminated blade is so stupid strong. It holds a edge super well and is very hard to set a bend on it. But the tsuba is poorly done and the fittings are also poor. The elites from ronin are far better done, but the fittings are so super ugly. I just couldn’t spend 800$ on the sword that would have to be totally redone. But after cutting with the kumo I have a new love for higher carbon steel edge. The 1095 edge just never dulls! So after talking to Aaron for a few months look for a a blade that has some niku and no bo-hi, I stayed away from the 1095 mono steel blades as from talking to a few people they don’t flex well. I don’t care for the hada of the forged folded line, and so I ended up with a tamahagane 29” blade. Aaron shortened the blade down to 27” just where I liked it.
Historical overview
just the standard shinogi-zukur style blade we all know and love.
Full Disclosure
I am by no means a pro with katana swords, I have never owned a high-end repo or owned a nihonto. I just know what I like and dislike...
Initial Impressions
ups dropped off a plain box, inside was a well packed blue plain sword bag. Sliding off the sword bad showed a sword that had exceeded my expatiation! In the saya the sword has good heft to it. Slowly pulling the blade out showed me a beautiful aged copper habaki that pics don’t do justice for. Then, omg, the most amazing blade I have ever set eyes on came into light. The balance and over all weight in one hand felt as if it was a part of my body, the tsuka fit my hand like a well made glove. Words can not put across how amazing and perfect this sword is!! and it cut paper with laser ease. The hamon is very nice and the hada is very visible but not over whelming like many forge folded blades like hanwei powder steel. I was in love at first sight ^.^
Statistics
now for the best part!
Blade/Nagasa Length:27”
Handle/Tsuka Length:12”
blade width, 32mm-24mm
Blade thickness: 7mm-5.5mm
POB (Point of Balance):5”
Sori:19mm
Weight:2.6lbs
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
the blade is very well done, the lines are super crisp, the blade is made for tamahagane that I am told that is made in house. Aaron did a great job of showing the hamon. The folded blade has a very beautiful grain to it. Its done in a shinogi-zukur, the niku is next to none. The blade came super crazy sharp. It is wide and of avg thickness. It has a small amount of taper in both width and thickness, as it is still a 1” wide at the yokote, that is geometric. The kissaki is longer then normal and I like it that way.
The Handle/Tsuka
the tsuka is done by Aaron with a full wrap that has a visible seem, the ito is a dark red, the is super tight and the diamonds are perfect. It was a slight wasting to it. The habaki is copper and a cast style Aaron was trying out. It came out very nice
The Guard/Tsuba
the tsuba is one of Aaron's, it was the 2nd one he offered me, I had just asked for simple tsuba that would keep the pob as close to 5” as possible. I really enjoy the clean lines and simplistic of it. It is blackened steel
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
the fuchi and kashira are steel from japan that Aaron had on hand, and he blackened them. I really like that they are a bit plain but the small detail on them is very well done. They go very well with the simplistic and traditional them I had in mind.
The Scabbard/Saya
the saya is the stock dynasty forge saya, fit is OK and I like the black-stone finish. The kurikata is a bit to far down the saya but very nice and made of horn.
Handling Characteristics
looking at the sword it would look to be a bit tip heavy with how wide and thick it is at the tip, but the long tsuba and a tang that is almost 11” long inside give it the feel of a blade with a bo-hi. At 4.75”-5” pob it moves with easy and yet still feels powerful in your hands. It starts and stops with just the easy of a blink. It is such a joy to handle!
Test Cutting (if applicable)
I did do a few days of test cutting on as many targets as I could, including:
Plastic Bottles
Plastic 1-gallon Jugs
heavy cardboard tubes
this sword, due to the wide edge and low niku, cuts bottles with super ease, I cut many 2lts caps off with ease and the cuts are so smooth it was a bit mind blowing. This sword would remove a hand or even a arm with such ease that it is almost spooky. The heavy cardboard tube is about 3/16th thick and so hard I can stand on it. With a strong cut it was able to cut all the way thru, a feat only the heavy and powerful kumo has been able to do. And the higher carbon of the tamahagane takes and holds a edge far better then all the xx60 steel blade I have had over the years!! still cuts paper like a laser
Conclusions
over all I love this sword, is it perfect? No, but it is perfect for me for what I have into it I could not ask for more, fact I got a lot more
Pros
-very well done tsuka, the ito is silk and just the color I was hoping for.
-beautiful well made blade that takes and holds a edge well
-hamon and hada
-tamahagane, its higher carbon then most steels, and it adds a traditional flavor to it
Cons
not many, but:
-very little niku, cutting caps did roll the edge a bit
-black on the fittings has come off slightly form use, but I feel it looks better now lol
-tamahagane, its a unalloyed steel that is not as forgiving as some of the “super” steels that are out there today
The Bottom Line
over all this sword is a dream come true, it is very thing I wanted in a katana, short of going to japan lol. Its beautiful to just look at as well as it performs just as well as it looks. Aaron was a awesome joy to work with and did a amazing job of making the sword I asked for the first time out of the box. I will be buying for blades form him again.
here are the pics, thanks for reading!