Musashi Black Shikomizue/ "stick sword"
May 15, 2012 21:45:57 GMT
Post by whitefeathers on May 15, 2012 21:45:57 GMT
So I had this sudden want for a “zatoichi style” sword. I looked around for a while for one that looked the most like a hiking stick. I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money because I’m supposed to be saving it for an expensive sword and I may or may not like this style of sword. My luck worked as I found one on Kult of Athena’s website for about $50. On the bottom of the page it said they had one in the scratch and dent/ factory blemish section for $39. Yipee! I was willing to take the chance since I was going to be using it as an experimentation piece for projects anyway. I’m also planning on sanding the black coating off.
Upon opening the outer box I had to stop and check out the box it came in. I could care less about boxes but this one has probably the coolest box I have seen (next to the one that my Nami iaito came in)
After I opened the sword bag and pulled out the sword I noticed that the sword bag was narrower than the “regular sized” bags. I have a regular size one next to this one in the picture to show the difference. The coating on the sword is the normal black shiny stuff.
The blemish that probably put this sword in the scratch and dent bin is two inches down from the seam where the handle and saya meet. It is down to the bare wood. It’s not that bad of a blemish probably because I was going to sand it down anyway. On the seam the finish is flaking off. The tip does rattle around inside at the bottom. I will have to do something about that.
I go to open the sword and it is in there pretty tight. I have a bit of trouble doing it one handed because of the snug fit and not having a tsuba to press against.
As the blade is unsheathed I notice how that Yes, it is straight. It’s sharp for most of the blade except the very tip. Probably from some overzealous factory worker playing with it. Easy fix. The 10 1/2 inch handle itself is quite thick. It feels just like grabbing the bottom end of a saya. It will probably feel a little thinner when the black finish is sanded off. It actually has a very slight gradual taper to it going smaller as you get closer to where the kashira would be. It has the 3 deep angled grooves on one side to help you orient the blade and the mekugi does stick out far beyond the handle surface.
I haven’t taken it apart yet. I probably will later because the habaki needs to be seated better. It moves a little when you push on it and doesn’t fit well to the blade.
The straight blade itself is nothing special, the standard thin one with wirebrushed hamon, probably 1045 steel. It has a gradual taper from habaki to tip. It has a couple scuff marks on it It’s balance point is a little over 6 inches from where the tsuba would normally be. The listing is for 27 3/4 inch length blade but mine ended up being 27 even. (which is fine, I'm happy it ended up being shorter)I took a few slow light swings with it and the straight tip heavy blade just feels odd. Of course the light handle plays a factor too. This is the first straight sword I have ever touched.
Overall I’m happy with it so far. Couldn’t beat the price.
Upon opening the outer box I had to stop and check out the box it came in. I could care less about boxes but this one has probably the coolest box I have seen (next to the one that my Nami iaito came in)
After I opened the sword bag and pulled out the sword I noticed that the sword bag was narrower than the “regular sized” bags. I have a regular size one next to this one in the picture to show the difference. The coating on the sword is the normal black shiny stuff.
The blemish that probably put this sword in the scratch and dent bin is two inches down from the seam where the handle and saya meet. It is down to the bare wood. It’s not that bad of a blemish probably because I was going to sand it down anyway. On the seam the finish is flaking off. The tip does rattle around inside at the bottom. I will have to do something about that.
I go to open the sword and it is in there pretty tight. I have a bit of trouble doing it one handed because of the snug fit and not having a tsuba to press against.
As the blade is unsheathed I notice how that Yes, it is straight. It’s sharp for most of the blade except the very tip. Probably from some overzealous factory worker playing with it. Easy fix. The 10 1/2 inch handle itself is quite thick. It feels just like grabbing the bottom end of a saya. It will probably feel a little thinner when the black finish is sanded off. It actually has a very slight gradual taper to it going smaller as you get closer to where the kashira would be. It has the 3 deep angled grooves on one side to help you orient the blade and the mekugi does stick out far beyond the handle surface.
I haven’t taken it apart yet. I probably will later because the habaki needs to be seated better. It moves a little when you push on it and doesn’t fit well to the blade.
The straight blade itself is nothing special, the standard thin one with wirebrushed hamon, probably 1045 steel. It has a gradual taper from habaki to tip. It has a couple scuff marks on it It’s balance point is a little over 6 inches from where the tsuba would normally be. The listing is for 27 3/4 inch length blade but mine ended up being 27 even. (which is fine, I'm happy it ended up being shorter)I took a few slow light swings with it and the straight tip heavy blade just feels odd. Of course the light handle plays a factor too. This is the first straight sword I have ever touched.
Overall I’m happy with it so far. Couldn’t beat the price.