Ronin Katana Dojo Pro #5 Scratch and Dent (pic heavy)
Jun 19, 2012 20:19:15 GMT
Post by Bushido on Jun 19, 2012 20:19:15 GMT
Hi guys!
Just thought I'd share my latest acquisition with you all: The Ronin Katana Dojo Pro model #5 out of Roninkatana's scratch and dent sale. Now, I've no idea what kind of sword you get for your money if you decide to go for one of the normal priced ones. I've never tried one out, and so I don't know what they are like. But I can only assume they are better than the S&D ones, and that must mean they are damn good!
Anyhow, Just to be clear: This is not a review of what you'd normally get when you order a sword from Chris at Roninkatana!
However, the fact that my sword is one of the Scratched and dented ones gives me the chance to tell you what kind of product you can expect if you decide to go for one of his Scratched and dented "reject" swords priced at only half of what a normal one would cost. And let me tell you, you get a lot for your money!
Full Disclosure
As I said, this is a scratch and dent reject sword which was sold at a discounted price. I paid half of what this sword would normally retail at if it was perfect, and I bought it expecting it to be flawed. But that's as biased as this review is going to be. I have no affiliations what so ever with Roninkatana or Chris personally (I do however think that he is amazing to deal with and a fantastic human being, even though I don't know him personally), my judgement is not clouded by feelings towards the sword, the maker or the vendor or anything like that. I'm just an amateur sword collector and backyard cutter who enjoys nice pieces of steel.
Introduction
The sword in question was purchased from Ronin Katana:
roninkatana.com/
I bought this sword simply because I've heard so much good stuff being said about Roninkatana. I simply wanted to see for myself how good they really are. I did however not have $300 to spend on yet another sword as my previous sword purchase turned out to cost way more than it should've. I therefore decided that the half priced scratch and dent rejects would fit me rather nicely, and I sent Chris an inquiry asking if he had any S&D's with cosmetical flaws only, no blade damage etc. I knew I was taking a chance even asking this as I was under the impression that the S&D sale was a no BS/no returns/"You get what you get" kind of option where you should assume that the sword you're buying will have various degrees of flaws, both cosmetical and functional. Chris did however kindly respond to my inquiry and told me that he did have such a sword available! Chris was an absolute delight to make business with, he promptly answered any and all questions I had, shipped my sword the very next working day and was simply extremely helpful in every thinkable way. Thank you Chris!
Anyhow, let's get on with the review:
Historical overview
I've heard that some of the Ronin swords are fitted with furniture based on actual period accurate japanese swords. I don't know if the Dojo Pro #5 if one of those swords, but I think it looks real enough. The blade is through hardened 1060 monosteel which isn't exactly historically accurate, but the shape, looks and general presence are all there. It's a katana, it looks like a katana, it's good enough for me! A lot of the materials used are historically accurate such as the genuine Samegawa, the steel fittings, the silk ito, the horn kurigata, kojiri and koiguchi etc, but the sageo for example is synthetic. If you want something completely historically accurate, this is not it.
Initial Impressions
As I've already mentioned, chris was very good to do business with. Very helpful and prompt in his actions, and the transaction went very smoothly. I'd be happy to do business with roninkatana many times more!
Anyhow, when I first got the sword it was packed in a brown cardboard box.
Inside the Brown Cardboard bow was a black cardboard box, and within said bow was the sword, packed in a black sword bag and supported by three blocks of styrofoam. A pretty standard form of packing I think, and there's no doubt in my mind that it is sufficient to keep the sword safe during transit.
I quickly unwrapped the sword:
and as I was inspecting every nook and cranny of it I was immediately struck by one thought: "This doesn't look very scratched or dented??" I had sort of expected the saya to have lots of dings or even paint flaking off, but there was just this glossy black lacquer projecting an image of myself back into my face.
Sageo was not frayed, all the horn bit were securely attached and looked very nice indeed, all of the furniture was properly attached (no loose fuchi, kashira or tsuba or anything like that)... There simply wasn't much to tell me that this was a rejected sword. If this is a reject, then what are the normal swords like!? If I have to nit-pick, all I could initially find was some slight scuff marks on the tsuba:
And the samegawa wasn't very cleany penetrated where the mekugi came out on the other side of the tsuka:
But judging by initial impressions, that was it!
I quickly unsheathed the sword, or tried to rather. The habaki fits so snuggly into the saya that I need to push the sword out of the saya with my thumb on the tsuba before it can be drawn (this I was later told was the major reason for putting the sword in the scratch and dent sale). The whole assembly is very snug, no rattling in the saya and there is no way this sword will ever fall out of the saya if held upside down (which is a plus if you ask me). Anyhow, I drew the sword and I found the blade to be covered in a wet, waxy residue mixed with wood filings. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of what it looked like, before I could calm my curiosity I hade wiped it all off to inspect the blade more closely. And what a blade it is!
Chris had stayed true to his word, no blade damage at all! It's straight with crisp lines, a nice sharp edge and a very well shaped kissaki! I really like the blade on this sword, it feels like a really sturdy piece of steel. Upon closer inspection, I found my blade to be one of the rumored roninkatana Ghost Hamon blades! It's not a well defined edge following hamon, but instead it's more of an active line starting somewhere around the middle of the blade, then it travels all the way up to the mune only to fall off the ha just before the kissaki. I tried to take some pictures but it is very subtle and hard to catch:
As you can see (maybe), the line is very subtle and ghostly and goes all over the place.
I've read Marc Kaden Ridgeway's reviews of these swords, and I've watched his videos regarding the ghost hamon. As far as he's been able to find out, the hamon dosn't interfere with functionality. The ghost blades perform exactly the same as their non-ghost brothers. So I don't think it's a flaw as such. I can't imagine this is the reason it is a scratch and dent. I think it gives the blade charisma! I'm actually very happy to find that it has a bit of a ghost hamon! Makes it unique
I did however find one of the reasons as to why this sword was rejected: The habaki doesn't only fit very tightly in the mouth of the saya, it is also slightly loose. This is such a minor flaw that I hardly even want to mention it, but I did notice it and it did make a first impression, so I have to mention it. But hey, who cares really? I sure don't. It rattles a tiny little bit, but so what? if I ever decide to be bothered by it I can always add a slightly thicker spacer on it and make the whole assembly snug as a bug in a rug. For now, I just won't even bother. But let me tell you, Chris is seriously thorough in his quality checks! For him to even notice these minor flaws, not to mention rejecting the entire blade and putting it up for a discounted scratch and dent sale because of them, is simply amazing! And it's not like he says "Oh well, this one has got a minor flaw. I'll knock ten bucks of the price", he cuts the price in half! I'm shocked by all this, I think it's absolutely amazing how thorough he is. and on the plus side, for us customers that is: all it means in the end is that you can get a very decent blade for well under the retail price of the perfect ones! Seriously Chris, I think you could charge more for these if this is as flawed as they get! :lol:
Moving on!
Statistics
Some hard data on the sword's specifications. The specifications from the roninkatana homepage are as follows:
Weight: 2.6 pounds
POB: 4 1/2- 5 inches
Length in saya: 42 inches
Tsuka: 11 inches
Blade: 28 inches
Habaki to tip: 27 inches.
My findings:
Nagasa Length: 71cm, or 28 inches.
Tsuka Length: 28,5 cm, or just over 11 inches.
Overall Length (in saya): 104cm, or 41 inches.
Tsuba Width: just under 8cm, or just over three inches.
POB (Point of Balance): 12 cm, or just around 4,75 inches.
COP (Center of Percussion): What is this again? :lol:
Weight (sword): 1130g.
Weight (saya): 250g.
The given specs seem pretty accurate!
Components
The Blade.
The blade is excellent. Nice and straight with crisp lines, medium curvature, lots of presence and weight and a very well shaped kissaki. Feels like a very durable piece of steel! Ghost hamon adds a unique touch without, as far as I know or have heard, ruining performance in any way. if you count this as a $150 sword (which is what I paid for it) rather than a $300 sword (which is what it normally costs), there simply can be no equal in my mind. Exceptional value for money, it wipes the floor with my munetoshi mokko for instance! There's just so much more to this sword! The polish is a nice semi shiny finish which looks really nice to me. Not chrome glossy, but shiny nontheless. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
The Tsuka
The tsuka is nicely tapered and feels very comfortable in my (big) hands. The silk ito and genuine samegawa are very nice indeed, both to look at and to hold in your hands. I don't know of any other sword at this price level which is fitted with the same kind of quality stuff! The ito diamonds are not perfectly shaped, but the wrap is tight and functional. The menuki shift a little bit, but nothing out of the ordinary. The fuchi and kashira are both tight and won't shift or rattle and the seppa are nice quality with fine detail. There are lots of other reviews praising the roninkatana tsuka as one oif the best there is, even when compared to more expensive swordfs. And I can do nothing but chime in! And once again, if you consider that I paid half the usual price... I don't know what to say, value for money is just exceptional!
The Tsuba
The tsuba is blackened steel and a nice, round symmetrical design. I really like it! I've never liked those overly "pimped out" tsubas with lots of frills and gold ornaments, so the simpler design of this one fits me really well. The quality is very nice, steel fittings are of course preferable over the brass or alloy cheap stuff often used on budget katanas. Once again, value for money...
The Fuchi-Kashira
The fuchi and kashira are both blackened steel and of a simple plain design. They fit in really well with the simplicity of the tsuba and the general look of the sword. The quality is once again very nice, and they feel very tight and secure.
The Saya
The Saya is a glossy black piano lacquer finish with buffalo horn fittings and synthetic sageo. I really like the look of the horn, it's just so vivid, colorful and lively to look at! The reddish see through tinge reminds me of Amber... Beautiful! The fit is very nice, seamless even! The sageo is as mentioned synthetic, but of a good enough quality so it doesn't disturb me.
The fit of the sword in the saya is very good with little to no rattle. The habaki fits very snuggly in the saya mouth, bordering on too snuggly. But That doesn't really bother me either. I can get the sword in and out with little effort, and it holds the sword in place so that it doesn't fall out unintendedly. What more kan I ask of it?
Handling Characteristics
I really like how this sword handles. It's not too heavy, it's easy to swing, the point of balance is close to the handle, and it's a very quick and nimble setup. Tight turns, fast cuts and wielding it in general just feels sort of natural. It behaves the way you want it to. It rewards good form with nice silent cuts, and brushes bad form off like it was nothing. I did manage to get one really bad cut and batted a one litre bottle a couple of metres across my yard. The sword hardly even took notice, it was like it just shrugged and said "What was that, that the best you can do?" :lol: And even after such a bad cut, there was no evidence of the sword having taken any damage at all. No looseness in the fittings, no bends, nicks or chips in the blade, tsuka assembly held upp nicely, Ito is still tightly wrapped... This sword can definitely stand up to some heavy cutting.
So, other than my bad form letting it down, it handles like a dream and takes a bad punch without even flinching. Love it!
Also, the edge is nail shaving sharp straight out of the box. Paper cuts are definitely possible with a bit of technique. It's not a light saber though, it won't sail through any target like it was butter despite horrible form. But it has every bit of potential of doing great cuts, as long as you're willing to cooperate with it
Test Cutting
Sure, here's some. Please excuse any bad form etc etc, I'm an amateur when it comes to swordsmanship and you can blame anything bad on me rather than the sword. Anyhow, the video:
Like I said, the sword handles really well. Silent cuts come straight out of the box. It's a really fun sword to cut with, and I'll be doing some more cutting with it very soon!
Conclusions
I have heard a lot of good stuff about roninkatana. How high the quality of their swords is, how well they treat their customers etc etc. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything bad about them. All I've heard, all of my expectations, have come true. I've got no critique. Chris is a fantastic person to do business with, his products are superb and he really takes care of you personally as his customer. I sent him an email as soon as I had taken delivery of the sword, just to thank him and to let him know that it had made it here allright and that I was very happy with it. I jokingly said that "Are you sure you sent me the right one? I can't seem to find anything wrong with it lol", and Chris replied saying that he'd heard that I'd had a bad experience with a previous sword purchase and wanted to make sure that I got a sword which I could feel good about and train with without risk of injuring myself. Now the thing is, I hadn't even mentioned my previous bad sword purchase to him. He must've picked it up here on the forum and took extra care to take good care of me based on that. I was really touched by this, it shows that he truly cares about the well being of his customers. He's an absolute star when it comes to customer treatment, thank you again Chris!
And as if that wasn't enough, his products are amazing. He could've easily charged more for this sword, but he put it up for a discounted sale based only on the lose habaki and the snug fit in the saya mouth. Two very minor flaws, and I get a sword for half the price! And what a sword it is... The quality, fit and finish is just exceptional, even for a $300 sword. When you get all of that, with a couple of minor flaws, for half the price, there's just no arguing. This is an excellent sword in it's own right, and when it comes to value for money it's just unbelievable. Now, I might've gotten lucky. Maybe I got the very best of the S&D's. I can't say for certain that every sword from the S&D sale is going to be this good. But there's no doubt in my mind that they will be extremely good value for money. Roninkatana state on their web page that you should expect chips and nicks on saya and sword when buying a S&D katana, but I really do think that if there's too much wrong with a sword Chris won't put it up for sale at all. I think you can by his rejects with confidence that they will be flawed but not majorly so. And that makes for amazing value for money.
Pros
- S&D discount makes for extremely good value for money.
- Nice, durable and hefty blade. This is an excellent cutter/beater!
- High quality steel fittings.
- Genuine samegawa.
- Genuine Silk Ito (which was tightly wrapped in an alternating style).
- Real horn fittings on saya.
- Caring and thoughtful vendor who will take care of you personally.
- Nice sharp edge which is good for silent cuts straight out of the box.
- Everything basically.
Cons
Nope. I won't do this one. Seriously, I can't bring myself to complain. This is an excellent sword, and I paid half the price for it. There are some very minor flaws which I have already listed (and I feel petty and ungrateful for even doing that), but I was expecting worse when I bought S&D. There is nothing so wrong with this sword that it's impossible to live with. I'm stunned that it cost as little as it did, and there's just no complaining about it. It's so much better than what I paid for it that it would be a huge shame to even try to nitpick at minow faults, ao I simply won't.
The Bottom Line
Would I recommend this sword? Hell yeah I would. To a friend, to family, to my lover, basically to anyone I like even remotely. I wouldn't mention it to my enemy though, because I don't think he'd be worthy of the greatness that is Roninkatana. Seriously, if you don't have a ronin, go get one! If you don't feel like spending $300 on one, go pick up an S&D and live with the minor flaws. Even if there are minor flaws, you get basically the same quality stuff that is on the real deal (it just might be slightly scuffed, chipped or nicked) and the value for money is just unbeatable. When it comes do daily cutters and beaters, I'm convinced that I've found the best there is.
Thanks for reading everyone! Hope I didn't bore you all to death
Regards,
Anton.
Just thought I'd share my latest acquisition with you all: The Ronin Katana Dojo Pro model #5 out of Roninkatana's scratch and dent sale. Now, I've no idea what kind of sword you get for your money if you decide to go for one of the normal priced ones. I've never tried one out, and so I don't know what they are like. But I can only assume they are better than the S&D ones, and that must mean they are damn good!
Anyhow, Just to be clear: This is not a review of what you'd normally get when you order a sword from Chris at Roninkatana!
However, the fact that my sword is one of the Scratched and dented ones gives me the chance to tell you what kind of product you can expect if you decide to go for one of his Scratched and dented "reject" swords priced at only half of what a normal one would cost. And let me tell you, you get a lot for your money!
Full Disclosure
As I said, this is a scratch and dent reject sword which was sold at a discounted price. I paid half of what this sword would normally retail at if it was perfect, and I bought it expecting it to be flawed. But that's as biased as this review is going to be. I have no affiliations what so ever with Roninkatana or Chris personally (I do however think that he is amazing to deal with and a fantastic human being, even though I don't know him personally), my judgement is not clouded by feelings towards the sword, the maker or the vendor or anything like that. I'm just an amateur sword collector and backyard cutter who enjoys nice pieces of steel.
Introduction
The sword in question was purchased from Ronin Katana:
roninkatana.com/
I bought this sword simply because I've heard so much good stuff being said about Roninkatana. I simply wanted to see for myself how good they really are. I did however not have $300 to spend on yet another sword as my previous sword purchase turned out to cost way more than it should've. I therefore decided that the half priced scratch and dent rejects would fit me rather nicely, and I sent Chris an inquiry asking if he had any S&D's with cosmetical flaws only, no blade damage etc. I knew I was taking a chance even asking this as I was under the impression that the S&D sale was a no BS/no returns/"You get what you get" kind of option where you should assume that the sword you're buying will have various degrees of flaws, both cosmetical and functional. Chris did however kindly respond to my inquiry and told me that he did have such a sword available! Chris was an absolute delight to make business with, he promptly answered any and all questions I had, shipped my sword the very next working day and was simply extremely helpful in every thinkable way. Thank you Chris!
Anyhow, let's get on with the review:
Historical overview
I've heard that some of the Ronin swords are fitted with furniture based on actual period accurate japanese swords. I don't know if the Dojo Pro #5 if one of those swords, but I think it looks real enough. The blade is through hardened 1060 monosteel which isn't exactly historically accurate, but the shape, looks and general presence are all there. It's a katana, it looks like a katana, it's good enough for me! A lot of the materials used are historically accurate such as the genuine Samegawa, the steel fittings, the silk ito, the horn kurigata, kojiri and koiguchi etc, but the sageo for example is synthetic. If you want something completely historically accurate, this is not it.
Initial Impressions
As I've already mentioned, chris was very good to do business with. Very helpful and prompt in his actions, and the transaction went very smoothly. I'd be happy to do business with roninkatana many times more!
Anyhow, when I first got the sword it was packed in a brown cardboard box.
Inside the Brown Cardboard bow was a black cardboard box, and within said bow was the sword, packed in a black sword bag and supported by three blocks of styrofoam. A pretty standard form of packing I think, and there's no doubt in my mind that it is sufficient to keep the sword safe during transit.
I quickly unwrapped the sword:
and as I was inspecting every nook and cranny of it I was immediately struck by one thought: "This doesn't look very scratched or dented??" I had sort of expected the saya to have lots of dings or even paint flaking off, but there was just this glossy black lacquer projecting an image of myself back into my face.
Sageo was not frayed, all the horn bit were securely attached and looked very nice indeed, all of the furniture was properly attached (no loose fuchi, kashira or tsuba or anything like that)... There simply wasn't much to tell me that this was a rejected sword. If this is a reject, then what are the normal swords like!? If I have to nit-pick, all I could initially find was some slight scuff marks on the tsuba:
And the samegawa wasn't very cleany penetrated where the mekugi came out on the other side of the tsuka:
But judging by initial impressions, that was it!
I quickly unsheathed the sword, or tried to rather. The habaki fits so snuggly into the saya that I need to push the sword out of the saya with my thumb on the tsuba before it can be drawn (this I was later told was the major reason for putting the sword in the scratch and dent sale). The whole assembly is very snug, no rattling in the saya and there is no way this sword will ever fall out of the saya if held upside down (which is a plus if you ask me). Anyhow, I drew the sword and I found the blade to be covered in a wet, waxy residue mixed with wood filings. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of what it looked like, before I could calm my curiosity I hade wiped it all off to inspect the blade more closely. And what a blade it is!
Chris had stayed true to his word, no blade damage at all! It's straight with crisp lines, a nice sharp edge and a very well shaped kissaki! I really like the blade on this sword, it feels like a really sturdy piece of steel. Upon closer inspection, I found my blade to be one of the rumored roninkatana Ghost Hamon blades! It's not a well defined edge following hamon, but instead it's more of an active line starting somewhere around the middle of the blade, then it travels all the way up to the mune only to fall off the ha just before the kissaki. I tried to take some pictures but it is very subtle and hard to catch:
As you can see (maybe), the line is very subtle and ghostly and goes all over the place.
I've read Marc Kaden Ridgeway's reviews of these swords, and I've watched his videos regarding the ghost hamon. As far as he's been able to find out, the hamon dosn't interfere with functionality. The ghost blades perform exactly the same as their non-ghost brothers. So I don't think it's a flaw as such. I can't imagine this is the reason it is a scratch and dent. I think it gives the blade charisma! I'm actually very happy to find that it has a bit of a ghost hamon! Makes it unique
I did however find one of the reasons as to why this sword was rejected: The habaki doesn't only fit very tightly in the mouth of the saya, it is also slightly loose. This is such a minor flaw that I hardly even want to mention it, but I did notice it and it did make a first impression, so I have to mention it. But hey, who cares really? I sure don't. It rattles a tiny little bit, but so what? if I ever decide to be bothered by it I can always add a slightly thicker spacer on it and make the whole assembly snug as a bug in a rug. For now, I just won't even bother. But let me tell you, Chris is seriously thorough in his quality checks! For him to even notice these minor flaws, not to mention rejecting the entire blade and putting it up for a discounted scratch and dent sale because of them, is simply amazing! And it's not like he says "Oh well, this one has got a minor flaw. I'll knock ten bucks of the price", he cuts the price in half! I'm shocked by all this, I think it's absolutely amazing how thorough he is. and on the plus side, for us customers that is: all it means in the end is that you can get a very decent blade for well under the retail price of the perfect ones! Seriously Chris, I think you could charge more for these if this is as flawed as they get! :lol:
Moving on!
Statistics
Some hard data on the sword's specifications. The specifications from the roninkatana homepage are as follows:
Weight: 2.6 pounds
POB: 4 1/2- 5 inches
Length in saya: 42 inches
Tsuka: 11 inches
Blade: 28 inches
Habaki to tip: 27 inches.
My findings:
Nagasa Length: 71cm, or 28 inches.
Tsuka Length: 28,5 cm, or just over 11 inches.
Overall Length (in saya): 104cm, or 41 inches.
Tsuba Width: just under 8cm, or just over three inches.
POB (Point of Balance): 12 cm, or just around 4,75 inches.
COP (Center of Percussion): What is this again? :lol:
Weight (sword): 1130g.
Weight (saya): 250g.
The given specs seem pretty accurate!
Components
The Blade.
The blade is excellent. Nice and straight with crisp lines, medium curvature, lots of presence and weight and a very well shaped kissaki. Feels like a very durable piece of steel! Ghost hamon adds a unique touch without, as far as I know or have heard, ruining performance in any way. if you count this as a $150 sword (which is what I paid for it) rather than a $300 sword (which is what it normally costs), there simply can be no equal in my mind. Exceptional value for money, it wipes the floor with my munetoshi mokko for instance! There's just so much more to this sword! The polish is a nice semi shiny finish which looks really nice to me. Not chrome glossy, but shiny nontheless. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
The Tsuka
The tsuka is nicely tapered and feels very comfortable in my (big) hands. The silk ito and genuine samegawa are very nice indeed, both to look at and to hold in your hands. I don't know of any other sword at this price level which is fitted with the same kind of quality stuff! The ito diamonds are not perfectly shaped, but the wrap is tight and functional. The menuki shift a little bit, but nothing out of the ordinary. The fuchi and kashira are both tight and won't shift or rattle and the seppa are nice quality with fine detail. There are lots of other reviews praising the roninkatana tsuka as one oif the best there is, even when compared to more expensive swordfs. And I can do nothing but chime in! And once again, if you consider that I paid half the usual price... I don't know what to say, value for money is just exceptional!
The Tsuba
The tsuba is blackened steel and a nice, round symmetrical design. I really like it! I've never liked those overly "pimped out" tsubas with lots of frills and gold ornaments, so the simpler design of this one fits me really well. The quality is very nice, steel fittings are of course preferable over the brass or alloy cheap stuff often used on budget katanas. Once again, value for money...
The Fuchi-Kashira
The fuchi and kashira are both blackened steel and of a simple plain design. They fit in really well with the simplicity of the tsuba and the general look of the sword. The quality is once again very nice, and they feel very tight and secure.
The Saya
The Saya is a glossy black piano lacquer finish with buffalo horn fittings and synthetic sageo. I really like the look of the horn, it's just so vivid, colorful and lively to look at! The reddish see through tinge reminds me of Amber... Beautiful! The fit is very nice, seamless even! The sageo is as mentioned synthetic, but of a good enough quality so it doesn't disturb me.
The fit of the sword in the saya is very good with little to no rattle. The habaki fits very snuggly in the saya mouth, bordering on too snuggly. But That doesn't really bother me either. I can get the sword in and out with little effort, and it holds the sword in place so that it doesn't fall out unintendedly. What more kan I ask of it?
Handling Characteristics
I really like how this sword handles. It's not too heavy, it's easy to swing, the point of balance is close to the handle, and it's a very quick and nimble setup. Tight turns, fast cuts and wielding it in general just feels sort of natural. It behaves the way you want it to. It rewards good form with nice silent cuts, and brushes bad form off like it was nothing. I did manage to get one really bad cut and batted a one litre bottle a couple of metres across my yard. The sword hardly even took notice, it was like it just shrugged and said "What was that, that the best you can do?" :lol: And even after such a bad cut, there was no evidence of the sword having taken any damage at all. No looseness in the fittings, no bends, nicks or chips in the blade, tsuka assembly held upp nicely, Ito is still tightly wrapped... This sword can definitely stand up to some heavy cutting.
So, other than my bad form letting it down, it handles like a dream and takes a bad punch without even flinching. Love it!
Also, the edge is nail shaving sharp straight out of the box. Paper cuts are definitely possible with a bit of technique. It's not a light saber though, it won't sail through any target like it was butter despite horrible form. But it has every bit of potential of doing great cuts, as long as you're willing to cooperate with it
Test Cutting
Sure, here's some. Please excuse any bad form etc etc, I'm an amateur when it comes to swordsmanship and you can blame anything bad on me rather than the sword. Anyhow, the video:
Like I said, the sword handles really well. Silent cuts come straight out of the box. It's a really fun sword to cut with, and I'll be doing some more cutting with it very soon!
Conclusions
I have heard a lot of good stuff about roninkatana. How high the quality of their swords is, how well they treat their customers etc etc. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything bad about them. All I've heard, all of my expectations, have come true. I've got no critique. Chris is a fantastic person to do business with, his products are superb and he really takes care of you personally as his customer. I sent him an email as soon as I had taken delivery of the sword, just to thank him and to let him know that it had made it here allright and that I was very happy with it. I jokingly said that "Are you sure you sent me the right one? I can't seem to find anything wrong with it lol", and Chris replied saying that he'd heard that I'd had a bad experience with a previous sword purchase and wanted to make sure that I got a sword which I could feel good about and train with without risk of injuring myself. Now the thing is, I hadn't even mentioned my previous bad sword purchase to him. He must've picked it up here on the forum and took extra care to take good care of me based on that. I was really touched by this, it shows that he truly cares about the well being of his customers. He's an absolute star when it comes to customer treatment, thank you again Chris!
And as if that wasn't enough, his products are amazing. He could've easily charged more for this sword, but he put it up for a discounted sale based only on the lose habaki and the snug fit in the saya mouth. Two very minor flaws, and I get a sword for half the price! And what a sword it is... The quality, fit and finish is just exceptional, even for a $300 sword. When you get all of that, with a couple of minor flaws, for half the price, there's just no arguing. This is an excellent sword in it's own right, and when it comes to value for money it's just unbelievable. Now, I might've gotten lucky. Maybe I got the very best of the S&D's. I can't say for certain that every sword from the S&D sale is going to be this good. But there's no doubt in my mind that they will be extremely good value for money. Roninkatana state on their web page that you should expect chips and nicks on saya and sword when buying a S&D katana, but I really do think that if there's too much wrong with a sword Chris won't put it up for sale at all. I think you can by his rejects with confidence that they will be flawed but not majorly so. And that makes for amazing value for money.
Pros
- S&D discount makes for extremely good value for money.
- Nice, durable and hefty blade. This is an excellent cutter/beater!
- High quality steel fittings.
- Genuine samegawa.
- Genuine Silk Ito (which was tightly wrapped in an alternating style).
- Real horn fittings on saya.
- Caring and thoughtful vendor who will take care of you personally.
- Nice sharp edge which is good for silent cuts straight out of the box.
- Everything basically.
Cons
Nope. I won't do this one. Seriously, I can't bring myself to complain. This is an excellent sword, and I paid half the price for it. There are some very minor flaws which I have already listed (and I feel petty and ungrateful for even doing that), but I was expecting worse when I bought S&D. There is nothing so wrong with this sword that it's impossible to live with. I'm stunned that it cost as little as it did, and there's just no complaining about it. It's so much better than what I paid for it that it would be a huge shame to even try to nitpick at minow faults, ao I simply won't.
The Bottom Line
Would I recommend this sword? Hell yeah I would. To a friend, to family, to my lover, basically to anyone I like even remotely. I wouldn't mention it to my enemy though, because I don't think he'd be worthy of the greatness that is Roninkatana. Seriously, if you don't have a ronin, go get one! If you don't feel like spending $300 on one, go pick up an S&D and live with the minor flaws. Even if there are minor flaws, you get basically the same quality stuff that is on the real deal (it just might be slightly scuffed, chipped or nicked) and the value for money is just unbeatable. When it comes do daily cutters and beaters, I'm convinced that I've found the best there is.
Thanks for reading everyone! Hope I didn't bore you all to death
Regards,
Anton.