Forged Samurai Fight Tanto
Oct 17, 2012 16:33:43 GMT
Post by Toast on Oct 17, 2012 16:33:43 GMT
Months ago, I purchased from True Swords a fixed blade knife called "Forged Samurai Fight Tanto - Thick Battle Ready Blade" for $29.98. The knife can be found here: www.trueswords.com/forged-samurai-fight-tanto-thick-battle-ready-blade-p-4123.html It very much reminded me of knives made by Kanetsune and was almost identical in appearance. It seemed like a really good knife for the price, so I ordered one.
When it arrived, I was very surprised how sturdy this knife felt. I'm confident that I could easily punch through the side of a 55 gallon steel drum with ease. It was advertised as a full tang blade made of 1060 Shirogami high carbon steel and it is considerably thick. In fact, the blade measured exactly 0.335 inches thick! The blade is 8.25 inches long and the knife is 14 inches overall in length. It comes with a wooden sheath and wooden handle. The leather frog that came with mine was made of very flimsy fake leather that does not even closely resemble the leather pictured on their site currently. In all fairness, they do advertise "new production techniques" regarding this product, so that may explain the difference in leather.
It was a great knife, but I decided to customize it more to my liking. First, I completely replaced the flimsy imitation leather frog with one made of real leather and solid brass buckles. I then completely sanded the wooden sheath and gave it several mild sessions with a propane torch to give the grain some contrast. I sanded between burning sessions, applied a light stain, and then sealant.
The blade is held in place with a heavy brass pin. The hand guard is one piece solid steel construction that I sprayed with high-gloss black enamel paint. I lightly gave the end of the grip one session with the propane torch to give the edges some definition.
As evidenced by examining the bottom of the wooden sheath with its drainage hole, it was made from a solid piece wood, possibly magnolia, and carefully reassembled after inletting the blade. The pattern of the grain matches, and I was pretty impressed with this.
I also did some work on the blade. I polished the sides of the blade with increasingly higher grades of sandpaper. The blade came sharp, but I sharpened it to a much higher degree. Additionally, I etched the blade with vinegar and again polished it.
If you're into this particular style of knife, I found it to be a good value for the money. With some customization, I tried to give it some character.
Thanks for looking!
When it arrived, I was very surprised how sturdy this knife felt. I'm confident that I could easily punch through the side of a 55 gallon steel drum with ease. It was advertised as a full tang blade made of 1060 Shirogami high carbon steel and it is considerably thick. In fact, the blade measured exactly 0.335 inches thick! The blade is 8.25 inches long and the knife is 14 inches overall in length. It comes with a wooden sheath and wooden handle. The leather frog that came with mine was made of very flimsy fake leather that does not even closely resemble the leather pictured on their site currently. In all fairness, they do advertise "new production techniques" regarding this product, so that may explain the difference in leather.
It was a great knife, but I decided to customize it more to my liking. First, I completely replaced the flimsy imitation leather frog with one made of real leather and solid brass buckles. I then completely sanded the wooden sheath and gave it several mild sessions with a propane torch to give the grain some contrast. I sanded between burning sessions, applied a light stain, and then sealant.
The blade is held in place with a heavy brass pin. The hand guard is one piece solid steel construction that I sprayed with high-gloss black enamel paint. I lightly gave the end of the grip one session with the propane torch to give the edges some definition.
As evidenced by examining the bottom of the wooden sheath with its drainage hole, it was made from a solid piece wood, possibly magnolia, and carefully reassembled after inletting the blade. The pattern of the grain matches, and I was pretty impressed with this.
I also did some work on the blade. I polished the sides of the blade with increasingly higher grades of sandpaper. The blade came sharp, but I sharpened it to a much higher degree. Additionally, I etched the blade with vinegar and again polished it.
If you're into this particular style of knife, I found it to be a good value for the money. With some customization, I tried to give it some character.
Thanks for looking!