Munetoshi Type 98 Shin Gunto
Dec 19, 2012 15:53:29 GMT
Post by Springs on Dec 19, 2012 15:53:29 GMT
Introduction
It was a little bit before Christmas, I had some money and decided I wanted to buy something, hopefully from somewhere that has a Christmas sale going on. Originally, I planned to get this really nice looking katana from St-Nihonto, however I found out that SwordnArmory were doing a really huge coupon discount, so I jumped on it. I wanted something higher end, past the $300 mark, and most of the offerings from SwordnArmory were from their Munetoshi line. A lot of them were rather plain looking, except for the Type 98 Shin Gunto. I asked people on the forums a bit and a few of my friends, and most of the opinions went to the Gunto, which I was already leaning towards to begin with. This sword is normally around 370, but with the 25% off coupon then, the price dropped to around 280.
Historical overview
For once I actually buy a sword that is actually based on something from history. This is a replica of a Type 98 Shin Gunto (translated as "new military sword"). The Shin Gunto is designed somewhat after the tachi, an ancient Japanese sword prior to the katana that was known for the way it was worn, and it's deeper blade curve. There were 3 types made during World War 2, Type 94, 95 and 98. The type 94 and 98 were very similar, being constructed traditionally like katana prior to it, with the type 98 only having one ring on the saya as opposed to two. The type 95 was a heavy simplification of the type 94, with metal tsuka and were machine made. These were given to NCO's of the military, as they were much cheaper to produce. Later in the war, the type 98's were being made with cheaper and cheaper fittings, as Japan's supply of metal was drying up due to the war effort.
Full Disclosure
I am no expert in swords, and have only handled and own a few. This review will be mostly what I've observed from my viewpoint, although I try to make it as detailed as I can. I also bought this out of my own pocket, although I try to be as objective as I can.
Initial Impressions
I received this in the recognizeable long cardboard box we all know and love. It was a lot heavier than I expected. I opened it up quickly and was greeted by a black display box.
I've actually been kind of wanting one of these, although I didn't know that it would come with one. The metal clasps are kind of rusty. Inside, there was the sword wrapped in a silk (?) bag, with a maintenance kit and certificate of authenticity. I took the sword out of the bag and took a quick glance at it. It smells funny. Everything seems in order however, and the sword, from the quick glance I took, looked pretty good.
Statistics
I'll let the spec sheet do the talking here.
The Blade/Nagasa
Upon taking the blade out of the saya for the first time, I saw that it was covered in oil. Lots and lots of oil. This was to protect the blade from rusting during its time in transit. I wiped it off, and my first impression was: wow. The polish on it is great - I especially like the look of the hybrid polish on it. It is rather hard to catch in regular light however, but it is definitely noticeable if you turn the blade the right way.
The hamon is also very prominent - I think this is a midare hamon style. It has possibly been enhanced slightly, as it is hard to miss, although it does fade out every now and then.
One other thing I noticed is that the blade is a lot...thinner? At least in comparison to my other katana (pictured here is the Musashi Shirakawa w/o bo-hi), the distance from the edge up to the spine is noticeable shorter than others. I also has a (very) slightly deeper sori than my other katana too.
While wiping down the blade, upon reaching the kissaki, I noticed the geometry suddenly changed. To my surprise, it has a geometric yokote! This is a very nice touch. It is also quite well polished, you'll only notice the scratchy marks under close scrutiny, or with flash.
The blade is made from T10, as opposed to 1095 like I originally saw on the website images. I kind of wanted T10, so this is a plus for me.
Only negative things I can say about the blade is that there are some minor surface scratches on it - more than a couple, although they are very small. Nothing a quick sand won't fix however.
The Handle/Tsuka
This one was quite a roller coaster ride. My originaly intention was to get a katana with handachi-type looking fittings, so the gunto fit the bill quite well. The ito is synthetic (how does one tell that from silk anyway?), and wrapped extremely tightly with equal diamonds. The ito also alternates. On the spec sheet, it says that the samegawa is wrapped, however it is actually just panels. They're of decent quality however, with good sized nodes. It also has a strange brownish tint to it, like they painted it a certain color, but then sanded it down.
I proceeded to try to remove the tsuka. It is...EXTREMELY tight. It took me around 2 hours carefully tapping it out, careful to not hit it too hard. I should get one of those wooden mallets or something...
But, I did manage to get it off and took a look inside. It's made of some kind of wood, definitely looks kind of...I don't know, dry? Compared to my Musashi Shirakawa's tsuka core, which has wood that looks strong, this one looks kind of fragile, although it doesn't feel that way. There's also a fracture that reaches in about 2 inches...that's kind of disappointing. Getting the tsuka back on is not as hard as getting it off, although it still was a challenge (I figured it was actually the tsuba that was on tight, and I was partially right).
The Guard/Tsuba
The tsuba is small. It really is. I forgot to take a comparison photo, but imagine if a regular tsuba on production katana is the size of your fist, the tsuba on this would be the size of a baby's fist. I actually like the way this look though, although I'm not sure if it's historically accurate. It has a cherry blossom theme found on Gunto katana, and is made of a really sturdy copper. The seppa are blackened, and there are 2 on each side, one normal rounded seppa, and the gunto seppa, which has these protruding hexagons. Kinda cool actually (and sharp!).
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
The fuchi and kashira are made of painted copper, and are in the same style as gunto katanas. I believe it is accurate to the originals, however the paint on it is so thick that most of the detail is lost under it. I might sand down the paint some time in the future and repaint it myself. The kashira also has a ring around it. This would be where the officers would tie a colored piece of rope/cloth that would note their rank. It also moves around kind of noisily too.
The habaki fit is also quite good, no gaps as far as I can see.
The fuchi has a small slot for a button. This button is pressed to unlock the blade from the saya. This gives the blade extra protection from falling out, presumably during heated combat in the pacific.
The Scabbard/Saya
This is actually one of my favorite parts of this katana. The saya is very tightly wrapped in leather. Unfortunately I'm no expert on leather (I don't really like leather stuff), but I think the leather on this is authentic. It smells...funky. I believe real new leather has this kind of smell?
The leather is held onto it via friction fit, with buttons at the top, just like the original gunto.
The leather is quite sturdy. Under it however, lies an accurate (presumably) gunto style saya. I can't take it out as the leather is EXTREMELY tight on it, but everything looks good. It has one ring, like a type 98 should.
The koiguchi is metal. The saya fit is a little iffy though, as drawing and sheathing the sword isn't as smooth as I'd like, and the sword rattles inside it a small bit.
The leather also has a rather large scratch on one side. I wonder where that came from. Also the saya is heavy. Very heavy.
Handling Characteristics
As I mentioned earlier in the review, the blade is on the thin side. Because of this, this bad boy is LIGHT! Almost shockingly so. The sword just glides in your hands, changing direction whenever you want it to. This is currently my favorite sword to handle right now. Simply holding it makes me feel this sense of lightness. It's hard to describe, but there you go.
Test Cutting
I unfortunately do not have the option of doing tameshigiri or even backyard bottle cutting...as I don't have a backyard, nor adequate ceiling height to swing my sword around. I do, however, have lots of paper, so thats what I use to test my swords. This sword is sharp. Almost ridiculously so. It cut that paper up like a hot knife through butter. I could even do tiny pickle slices with it, that's how sharp it is.
Conclusions
Overall I am very satisfied with the sword. The shipping came right on time, the sword was well packed and is very well made. There are some things that I think could be improved, especially the fit of the tsuka. I would definitely recommend people to buy this sword if they were looking for a good gunto replica.
Pros
- Nice leather on the saya
- Very nice blade that is razor sharp
- Excellent handling
- Historically accurate
- Tight ito wrapping
Cons
- Cracked tsuka
- Saya fit isn't too great, causing rattling
- Small scratches on the blade
It was a little bit before Christmas, I had some money and decided I wanted to buy something, hopefully from somewhere that has a Christmas sale going on. Originally, I planned to get this really nice looking katana from St-Nihonto, however I found out that SwordnArmory were doing a really huge coupon discount, so I jumped on it. I wanted something higher end, past the $300 mark, and most of the offerings from SwordnArmory were from their Munetoshi line. A lot of them were rather plain looking, except for the Type 98 Shin Gunto. I asked people on the forums a bit and a few of my friends, and most of the opinions went to the Gunto, which I was already leaning towards to begin with. This sword is normally around 370, but with the 25% off coupon then, the price dropped to around 280.
Historical overview
For once I actually buy a sword that is actually based on something from history. This is a replica of a Type 98 Shin Gunto (translated as "new military sword"). The Shin Gunto is designed somewhat after the tachi, an ancient Japanese sword prior to the katana that was known for the way it was worn, and it's deeper blade curve. There were 3 types made during World War 2, Type 94, 95 and 98. The type 94 and 98 were very similar, being constructed traditionally like katana prior to it, with the type 98 only having one ring on the saya as opposed to two. The type 95 was a heavy simplification of the type 94, with metal tsuka and were machine made. These were given to NCO's of the military, as they were much cheaper to produce. Later in the war, the type 98's were being made with cheaper and cheaper fittings, as Japan's supply of metal was drying up due to the war effort.
Full Disclosure
I am no expert in swords, and have only handled and own a few. This review will be mostly what I've observed from my viewpoint, although I try to make it as detailed as I can. I also bought this out of my own pocket, although I try to be as objective as I can.
Initial Impressions
I received this in the recognizeable long cardboard box we all know and love. It was a lot heavier than I expected. I opened it up quickly and was greeted by a black display box.
I've actually been kind of wanting one of these, although I didn't know that it would come with one. The metal clasps are kind of rusty. Inside, there was the sword wrapped in a silk (?) bag, with a maintenance kit and certificate of authenticity. I took the sword out of the bag and took a quick glance at it. It smells funny. Everything seems in order however, and the sword, from the quick glance I took, looked pretty good.
Statistics
I'll let the spec sheet do the talking here.
The Blade/Nagasa
Upon taking the blade out of the saya for the first time, I saw that it was covered in oil. Lots and lots of oil. This was to protect the blade from rusting during its time in transit. I wiped it off, and my first impression was: wow. The polish on it is great - I especially like the look of the hybrid polish on it. It is rather hard to catch in regular light however, but it is definitely noticeable if you turn the blade the right way.
The hamon is also very prominent - I think this is a midare hamon style. It has possibly been enhanced slightly, as it is hard to miss, although it does fade out every now and then.
One other thing I noticed is that the blade is a lot...thinner? At least in comparison to my other katana (pictured here is the Musashi Shirakawa w/o bo-hi), the distance from the edge up to the spine is noticeable shorter than others. I also has a (very) slightly deeper sori than my other katana too.
While wiping down the blade, upon reaching the kissaki, I noticed the geometry suddenly changed. To my surprise, it has a geometric yokote! This is a very nice touch. It is also quite well polished, you'll only notice the scratchy marks under close scrutiny, or with flash.
The blade is made from T10, as opposed to 1095 like I originally saw on the website images. I kind of wanted T10, so this is a plus for me.
Only negative things I can say about the blade is that there are some minor surface scratches on it - more than a couple, although they are very small. Nothing a quick sand won't fix however.
The Handle/Tsuka
This one was quite a roller coaster ride. My originaly intention was to get a katana with handachi-type looking fittings, so the gunto fit the bill quite well. The ito is synthetic (how does one tell that from silk anyway?), and wrapped extremely tightly with equal diamonds. The ito also alternates. On the spec sheet, it says that the samegawa is wrapped, however it is actually just panels. They're of decent quality however, with good sized nodes. It also has a strange brownish tint to it, like they painted it a certain color, but then sanded it down.
I proceeded to try to remove the tsuka. It is...EXTREMELY tight. It took me around 2 hours carefully tapping it out, careful to not hit it too hard. I should get one of those wooden mallets or something...
But, I did manage to get it off and took a look inside. It's made of some kind of wood, definitely looks kind of...I don't know, dry? Compared to my Musashi Shirakawa's tsuka core, which has wood that looks strong, this one looks kind of fragile, although it doesn't feel that way. There's also a fracture that reaches in about 2 inches...that's kind of disappointing. Getting the tsuka back on is not as hard as getting it off, although it still was a challenge (I figured it was actually the tsuba that was on tight, and I was partially right).
The Guard/Tsuba
The tsuba is small. It really is. I forgot to take a comparison photo, but imagine if a regular tsuba on production katana is the size of your fist, the tsuba on this would be the size of a baby's fist. I actually like the way this look though, although I'm not sure if it's historically accurate. It has a cherry blossom theme found on Gunto katana, and is made of a really sturdy copper. The seppa are blackened, and there are 2 on each side, one normal rounded seppa, and the gunto seppa, which has these protruding hexagons. Kinda cool actually (and sharp!).
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
The fuchi and kashira are made of painted copper, and are in the same style as gunto katanas. I believe it is accurate to the originals, however the paint on it is so thick that most of the detail is lost under it. I might sand down the paint some time in the future and repaint it myself. The kashira also has a ring around it. This would be where the officers would tie a colored piece of rope/cloth that would note their rank. It also moves around kind of noisily too.
The habaki fit is also quite good, no gaps as far as I can see.
The fuchi has a small slot for a button. This button is pressed to unlock the blade from the saya. This gives the blade extra protection from falling out, presumably during heated combat in the pacific.
The Scabbard/Saya
This is actually one of my favorite parts of this katana. The saya is very tightly wrapped in leather. Unfortunately I'm no expert on leather (I don't really like leather stuff), but I think the leather on this is authentic. It smells...funky. I believe real new leather has this kind of smell?
The leather is held onto it via friction fit, with buttons at the top, just like the original gunto.
The leather is quite sturdy. Under it however, lies an accurate (presumably) gunto style saya. I can't take it out as the leather is EXTREMELY tight on it, but everything looks good. It has one ring, like a type 98 should.
The koiguchi is metal. The saya fit is a little iffy though, as drawing and sheathing the sword isn't as smooth as I'd like, and the sword rattles inside it a small bit.
The leather also has a rather large scratch on one side. I wonder where that came from. Also the saya is heavy. Very heavy.
Handling Characteristics
As I mentioned earlier in the review, the blade is on the thin side. Because of this, this bad boy is LIGHT! Almost shockingly so. The sword just glides in your hands, changing direction whenever you want it to. This is currently my favorite sword to handle right now. Simply holding it makes me feel this sense of lightness. It's hard to describe, but there you go.
Test Cutting
I unfortunately do not have the option of doing tameshigiri or even backyard bottle cutting...as I don't have a backyard, nor adequate ceiling height to swing my sword around. I do, however, have lots of paper, so thats what I use to test my swords. This sword is sharp. Almost ridiculously so. It cut that paper up like a hot knife through butter. I could even do tiny pickle slices with it, that's how sharp it is.
Conclusions
Overall I am very satisfied with the sword. The shipping came right on time, the sword was well packed and is very well made. There are some things that I think could be improved, especially the fit of the tsuka. I would definitely recommend people to buy this sword if they were looking for a good gunto replica.
Pros
- Nice leather on the saya
- Very nice blade that is razor sharp
- Excellent handling
- Historically accurate
- Tight ito wrapping
Cons
- Cracked tsuka
- Saya fit isn't too great, causing rattling
- Small scratches on the blade