WKC Practical Dragonfly Katana Bohi 1 inch sori
May 23, 2013 15:58:20 GMT
Post by Jussi Ekholm on May 23, 2013 15:58:20 GMT
Introduction
I'm not sure how familiar people are with WKC katana but I've been eyeing them for several years. I've been fairly confident in my belief that they are made by Fred Chen spinoff forge just like Last Legend was made. I've seen lots of similarities with LL swords and WKC swords, yet I hadn't seen WKC katana in person. Then all of the sudden there was a WKC Practical Dragonfly starting at ridiculously low price at Finnish auction site. For a moment I thought I'd get a real steal but right before ending there was a small bidding war that raised the price a bit. But I still got a great deal for a sword that had never been used, only as a decoration. I thought this would be the regular version (as the link in auction leaded to that) and I thought well it was ok as the price was low (for higher prices I'd have wanted the 1 inch sori).
Historical Overview
It's a katana.
Full disclosure
I bought this sword used and it was made in 2007. So not a regular review of a new sword. However as the sword was like brand new and there isn't any single review of WKC katana I thought I should write this. Here is a link to the sword as I believe not all are familiar with these: www.wkc-sports.com/JAP02BW2811d.html At WKC site you can read about TÜV tests & warraty + stuff about the company.
Initial Impressions
The sword arrived in original box and with original bag. After opening I was happy that the sword seemed strongly curved and I knew this has to be the 1 inch sori version. So I got what I was wishing to get, but not expecting, so I was more than happy. And another thing that immidiately hit me was this sword looked almost exactly like a Last Legend would look (only difference was the missing 3rd mekugi ). At this point I was almost certain that these have strong connection to those who made Last Legend swords.
Statistics
Nagasa: 74cm
Nakago: 30,8cm
Motohaba: 3,25cm
Sakihaba: 2,3cm
Moto-gasane: 6,9mm
Moto-shinogi-gasane: 7,4mm
Saki-gasane: 4,4mm
Saki-shinogi-gasane: 5,4mm
Sori: 2,5cm
Bare blade weight: 844g
Weight in koshirae: 1230g
Steel: 1055
Tsuka: 31,3cm
Tsuba: 7,4cm X 7,1cm, thickness 5mm, weight 152g
Components
Lets start with the blade. As some may know I'm a fan of deep curvature in swords and I was pleased to see strong sori in this one. Blade has crisp lines and everything just screams LL to me. And there we have it on nakago... It reads WKC 2007 in exact same manner as it reads LL 2006 KUM 3 in the nakago of my Last Legend odachi. I would have posted comparison pic but the LL is in transit for some long awaited customization (that project has been ongoing for over a year...). Bohi starts from the nakago and ending of bohi is hisaki agaru, as it rises above yokote, and it ends in a manner that I know many forumites prefer.
Then comes the part I was sweating over... tsuka removal. The tsuka of my LL Odachi was near indestructable. I had to use a drill to remove (destroy) mekugi and I had to use a hammer and chisel to remove (destroy) tsuka as it was epoxied and would not even budge. After that experience I've never disassembled a LL sword. With sweaty hands I started tsuka removal and I was shocked how easily it began, until... I realized there were shims, lots of shims. I realized that tsuka was already cracked as they hammered it on by force. So after a lot of hammering it finally came off and there were 5 shims in total. Tsukamaki is black cotton and it's very tight but quite uneven as LL swords tend to be. Menuki are the exactly same dragonflies that are on my LL MKIV Shobu. F&K are different dragonfly design that is on LL MKIV. Tsuba is quite nice steel tsuba. Saya nice black roiro lacquer. Sageo is cheap material and bit ruined as it had been in decorative knot from the beginning. When I reassembled the sword I used only the 1 big shim and the fit is perfect. The 3 other shims were just overkill and forcing the tsuka on with them had caused too much stress to tsuka.
Conclusion
I must say I like this sword, and it's no surprise since I'm a LL fan. WKC seems to produce quite similar swords that LL used to make. Unfortunately there have been problems when ordering from them and they couldn't have delivered the swords in time frame they promise. Other bit unfortunate thing is the high price of their higher end models. Personally I couldn't see myself buying them as there are better options in that price range.
But the spring steel and carbon steel lines of WKC are those I personally see possibly worth of buying. I think this particular sword is a good sword for the price I paid for it, but for the 385€ that they sell it as new I don't think it's exactly a good deal anymore, after all this is just TH sword.
I will be cutting with this in the future and I can add insight on it then. After seeing how wicked cutters LL swords are, I have great expectations for this WKC.
EDIT: I've been using bit incorrect measurements, and from now on I'm starting to use the correct way of measuring. With the new way you will get a better understanding of the sword by just looking at the numbers.
I'm not sure how familiar people are with WKC katana but I've been eyeing them for several years. I've been fairly confident in my belief that they are made by Fred Chen spinoff forge just like Last Legend was made. I've seen lots of similarities with LL swords and WKC swords, yet I hadn't seen WKC katana in person. Then all of the sudden there was a WKC Practical Dragonfly starting at ridiculously low price at Finnish auction site. For a moment I thought I'd get a real steal but right before ending there was a small bidding war that raised the price a bit. But I still got a great deal for a sword that had never been used, only as a decoration. I thought this would be the regular version (as the link in auction leaded to that) and I thought well it was ok as the price was low (for higher prices I'd have wanted the 1 inch sori).
Historical Overview
It's a katana.
Full disclosure
I bought this sword used and it was made in 2007. So not a regular review of a new sword. However as the sword was like brand new and there isn't any single review of WKC katana I thought I should write this. Here is a link to the sword as I believe not all are familiar with these: www.wkc-sports.com/JAP02BW2811d.html At WKC site you can read about TÜV tests & warraty + stuff about the company.
Initial Impressions
The sword arrived in original box and with original bag. After opening I was happy that the sword seemed strongly curved and I knew this has to be the 1 inch sori version. So I got what I was wishing to get, but not expecting, so I was more than happy. And another thing that immidiately hit me was this sword looked almost exactly like a Last Legend would look (only difference was the missing 3rd mekugi ). At this point I was almost certain that these have strong connection to those who made Last Legend swords.
Statistics
Nagasa: 74cm
Nakago: 30,8cm
Motohaba: 3,25cm
Sakihaba: 2,3cm
Moto-gasane: 6,9mm
Moto-shinogi-gasane: 7,4mm
Saki-gasane: 4,4mm
Saki-shinogi-gasane: 5,4mm
Sori: 2,5cm
Bare blade weight: 844g
Weight in koshirae: 1230g
Steel: 1055
Tsuka: 31,3cm
Tsuba: 7,4cm X 7,1cm, thickness 5mm, weight 152g
Components
Lets start with the blade. As some may know I'm a fan of deep curvature in swords and I was pleased to see strong sori in this one. Blade has crisp lines and everything just screams LL to me. And there we have it on nakago... It reads WKC 2007 in exact same manner as it reads LL 2006 KUM 3 in the nakago of my Last Legend odachi. I would have posted comparison pic but the LL is in transit for some long awaited customization (that project has been ongoing for over a year...). Bohi starts from the nakago and ending of bohi is hisaki agaru, as it rises above yokote, and it ends in a manner that I know many forumites prefer.
Then comes the part I was sweating over... tsuka removal. The tsuka of my LL Odachi was near indestructable. I had to use a drill to remove (destroy) mekugi and I had to use a hammer and chisel to remove (destroy) tsuka as it was epoxied and would not even budge. After that experience I've never disassembled a LL sword. With sweaty hands I started tsuka removal and I was shocked how easily it began, until... I realized there were shims, lots of shims. I realized that tsuka was already cracked as they hammered it on by force. So after a lot of hammering it finally came off and there were 5 shims in total. Tsukamaki is black cotton and it's very tight but quite uneven as LL swords tend to be. Menuki are the exactly same dragonflies that are on my LL MKIV Shobu. F&K are different dragonfly design that is on LL MKIV. Tsuba is quite nice steel tsuba. Saya nice black roiro lacquer. Sageo is cheap material and bit ruined as it had been in decorative knot from the beginning. When I reassembled the sword I used only the 1 big shim and the fit is perfect. The 3 other shims were just overkill and forcing the tsuka on with them had caused too much stress to tsuka.
Conclusion
I must say I like this sword, and it's no surprise since I'm a LL fan. WKC seems to produce quite similar swords that LL used to make. Unfortunately there have been problems when ordering from them and they couldn't have delivered the swords in time frame they promise. Other bit unfortunate thing is the high price of their higher end models. Personally I couldn't see myself buying them as there are better options in that price range.
But the spring steel and carbon steel lines of WKC are those I personally see possibly worth of buying. I think this particular sword is a good sword for the price I paid for it, but for the 385€ that they sell it as new I don't think it's exactly a good deal anymore, after all this is just TH sword.
I will be cutting with this in the future and I can add insight on it then. After seeing how wicked cutters LL swords are, I have great expectations for this WKC.
EDIT: I've been using bit incorrect measurements, and from now on I'm starting to use the correct way of measuring. With the new way you will get a better understanding of the sword by just looking at the numbers.