KC 26-II bare blade
Jul 27, 2013 4:22:43 GMT
Post by Novice_Surgery on Jul 27, 2013 4:22:43 GMT
Hey SBG, just bought something shiny and am reporting for duty. I bought this blade after window shopping and finding a very cheap bare blade from Kris Cutlery for 125$. I have no affiliation with Kris Cutlery and have never purchased from them before. I spoke with Cecil, the owner of Kris Cutlery twice prior to making my final decision. I prefer 1060 steel, but it must be tempered very well. Cecil was very easy to talk to and answered all of my questions with patience, and no-bs info. A consumer appreciates not having a flashlight aimed up his arse. He even told me some cons to the blade. I walked away from the experience trusting Cecil. I made my purchase the same day, and the next day it was shipped. Six days pass and I see that familiar long grey box at my door. Upon opening the blade is held in place with styrofoam inserts, and wrapped completely in bubble wrap. After the bubble wrap is removed only a light sheen of an unknown oil is left on the blade. When I wiped off the oil the first thing I noticed was the nice straight hamon. Pictures at the end of the review.
Design Specs:
steel type: differentially hardened 1060 carbon steel
lamination: maru
nagasa length: 26"
nakago length: 9.25"
blade width at habaki: 1.25"
blade width before kissaki: 1"
spine thickess at habaki: 0.32"(5/16")
edge hardness: 60HRC
spine hardness: 40HRC
blade geometry: shinogi zukuri with medium ha niku
hamon type: cho-suguha with komaru boshi
kissaki: chu kissaki
The hamon is cho suguha(straight with irregularities) and is gorgeous. Tight ni crystal structure with a skillful boshi. Polish on the blade is a medium mirror including the ji(cutting plane). The polish is actually quite impressive exhibiting no microscratches whatsoever. Nice Kris Cutlery. The geometry of the blade is 100% rock solid. Not a single wave or bump in the steel on either side of the blade. The kissaki's polish is super rough. Looks like they gave it a once over and were like eehh. But I like it, gives me something to do. The boshi is only visible to the discerning eye due to the roughness. There is no geometric shift at the yokote line, but this is to be expected at this price point. The habaki is solidly built with none of that fancy etching on it lol. It has small gaps on each side of the blade on the ji area, and another smaller gap on the spine. The habaki also has nice "/\"shaped file marks on the spine. The habaki's fit is very tight to the blade. The nakago has little sori but is well shaped in width as well as length.
The Pros:
- excellent price (125$)
- gorgeous hamon, and not a common hamon type either; nice boshi
- polish other than kissaki is excellent
- very crisp blade geometry
- great customer service from Kris Cutlery
The Cons:
- small gaps in the habaki
- very rough kissaki polish
- dull until 1 inch away from habaki(this is normal and is not really a con just thought i'd list it anyway)
- really, did they polish that kissaki at all?
Well I would definately recommend this blade to a friend, I would only do so if he/she were willing to undertake the task of building all the furniture around the blade. I have a good deal of know how in this area so I'll be able to do it without outsourcing too much and breakin the ol' wallet in half. However it is quite the task and should not be embarked upon lightly. If you have the time and resources for such a project, this is a nice choice in my book though. Solid geometry, clearly well tempered steel. With Kris Cutlery's above and beyond customer service, and Cecil's honesty behind it; this purchase was a no brainer. Here's the link to the pictures.
s1303.photobucket.com/user/novic ... y/library/
Till next time, thanks for reading.
Design Specs:
steel type: differentially hardened 1060 carbon steel
lamination: maru
nagasa length: 26"
nakago length: 9.25"
blade width at habaki: 1.25"
blade width before kissaki: 1"
spine thickess at habaki: 0.32"(5/16")
edge hardness: 60HRC
spine hardness: 40HRC
blade geometry: shinogi zukuri with medium ha niku
hamon type: cho-suguha with komaru boshi
kissaki: chu kissaki
The hamon is cho suguha(straight with irregularities) and is gorgeous. Tight ni crystal structure with a skillful boshi. Polish on the blade is a medium mirror including the ji(cutting plane). The polish is actually quite impressive exhibiting no microscratches whatsoever. Nice Kris Cutlery. The geometry of the blade is 100% rock solid. Not a single wave or bump in the steel on either side of the blade. The kissaki's polish is super rough. Looks like they gave it a once over and were like eehh. But I like it, gives me something to do. The boshi is only visible to the discerning eye due to the roughness. There is no geometric shift at the yokote line, but this is to be expected at this price point. The habaki is solidly built with none of that fancy etching on it lol. It has small gaps on each side of the blade on the ji area, and another smaller gap on the spine. The habaki also has nice "/\"shaped file marks on the spine. The habaki's fit is very tight to the blade. The nakago has little sori but is well shaped in width as well as length.
The Pros:
- excellent price (125$)
- gorgeous hamon, and not a common hamon type either; nice boshi
- polish other than kissaki is excellent
- very crisp blade geometry
- great customer service from Kris Cutlery
The Cons:
- small gaps in the habaki
- very rough kissaki polish
- dull until 1 inch away from habaki(this is normal and is not really a con just thought i'd list it anyway)
- really, did they polish that kissaki at all?
Well I would definately recommend this blade to a friend, I would only do so if he/she were willing to undertake the task of building all the furniture around the blade. I have a good deal of know how in this area so I'll be able to do it without outsourcing too much and breakin the ol' wallet in half. However it is quite the task and should not be embarked upon lightly. If you have the time and resources for such a project, this is a nice choice in my book though. Solid geometry, clearly well tempered steel. With Kris Cutlery's above and beyond customer service, and Cecil's honesty behind it; this purchase was a no brainer. Here's the link to the pictures.
s1303.photobucket.com/user/novic ... y/library/
Till next time, thanks for reading.