Bushido Katana: Outside the box review (Update1)
Sept 8, 2013 5:23:02 GMT
Post by Bluntsword on Sept 8, 2013 5:23:02 GMT
Cas Iberia Bushido Katana
This sword is 3rd hand and is not brand new
Background Information
Throughout the year I have read and seen many pictures of this sword, it’s pretty popular. Honestly just reading the specifications and staring at the images I can clearly see why it’s popular. It’s easy to see the major features that make this sword good, it’s the little unseen/unknown details that make it great and I intend to find any if there are any.
The major things I’ve learnt from other owners reviews/mentions is that the sword has:
- Beautiful blade
- Beautiful saya
- Beautiful fittings
And for some reason Bushido owners customise it. I bought it third hand the only give away that it’s used is the darker/worn ito from previous two owners dry handling and maybe a little cutting here and there minor scratches on the blade.
Took me a while but I finally got one, a HW Bushido katana of my very own and this feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of finally holding it and knowing it solely belongs to me is awesome.
Any connection to Cas Iberia? Nope besides being a happy customer that has constantly bombarded them with noobish questions and annoyed the hell out of them. This sword wasn't purchased from them or any of their sellers.
Aim of this review
Let us see why it’s so popular and why so many people praise it. Is it worthy of that praise? I’ll make my own judgement and give you those facts and details so you can decide as well.
Note: In the search of my perfect blade, I have now arrived at the desire for custom swords and customising. I have chosen this sword as it has the best standard specs that meets my requirements and hence why I got a second hand one with near perfect blade. Not going to pay full price when I’m going to replace parts. Custom Hanwei Bushido done the track one day, I’ve already acquired edo fittings.
Where and how much can I get one for? Sellers & Price brand new (05/09/13):
kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=PC1210 US$899.95+shipping (in stock)
www.swordsofmight.com/paulchenbu ... atana.aspx US$799.95+shipping (sold out)
www.swordsoftheeast.com/bushidok ... sword.aspx US$909.99+shipping (
)
What else is there for roughly the same price?
Kaneie Okuden for US$920 + shipping (great reputation highly recommended, closest production swords to nihonto)
www.thesamuraiworkshop.com/EN/ca ... uct_id=362
Dynasty Forge Daimyo for US$917.95 + shipping (un-known to me, no reviews)
kultofathena.com/product.asp?ite ... orse+Theme
Ronin Katana (great reputation highly recommended, tough swords)
Hammer Forged Line from US$500.00-800.00 + shipping
Elite Line for US$825.00 + shipping
www.roninkatana.com/
The Review
What the manufacturer has to say
Cas Iberia Website www.casiberia.com/product/bushido-katana/sh1210
Blurb straight from the HW website: HW’s Description
Bushido, or “Way of the Warrior”, defines the code of conduct an honorable Samurai must follow and the Hanwei Bushido katana is designed to perpetuate this tradition. The blade of the Bushido katana is hand-forged and folded from K120C powder steel, with a medium-length (chu) kissaki. The saya is deeply lacquered with inlaid brass cherry blossom (sakura) flowers. High quality ray skin (same) is used on the tsuka. The tsuba is crafted in blackened and bronzed iron, with detailing in gold and silver and a battle scene decoration. The tsuka-ito and the sageo are woven from premium Japanese cotton. The fuchi and kashira are of blackened bronze with brass detailing, and the kojiri, koiguchi and kurikata are of polished buffalo horn. The habaki is a one-piece brass construction. See Models SH1211 and SH1212 for the Wakizashi and Tanto details.
Note: Cas = Cas Iberia, HW = Hanwei, Wak = Wakizashi
Saya
Overall:
The overall style of the saya is beautifully done it has gold like specks (metallic look) in the paint and there are small leaf shape brass parts that are laid together in the clear paint work to make the cherry blossom flowers, the brass flowers contrast and go well with the golden brown metallic background behind it. On the kurikata side the brass cherry blossoms are placed ¾ up the saya and stop just before the kurikata, and on the other side the brass cherry blossoms only go for ¼ of the saya. Why because when worn your body would cover the remaining ¾ of saya so no one can see it anyway. This tells me the designers intended for this sword to be used and placed into the obi (or they did it to save time and money, my way sounds better).
Fittings:
Kojiri, kurikata & koiguchi are all made from quality buffalo horn, the more brownish and clearish parts inside the horn the better the quality is (my personal taste). The shapes and fit of the parts are well carved/sanded none of them hangover because they are a little bit too big or too small, the joins between them and the saya is perfectly flush and even. On lesser quality sayas when I run my nail over the join I can feel the transition from horn to laq wood, but not on this one smooth all the way over.
Even though its 3rd hand there’s no blemishes on the saya, goes to show how well it was taken cared of over the years.
Sageo:
It came with a Japanese hand made silk sageo which is nicely made. Just touching and feeling the texture you can tell it’s a quality piece. The standard Japanese cotton sageo was lost.
Little unseen/unknown detail:
The effort in making and placing the 5 tiny brass flower petals together to make the cherry blossoms on the saya. These tiny petals are extremely thin.
Fittings
Theme: Bushido
Tsuba scene blade side: shows peaceful scenery of two birds with Mount Fuji (?) in the background. Giving us a sense of a calm/gentle atmosphere. But yet do those little birds know what’s going on, on the other side.
Tsuba scene tsuka side: In the moon light, one lone samurai in armor fights for his life against two opponents, dodging a blow to his right leg, he lifts it up just in time. Second opponent with sword loaded up ready for a devastating over-head blow to the lone samurai. This scene shows a fierce life and death battle.
Why did Hanwei decided on these two scenes? Well because there is more than one meaning to Bushido (I made that up). I can’t even imagine how much thought/design/time it took to make these scenes from idea/sketches to finished product here.
Note: Some of HW swords fittings seem to tell a story (have meaning) you just have to read what's being shown and let your imagination run wild.
Habaki:
The habaki is a standard design made from solid brass, the finish is well done as and it makes maximum contact to the blade on all sides. This one doesn’t seem like the average one size fits all approach as the fit is almost perfect, I’m not saying that it was custom made for the blade but it has been fitted nicely. This part is actually very important as it is required to fit between the sword and saya, needs to seat properly/ hold fittings together, something for the fittings to but up against/vibration dampener, helps absorb and distribute vibration from blade into tsuka.
Tsuba:
The tsuba is beautifully designed and crafted. The detail in the casting is well done as there is a lot of detail in the scenes. When looking closely you can see crisp lines in the scenes which make this piece more detailed and which make it stand out from the rest of the cheap casted stuff. There are gold and silver high lights with brass detailing. The brass detailing is the rim around the edge and the silver high lights are the painted moon and ice on top of Mt Fuji. Yes painted how I know, well the texture of the painted surface is the same as the surrounding surface. Gold high lights there isn’t any on this tsuba, the blurb is talking about the wak tsuba. This tells me that the blurb was written for both the katana and wak.
The details of the cast is so well done that I had to compare it to my edo fittings (also cast) and I have to tell you both are equally beautiful in their own way.
Fuchi & Kashira:
Both of these are made from blackened bronze and it does feel like bronze as they are very light, compared to my iron edo fuchi. Both parts have brass rim around the edge and the detailed samurai casting is just as detailed as the tsuba.
Seppa:
Flat brass pieces with a well-made standard pattern along the edge nothing fancy. I just wish they had rope design instead, something different something only HW has. They work as intended and make all the fittings and parts fit nice and tight, while protecting the tsuba from getting a bum (habaki) print on it.
Menuki:
casted cherry blossom that look ok, there isn't much details on it and what makes it only look passable is that the detailing on it is rounded. If only the menukis had sharper and more crisp edges. It'll look so much better.
Little unseen/unknown detail:
- How great of a fit the habaki really is and how important it is
- The amount of detail that went into carving the original piece to make the fittings
- I really like how the silver paint was painted within the lines
- The extra effort in making their swords stand out from the rest and having individually designed/made themes parts/fittings for their swords (you can’t just go online and buy it, you can only get these fittings by buying a Cas sword)
Tsuka
Same:
High quality same they say in the blurb. Well guess what it really is high quality same, it has large even nodes which is consistent throughout the whole panel. The overall pattern of the nodes is consistent as well the only let down is that there aren’t any large emperor nodes on these panels. What I extremely like about this tsuka and same is that the tsuka maker actually spent some time and effort to make a better fit between the same panel and tsuka core, the tsuka core has been channelled so when the same is glued on to the core the same surface is flush with the rest of the core and doesn’t bulge out the ito wrap.
Ito:
The feeling you get when looking at it you can see it’s of good quality. The brown with a hint of shine on it makes it look tough and formidable the texture of the material is smooth and silky to the touch. You would assume it’s silk but alas it’s made from Japanese cotton, good quality cotton. My initial finger test, where I try to wiggle and move the ito with my thumb & fingers failed miserably the damn things wouldn’t budge one of the overlapping twists have to be loose from these years of use hence I tried on all of them nope, all of them were tight and snug. Conclusion sore fingers and knowing the ito is as tight as the day it left the factory. This cotton is strong and extremely stiff, it doesn’t stretch like other materials, the weave and thread strands are tight and uniform through the entire length. I checked in 3 places and there is white paper hishigame underneath the ito. Looking at long shot of the tsuka you can see the diamonds are all even and roughly all the same size and shape it’s really well done, which is possible due to hishigame and stiff cotton it doesn’t stretch so it helps make even consistent diamonds.
Mekugi Ana:
I haven’t seen a more perfectly drilled ana before on a production sword. The same nodes are cut cleanly and precisely the correct size and shape. The ana hole also tapers so the mekugi can only come in and out in one direction and the mekugi is in opposite sides of the tsuka. Slow and steady wins the race (in quality).
Shape, Feel & Grip:
Some owners believe the handle is too big and axe like in shape and feel. Now I’m a small Asian with small hands so that would be a massive problem for me. But the handle fit’s me nicely the fuchi end starts a little big but tapers of nicely as it gets smaller towards the kashira. In my JSA I’m learning we don’t butt our index finger up against the guard, we hold it 2 or 3 fingers away from the tsuba and then one or two finger gap between hands. That leaves me at the ideal place for grip on this tsuka, it’s like Cas designed this tsuka for the system I’m learning. Also 70% of our grip is with our pinky & the next finger, also our left hand is the power hand. The thinner tapered section towards the kashira is ideally shaped in a smaller oval shape, which makes it so much easier to grip with my pinky and the finger fits inside a diamond. I honestly feel that there’s no way I’m going to loose grip even if my hands were covered in sweat blood and tears.
Little unseen/unknown detail:
- Perfectly drilled mekugi ana
- Great shape and sizing to the taper on the tsuka
- Same channel carved into tsuka core
Soul of the sword: Nagasa
First of all what the heck is K120C Powdered Steel?
In summary powder steel is formed by mixing very finely ground powders of the elements that is required for the final mix, they are then compressed into shape then heating them to make all the metal elements bond together. This allows for a near perfect mixture of all the different elements to ensure the end metal is as pure as modern technology can get it.
What is K120C composed off? It is a High-Carbon Silicon Manganese Steel
Element Percentage
Carbon 1%
Silicon 0.2%
Manganese 0.3%
Phosphorus
Sulphur <0.03%
(Details from here: www.swordforum.com/forums/showth ... 0c-answers)
Also K120C is “made in Japan under license from SSAB of Sweden. It is similar to Uddeholm UHB 20”. (From Cas Iberia website, FAQ page)
Why can’t I find any useful info on a Google search? It’s because K120C (Cas in-house code???) is Cas’s own special blend, no one else uses it or makes it (that I can find online). It’s like trying to find the exact secret family recipe online, might be something that sounds similar but in the end it’s not there.
Strong Acid Wash (SAW):
When it comes to bringing out a blades details to make it easier for the owner to see and so the owner doesn’t doubt if the blade is actually folded or DH, no one does it better than Cas. Do they go overboard with the extremely strong acid wash maybe, to us purist nihonto fans there’s no substitute for the long & hard traditional way to bring out the details naturally via water stones in an Art polish. But am I willing to pay for it especially on a production sword? Hell no!
So overboard strong acid wash it is. Honestly it’s not that bad (I’m starting to like it, on folded blades mostly), a lot of people love it/some hate it, when it’s there you don’t like the frost look but when it’s gone and you can hardly see the hamon/folds on your blade if at all you want it back (I’m referring to my Gunto it no longer has the frost at all).
Hamon:
This blade has a nicely defined small gunome hamon, the sign wave is almost perfectly to proportion and evenly spaced the entire length of the blade, hence why a few owners have doubts that it’s real and believe it was drawn on (they are right in a sense as the hamon is actually drawn on, with clay) none the less it’s a real hamon. The wave is located exactly in the middle of the ji which is how I like it as it’s not too low next to the ha or too high next to the shinogi (my preference). Major problem is I can’t see any of the hamon activity between the martensite and pearlite as the SAW covers everything.
Hada:
Where do I start? Well because of SAW the hada is in your face look at me I’m so pretty, kind of hada. There’s no way you cannot see it, but without the SAW I’m pretty sure that it will be very hard to see the hada if you can see it at all because there’s only two ways to bring it out Art polish or Acid wash.
Hada Activity? Well this I can see, the SAW actually enhances the details in this case as it brings up the highlights. The type or style grain in the steel of all the K120C blades that Cas make has mokume (wood burl) and itame (wood grain) designed into it from their folding and forging techniques. This blade has heaps of activity along the entire visible surface. In some parts of the shinogi-ji you can make out hada even though it has been burnished. Why is that? Well it’s because this blade is made via maru construction. With the pure quality steels available with our tech there hasn’t been a need for Cas to make their swords in other formats like kobuse or soshu-kitae (besides Paper Crane as that model was made from tamahagane).
Other blade characteristics:
The overall blade is thin to begin with distal taper the sword begins at 5mm at habaki and drops to 4mm at yokote. Kissaki type is normal chu and blade shape is normal shinogi zukuri as well. Shinogi-ji and yokote is crisp and nicely defined. The overall shapes and lines of the blade all look in proportion and correct, when it’s not correct you can just tell (let’s just say it’s our sword sense, that occurs naturally in us sword owners). Tang is typical Cas medium range quality with a strong tang with file marks to increase friction in the tsuka, the mei is a let-down to me. Why because the swordsmith put a lot of effort into making such a gorgeous blade then signs it using a rotary pen. It’s like Vincent Van Goh painting a master piece, then at the very end he signs it with a sharpy instead of paint. The swordsmith should have carved it with a chisel, it’s the finishing touch (but that’s just me).
Note: the mei on my Cas Captain’s Gunto is hand carved.
Little unseen/unknown detail:
- Cas uses SAW because customers assume DH or hada isn’t there or wasn’t done when they can’t clearly see it
- K120C has max 500 layers because any more than that makes the hada more tight and fine, therefore harder to see with the naked eye
Final verdict does the Bushido live up to its reputation and worthy of all that praise? Short answer YES.
For US$800-900 + shipping this sword is well worth it. You get a lot of sword for that money, most purchasers have to be aware that after US$600 the differences in quality gets smaller and smaller, it’s the little details that make these swords cost so much and also separates them from the rest in that price range and from each other. If this sword cost more than US$900 would I buy it? Nope, because Cas themselves (well the venders) have set the price at that. So anything over that price you’re paying too much.
Everything you have read here and everything you have seen in the pictures, this is the quality you should be getting for a US$900 sword.
I am now a Cas Iberia fan boy and justifiably so. They make good products for a understandable price. At least I have the peace of mind that whenever I buy a Cas sword they would at least meet my minimum expectations (Japanese swords only).
Personal Note:
From all my research and analyzing I have come to the conclusion that Cas Iberia isn't trying to make their swords as close to nihonto as possible, they're making their own style of Japanese styled swords, like how every swordsmithing school has their own style & traits. Their swords try to meet the demands of what consumers want (e.g. strong acid wash/less folds to make those features more easily visible), their swords are made for the modern user and are tailored to meet our (most peoples) requirements in this day and age.
Too be continued
This sword is 3rd hand and is not brand new
Background Information
Throughout the year I have read and seen many pictures of this sword, it’s pretty popular. Honestly just reading the specifications and staring at the images I can clearly see why it’s popular. It’s easy to see the major features that make this sword good, it’s the little unseen/unknown details that make it great and I intend to find any if there are any.
The major things I’ve learnt from other owners reviews/mentions is that the sword has:
- Beautiful blade
- Beautiful saya
- Beautiful fittings
And for some reason Bushido owners customise it. I bought it third hand the only give away that it’s used is the darker/worn ito from previous two owners dry handling and maybe a little cutting here and there minor scratches on the blade.
Took me a while but I finally got one, a HW Bushido katana of my very own and this feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of finally holding it and knowing it solely belongs to me is awesome.
Any connection to Cas Iberia? Nope besides being a happy customer that has constantly bombarded them with noobish questions and annoyed the hell out of them. This sword wasn't purchased from them or any of their sellers.
Aim of this review
Let us see why it’s so popular and why so many people praise it. Is it worthy of that praise? I’ll make my own judgement and give you those facts and details so you can decide as well.
Note: In the search of my perfect blade, I have now arrived at the desire for custom swords and customising. I have chosen this sword as it has the best standard specs that meets my requirements and hence why I got a second hand one with near perfect blade. Not going to pay full price when I’m going to replace parts. Custom Hanwei Bushido done the track one day, I’ve already acquired edo fittings.
Where and how much can I get one for? Sellers & Price brand new (05/09/13):
kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=PC1210 US$899.95+shipping (in stock)
www.swordsofmight.com/paulchenbu ... atana.aspx US$799.95+shipping (sold out)
www.swordsoftheeast.com/bushidok ... sword.aspx US$909.99+shipping (
)What else is there for roughly the same price?
Kaneie Okuden for US$920 + shipping (great reputation highly recommended, closest production swords to nihonto)
www.thesamuraiworkshop.com/EN/ca ... uct_id=362
Dynasty Forge Daimyo for US$917.95 + shipping (un-known to me, no reviews)
kultofathena.com/product.asp?ite ... orse+Theme
Ronin Katana (great reputation highly recommended, tough swords)
Hammer Forged Line from US$500.00-800.00 + shipping
Elite Line for US$825.00 + shipping
www.roninkatana.com/
The Review
What the manufacturer has to say
Cas Iberia Website www.casiberia.com/product/bushido-katana/sh1210
Blurb straight from the HW website: HW’s Description
Bushido, or “Way of the Warrior”, defines the code of conduct an honorable Samurai must follow and the Hanwei Bushido katana is designed to perpetuate this tradition. The blade of the Bushido katana is hand-forged and folded from K120C powder steel, with a medium-length (chu) kissaki. The saya is deeply lacquered with inlaid brass cherry blossom (sakura) flowers. High quality ray skin (same) is used on the tsuka. The tsuba is crafted in blackened and bronzed iron, with detailing in gold and silver and a battle scene decoration. The tsuka-ito and the sageo are woven from premium Japanese cotton. The fuchi and kashira are of blackened bronze with brass detailing, and the kojiri, koiguchi and kurikata are of polished buffalo horn. The habaki is a one-piece brass construction. See Models SH1211 and SH1212 for the Wakizashi and Tanto details.
Note: Cas = Cas Iberia, HW = Hanwei, Wak = Wakizashi
Saya
Overall:
The overall style of the saya is beautifully done it has gold like specks (metallic look) in the paint and there are small leaf shape brass parts that are laid together in the clear paint work to make the cherry blossom flowers, the brass flowers contrast and go well with the golden brown metallic background behind it. On the kurikata side the brass cherry blossoms are placed ¾ up the saya and stop just before the kurikata, and on the other side the brass cherry blossoms only go for ¼ of the saya. Why because when worn your body would cover the remaining ¾ of saya so no one can see it anyway. This tells me the designers intended for this sword to be used and placed into the obi (or they did it to save time and money, my way sounds better).
Fittings:
Kojiri, kurikata & koiguchi are all made from quality buffalo horn, the more brownish and clearish parts inside the horn the better the quality is (my personal taste). The shapes and fit of the parts are well carved/sanded none of them hangover because they are a little bit too big or too small, the joins between them and the saya is perfectly flush and even. On lesser quality sayas when I run my nail over the join I can feel the transition from horn to laq wood, but not on this one smooth all the way over.
Even though its 3rd hand there’s no blemishes on the saya, goes to show how well it was taken cared of over the years.
Sageo:
It came with a Japanese hand made silk sageo which is nicely made. Just touching and feeling the texture you can tell it’s a quality piece. The standard Japanese cotton sageo was lost.
Little unseen/unknown detail:
The effort in making and placing the 5 tiny brass flower petals together to make the cherry blossoms on the saya. These tiny petals are extremely thin.
Fittings
Theme: Bushido
Tsuba scene blade side: shows peaceful scenery of two birds with Mount Fuji (?) in the background. Giving us a sense of a calm/gentle atmosphere. But yet do those little birds know what’s going on, on the other side.
Tsuba scene tsuka side: In the moon light, one lone samurai in armor fights for his life against two opponents, dodging a blow to his right leg, he lifts it up just in time. Second opponent with sword loaded up ready for a devastating over-head blow to the lone samurai. This scene shows a fierce life and death battle.
Why did Hanwei decided on these two scenes? Well because there is more than one meaning to Bushido (I made that up). I can’t even imagine how much thought/design/time it took to make these scenes from idea/sketches to finished product here.
Note: Some of HW swords fittings seem to tell a story (have meaning) you just have to read what's being shown and let your imagination run wild.
Habaki:
The habaki is a standard design made from solid brass, the finish is well done as and it makes maximum contact to the blade on all sides. This one doesn’t seem like the average one size fits all approach as the fit is almost perfect, I’m not saying that it was custom made for the blade but it has been fitted nicely. This part is actually very important as it is required to fit between the sword and saya, needs to seat properly/ hold fittings together, something for the fittings to but up against/vibration dampener, helps absorb and distribute vibration from blade into tsuka.
Tsuba:
The tsuba is beautifully designed and crafted. The detail in the casting is well done as there is a lot of detail in the scenes. When looking closely you can see crisp lines in the scenes which make this piece more detailed and which make it stand out from the rest of the cheap casted stuff. There are gold and silver high lights with brass detailing. The brass detailing is the rim around the edge and the silver high lights are the painted moon and ice on top of Mt Fuji. Yes painted how I know, well the texture of the painted surface is the same as the surrounding surface. Gold high lights there isn’t any on this tsuba, the blurb is talking about the wak tsuba. This tells me that the blurb was written for both the katana and wak.
The details of the cast is so well done that I had to compare it to my edo fittings (also cast) and I have to tell you both are equally beautiful in their own way.
Fuchi & Kashira:
Both of these are made from blackened bronze and it does feel like bronze as they are very light, compared to my iron edo fuchi. Both parts have brass rim around the edge and the detailed samurai casting is just as detailed as the tsuba.
Seppa:
Flat brass pieces with a well-made standard pattern along the edge nothing fancy. I just wish they had rope design instead, something different something only HW has. They work as intended and make all the fittings and parts fit nice and tight, while protecting the tsuba from getting a bum (habaki) print on it.
Menuki:
casted cherry blossom that look ok, there isn't much details on it and what makes it only look passable is that the detailing on it is rounded. If only the menukis had sharper and more crisp edges. It'll look so much better.
Little unseen/unknown detail:
- How great of a fit the habaki really is and how important it is
- The amount of detail that went into carving the original piece to make the fittings
- I really like how the silver paint was painted within the lines
- The extra effort in making their swords stand out from the rest and having individually designed/made themes parts/fittings for their swords (you can’t just go online and buy it, you can only get these fittings by buying a Cas sword)
Tsuka
Same:
High quality same they say in the blurb. Well guess what it really is high quality same, it has large even nodes which is consistent throughout the whole panel. The overall pattern of the nodes is consistent as well the only let down is that there aren’t any large emperor nodes on these panels. What I extremely like about this tsuka and same is that the tsuka maker actually spent some time and effort to make a better fit between the same panel and tsuka core, the tsuka core has been channelled so when the same is glued on to the core the same surface is flush with the rest of the core and doesn’t bulge out the ito wrap.
Ito:
The feeling you get when looking at it you can see it’s of good quality. The brown with a hint of shine on it makes it look tough and formidable the texture of the material is smooth and silky to the touch. You would assume it’s silk but alas it’s made from Japanese cotton, good quality cotton. My initial finger test, where I try to wiggle and move the ito with my thumb & fingers failed miserably the damn things wouldn’t budge one of the overlapping twists have to be loose from these years of use hence I tried on all of them nope, all of them were tight and snug. Conclusion sore fingers and knowing the ito is as tight as the day it left the factory. This cotton is strong and extremely stiff, it doesn’t stretch like other materials, the weave and thread strands are tight and uniform through the entire length. I checked in 3 places and there is white paper hishigame underneath the ito. Looking at long shot of the tsuka you can see the diamonds are all even and roughly all the same size and shape it’s really well done, which is possible due to hishigame and stiff cotton it doesn’t stretch so it helps make even consistent diamonds.
Mekugi Ana:
I haven’t seen a more perfectly drilled ana before on a production sword. The same nodes are cut cleanly and precisely the correct size and shape. The ana hole also tapers so the mekugi can only come in and out in one direction and the mekugi is in opposite sides of the tsuka. Slow and steady wins the race (in quality).
Shape, Feel & Grip:
Some owners believe the handle is too big and axe like in shape and feel. Now I’m a small Asian with small hands so that would be a massive problem for me. But the handle fit’s me nicely the fuchi end starts a little big but tapers of nicely as it gets smaller towards the kashira. In my JSA I’m learning we don’t butt our index finger up against the guard, we hold it 2 or 3 fingers away from the tsuba and then one or two finger gap between hands. That leaves me at the ideal place for grip on this tsuka, it’s like Cas designed this tsuka for the system I’m learning. Also 70% of our grip is with our pinky & the next finger, also our left hand is the power hand. The thinner tapered section towards the kashira is ideally shaped in a smaller oval shape, which makes it so much easier to grip with my pinky and the finger fits inside a diamond. I honestly feel that there’s no way I’m going to loose grip even if my hands were covered in sweat blood and tears.
Little unseen/unknown detail:
- Perfectly drilled mekugi ana
- Great shape and sizing to the taper on the tsuka
- Same channel carved into tsuka core
Soul of the sword: Nagasa
First of all what the heck is K120C Powdered Steel?
In summary powder steel is formed by mixing very finely ground powders of the elements that is required for the final mix, they are then compressed into shape then heating them to make all the metal elements bond together. This allows for a near perfect mixture of all the different elements to ensure the end metal is as pure as modern technology can get it.
What is K120C composed off? It is a High-Carbon Silicon Manganese Steel
Element Percentage
Carbon 1%
Silicon 0.2%
Manganese 0.3%
Phosphorus
Sulphur <0.03%
(Details from here: www.swordforum.com/forums/showth ... 0c-answers)
Also K120C is “made in Japan under license from SSAB of Sweden. It is similar to Uddeholm UHB 20”. (From Cas Iberia website, FAQ page)
Why can’t I find any useful info on a Google search? It’s because K120C (Cas in-house code???) is Cas’s own special blend, no one else uses it or makes it (that I can find online). It’s like trying to find the exact secret family recipe online, might be something that sounds similar but in the end it’s not there.
Strong Acid Wash (SAW):
When it comes to bringing out a blades details to make it easier for the owner to see and so the owner doesn’t doubt if the blade is actually folded or DH, no one does it better than Cas. Do they go overboard with the extremely strong acid wash maybe, to us purist nihonto fans there’s no substitute for the long & hard traditional way to bring out the details naturally via water stones in an Art polish. But am I willing to pay for it especially on a production sword? Hell no!
So overboard strong acid wash it is. Honestly it’s not that bad (I’m starting to like it, on folded blades mostly), a lot of people love it/some hate it, when it’s there you don’t like the frost look but when it’s gone and you can hardly see the hamon/folds on your blade if at all you want it back (I’m referring to my Gunto it no longer has the frost at all).
Hamon:
This blade has a nicely defined small gunome hamon, the sign wave is almost perfectly to proportion and evenly spaced the entire length of the blade, hence why a few owners have doubts that it’s real and believe it was drawn on (they are right in a sense as the hamon is actually drawn on, with clay) none the less it’s a real hamon. The wave is located exactly in the middle of the ji which is how I like it as it’s not too low next to the ha or too high next to the shinogi (my preference). Major problem is I can’t see any of the hamon activity between the martensite and pearlite as the SAW covers everything.
Hada:
Where do I start? Well because of SAW the hada is in your face look at me I’m so pretty, kind of hada. There’s no way you cannot see it, but without the SAW I’m pretty sure that it will be very hard to see the hada if you can see it at all because there’s only two ways to bring it out Art polish or Acid wash.
Hada Activity? Well this I can see, the SAW actually enhances the details in this case as it brings up the highlights. The type or style grain in the steel of all the K120C blades that Cas make has mokume (wood burl) and itame (wood grain) designed into it from their folding and forging techniques. This blade has heaps of activity along the entire visible surface. In some parts of the shinogi-ji you can make out hada even though it has been burnished. Why is that? Well it’s because this blade is made via maru construction. With the pure quality steels available with our tech there hasn’t been a need for Cas to make their swords in other formats like kobuse or soshu-kitae (besides Paper Crane as that model was made from tamahagane).
Other blade characteristics:
The overall blade is thin to begin with distal taper the sword begins at 5mm at habaki and drops to 4mm at yokote. Kissaki type is normal chu and blade shape is normal shinogi zukuri as well. Shinogi-ji and yokote is crisp and nicely defined. The overall shapes and lines of the blade all look in proportion and correct, when it’s not correct you can just tell (let’s just say it’s our sword sense, that occurs naturally in us sword owners). Tang is typical Cas medium range quality with a strong tang with file marks to increase friction in the tsuka, the mei is a let-down to me. Why because the swordsmith put a lot of effort into making such a gorgeous blade then signs it using a rotary pen. It’s like Vincent Van Goh painting a master piece, then at the very end he signs it with a sharpy instead of paint. The swordsmith should have carved it with a chisel, it’s the finishing touch (but that’s just me).
Note: the mei on my Cas Captain’s Gunto is hand carved.
Little unseen/unknown detail:
- Cas uses SAW because customers assume DH or hada isn’t there or wasn’t done when they can’t clearly see it
- K120C has max 500 layers because any more than that makes the hada more tight and fine, therefore harder to see with the naked eye
Final verdict does the Bushido live up to its reputation and worthy of all that praise? Short answer YES.
For US$800-900 + shipping this sword is well worth it. You get a lot of sword for that money, most purchasers have to be aware that after US$600 the differences in quality gets smaller and smaller, it’s the little details that make these swords cost so much and also separates them from the rest in that price range and from each other. If this sword cost more than US$900 would I buy it? Nope, because Cas themselves (well the venders) have set the price at that. So anything over that price you’re paying too much.
Everything you have read here and everything you have seen in the pictures, this is the quality you should be getting for a US$900 sword.
I am now a Cas Iberia fan boy and justifiably so. They make good products for a understandable price. At least I have the peace of mind that whenever I buy a Cas sword they would at least meet my minimum expectations (Japanese swords only).
Personal Note:
From all my research and analyzing I have come to the conclusion that Cas Iberia isn't trying to make their swords as close to nihonto as possible, they're making their own style of Japanese styled swords, like how every swordsmithing school has their own style & traits. Their swords try to meet the demands of what consumers want (e.g. strong acid wash/less folds to make those features more easily visible), their swords are made for the modern user and are tailored to meet our (most peoples) requirements in this day and age.
Too be continued
