Review of Katana from e-bay seller St-Nihonto
Oct 24, 2013 0:48:39 GMT
Post by Number2 on Oct 24, 2013 0:48:39 GMT
Intro
I decided I wanted to add a differentially tempered katana to my collection. I wanted the following options.
Choji style hamon.
T10 or 1095.
No bo hi.
Wood saya.
Nice fittings (really wanted to find a square shaped tsuba of some kind)
My choice of samegawa and ito colors.
Looking around at the places I usually purchase from I was underwhelmed with the selection available. That is when I started looking on ebay. Naturally I was wary of buying swords on ebay but given the selection available and the customization options offered I could not resist. I did research various sellers but there was not a lot of information available.
After doing a LOT of digging I decided to order from ebay seller 'st-nihonto'. I found some positive reviews of his products on a few forums and I could not find any horror stories associated with his offerings. The concensus seems to be that his blades are acquired from a quality forge in Longquan.
Full disclosure.
I have no affiliation with st-nihonto or ebay. Everything in this review is my own personal opinion. I am not a metallurgist nor am I an expert in Katanas.
Initial Impressions
The sword arrived packed in a styrofoam box for shipping. It was wrapped very securely in a lot of shipping tape. No box but for the price paid, I am not going to complain about not getting a box especially since the bag the sword came in was very nice.
The first thing I checked when I unpacked the sword was the custom options that I ordered. I asked for black samegawa with black ito wrapped in a certain style and all was correct.
The fit and finish of all the hardware was perfect. Nothing was loose and no rattling. The saya fit the blade perfectly. The sword has the perfect amount of friction when sheathed. It will not fall out and you do not have to be he-man to unsheath the sword. This is the ONLY katana that I own that I can pop the sword free from the scabbard with only my thumb but it does not fall out on its own.
Statistics - some basic stats from the vendor.
overall length: 103cm/40.6inch
Blade length/material: 71cm/28.0 inch. 1095 high carbon steel with clay tempered with Choji Hamon.
handle length/material: 26cm /10.2inch. hard wooden with Genuine Ray Skin wrapped . Japanese silk Ito & ornamented with Menuki (ornament);
KOSHIRAE: made of copper;
Sheath (Scabbard): made of hualee wood. kojiri*kurigata*koiguchi made of genuine black horn; solid sageo also rolled both side of kurikata to match sword's tsuka-ito.
Handling Characteristics
I do not practice traditional kata or forms with the katana so I can not give a reliable review in this area. I will say that for me.. the sword seems to be a good weight. It has a good heft to it without seeming bulky or unwieldy.
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
1095 carbon steel - differentially heat treated with a choji hamon. The blade was polished to a mirror shine and was very sharp. shobu zukuri kissaki.
The blade came very sharp. I was able to cut cut some standard printer paper to ribbons very easily.
I am not a great photographer and this sword is very difficult to photograph due to its very mirrored finish.
I tried to take some pictures showing the hamon on the kissaki but I due to my camera not being that great combined with my less than optimal photography skills it didnt work out so well.
The Handle/Tsuka - several choices of ito and samagawa color and wrapping style - black on black seen here.
The Guard/Tsuba - several choices available from the seller's page. I ordered the t-36 demon koshirae
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
The Scabbard/Saya
Made of hualee wood with horn reinforcements. Perfect fit.
Conclusions
This is a great sword and for what it costs I think it would be difficult to find a better deal. $219 + $48 shipping. The sword is beautiful and is exactly what I wanted.
A word about the ebay seller 'st-nihonto'.
Sheng is the man running the show at st-nihonto on ebay. He is a good guy and answered all my questions before I ordered. He always responded to my emails quickly and accurately. I will be buying from him again and I would fearlessly recommend his store to my friends.
The only negative thing I can say is that I had trouble with Chinese customs (not the sellers fault). The first attempt to ship this sword to me resulted in my package sitting in customs for two months. I tried to be patient but finally I contacted the Sheng and cried about it. Sheng was very responsive. He had EMS ship the package back to him and he re sent it to me. I received my package in only six days that time! I would like to thank Sheng for taking care of this for me because he really did not have to. But it just goes to show that he is a professional and he cares about his customers.
I decided I wanted to add a differentially tempered katana to my collection. I wanted the following options.
Choji style hamon.
T10 or 1095.
No bo hi.
Wood saya.
Nice fittings (really wanted to find a square shaped tsuba of some kind)
My choice of samegawa and ito colors.
Looking around at the places I usually purchase from I was underwhelmed with the selection available. That is when I started looking on ebay. Naturally I was wary of buying swords on ebay but given the selection available and the customization options offered I could not resist. I did research various sellers but there was not a lot of information available.
After doing a LOT of digging I decided to order from ebay seller 'st-nihonto'. I found some positive reviews of his products on a few forums and I could not find any horror stories associated with his offerings. The concensus seems to be that his blades are acquired from a quality forge in Longquan.
Full disclosure.
I have no affiliation with st-nihonto or ebay. Everything in this review is my own personal opinion. I am not a metallurgist nor am I an expert in Katanas.
Initial Impressions
The sword arrived packed in a styrofoam box for shipping. It was wrapped very securely in a lot of shipping tape. No box but for the price paid, I am not going to complain about not getting a box especially since the bag the sword came in was very nice.
The first thing I checked when I unpacked the sword was the custom options that I ordered. I asked for black samegawa with black ito wrapped in a certain style and all was correct.
The fit and finish of all the hardware was perfect. Nothing was loose and no rattling. The saya fit the blade perfectly. The sword has the perfect amount of friction when sheathed. It will not fall out and you do not have to be he-man to unsheath the sword. This is the ONLY katana that I own that I can pop the sword free from the scabbard with only my thumb but it does not fall out on its own.
Statistics - some basic stats from the vendor.
overall length: 103cm/40.6inch
Blade length/material: 71cm/28.0 inch. 1095 high carbon steel with clay tempered with Choji Hamon.
handle length/material: 26cm /10.2inch. hard wooden with Genuine Ray Skin wrapped . Japanese silk Ito & ornamented with Menuki (ornament);
KOSHIRAE: made of copper;
Sheath (Scabbard): made of hualee wood. kojiri*kurigata*koiguchi made of genuine black horn; solid sageo also rolled both side of kurikata to match sword's tsuka-ito.
Handling Characteristics
I do not practice traditional kata or forms with the katana so I can not give a reliable review in this area. I will say that for me.. the sword seems to be a good weight. It has a good heft to it without seeming bulky or unwieldy.
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
1095 carbon steel - differentially heat treated with a choji hamon. The blade was polished to a mirror shine and was very sharp. shobu zukuri kissaki.
The blade came very sharp. I was able to cut cut some standard printer paper to ribbons very easily.
I am not a great photographer and this sword is very difficult to photograph due to its very mirrored finish.
I tried to take some pictures showing the hamon on the kissaki but I due to my camera not being that great combined with my less than optimal photography skills it didnt work out so well.
The Handle/Tsuka - several choices of ito and samagawa color and wrapping style - black on black seen here.
The Guard/Tsuba - several choices available from the seller's page. I ordered the t-36 demon koshirae
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
The Scabbard/Saya
Made of hualee wood with horn reinforcements. Perfect fit.
Conclusions
This is a great sword and for what it costs I think it would be difficult to find a better deal. $219 + $48 shipping. The sword is beautiful and is exactly what I wanted.
A word about the ebay seller 'st-nihonto'.
Sheng is the man running the show at st-nihonto on ebay. He is a good guy and answered all my questions before I ordered. He always responded to my emails quickly and accurately. I will be buying from him again and I would fearlessly recommend his store to my friends.
The only negative thing I can say is that I had trouble with Chinese customs (not the sellers fault). The first attempt to ship this sword to me resulted in my package sitting in customs for two months. I tried to be patient but finally I contacted the Sheng and cried about it. Sheng was very responsive. He had EMS ship the package back to him and he re sent it to me. I received my package in only six days that time! I would like to thank Sheng for taking care of this for me because he really did not have to. But it just goes to show that he is a professional and he cares about his customers.