Katana1980 folded 1095/mono T10 Sanmai katana
Oct 5, 2014 0:11:12 GMT
Post by Robert in California on Oct 5, 2014 0:11:12 GMT
SWORD REVIEW: KATANA1980 Folded 1095/Mono-T10 Sanmai CLAY-TEMPERED KATANA:
By Robert in California
INTRODUCTION:
Katana1980 is an Longquan sword seller on Ebay.
They have been in the sword business since about 2005 and offer a mix of swords:
Longquan China-made Japanese swords, Longquan China-made Chinese swords and some European/Fantasy style swords.
I bought for $255usa a Katana1980 Musashi model Sanmai katana.
www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Handma ... 5659f5dc1a
A Sanmai blade is a laminated blade that is like a sandwich.
The “filling of the sandwich” ....the inner mono steel is a harder steel.
The outer “slices of bread” of the sandwich is folded steel of attractive wood grain appearance.
The blade was clay-tempered (differentially hardened) in kind of a gunome/rolling waves pattern.
The inner “meat” of the Sanmai mono steel can be seen along the edge.
The blade was eye candy....a very nice blade in basic furniture sword that kept the price where I could afford.
The normal Katana1980 Musashi katana blade is a 1060/1095 sanmai. Folded 1060 steel with the inner steel, a thin slab of mono 1095 steel.
The 1095/T10 blade I got was a prototype. I could have had either the 1060/1095 or this 1095/T10.
I am attracted by the unusual so I asked for the 1095/T10 blade, even though its nakago shape was not standard and so did not fit the standardized budget tsuka
as well as a regular 1060/1095 sanmai blade would have.
The price of getting an unusual blade, designed for a non-standard tsuka.
FULL DISCLOSURE:
I bought the sword for the ask and no favors asked or given.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
Furniture was decent for the price. Decent budget sword furniture. The blade was impressive!
The blade polish was the standard “shiny” polish that showed the features well enough to the eye, but was hard to capture with my simple digital camera.
So I used some hazuya finger stones to dull the shine a bit, show the blade features better and allow better photos.
STATISTICS:
Weight (sword + saya): 2.45 lbs (1.1 kg)
Weight (sword alone): 1.9 lbs (0.86 kg)
Overall length (sword + saya): 40 ¼ inches (102.2 cm)
Tsuka length: 10 ½” (26.7 cm)
Tsuka is straight in shape, tapering a little from the tsuba end (fuchi) to the end of the hilt/kashira.
Tsuka is a light but hard wood with a full wrap samegawa/ray skin ($25usa extra option for full wrap instead of the standard panels).
I strongly recommend the full samegawa tsuka wrap because it strenthens the tsuka.
And natural/raw "white" samegawa which dries harder and stronger than tanned, colored rayskin.
Tsuka is wrapped with black tsukaito/tsukamaki.
Menuki are large, brass dragons.
Tsuba is black enameled iron of the figure eight pattern called “Musashi”.
Tsuba had two brass seppa/spacers. One on each side of the tsuba.
Habaki is smooth brass.
The saya I chose as an option is a non-gloss, speckled black-painted wood (honaki wood?) with a horn or synthetic (I could not tell) koguichi.
The Saya paint covered the kojiri end of the saya. I could not tell if there was a kojiri/end cap.
Koguichi was either buffalo horn or synthetic but was there and of good fit:
Alloy fuchi:
Alloy kashira:
Blade length (not including habaki) munimachi to end of kissaki: 27 5/8” (70.2 cm)
Sori: 11/16 inches (1.75 cm)
Depth of blade at habaki (top to mune/back ridge to ha/edge): 1 ¼ inch (3.2 cm)
Depth of blade at mid-blade (top of mune/back ridge to ha/edge): 1 1/16 inch (2.7 cm)
Depth of blade at yokote/start of kissaki (top of mune/bakc ridge to ha/edge): 15/16 inch (2.38 cm)
Depth of shinogi to ha (angled part of blade) at habaki: 13/16 inch (2.06 cm).
Depth of shinogi to ha (angled part of blade) at mid-blade: 10/16 inch (1.59 cm).
Depth of shinogi to ha (angled part of blade) at yokote (start of kissaki): 8/16 inch (1.27).
Length of kissaki: 2 inches (5.1 cm).
Width/thickness of blade at habaki: 0.270 inches (0.69 cm) (courtesy my calipers).
Width/thickness of blade at mid-blade: 0.229 inches (0.58 cm).
Width/thickness of blade at yokote/start of kissaki: 0.185 inches (0.47 cm)
Note for centimeter measurements: 1 inch equals 2.54 centimeters.
For more information about Japanese swords, Katana1980 provides:
stores.ebay.com/katana1980/About ... Blade.html
FEEL OF THE SWORD:
This Katana1980 Sanmai katana feels fairly quick and light.
Perhaps because it weighed 1.9 pounds (0.86 kg) compared to 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) for my Wang-katana2011 1095 katana and 2.5 pounds (1.14 kg) for my Katana1980 mono T10 katana and 2.7 pounds (1.23 kg) for my Shinshinto katana. All these katanas are about 27 ½ inches blade length.
PRO/CON & NITPICKS:
PRO: Feels light and quick. Beautiful blade. T10 cutting edge. 1095 eye candy folded.
Good fit and finish, other than the ½ mm off-center habaki, and the nakago to tsuka fit.
Happily, Katana1980 was very good in customer support and sent a replacement habaki (and also gave me some brass seppa and some spare mekugi pins)
and even a new tsuka core should I desire to build a new tsuka.
CON: The nakago/tang edges were a little sharp.
I used a small file to smooth the nakago edges.
I chose a prototype blade instead of the regular blade, and the prototype did not have a standardized nakago/tang.
And being a $200usa category budget sword, had to be fitted with a standardized tsuka, to sell at this price point.
So for this prototype with a thinner nakago, there was too much shimming inside the tsuka.
And the nakago was more crude than I prefer:
I had time, so I took the tsuka apart and refitted the tsuka to the nakago.
While I was at it, I thinned the tsuka down a bit as a whim.
I changed the tsuba, fuchi, kashira and menuki for Arts-Feng sword furniture.
Arts-Feng makes nice copies of Japanese tsubas, fuchi, kashira and menuki at affordable prices. Arts-Feng makes budget-priced but quite nice enhancements for budget blades.
stores.ebay.com/ARTSFENG?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
SUMMARY:
This is my first Sanmai sword. The harder mono steel is slightly exposed at the edges/ha.
The folded steel attracts the eye. Perhaps with modern steels, there is no functional need for folded steel blades, but they do indeed add beauty. And beauty is part of the attraction. The hamon is fairly wide and is of gentlely rolling hills in pattern (what I would call a gunome-notare). The feeling is good. The tsuka was on the thick side.
Can it cut?
Katana1980 slicing paper...the first sword he uses is this sanmai. The second sword is my Katana1980 mono T10 katana (already in the SBG swords review section):
... e=youtu.be
But I dig change the sword furniture to a fish theme that attracted me, and thinned the tsuka. Picture of thicker vs. thinner tsuka:
This is my eye candy sword. Maybe mono steel blades are the most logical in this era of high quality alloy steels. But folded blades are prettier. And I already had a couple Wang-katana2011 mono 1095's and a Katana1980 mono T10.
p.s. Below are the specifications for the regular, and better standardized Katana1980 1060/1095 sanmai Musashi model, that I copied from the Katana1980 website. I would have been happy with it too. Nakago to tsuka fit would have been better for the folded 1060/mono 1095/folded 1060 sanmai blade due to better standardization of dimensions resulting
in better fit than my prototype blade had. T10 is good sword steel and so is 1095. The debate about which is better goes on and on.
============================================================================================
Below is seller's description of the regular folded 1060/mono 1095 and better standardized Katana1980 sanmai katana. I would have been quite happy if I had gone the folded 1060/mono 1095 choice. The nakago to tsuka fit would have been better.
SELLER"S DESCRIPTION:
=========================================================================================
"Item Specification
Approximate Size: 102*4 (cm)/ 40.6*1.6(inches)
Blade Length: 72 (cm) / 28 (inches)
Weight: 1.4 Kg
Material: Wood Saya & AISI 1095 Steel + High Carbon AISI 1060 Steel
Blade: Fully Sharpened (Razor Sharp) / Folded Clay tempered
Condition: Brand New
Features of this Katana:
Blade: clay tempered folded steel (Sanmai Construction, Folded 13 times creating 8192 layers)
Blood Groove: Non
Blade Edge: fully sharpened (Razor Sharp)
Habaki (Blade Collar) & Seppa (Spacer) Material: made of brass
Tsuba (Hand Guard): Handmade brass Musashi Tsuba
Fuchi (Handle Cap) and Kashira (Handle Collar): made of brass
Tsuka (Handle): Authentic white ray skin with menukis
Tang: Full tang with 2 Mekugi pegs
Saya (scabbard): handmade rosewood hardwood Saya
Accessories: silk sword bag
You are looking at a high quality fully functional Japanese Katana samurai sword.
The blade has a Sanmai construction.
It is made from AISI 1060 carbon steel and 1095 carbon steel.
This high quality full tang double pegged katana exhibits one of the most appealing Hamon temper lines
that is authentic and distinct as a result of traditional Clay Tempering Processes.
The balance of the blade is perfect and the sword is completely functional.
It can be used for Iaido, drills, practice and cutting tests.
The Kissaki is medium with a well defined Yokote.
The sword is full tang and comes razor sharp.
This blade features a brass made Japanese Musashi tsuba, handmade rosewood saya with authentic black buffalo horn
installed at the kurigata, tip and throat of saya.
The handle is made of white ray skin samegawa and secured by 2 mekugi bamboo pins.
Customization
We are offering customization for those who like to personalize their sword.
If you would like your sword to be customized with different parts, please send us the model numbers
via PayPal payment note or eBay message after you win the auction."
END of Seller's description of Katana1980 Musashi katana.
By Robert in California
INTRODUCTION:
Katana1980 is an Longquan sword seller on Ebay.
They have been in the sword business since about 2005 and offer a mix of swords:
Longquan China-made Japanese swords, Longquan China-made Chinese swords and some European/Fantasy style swords.
I bought for $255usa a Katana1980 Musashi model Sanmai katana.
www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Handma ... 5659f5dc1a
A Sanmai blade is a laminated blade that is like a sandwich.
The “filling of the sandwich” ....the inner mono steel is a harder steel.
The outer “slices of bread” of the sandwich is folded steel of attractive wood grain appearance.
The blade was clay-tempered (differentially hardened) in kind of a gunome/rolling waves pattern.
The inner “meat” of the Sanmai mono steel can be seen along the edge.
The blade was eye candy....a very nice blade in basic furniture sword that kept the price where I could afford.
The normal Katana1980 Musashi katana blade is a 1060/1095 sanmai. Folded 1060 steel with the inner steel, a thin slab of mono 1095 steel.
The 1095/T10 blade I got was a prototype. I could have had either the 1060/1095 or this 1095/T10.
I am attracted by the unusual so I asked for the 1095/T10 blade, even though its nakago shape was not standard and so did not fit the standardized budget tsuka
as well as a regular 1060/1095 sanmai blade would have.
The price of getting an unusual blade, designed for a non-standard tsuka.
FULL DISCLOSURE:
I bought the sword for the ask and no favors asked or given.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
Furniture was decent for the price. Decent budget sword furniture. The blade was impressive!
The blade polish was the standard “shiny” polish that showed the features well enough to the eye, but was hard to capture with my simple digital camera.
So I used some hazuya finger stones to dull the shine a bit, show the blade features better and allow better photos.
STATISTICS:
Weight (sword + saya): 2.45 lbs (1.1 kg)
Weight (sword alone): 1.9 lbs (0.86 kg)
Overall length (sword + saya): 40 ¼ inches (102.2 cm)
Tsuka length: 10 ½” (26.7 cm)
Tsuka is straight in shape, tapering a little from the tsuba end (fuchi) to the end of the hilt/kashira.
Tsuka is a light but hard wood with a full wrap samegawa/ray skin ($25usa extra option for full wrap instead of the standard panels).
I strongly recommend the full samegawa tsuka wrap because it strenthens the tsuka.
And natural/raw "white" samegawa which dries harder and stronger than tanned, colored rayskin.
Tsuka is wrapped with black tsukaito/tsukamaki.
Menuki are large, brass dragons.
Tsuba is black enameled iron of the figure eight pattern called “Musashi”.
Tsuba had two brass seppa/spacers. One on each side of the tsuba.
Habaki is smooth brass.
The saya I chose as an option is a non-gloss, speckled black-painted wood (honaki wood?) with a horn or synthetic (I could not tell) koguichi.
The Saya paint covered the kojiri end of the saya. I could not tell if there was a kojiri/end cap.
Koguichi was either buffalo horn or synthetic but was there and of good fit:
Alloy fuchi:
Alloy kashira:
Blade length (not including habaki) munimachi to end of kissaki: 27 5/8” (70.2 cm)
Sori: 11/16 inches (1.75 cm)
Depth of blade at habaki (top to mune/back ridge to ha/edge): 1 ¼ inch (3.2 cm)
Depth of blade at mid-blade (top of mune/back ridge to ha/edge): 1 1/16 inch (2.7 cm)
Depth of blade at yokote/start of kissaki (top of mune/bakc ridge to ha/edge): 15/16 inch (2.38 cm)
Depth of shinogi to ha (angled part of blade) at habaki: 13/16 inch (2.06 cm).
Depth of shinogi to ha (angled part of blade) at mid-blade: 10/16 inch (1.59 cm).
Depth of shinogi to ha (angled part of blade) at yokote (start of kissaki): 8/16 inch (1.27).
Length of kissaki: 2 inches (5.1 cm).
Width/thickness of blade at habaki: 0.270 inches (0.69 cm) (courtesy my calipers).
Width/thickness of blade at mid-blade: 0.229 inches (0.58 cm).
Width/thickness of blade at yokote/start of kissaki: 0.185 inches (0.47 cm)
Note for centimeter measurements: 1 inch equals 2.54 centimeters.
For more information about Japanese swords, Katana1980 provides:
stores.ebay.com/katana1980/About ... Blade.html
FEEL OF THE SWORD:
This Katana1980 Sanmai katana feels fairly quick and light.
Perhaps because it weighed 1.9 pounds (0.86 kg) compared to 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) for my Wang-katana2011 1095 katana and 2.5 pounds (1.14 kg) for my Katana1980 mono T10 katana and 2.7 pounds (1.23 kg) for my Shinshinto katana. All these katanas are about 27 ½ inches blade length.
PRO/CON & NITPICKS:
PRO: Feels light and quick. Beautiful blade. T10 cutting edge. 1095 eye candy folded.
Good fit and finish, other than the ½ mm off-center habaki, and the nakago to tsuka fit.
Happily, Katana1980 was very good in customer support and sent a replacement habaki (and also gave me some brass seppa and some spare mekugi pins)
and even a new tsuka core should I desire to build a new tsuka.
CON: The nakago/tang edges were a little sharp.
I used a small file to smooth the nakago edges.
I chose a prototype blade instead of the regular blade, and the prototype did not have a standardized nakago/tang.
And being a $200usa category budget sword, had to be fitted with a standardized tsuka, to sell at this price point.
So for this prototype with a thinner nakago, there was too much shimming inside the tsuka.
And the nakago was more crude than I prefer:
I had time, so I took the tsuka apart and refitted the tsuka to the nakago.
While I was at it, I thinned the tsuka down a bit as a whim.
I changed the tsuba, fuchi, kashira and menuki for Arts-Feng sword furniture.
Arts-Feng makes nice copies of Japanese tsubas, fuchi, kashira and menuki at affordable prices. Arts-Feng makes budget-priced but quite nice enhancements for budget blades.
stores.ebay.com/ARTSFENG?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
SUMMARY:
This is my first Sanmai sword. The harder mono steel is slightly exposed at the edges/ha.
The folded steel attracts the eye. Perhaps with modern steels, there is no functional need for folded steel blades, but they do indeed add beauty. And beauty is part of the attraction. The hamon is fairly wide and is of gentlely rolling hills in pattern (what I would call a gunome-notare). The feeling is good. The tsuka was on the thick side.
Can it cut?
Katana1980 slicing paper...the first sword he uses is this sanmai. The second sword is my Katana1980 mono T10 katana (already in the SBG swords review section):
... e=youtu.be
But I dig change the sword furniture to a fish theme that attracted me, and thinned the tsuka. Picture of thicker vs. thinner tsuka:
This is my eye candy sword. Maybe mono steel blades are the most logical in this era of high quality alloy steels. But folded blades are prettier. And I already had a couple Wang-katana2011 mono 1095's and a Katana1980 mono T10.
p.s. Below are the specifications for the regular, and better standardized Katana1980 1060/1095 sanmai Musashi model, that I copied from the Katana1980 website. I would have been happy with it too. Nakago to tsuka fit would have been better for the folded 1060/mono 1095/folded 1060 sanmai blade due to better standardization of dimensions resulting
in better fit than my prototype blade had. T10 is good sword steel and so is 1095. The debate about which is better goes on and on.
============================================================================================
Below is seller's description of the regular folded 1060/mono 1095 and better standardized Katana1980 sanmai katana. I would have been quite happy if I had gone the folded 1060/mono 1095 choice. The nakago to tsuka fit would have been better.
SELLER"S DESCRIPTION:
=========================================================================================
"Item Specification
Approximate Size: 102*4 (cm)/ 40.6*1.6(inches)
Blade Length: 72 (cm) / 28 (inches)
Weight: 1.4 Kg
Material: Wood Saya & AISI 1095 Steel + High Carbon AISI 1060 Steel
Blade: Fully Sharpened (Razor Sharp) / Folded Clay tempered
Condition: Brand New
Features of this Katana:
Blade: clay tempered folded steel (Sanmai Construction, Folded 13 times creating 8192 layers)
Blood Groove: Non
Blade Edge: fully sharpened (Razor Sharp)
Habaki (Blade Collar) & Seppa (Spacer) Material: made of brass
Tsuba (Hand Guard): Handmade brass Musashi Tsuba
Fuchi (Handle Cap) and Kashira (Handle Collar): made of brass
Tsuka (Handle): Authentic white ray skin with menukis
Tang: Full tang with 2 Mekugi pegs
Saya (scabbard): handmade rosewood hardwood Saya
Accessories: silk sword bag
You are looking at a high quality fully functional Japanese Katana samurai sword.
The blade has a Sanmai construction.
It is made from AISI 1060 carbon steel and 1095 carbon steel.
This high quality full tang double pegged katana exhibits one of the most appealing Hamon temper lines
that is authentic and distinct as a result of traditional Clay Tempering Processes.
The balance of the blade is perfect and the sword is completely functional.
It can be used for Iaido, drills, practice and cutting tests.
The Kissaki is medium with a well defined Yokote.
The sword is full tang and comes razor sharp.
This blade features a brass made Japanese Musashi tsuba, handmade rosewood saya with authentic black buffalo horn
installed at the kurigata, tip and throat of saya.
The handle is made of white ray skin samegawa and secured by 2 mekugi bamboo pins.
Customization
We are offering customization for those who like to personalize their sword.
If you would like your sword to be customized with different parts, please send us the model numbers
via PayPal payment note or eBay message after you win the auction."
END of Seller's description of Katana1980 Musashi katana.