1060 TH Katana from swordsmith668
Oct 22, 2014 22:16:31 GMT
Post by Romulus on Oct 22, 2014 22:16:31 GMT
Introduction
After searching for katanas for about a year I have finally decided to purchase one, I decided to go with Ebay seller swordsmith668 based on the reviews I have seen and it's extremely low price.
The katana set me back about $96, however being from the UK it is not actually possible to purchase weapons from Ebay so after checking out the SBG site I found ForwardIt which is a US mailing company. I am rather grateful to have came across it and I think any katana enthusiast in Europe will appreciate this, it was a rather straight forward process albeit very costly as I had to pay a $15 fee for their services, $57 for the shipping and a further $32 for UK tax so the cost to get it to my door was more than the actual blade itself!!! Though it was no fault of the seller just due to the unnecessarily strict laws in the UK.
Despite that it was still the best value for money katana that was available to me.
Full Disclosure
I am no connoisseur when it comes to Kats and as such I am unable to give a historical overview of this sword. This is my very first sword and my very first review. I have however done months worth of research on Japanese swordsmithing just so I am familiar with what I am getting myself into. So here goes my first review.
Initial impressions
So I came home to a big yellow foam box which felt very light, deceivingly so I might add and I stupidly stuck a knife right in to split the box open (I blame it on the overly keen enthusiasm) to see a pleasantly nice silk sword bag. Attached to the box were letters and some Chinese currency, a nice touch but I simply could not acknowledge it at the time.
I pulled out and grasped firmly in my hand my very first sword and katana.
The handle was wrapped in an air sealed plastic wrap, once taken off showed some rather nice fittings. The tsuka-ito, sageo and samegawa was visibly synthetic so you could tell it wasn't a genuine Japanese sword. The tsuba, kashira etc however seemed very authentic and high quality. All the fittings were tight, if so just a bit too tight.
If I had to complain the diamonds on the ito aren't all completely even and the habaki is very subtly aligned to one side but you would really have to stare at it to notice them. The habaki was plain and simple and very nice.
So far so good, I should now mention at this point that the sword is fully customized and come with any color or design you like.
Now I pull off the saya to reveal the blade, it too was sealed with a plastic wrap and after an initial tug at the bottom neatly sliced apart on the edge. Of course the blade is covered in a layer of oil. I chose not to have a bohi on it as I am not keen on their aesthetics.
The blade had a rather foggy finish to it and wasn't as mirrored as described, and as I expected from the many reviews on these Hanbon swords the kissaki is very poorly polished if at all, and I shall tend to it with some grit paper very soon. most of the blade is paper cutting sharp and it has both overly impressed and scared my friends, the very bottom isn't as sharp but it's not supposed to be anyway.
Statistics
Overall Length: 41 in
Nagasa Length: 28 in
Handle Length: 10.6 in
Kissaki Shape: CHU-KISSAKI
Blade Shape: SHINOGI-ZUKURI
Blade Material: 1060 High Carbon Steel
Blade Width (near Habaki): 1.26 in
Blade Width (near Kissaki): 0.91 in
Weight (with Saya ): 2.56 lbs
Weight (without Saya): 1.99 lbs
These are taken from the website, I have yet taken the time to check them myself.
Handling Characteristics
The point of balance appears to be around 4 inches from the tsuba which was rather surprising to me as I expected it to be upwards of 5 and a half inches.
The blade feels very heavy to me which may be due to the absence of a bohi but I would attribute that to it being the first time I ever handled a sword and it was very unnatural to me, I am certain it will soon feel comfortable.
Test Cutting
Unfortunately I only really have access to bottles, I may gather up some branches and see how the blade holds against it and will update the outcomes after.
The bottles were all too easy, completely effortless even for a first timer but I'd like to think I know what I was doing so I gave it to my friend who didn't and the results were the same, nice clean cuts and the base remained completely still. All too impressive.
Conclusion
I am absolutely astounded at the sword I have received, I have paid twice what it's worth and I am very satisfied and needless to say I would still be satisfied at triple the price. It truly is an amazing steal. If you're going for your first buy I would have to say look nowhere else, a TH 1060 beater for sub $100 there is just no comparison to be made.
That being said if it was placed at the same price as a Cheness or a Ronin TH 1060 I would probably sacrifice the customization options for the reputation of the big brands, but it simply isn't these swords are a fraction of those prices and I could not be happier with the decision I made. A very please first time sword owner!
Pros
Excellent Price
Can be fully customized
Handsome blade and fittings
Sharp
Cons
Some fittings are synthetic
Kissaki has no polish
Fittings may be too tight
After searching for katanas for about a year I have finally decided to purchase one, I decided to go with Ebay seller swordsmith668 based on the reviews I have seen and it's extremely low price.
The katana set me back about $96, however being from the UK it is not actually possible to purchase weapons from Ebay so after checking out the SBG site I found ForwardIt which is a US mailing company. I am rather grateful to have came across it and I think any katana enthusiast in Europe will appreciate this, it was a rather straight forward process albeit very costly as I had to pay a $15 fee for their services, $57 for the shipping and a further $32 for UK tax so the cost to get it to my door was more than the actual blade itself!!! Though it was no fault of the seller just due to the unnecessarily strict laws in the UK.
Despite that it was still the best value for money katana that was available to me.
Full Disclosure
I am no connoisseur when it comes to Kats and as such I am unable to give a historical overview of this sword. This is my very first sword and my very first review. I have however done months worth of research on Japanese swordsmithing just so I am familiar with what I am getting myself into. So here goes my first review.
Initial impressions
So I came home to a big yellow foam box which felt very light, deceivingly so I might add and I stupidly stuck a knife right in to split the box open (I blame it on the overly keen enthusiasm) to see a pleasantly nice silk sword bag. Attached to the box were letters and some Chinese currency, a nice touch but I simply could not acknowledge it at the time.
I pulled out and grasped firmly in my hand my very first sword and katana.
The handle was wrapped in an air sealed plastic wrap, once taken off showed some rather nice fittings. The tsuka-ito, sageo and samegawa was visibly synthetic so you could tell it wasn't a genuine Japanese sword. The tsuba, kashira etc however seemed very authentic and high quality. All the fittings were tight, if so just a bit too tight.
If I had to complain the diamonds on the ito aren't all completely even and the habaki is very subtly aligned to one side but you would really have to stare at it to notice them. The habaki was plain and simple and very nice.
So far so good, I should now mention at this point that the sword is fully customized and come with any color or design you like.
Now I pull off the saya to reveal the blade, it too was sealed with a plastic wrap and after an initial tug at the bottom neatly sliced apart on the edge. Of course the blade is covered in a layer of oil. I chose not to have a bohi on it as I am not keen on their aesthetics.
The blade had a rather foggy finish to it and wasn't as mirrored as described, and as I expected from the many reviews on these Hanbon swords the kissaki is very poorly polished if at all, and I shall tend to it with some grit paper very soon. most of the blade is paper cutting sharp and it has both overly impressed and scared my friends, the very bottom isn't as sharp but it's not supposed to be anyway.
Statistics
Overall Length: 41 in
Nagasa Length: 28 in
Handle Length: 10.6 in
Kissaki Shape: CHU-KISSAKI
Blade Shape: SHINOGI-ZUKURI
Blade Material: 1060 High Carbon Steel
Blade Width (near Habaki): 1.26 in
Blade Width (near Kissaki): 0.91 in
Weight (with Saya ): 2.56 lbs
Weight (without Saya): 1.99 lbs
These are taken from the website, I have yet taken the time to check them myself.
Handling Characteristics
The point of balance appears to be around 4 inches from the tsuba which was rather surprising to me as I expected it to be upwards of 5 and a half inches.
The blade feels very heavy to me which may be due to the absence of a bohi but I would attribute that to it being the first time I ever handled a sword and it was very unnatural to me, I am certain it will soon feel comfortable.
Test Cutting
Unfortunately I only really have access to bottles, I may gather up some branches and see how the blade holds against it and will update the outcomes after.
The bottles were all too easy, completely effortless even for a first timer but I'd like to think I know what I was doing so I gave it to my friend who didn't and the results were the same, nice clean cuts and the base remained completely still. All too impressive.
Conclusion
I am absolutely astounded at the sword I have received, I have paid twice what it's worth and I am very satisfied and needless to say I would still be satisfied at triple the price. It truly is an amazing steal. If you're going for your first buy I would have to say look nowhere else, a TH 1060 beater for sub $100 there is just no comparison to be made.
That being said if it was placed at the same price as a Cheness or a Ronin TH 1060 I would probably sacrifice the customization options for the reputation of the big brands, but it simply isn't these swords are a fraction of those prices and I could not be happier with the decision I made. A very please first time sword owner!
Pros
Excellent Price
Can be fully customized
Handsome blade and fittings
Sharp
Cons
Some fittings are synthetic
Kissaki has no polish
Fittings may be too tight