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Post by Robert in California on Nov 25, 2014 20:22:25 GMT
He also sent me a couple more pics. Not the greatest of pics, but they did not show any problems. So we are all hoping for the best for you! RinC
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 25, 2014 23:49:52 GMT
Aurélien, Congrats !
I hope that you can find some bamboo and mats to do some test cutting on! When I take out my LD, I always get the feeling that it would be a great bamboo cutter for whatever reason (I have never even cut bamboo yet, lol).
Congrats man, it's a nice blade, especially for that price, and hopefully perfect for you since you like the longer tsuka as well, please give us an update when you get it in buddy, Cheers, Cody
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Nov 25, 2014 23:57:34 GMT
I'll be doing a mini review of it when I get it before I ship it to him. Should be fun.
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 26, 2014 0:15:35 GMT
Very cool Mikeeman, it's always nice to get other people's feedback, im curious about if you like it. I prefer longer blades, but something about my LD just didn't sit right with me. Maybe I am just too weak! Lol. Cheers guys, Cody
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Post by Krelian on Nov 26, 2014 0:38:59 GMT
I sorta feel the same way about my Hanwei Bamboo Mat... I'm not "weak" but I'm certainly not competitive in arm wrestling either. I feel like my Bamboo Mat would be perfect if it were just 2 ounces lighter...
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Nov 26, 2014 0:59:42 GMT
I prefer 25"-27" blades. But more important than the length or the weight (to me) is the balance. I've handled super-light blades that felt atrocious and also handled a Cheness O-kat with custom work that felt light as a feather. My Bugei Dragonfly no-hi is 29" with a 14" tsuka. I mean... I guess it's balanced right. There's just something offputting about the way it feels to me. So I think I'd be at least "ok" to see how it handles. :lol:
Edit for Englishing badly.
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Post by atrixnet on Nov 26, 2014 1:02:47 GMT
Your English is juuust fine, friend. But did you really say 14 inches?!
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 26, 2014 2:32:07 GMT
Lol for Englishing badly! Lol. Yes, I know exactly what you mean as far as the balance goes. Krelian, have you tried putting a heavier tsuba on the bamboo mat to see if that could help it enough? Just a thought. Mike, the balance of the Lion Dog (or lack thereof ) and my strength (or lack thereof ) got me thinking about why it doesn't work for me, so I have just busted out the lion dog and ~9 other katanas in this size and have been taking measurements and whatnot to compare them all, I'll post findings soon, as in tonight. I just have to oil them all back up after I take pob measuments. Cheers guys, Cody
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Post by atrixnet on Nov 26, 2014 3:03:45 GMT
What method are you using to measure the point of balance, Cody? Do you also measure point of percussion?
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 26, 2014 4:30:58 GMT
It's very scientific, I balance the mune of the sword on my finger, and when it balances, I measure from there to the tsuba. It's accurate to within a quarter inch or so. Lol. ;-) Anyhow, no I didn't bother with center of percussion, since a) I don't know how to measure that and b) look at a). I got everything measured, I even did a tori xl light for comparison as well. Most of the blades have a nagasa of 29" or more, out of 11 katana s measured, 4 were smaller than 29". The only thing that I can't measure that I wanted to is the overall weight. My tsuka measurements are from the tsuba to the kashira, just keeping things simple. Habaki not included in blade length, cob from tsuba. There's quite a bit of data here as I did width and thickness of the blades at the habaki and yokote. I'll have to make a graph, so it'll most likely be up tomorrow. I'll do it from the computer instead of the tablet. What will it tell us? Nothing probably, but it'll be cool to look at. Cheers guys, Cody
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Post by atrixnet on Nov 26, 2014 4:37:18 GMT
Cody, I think it would be a very valuable contribution and I would personally appreciate it, and definitely give you some Karma for your efforts on behalf of the community. I look forward to seeing what you create. One thought I just had is that your post office might weigh the swords for you if you keep them in the bag
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 26, 2014 5:41:21 GMT
Unokubi Raptor (modded) Nagasa....................................28" Thickness @ Habaki.....................7.3mm Width @ Habaki..........................34.9mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.8mm Width @ yokote...........................23.2mm Tsuka Length..............................11 3/4" COB.........................................4 1/2"
Shobu Raptor Nagasa....................................28 3/4" Thickness @ Habaki.....................7.3mm Width @ Habaki..........................31.7mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.8mm Width @ yokote...........................23.5mm Tsuka Length..............................13 1/4" COB.........................................5 3/8"
Lion Dog Nagasa....................................29" Thickness @ Habaki.....................8.0mm Width @ Habaki..........................33.8mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.5mm Width @ yokote...........................24.8mm Tsuka Length..............................13 3/8" COB.........................................5"
PC Musashi Daito (#1, modded) Nagasa....................................29 1/2" Thickness @ Habaki.....................7.6mm Width @ Habaki..........................32.2mm Thickness @ yokote......................6.7mm Width @ yokote...........................22.5mm Tsuka Length..............................11 3/4" COB.........................................6 3/8"
PC Musashi Daito (#2, stock) Nagasa....................................29 1/2" Thickness @ Habaki.....................8.0mm Width @ Habaki..........................31.9mm Thickness @ yokote......................6.1mm Width @ yokote...........................22.3mm Tsuka Length..............................15 1/8" COB.........................................4 1/8"
Kris Cutlery 29iv (#1) Nagasa....................................29" Thickness @ Habaki.....................8.0mm Width @ Habaki..........................31.6mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.5mm Width @ yokote...........................23.5mm Tsuka Length..............................11" COB.........................................6 1/4"
Kris Cutlery 29iv (#2) Nagasa....................................29" Thickness @ Habaki.....................8.0mm Width @ Habaki..........................31.9mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.2mm Width @ yokote...........................23.2mm Tsuka Length..............................11" COB.........................................6 1/4"
Last Legend Mark 5 Nagasa....................................29 1/4" Thickness @ Habaki.....................7.6mm Width @ Habaki..........................33.4mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.7mm Width @ yokote...........................23.9mm Tsuka Length..............................11 5/8" COB.........................................4 1/2"
Kensei (dont know model) Nagasa....................................28 1/2" Thickness @ Habaki.....................8.2mm Width @ Habaki..........................32.3mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.7mm Width @ yokote...........................24.0mm Tsuka Length..............................11 1/8" COB.........................................4 7/8"
PC 47 Ronin (modded) Nagasa....................................28 1/2" Thickness @ Habaki.....................7.0mm Width @ Habaki..........................31.8mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.7mm Width @ yokote...........................24.6mm Tsuka Length..............................11 1/4" COB.........................................5 5/8"
Tori XL light Nagasa....................................28" Thickness @ Habaki.....................7.0mm Width @ Habaki..........................37.1mm Thickness @ yokote......................5.2mm Width @ yokote...........................29.1mm Tsuka Length..............................11 1/4" COB.........................................4"
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 26, 2014 5:46:13 GMT
What is odd, my favorite kat, the first Daito, has the largest cob, but in hand feels a lot lighter than the other blades to me...Very odd.
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Post by Aurélien on Nov 26, 2014 7:46:04 GMT
I agree with you Krelian : a friend of mine owns a Bamboo Mat, and it feels like dead in my hands - imho, the tsuka is too short, and the blade lacks of presence. But some fellow members here would tell us the BM is just perfect. A matter of taste It also depends how people are used to handle their katana. But I have to admit the BM is an effective cutter on light and medium targets (never tested it on hard targets). cody : thank you very much for all these measurements. This kind of list is always useful (and probably more accurate than the KOA measurements....) Karma point!
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Post by Aurélien on Nov 26, 2014 7:52:42 GMT
My new Wind and Thunder is on its way to my home - its thickness @ habaki is officially the same as the Lion Dog... I'm curious to verify that! When my LD and my W&T arrive, I will take some measurements compared to my Bugei Samurai and my Unokubi Raptor. An illustrated comparison review between these 4 heavy cutters could be interesting. I keep you posted asap.
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Post by atrixnet on Nov 26, 2014 15:34:40 GMT
I'd love to cut into some real solid, heavy targets with my LD, but I'm just not going to do that. I'm going to wait on my feilong higo sword from frankthebunny. That's going to be my goto cutter. Merry Christmas to me! My wife is getting the feilong yasi as a gift. She's very very excited because somehow this all rubbed off on her and she has recently become keenly interested in katana and cutting as well! How awesome is that?! She knows she has to put in some serious time with a bokken first though and that's cool.
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Post by Krelian on Nov 26, 2014 17:09:34 GMT
I just wanted to point out real quick that Kult of Athena actually does a really commendable job of providing accurate information to its customers. The primary reason the KoA measurements aren't perfectly accurate is because almost each and every blade produced for a certain make/model is slightly different. I'd be surprised if any two blades of the same make/model EVER have the same measurements...
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 27, 2014 0:22:34 GMT
Yes you are correct Krelian, koa and nihonzashi both have excellent sizing information on their websites. One thing about koa however, depending on who did the measurements that day, sometimes for blade length they will measure nagasa, however most of them seem to be measured with the habaki included. And just to add to your thoughts Krelian, I did measure two Kris Cutlery 29iv's, they had minor differences, and I also measured two Hanwei Musashi Daito's (unfortunately the Daito is no longer being produced), and they had quite a significant amount of variation in the thicknesses and widths, albeit the nagasa was the same. Makes me wonder, I know Hanwei uses a hammer to shape their blades, maybe the Kris forge cuts them out.
I will eventually add sori to the list, as that is a characteristic that means a lot to me personally. I think I will order a scale from Amazon as well (any recommendations? ). But I may be saying goodbye to my Lion Dog soon, I have the itch to trade it in to Koa, along with my Tori XL-Light for that Kaneie Silver Dragonfly. I love the folding pattern on my tori, very tight folds like the Bugei Peace, but that Silver Dragonfly has kind of stolen my Heart, lol. While I am on the subject of Kaneie, have yall seen the new Kaneie Spider Monkey? Okay its really called the Mountain Spider, but it is advertised as a robust niku blade with a 29.5 " nagasa, 41.5" overall length and weighs in at 2lb 10oz. That is about my ideal size as far as lengths go. A little bit heavy, but nothing a tsuba swap shouldn't cure. I believe that is the same weight as a Bamboo Mat, and the Lion Dog weighs in at around 2lbs 14oz. I think that one will be a winner too.
Atrixnet and Aurélien, yall are very much welcome for the specs on those blades, I will be adding more information to the list, and if there is something in particular that yall want to know, just let me know, and I will do my best to provide it. Thanks for the karma guys!
I think I have rambled enough now, lol. Cheers guys, Cody
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Post by uchiha998 on Nov 27, 2014 16:09:04 GMT
I know all swords vary slightly from one to the next, even if they are the same model. It does surprise me though that are some very significant differences between Vico's measurements and some of the measurements on KoA. Specifically I am speaking of the Hanwei blades. For instance the Lion Dog tsuka measurement on KoA is 12" but Vico's measurement is 13.375" that a big difference to be a variation isn't it? Another is the width of the Shobu Raptor. 33.4mm on KoA to Vico's 31.7mm that may just be a normal variation but it is a very noticable one. The nagasa length differences do seem to be a simple case of some measuring with the Habaki.
I have also seen significant differences in the measurements on KoA as opposed to other sites. I would really like to see another member give us his own measurements of a Lion Dog and/or Shobu Raptor they own since these are the two that had the biggest variations. If another members Lion Dog has tsuka length similar to Vico's then it is quite possible that KoA is getting some measurements wrong or not updating them when new batches of a particular model are made and sent to them.
This isn't something that bothers me exactly it just makes me curious. Then again while specs can never tell the whole story of how the sword will feel and handle, they are often all we have to go on. Most of us really have no choice but to buy our swords without ever getting to hold them or even see them before we buy.
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Post by VicoSprite on Nov 27, 2014 23:54:16 GMT
I believe koa may measure tsuka length by the length of the wrap, so they are always smaller than they really are. I don't really know. I just know I wish my Lion Dog tsuka was 12".
Aside from that, my unokubi raptor should have another 1/2" of nagasa, which to me is kind of a bummer.
But Uchiha, you hit the nail on the head. We have to do most of our purchases and trades without ever seeing or holding the item we are getting. Now if I looked above at all the other blades, the lion dog specs seems to fit right in with other blades that I do love, but it just doesn't "feel" right to me. This is that un tangible aspect of feeling and balance that varies from one person to the next.
My modded daito has one of the highest pob that I measured, but when I pick it up, it has such a feeling of "aliveness" I would have expected the pob to be around 4". That caught me off guard. And caused me to think that overall weight is more important than I previously thought. Cody
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