Shinwa Imperial Tan Dragon Katana Review
Dec 27, 2014 2:44:36 GMT
Post by nddave on Dec 27, 2014 2:44:36 GMT
Shinwa Imperial Tan Dragon Katana Review
Reviewed by, NDDave (David) McCall, ID
Hi everybody,
So Christmas was yesterday and like most here I’m sure we had something sharp or sword related under the tree. My wife decided to surprise me and purchased a Shinwa katana from Trueswords.com. I know a lot of you have had questions about Shinwa and if they are worth the price asked compared to other katana in the price range so hopefully this review will give you some insight!
Historical overview
Not much to really give I guess. It’s funny I tend to write two paragraphs of history on my Medieval reviews but when it comes to Katana there just isn’t much too write about I guess. Most production Katana are based on the Shinogi Zukuri blade style which was prominent for nearly six centuries of use. Pretty much when Europe was transitioning through four or five different blade types, during the same time the Japanese were prominently using this single blade type for their swords.
Full Disclosure
In disclosure I am not affiliated with Shinwa Swords nor Trueswords.com. This sword was gifted to me by wife this Christmas. I am not being paid to do this review, I’m just a fellow sword loving forum member that enjoys reviewing and discussing swords here on this forum with it’s awesome community.
Initial Impressions
Initial impressions for this sword was plain shock! My wife actually bought me a sword! This was also mixed with a second feeling of dread as what would she have actually bought? So right from the start I can tell its a katana from the shape of the shipping box. I open it up to see a silky display box much like the one from my Ebay katana a few years ago. I open that box to see a moderately looking katana. Not very impressive at first glance but I decided to take it out and give it a good look over to see if maybe there was something about this sword first impressions couldn’t judge. After all there was my wife beaming with excitement right there next to me. Shipping I guess was standard, my wife ordered it on the 15th and got it on the 22nd.
Statistics
Blade Length: 28 1/2” (Width: 1 1/4” at base to 1” at the tip)
Handle Length: 10 1/2” ( 4” round with no taper)
Overall Length: 40”
Guard: 3x3” round tsuba
Point of Balance: 5”
Center of Percussion: N/A
Weight: A little above 2 lbs
The Blade
The blade is marketed as Damascus Steel with no description of what steel is used. Now we all know that the term or phrase “Damascus Steel” is used today in production swords as a “hype” term to market swords as there are no real Damascus Steel blades actually being produced today. The correct term (and obviously less eye catching) is pattern welded. Overall the blade looks and feels like a standard Shinogi Zukuri production blade. It has Bo-hi or is fullered and is a little on the thin side regarding niku. The blade has been either stained or oxidized to have a blacked look which isn’t un-appealing. You can see the pattern weld “waves” throughout the blade but they are kind of blended into the blued blade so its not very prominent. There is no natural hamon nor is there a fake etched one either which is a bonus regarding the later.
The blade does have its faults even at it’s price point. The blade has some misshapen parts to it. A slight twist in the blade at the base and another towards the middle on the spine. The worst of the issues has to be the edge as its steeply beveled on on side but not touched on the other. So you pretty much get a half edge throughout the edge all the way up to the Kissaki. From the Habaki to about an inch up the blade it’s not even sharpened, I don’t know if that was purposefully done to prevent beginners from slicing their thumbs doing Iai or of it is just more evidence to a sloppy sharpening job but as the rest of the blade is poorly sharpened I have a feeling that that first inch of blade is part of a whole poor sharpening job.
Probably the worst part of the blade is the Kissaki, now nobody expects a geometric kissaki at this price point but the real issue is its edge which is all bumpy. I don’t know if this was done while it was sharpened or if done during forging but it is quite obvious and noticeable when looking over the blade.
Bottom line I have concerns regarding Shinwa blade quality for cutting. They’re described as being Dojo quality on the site and hand forged but in all honesty they’re no different really than the TH hardened blades offered by Musashi/Musha or Ryumon or Masahiro at below $100. The only real defining quality of this blade over those manufactures is the pattern welding. Which I’m not entirely sure is real or not. Especially since there was no description of what steel was used to forge the blade. In all honesty it could be a simple 1045 blade with some good etching. I’m half tempted to try and polish out the blueing and see if the pattern welds go with it but don’t want to ruin the blade.
The Handle
So the tsuka is pretty standard at this price point, light wood with small node samegawa panels wrapped in shoestring cotton ito. It is non-alternating but wrapped pretty tight. Something I’ve seen more and more in the low budget production katana. Now I didn’t remove the tsuka and inspect it for reasons I’ll explain later but over all it feels and looks like the standard tsuka you’d find on sub $100 dollar functional and non-functional katana. The Ito is a nice tan color which looks good over the black samegawa. I can see why Frankthebunny tends to get so many requests for the nu-buck over black, the color scheme is quite attractive. The fuchi, kashira and mekugi are zinc alloy, which to the benefit of the seller site didn’t try to hide in description like others tend to do. The tsuka is double pegged and the menuki are painted black on the ends. At first I thought the were faux pegs but after closer inspection they do go trough the tang and are one piece.
One of the reasons I didn’t disassemble the katana was because from what I read about Shinwa, they glue their tsuka to the tang. Some sort of extra precaution in case the tsuka cracks or breaks during use. This obviously causes some issues for anyone who may want to customize, or swap out the koshirea but keep the tsuka intact. I guess for those who just want the blade and saya this wouldn’t be a problem but in the case the tsuba gets loose and needs an extra seppa or ect, your pretty much risking destroying your tsuka. As well as risking a spinter in the hand if the tsuka does crack or break but the glue holds the majority of the core on the tang. Overall your standard cheap tsuka that is unfortunately glued as well.
The Guard
The Tsuba is your standard 3x3” round tsuba made of zinc alloy with some god awful monkey design to it. The tsuba is my least favorite part of this sword and once you get a look at those creepy monkeys in the pic below, you’ll agree unless I guess you have a soft spot for creepy monkeys. Overall your standard cheap tsuba with god knows what as a theme like most of the sub $100 katana on the market today. Its not loose or uncomfortable to the upper hand, just creepy. I’ve also read that Shinwa uses glue again to assist tsuba from getting lose. I’m not 100% on this as I haven’t disassembled the katana but judging how loose the seppa are between the fuchi and habaki there might be truth to this. Also as mentioned above Trueswords advertises this sword as having a dragon theme to it, which is one of the reasons why my wife picked it out, with the other being she liked the tan over black color scheme.
Speaking of the rest of the guard, the seppa and habaki. The seppa are are the standard gear tooth thin variety found on most sub-$100 katana. They are made of I believe zinc alloy as well and are painted black to match the rest of the koshirea. The habaki is also what I believe to be zinc alloy painted black but it might be an unpolished brass painted black its hard to say. It may be simply because I can see the inside metal due to the sloppy paint job on the habaki. It may also be from the habaki rubbing the mouth of the saya when un-sheathing. Either way it was kinda silly to paint the habaki without putting a protective coat on it. As a habaki again its your standard small squared variety found on most sub $100 katana and wallhangers. It fits tight to the blade but is poorly aligned.
Overall the guard pieces are the worst part of the sword.
The Scabbard
The scabbard or Saya is your standard thin pinewood variety found on swords in the sub $100 dollar price range. The mouth is crudely carved and the wood is so soft its apparent that after extended use it will come loose and will not hold the blade securely tip down let alone handle down. I don’t even think it could handle “handle down” for much longer now after the four or five times I’ve unsheathed it. The blade canal inside is loose and wide, like most cheap saya and the blade rattles pretty loudly inside. The sageo is the shoestring cotton like the ito and is the same tan color. Overall a pretty cheaply made saya that does its job to house the blade.
Handling Characteristics
This sword handles like a standard light cutter in the sub $100 range with a low point of balance. There’s not much heft to the blade due to the balance point in dry handling it felt Okay. It has similar weight to my Musashi but feels different due to the not tapering tsuka and looser ito. It also has a longer blade and shorter tsuka so it does feel slightly different but both blades have similar niku and sori. The only major differences is the Musashi has more taper to the blade profile and it’s kissaki is more of a chu-kissaki whereas the Shinwa has a more standard kissaki size.
Test Cutting
Haven’t cut with it due to reasons I’ll explain in the conclusions. Overall as a cutting weapon I’d definitely leave this guy to light cutting. Due to not knowing what steel grade this sword is or if it has a proper heat treatment I don’t know if I’d trust this katana to withstand med-heavy cutting or tameshigiri tatame. So I’d stick with light water bottles or milk jugs to be safe.
Conclusions
Overall I’m pretty disappointed with this sword for it’s price point. At standard pricing on Trueswords this sword goes for around $160-180 depending on what model you choose. This sword is clearly in the same manufacturing category as sub $100 swords like Musha or the unnamed “handmade” brand you see on Swordnarmory or Trueswords oh and don’t forget Ebay and Ryansword (especially regarding this next sentence). I guess what upset me the most about Shinwa and Trueswords is the hype marketing that fools people into believing they’re getting something they’re not. People un-educated in swords tend to fall for these marketing ploys all the time and wind up with something less than they were expecting. I guess it’s more personal to me because my wife fell victim to it, because her big reasoning for choosing this sword wasn’t necessarily the price point but the “rave reviews” on the site and the “detailed” description of how Shinwa katana are handmade and ect ect. To tell you the truth the reason why I didn’t disassemble or cut with the sword is because it is already back in the box awaiting it’s return shipping label.
Pros
- Color scheme is attractive with the tan over black.
- Sword IF really made of durable pattern welded steel is a bargain at the price point.
Cons
- Shoddy sharpening job and blade finish.
- Cheap zinc alloy fittings even for it’s price point.
- The saya is cheaply made and loose fitting
- Creepy Monkey Tsuba (That’s actually advertised as a Dragon theme)
The Bottom Line
Overall I’m really saddened by this sword. What was supposed to be a happy Christmas surprise turned into a disgusting display of hype marketing and false advertising. It was absolutely gut wrenching to look up at my wife smiling only to see a poorly made sword. She could tell I wasn’t impressed and after explaining what was wrong with it she too was upset at how she was pretty much lied to by the item descriptions. Now honestly if this sword was sold for $60 to maybe $80 I could understand the faults and fittings but at a double that price I do expect a little more. Also if Shinwa are as “excellent” as they claim in their forging and manufacturing, why do they refuse to say what steel grade is used and also why use the cheesy pitch of “damascus”? I think we all know the reasoning and due to these swords at most other vendors selling them in the $300 mark price range! What really gets me is this sword is part of Shinwa’s Imperial line which is supposed to be the best of their best, It scares me to think what their cheaper swords are like but in reality it wouldn’t surprise me if they were all the same from $80-$300. In the end I hope this review has helped some in deciding to stay away from Shinwa, unless they really really want a budget “damascus” steel blade. As far as Trueswords goes I don’t think it’d hurt them to drop Shinwa as one of their premier line. Especially since they offer better swords from Musashi and TenRyu at similar or less price. We’ll see how their return policy goes too which I’ll update to this review. Judging by the attitude I got from the customer service rep today, it may be a little rough...
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed,
D