|
Post by MessengerofDarkness on Oct 30, 2015 20:43:27 GMT
I just got my blade from Even-Sword in, and right off the bat, everything seems good and solid. Everything seems well fit, tight, and for the most part, well done. I can pick out a few little things that bug me, but overall I'm pretty impressed with what I'm seeing so far.
The ONLY thing that's bugging me with it is the fact that the saya fits just slightly uneven on the blade, only by a few cm at the most, but it's still there. I assume that this may be a fault of the koshi zori, or the internal groove on the saya was just carved a bit off-center. However, it does fit the blade well otherwise, though there is a LITTLE bit of rattle, and it also holds the habaki nicely. (There's also a small gap between the saya and the uppermost seppa, but I can fix that.)
The buffalo horn parts were black, instead of the expected brown, but I find I actually like the black better, and they also seem MUCh more well-lacquered than that nasty, cheapo lacquer that is present on cheaper horn. (Kiyoshi, you know what I'm talking about.)
Other than the off-center saya fit, the only other complaint I have at the time is that the leather ito wrap overlaps the mekugi peg, which will make disassembly a little tricky (though there is only one peg, as I requested). I'll check the tsuka fit/condition later, but these are just my first impressions.
|
|
|
Post by Aurelius Talhoffer on Oct 30, 2015 22:10:01 GMT
This is my take on the sword Aureliustalhoffer: Tip is cosmetic versus geometric. (The tip is ground 90 degrees to the angle of the blade without a shift in plane angle, the grind makes it "look" like there is a shift in plane (as if it has a chisel tip) but it doesn't) For future reference, how can I distinguish between cosmetic and geometric tip just by looking at rather low quality pictures?
|
|
|
Post by greatsaiyaman888 on Oct 30, 2015 22:28:15 GMT
This is my take on the sword Aureliustalhoffer: Tip is cosmetic versus geometric. (The tip is ground 90 degrees to the angle of the blade without a shift in plane angle, the grind makes it "look" like there is a shift in plane (as if it has a chisel tip) but it doesn't) For future reference, how can I distinguish between cosmetic and geometric tip just by looking at rather low quality pictures? . Big ugly, shiny white scratches lol
|
|
|
Post by Derzis on Oct 30, 2015 23:15:36 GMT
I just got my blade from Even-Sword in, and right off the bat, everything seems good and solid. Everything seems well fit, tight, and for the most part, well done. I can pick out a few little things that bug me, but overall I'm pretty impressed with what I'm seeing so far. The ONLY thing that's bugging me with it is the fact that the saya fits just slightly uneven on the blade, only by a few cm at the most, but it's still there. I assume that this may be a fault of the koshi zori, or the internal groove on the saya was just carved a bit off-center. However, it does fit the blade well otherwise, though there is a LITTLE bit of rattle, and it also holds the habaki nicely. (There's also a small gap between the saya and the uppermost seppa, but I can fix that.) The buffalo horn parts were black, instead of the expected brown, but I find I actually like the black better, and they also seem MUCh more well-lacquered than that nasty, cheapo lacquer that is present on cheaper horn. (Kiyoshi, you know what I'm talking about.) Other than the off-center saya fit, the only other complaint I have at the time is that the leather ito wrap overlaps the mekugi peg, which will make disassembly a little tricky (though there is only one peg, as I requested). I'll check the tsuka fit/condition later, but these are just my first impressions. When will you make the Review?
|
|
|
Post by MessengerofDarkness on Oct 30, 2015 23:32:27 GMT
I just got my blade from Even-Sword in, and right off the bat, everything seems good and solid. Everything seems well fit, tight, and for the most part, well done. I can pick out a few little things that bug me, but overall I'm pretty impressed with what I'm seeing so far. The ONLY thing that's bugging me with it is the fact that the saya fits just slightly uneven on the blade, only by a few cm at the most, but it's still there. I assume that this may be a fault of the koshi zori, or the internal groove on the saya was just carved a bit off-center. However, it does fit the blade well otherwise, though there is a LITTLE bit of rattle, and it also holds the habaki nicely. (There's also a small gap between the saya and the uppermost seppa, but I can fix that.) The buffalo horn parts were black, instead of the expected brown, but I find I actually like the black better, and they also seem MUCh more well-lacquered than that nasty, cheapo lacquer that is present on cheaper horn. (Kiyoshi, you know what I'm talking about.) Other than the off-center saya fit, the only other complaint I have at the time is that the leather ito wrap overlaps the mekugi peg, which will make disassembly a little tricky (though there is only one peg, as I requested). I'll check the tsuka fit/condition later, but these are just my first impressions. When will you make the Review? Working on it. ;) XD I've got work tomorrow, but between then and Sunday I'll probably knock it out sometime between them. I still need to take lots of pictures and check all the little stuff. Also, the blade has a LITTLE niku, but not very much tbh - it's hard to see, and it might just be my mind playing tricks on me. What is strange is that the blade tapers in both thickness and width from the mune to the tip, but the width of the shinogi is constant throughout the blade - it makes it look a little weird, though not bad.
|
|
|
Post by Kiyoshi on Oct 31, 2015 0:07:41 GMT
That is pretty weird. I'm looking forward to your review. Make sure to take plenty of pictures.
|
|
|
Post by MessengerofDarkness on Oct 31, 2015 0:11:37 GMT
That is pretty weird. I'm looking forward to your review. Make sure to take plenty of pictures. :) Don't worry, I'll be sure to take tons of photos. And I do like the feel of it, it has a pob at about 4.5 inches, which for a no-hi blade isn't bad. The consistant shinogi is weird looking though, especially since the shinogi does taper in width. Still, not bad (unless it IS, and I just don't know it), it's just different.
|
|
|
Post by MessengerofDarkness on Oct 31, 2015 0:29:51 GMT
Ok now I'm a little worried:
I took the tsuka off the nakago, and while the nakago seems to be well made with no cracks, the nakago itself is also only a total of about 8 inches from the nakago-machi to the end. There's about a three inch zone from the end of the nakago to the length of the tsuka, and this is an average-length tsuka, it's not some massive tsuka size.
The blade only has about a 3/4 tang instead of a full tang, will it still be safe and ok to use? Basically, will the tsuka snap if there's a 3 inch zone of all wood?
|
|
|
Post by Kiyoshi on Oct 31, 2015 0:37:14 GMT
Nihonto often have short tangs. The tsuka are carved to the nakago though and not hollow. I'd be more worried about the shinogi because it's pretty non traditional and shows a little lack of skill. For the tsuka, as long as you can't feel the blade shifting, it should be fine. I would prefer my nakago to be short. "Full tang" can cause pressure on the nakago if not done well and break it. There are dangers to both.
|
|
|
Post by MessengerofDarkness on Oct 31, 2015 0:42:11 GMT
Ok, I would just prefer a longer tang so that the tsuka wouldn't come snapping apart - thsi blade isn't a Nihonto though, and I have no doubt that the tsuka isn't as well constructed as a traditional Nihonto's would be.
For me, a 3" no-tang zone seems a bit large, especially since there's only 1 mekugi, but that's just me. I imagine it would have also helped with the balance to have a longer nakago, but oh well.
|
|
|
Post by Kiyoshi on Oct 31, 2015 0:47:55 GMT
Well, most "full tang" production katana don't have true full tangs. A lot of them have 3/4 or 7/8 tang. True full tang would be all the way to the end. THe big question is, is there a large hollow portion at the end of the tsuka where there is no tang or is it solid wood past?
|
|
|
Post by MessengerofDarkness on Oct 31, 2015 0:49:05 GMT
It seems to be solid wood past.
|
|
|
Post by Kiyoshi on Oct 31, 2015 0:49:47 GMT
It should be okay then. Pretty much all of my swords are like that.
|
|
|
Post by Derzis on Oct 31, 2015 1:19:05 GMT
In my opinion, not really a tragedy. From what I read, the tang should be at least 1.5" less than the tsuka. 8" is enough for 2 hands shake grip PS MeKugi has one single role there: to keep the sword in the tsuka, to not fly away. The use of 2 is extra-caution measure or when you have a very long tsuka they use even 3 to keep the tang in place when the wood shrinks around it and are acting like anti-rattling
|
|
|
Post by munk on Oct 31, 2015 1:52:20 GMT
I asked for two Mekugi on my sword, never really understood the fascination with having only one (so long as the construction is good).
|
|
|
Post by Derzis on Oct 31, 2015 1:54:00 GMT
1 mekugi is more or less the norm for nihonto.
|
|
|
Post by MessengerofDarkness on Oct 31, 2015 2:01:38 GMT
Yeah, that was why I asked for one mekugi, I wanted to emulate a Nihonto~esque look. I guess the short nakago just makes that even more authentic. XD
|
|
|
Post by Kiyoshi on Oct 31, 2015 2:06:13 GMT
2 isn't really needed. That's more of a modern production katana selling point. That and full tang, which also wasn't a required traditional thing. Throw in folded 1000 times, full carbon steel, and "battle ready" and you have just about everything that is sold as a katana in the common production world that isn't.
|
|
|
Post by MessengerofDarkness on Oct 31, 2015 2:15:01 GMT
Yeah, I just personally prefer a longer tang for "just-in'case" durability, as well as extra balance weight against the blade. I just wanted to be sure that a shorter tang on a Chinese blade wasn't anything to be worried over, as it caught me off guard.
|
|
|
Post by Gene J on Nov 1, 2015 17:03:20 GMT
also 2 mekugi can be a way to get away with sloppy loose tsuka building and stop rattling. Tt actually takes skill to use 1
|
|