My new "Hollywood Ninja Sword"
Apr 3, 2015 16:05:34 GMT
Post by MaximRecoil on Apr 3, 2015 16:05:34 GMT
I wasn't sure where to post this. I see there is a sword review forum here, but this isn't really a review, because I don't plan to ever use it for anything, nor do I know anything about sword "handling" or whatever anyway, so I can't say anything about its performance. Plus, I had this custom made, so no one else will be buying one exactly like it anyhow.
I grew up in the 1980s during the "ninja craze" here in the U.S. The first ninja movie I ever saw was Enter the Ninja (1981) when it first came out on video in about 1982 (when I was 7 years old), and I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. During the late '80s when we first got a VCR, my friends and I rented every ninja movie we could get our hands on, our favorite being Revenge of the Ninja (1983). As a side note, I sent the director of that movie (Sam Firstenberg) an email several years ago asking about some technical details with regard to how it was filmed, and he actually replied back with a detailed response, which was very cool.
In any event, I always wanted a "ninjato" like the ones in the movies (regardless of their historical accuracy or lack thereof), and wanted to order one out of the back of a martial arts magazine when I was a kid. They ranged from about $70 to $110, and that was a lot of money for a 12- or 13-year-old to come up with in the late '80s, so I never got one. In hindsight, they were all stainless steel junk anyway.
I decided recently I should have one, but I wanted it to be functional (no intentions to use it, but I just don't like fake stuff). I looked around but I couldn't find one exactly like I wanted. They all had one or more things I that I didn't like, such as too long of a blade, wrong blade shape/style, "fancy" hand guards and/or fittings, and so on. So I contacted HanBon Swords (eBay username: swordsmith668) about making one exactly like I wanted. I drew this picture with the details and sent it to him (link).
He said it was no problem and would cost $116, free shipping. I thought that was a hell of a deal, considering it was being custom made, and that's about what it would have cost in the '80s for one of the "better" mail order decorative stainless steel swords, like this one:
He said it would take two weeks to make the sword. I sent payment on March 6, and it arrived today. Here are some pictures:
For higher resolution, click here.
I am extremely pleased with it. They made it almost exactly the way I asked, and everything is tight as a drum, including the tsuba and the cloth wrap on the handle; nothing on the sword shifts, rattles, or moves in any way.
I was hoping the blade would have both a profile and distal taper; I even asked him in one of the emails if they could make sure it did, but I think a language barrier came into play, because he said they couldn't do that, because if they did, their fittings wouldn't fit, which of course, made no sense. But regardless of that, the blade does indeed have a profile and distal taper. The profile tapers from 1-1/4" high in the back just forward of the habaki to 7/8" high near the tip (measured at the yokote line). The distal taper of the spine is 5/16" wide in the back and 3/16" wide near the tip.
The only thing they didn't do the way I asked is use an iron fuchi and kashira; they are black but are made of some sort of mystery metal that a magnet doesn't stick to (not a big deal). The tsuba is in fact iron/steel however, and appears to be powder coated.
The habaki fits snugly into the opening in the scabbard so that the sword doesn't fall out, but it doesn't fit snugly around the blade inside, meaning if you shake it while in the scabbard, the blade knocks back and forth against the wood inside. I didn't expect the interior of the scabbard to be custom hand-fit to the blade anyway for the price, but I figured I'd mention it anyway.
I grew up in the 1980s during the "ninja craze" here in the U.S. The first ninja movie I ever saw was Enter the Ninja (1981) when it first came out on video in about 1982 (when I was 7 years old), and I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. During the late '80s when we first got a VCR, my friends and I rented every ninja movie we could get our hands on, our favorite being Revenge of the Ninja (1983). As a side note, I sent the director of that movie (Sam Firstenberg) an email several years ago asking about some technical details with regard to how it was filmed, and he actually replied back with a detailed response, which was very cool.
In any event, I always wanted a "ninjato" like the ones in the movies (regardless of their historical accuracy or lack thereof), and wanted to order one out of the back of a martial arts magazine when I was a kid. They ranged from about $70 to $110, and that was a lot of money for a 12- or 13-year-old to come up with in the late '80s, so I never got one. In hindsight, they were all stainless steel junk anyway.
I decided recently I should have one, but I wanted it to be functional (no intentions to use it, but I just don't like fake stuff). I looked around but I couldn't find one exactly like I wanted. They all had one or more things I that I didn't like, such as too long of a blade, wrong blade shape/style, "fancy" hand guards and/or fittings, and so on. So I contacted HanBon Swords (eBay username: swordsmith668) about making one exactly like I wanted. I drew this picture with the details and sent it to him (link).
He said it was no problem and would cost $116, free shipping. I thought that was a hell of a deal, considering it was being custom made, and that's about what it would have cost in the '80s for one of the "better" mail order decorative stainless steel swords, like this one:
He said it would take two weeks to make the sword. I sent payment on March 6, and it arrived today. Here are some pictures:
For higher resolution, click here.
I am extremely pleased with it. They made it almost exactly the way I asked, and everything is tight as a drum, including the tsuba and the cloth wrap on the handle; nothing on the sword shifts, rattles, or moves in any way.
I was hoping the blade would have both a profile and distal taper; I even asked him in one of the emails if they could make sure it did, but I think a language barrier came into play, because he said they couldn't do that, because if they did, their fittings wouldn't fit, which of course, made no sense. But regardless of that, the blade does indeed have a profile and distal taper. The profile tapers from 1-1/4" high in the back just forward of the habaki to 7/8" high near the tip (measured at the yokote line). The distal taper of the spine is 5/16" wide in the back and 3/16" wide near the tip.
The only thing they didn't do the way I asked is use an iron fuchi and kashira; they are black but are made of some sort of mystery metal that a magnet doesn't stick to (not a big deal). The tsuba is in fact iron/steel however, and appears to be powder coated.
The habaki fits snugly into the opening in the scabbard so that the sword doesn't fall out, but it doesn't fit snugly around the blade inside, meaning if you shake it while in the scabbard, the blade knocks back and forth against the wood inside. I didn't expect the interior of the scabbard to be custom hand-fit to the blade anyway for the price, but I figured I'd mention it anyway.