Ronin Katana Dojo Pro #17 Scratch & Dent 2016
Apr 4, 2016 2:43:31 GMT
Post by emunger on Apr 4, 2016 2:43:31 GMT
Introduction:
To begin with, I am not affiliated with Ronin Katana; I purchased this item during the first day of their 2016 Scratch and Dent Sale for $150. Second, I consider myself far from an expert in Japanese style swords, or swords in general, so take this review with a grain of salt, and please correct me in a polite and educational manner when I am incorrect. In return I promise to be as honest as possible and include many pictures.
During the sale I purchased 4 katanas in total, and ended up corresponding with Chris probably around a dozen times. Before receiving anything, I was extremely impressed with his professionalism and response promptness, overall A+ in customer service.
As advertised, shipping took exactly one week, and everything arrived completely intact in secure packing. The katana arrived in a plain black tied-off sword bag, simple but executed well. Initial feel of the sword was slightly smaller than anticipated, but with excellent heft reminiscent of quality.
Tsuka:
The most important part of a sword in my opinion is the user interface, or in this case the tsuka. An excellent blade without an ergonomic or safe handle can ruin the overall user connection with the sword. Paul recommended the dojo pro to me due to the materials, fit, and finish of the tsuka - removing the sword bag definitely confirmed this.
The overall shape of the tsuka is possibly my favorite part of this katana; it is like shaking the hand of an old friend. The shape is hard to describe, but has a beautiful hourglass figure. The underside of the top part follows the sori of the blade, providing excellent leverage for the right hand, and then gracefully reverses to end up with the left hand positioned just slightly lower when the blade is horizontal. This shape is too complex for a machine to create, showing both expertise and hand-made care in its construction. Upon arrival the tsuka creaked when swung, however after a couple days this disappeared completely. I have not taken down the tsuka yet, so it is possible the noise was due to an internal crack, however I think it was just the wood acclimating, and everything feels solid now.
The ito is black silk and wrapped very tight in an alternating pattern with the just the slightest amount of play in the menuki. The menuki are dragons and fairly well done, with one of them not being completely trimmed after casting. The diamonds of the tsuka-maki are not exactly even, however they are close enough. The kashira is iron, and I have no opinion about it. The same appears to be extremely high quality for a sub $500 katana, although I am no expert on ray skin, and features extremely prominent emperor nodes placed traditionally in the palm of the left hand. The panels (I am assuming this isn't a full wrap) extend completely past the edges of the ito; the placement and gluing are expertly done. Finally, the bamboo mekugi are perfectly inserted and beautifully flush with the ray skin on one side of the tsuka, however the exit hole for one was not clean. The mekugi are very tight and secure everything nicely.
Tsuba:
The fuchi like the kashira is strong, but so-so. The tsuba overall looks great; extremely symmetrical, has a smooth consistent finish, and tight fit with the seppa. The habaki is true and straight to the tsuka, tsuba, and blade, with only the smallest of gaps. This whole connecting region isn't especially pretty, but is immaculate in function.
Blade:
The blade is mono tempered 1060 steel, and comes with 1" sori. This curvature in conjunction with that of the tsuka results in a visually beautiful katana that doesn't need a hamon or lamination lines. I don't think there is a ghost hamon on this blade. The geometry of the blade is near perfect, having personally felt nearly every part with kimwipes during cleaning and polishing. The blade is dead straight, and is nicely balanced with the point of balance around 5" from the tsuba. The blade arrived sharp, not super sharp, with a bunch of niku throughout 90% of its length (the last couples inches near the tsuba are fairly dull). The blade can easily cut paper, milk bottles, and clear plastic bottles. As novice cutters, my friend and I both were able to cut the cap off of bottles the first time. Overall the blade is near perfect, and I could not find any major or minor flaws upon arrival.
Saya:
The saya for this katana is on par with the quality of the tsuka. The koiguchi and habaki friction fit union is perfect. It is tight enough so there is no rattle no matter how hard you shake it in any orientation. You can shake it upside, you can hold it by the tsuka, and still, with the slightest pressure of the left thumb the friction fit gives perfectly every time. This feature makes the fit and finish a cut above most sub $500 katanas, not just factory seconds. The koiguchi is beautifully carved buffalo horn that is a deep crimson-orange transitioning into veins of golden cream. The kurigata is also buffalo horn that is highly complex depending on the viewing angle and light. The Shitodome is alright, but it doesn't matter. The sageo is alright, does it job, however it started to fray almost immediately. The kojiro is also carved buffalo horn, however was done in a way that looks almost like petrified wood. Overall the saya is a complete treat, with the only thing wrong with it the sageo which I can easily replace.
Good:
Tsuka
Emporer Nodes
Saya
Sharp Functional Blade
Price
Bad:
One Mekugi fitting rough
One Menuki rough
Fraying Sageo
Ugly:
None
Overall Rating: 8.5
Price Rating: 10
To begin with, I am not affiliated with Ronin Katana; I purchased this item during the first day of their 2016 Scratch and Dent Sale for $150. Second, I consider myself far from an expert in Japanese style swords, or swords in general, so take this review with a grain of salt, and please correct me in a polite and educational manner when I am incorrect. In return I promise to be as honest as possible and include many pictures.
During the sale I purchased 4 katanas in total, and ended up corresponding with Chris probably around a dozen times. Before receiving anything, I was extremely impressed with his professionalism and response promptness, overall A+ in customer service.
As advertised, shipping took exactly one week, and everything arrived completely intact in secure packing. The katana arrived in a plain black tied-off sword bag, simple but executed well. Initial feel of the sword was slightly smaller than anticipated, but with excellent heft reminiscent of quality.
Tsuka:
The most important part of a sword in my opinion is the user interface, or in this case the tsuka. An excellent blade without an ergonomic or safe handle can ruin the overall user connection with the sword. Paul recommended the dojo pro to me due to the materials, fit, and finish of the tsuka - removing the sword bag definitely confirmed this.
The overall shape of the tsuka is possibly my favorite part of this katana; it is like shaking the hand of an old friend. The shape is hard to describe, but has a beautiful hourglass figure. The underside of the top part follows the sori of the blade, providing excellent leverage for the right hand, and then gracefully reverses to end up with the left hand positioned just slightly lower when the blade is horizontal. This shape is too complex for a machine to create, showing both expertise and hand-made care in its construction. Upon arrival the tsuka creaked when swung, however after a couple days this disappeared completely. I have not taken down the tsuka yet, so it is possible the noise was due to an internal crack, however I think it was just the wood acclimating, and everything feels solid now.
The ito is black silk and wrapped very tight in an alternating pattern with the just the slightest amount of play in the menuki. The menuki are dragons and fairly well done, with one of them not being completely trimmed after casting. The diamonds of the tsuka-maki are not exactly even, however they are close enough. The kashira is iron, and I have no opinion about it. The same appears to be extremely high quality for a sub $500 katana, although I am no expert on ray skin, and features extremely prominent emperor nodes placed traditionally in the palm of the left hand. The panels (I am assuming this isn't a full wrap) extend completely past the edges of the ito; the placement and gluing are expertly done. Finally, the bamboo mekugi are perfectly inserted and beautifully flush with the ray skin on one side of the tsuka, however the exit hole for one was not clean. The mekugi are very tight and secure everything nicely.
Tsuba:
The fuchi like the kashira is strong, but so-so. The tsuba overall looks great; extremely symmetrical, has a smooth consistent finish, and tight fit with the seppa. The habaki is true and straight to the tsuka, tsuba, and blade, with only the smallest of gaps. This whole connecting region isn't especially pretty, but is immaculate in function.
Blade:
The blade is mono tempered 1060 steel, and comes with 1" sori. This curvature in conjunction with that of the tsuka results in a visually beautiful katana that doesn't need a hamon or lamination lines. I don't think there is a ghost hamon on this blade. The geometry of the blade is near perfect, having personally felt nearly every part with kimwipes during cleaning and polishing. The blade is dead straight, and is nicely balanced with the point of balance around 5" from the tsuba. The blade arrived sharp, not super sharp, with a bunch of niku throughout 90% of its length (the last couples inches near the tsuba are fairly dull). The blade can easily cut paper, milk bottles, and clear plastic bottles. As novice cutters, my friend and I both were able to cut the cap off of bottles the first time. Overall the blade is near perfect, and I could not find any major or minor flaws upon arrival.
Saya:
The saya for this katana is on par with the quality of the tsuka. The koiguchi and habaki friction fit union is perfect. It is tight enough so there is no rattle no matter how hard you shake it in any orientation. You can shake it upside, you can hold it by the tsuka, and still, with the slightest pressure of the left thumb the friction fit gives perfectly every time. This feature makes the fit and finish a cut above most sub $500 katanas, not just factory seconds. The koiguchi is beautifully carved buffalo horn that is a deep crimson-orange transitioning into veins of golden cream. The kurigata is also buffalo horn that is highly complex depending on the viewing angle and light. The Shitodome is alright, but it doesn't matter. The sageo is alright, does it job, however it started to fray almost immediately. The kojiro is also carved buffalo horn, however was done in a way that looks almost like petrified wood. Overall the saya is a complete treat, with the only thing wrong with it the sageo which I can easily replace.
Good:
Tsuka
Emporer Nodes
Saya
Sharp Functional Blade
Price
Bad:
One Mekugi fitting rough
One Menuki rough
Fraying Sageo
Ugly:
None
Overall Rating: 8.5
Price Rating: 10