Hanwei Bushido Katana (No Pics Yet)
Jun 9, 2016 3:27:36 GMT
Post by zabazagobo on Jun 9, 2016 3:27:36 GMT
Introduction
Hanwei’s Bushido katana is a model I have been particularly interested in since first discovering the Hanwei brand several years ago. After years of flirting with the idea of purchasing a Hanwei katana, I eventually found myself deliberating between the much celebrated Bamboo Mat model and the more visually elaborate Bushido katana. Following thorough sleuthing on the web, primarily on SBG, I decided that the models making use of the K120C powdered steel would present the most impressive blade for the price. While many of Hanwei’s ‘high end’ models strike me as being visually appealing (the Kaeru is a work of art and the Tombo is a compelling sword as well), the pathos of ‘Bushido’ visually manifested in a martial arts weapon was a defining characteristic that made the sword appeal to me. So, it came to be the first Hanwei katana in my collection.
Historical overview
The katana has a nuanced and fascinating history that is quite complex. There are many, many better posts, threads and articles on this forum that are far better at conveying the history of the weapon than I can express here.
Or you can just take that as a modest cop-out for this section on my behalf.
Full Disclosure
I wish I got paid to do these reviews. That’d be nice. Play with nice swords and critique them? Great. Free swords? Cool. Unfortunately, none of that is the case and I’m in the situation where I have relatively limited disposable income thanks to being a full-time student. Fortunately, that does keep the ‘sword bug’ from growing out of hand...although, that’s assuming it doesn’t have wings, in which case I’m screwed...
Anyways, this sword was purchased off of the SBG store. Fast, secure (I mean, even Solid Snake couldn’t get in this box) shipping complimented a very efficient and easy online ordering system. Great ordering experience all around.
Initial Impressions
My initial thought was ‘wow it looks pretty’
Initially, I was very much enamored with the Bushido but felt several reservations about the sword from the moment I first held it in my hands. Words cannot truly do justice to how awkward it is to experience a Hanwei “axe handle” tsuka for the first time. As much as I loved the aesthetic of the sword, I found myself just fixating on how awkward the tsuka shape is. I mean, it’s fat. At least it tapers approaching the kashira.
It required a bit of deliberation on my part as to whether this was even a suitable weapon for martial arts practice. As I control a katana with one hand as I practice, I had to pause and carefully deliberate over whether or not this tsuka shape would be a significant problem. The only way to properly resolve this quandary was to swing it around for a bit. The first few days of practicing with the blade, I really was skeptical on keeping the sword. The tsuka was so immensely bulky compared to anything I had practiced with up to that point that my hand experienced comparably fast fatigue during practice. In addition, there was an annoying part in the ito wrap where the hishi-gami was exposed (to be continued), which, complimented by a saya fit that required immediate shimming (more on this later) made me hesitant to keep the sword.
But all that is ignoring the balance of the sword and the fantastic blade and koshirae. I assert that when purchasing a production katana, aesthetics are secondary to performance. No exceptions. I do enjoy the aesthetics of swords and the Bushido does cater to aesthetics. The blade is quite striking (hold the groans), the koshirae are intricate and well executed and above all the blade felt perfectly balanced for what I expect a katana to handle like.
Thus, despite my reservations on the tsuka shape, I decided keeping the Bushido was the right choice. I decided to practice with it for a good amount of time (on average, two hours a day for the last five months) before posting a review as I felt it prudent to assess how well the sword held up to use. The remainder of the review will address my findings about this particular sword following an extensive amount of practice.
Statistics
Blade/Nagasa Length (w/o habaki): 26.7 inches
Handle/Tsuka Length: 11.3 inches
Overall Length (with saya): 40.5 inches
Thickness at Habaki: 0.25 inch
Thickness at Yokote: 0.17 inch
Width at Habaki: 1.22 inch
Width at Kissaki (along Yokote): 0.8 inch
POB (Point of Balance): 4.4 inches from tsuba
Weight: no scale
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
Here’s arguably the best part of the sword. The Bushido boasts a blade right at 27 inches in length past the habaki that has a notably high shinogi and a fair amount of niku for a production blade. It is a significantly more robust blade shape than a typical shinogi zukuri production katana in my opinion, yet the niku could arguably be a bit thicker.
Further, the edge is sharpened a bit too much. While having a razor sharp edge sounds good on paper (and shears paper rather well), the edge is not reinforced enough in my opinion for prolonged blade on blade contact or rigorous hard cutting, which undermines the purpose of having a more robust blade shape. Indeed, when assessing the relative edge hardness of the Bushido by banging it against a folded T10 blade from Huawei, it bothered me to see that the Bushido, which cost $825, suffered edge damage whereas the Huawei, which cost $350, did not. I attribute this to an overzealous sharpening job rather than a deficiency in the heat treat of the steel given the mune on the Hanwei was far more resilient in shrugging off damage compared to the Huawei.
The sugata is shinogi zukuri with a chu-kissaki. The lines are appreciably crisp, the shinogi is quite pronounced, the blade properly tapers from the shinogi to the mune rather than remaining the same thickness and the yokote is indeed geometric with an appreciable planar shift in the kissaki region.
The kissaki itself is meaty and robust, great for enduring thrusts into tough targets. An excellent diamond swelling appears at the kissaki, and adds to the kissaki’s well shaped character.
The hamon on the blade is concealed by the signature Hanwei frost, but is visible using certain lighting tricks.
The hamon is really quite impressive and does not follow a monotonous pattern, while retaining a feel of calm rather than many of the crazy choji hamon styles other vendors have begun to push.
The hada is subtle, with a bit of o-mokume here and hints of masame here.
The hada needs proper lighting to pop, offering choice visibility in full daylight or using an up-close flashlight such as those found on smartphones these days. In fact, initially I thought the hada was far too faint as it was masked by a layer of mucky oil the blade came with. And so I ended up using the uchiko powder that came in the Hanwei cleaning kit, only to become enraged at the horrid quality of the uchiko, if it can even be called that. The result was a series of nasty scratches, unlike any I have ever encountered, using even the cheapest uchiko off of ebay. To state my resentment towards Hanwei for packaging such cheap quality powder in their maintenance kits for a relatively nice production katana in a concise manner is difficult: I shall state that it is utter crap and be done with it.
Unfortunately, the blade came with some scuffs in the polish along the shinogi. I was disappointed in this: no blade I had ordered up to this point from any other vendor had scuffed polish, and while I ultimately deemed the scuffing to be insignificant, it is important to recognize that it is still very much present and disappointing to see in a sword in this price range.
The Handle/Tsuka
Here’s where my complaints with the Hanwei Bushido come to a boil. The tsuka, as I had mentioned earlier, is too thick. Now, I will state that over the months I have grown to tolerate and eventually even like the added girth: in fact, I greatly prefer to practice with the Bushido over my pieces from Huawei because I find the tsuka shape to be more comfortable. However, the fatter tuska shape becomes problematic as the ito wrap on the omote side of the tsuka is really sloppy around the bottom of the menuki, which leads to some slipping and sliding that can be hazardous towards a secure grip. As such, I had to spend an appreciable amount of time playing with the ito and menuki to make it more secure, although I still have to play around with the wrap around the omote menuki from time to time to prevent the wood core from being exposed. Suffice to say, this is extremely annoying to have to attend to, and something I do not expect is reasonable for a $800 sword to present. The lack of attention to detail here is truly obnoxious.
The ito-maki on the tsuka is very much underwhelming. The diamonds are inconsistent and the wood core becomes exposed after use. I really think Hanwei needs to put care into their ito-maki, because I have handled numerous swords costing less than half the price of the Bushido that had a much better wrap. However, the ito itself is a very, very comfortable and attractive looking brown cotton that is notably better quality than anything else I have handled in the production market up to this point.
Further, the samegawa on this katana is somewhat of a joke. It is not “high quality” in any sense of the word. Sure, there’s an emperor node hanging out towards the kashira end of the tsuba on the omote side, but a quick glance at the ura side of the tsuka reveals samegawa that is frankly of the quality you see on an ebay katana. Disappointing, to say the least.
The menuki, while pretty, are not exactly high quality either. The golden hue to the menuki has begun to fade with use, revealing a bland silver color. The menuki are yet another example of sloppy quality control and build quality that frankly should not be evident on a sword costing $800 since such issues are not at all evident on swords costing less than half the price.
The Guard/Tsuba
Thankfully, the tsuba is a true work of art. The beauty of this tsuba is better seen in pictures, so I shall let those speak for the tsuba. The full bodied, square tsuba present an excellent counter weight to the blade improving its feel of high maneuverability. I cannot stress enough how nicely done the tsuba is, and it is truly one of the highlights of the piece. It’s squarish shape also allows the blade to rest securely on the ground, ha facing up, which is nice when you just need to set a blade down for a moment and don’t want it touch the ground.
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
The kashira complements the image of the tsuba perfectly, forming a cohesive image. It is very well done and fits perfectly with the theme of the tsuba. The fuchi is also well done, although it betrays how over-sized the bulk of the tsuka truly is. At times it seems almost comical to me, honestly.
The Scabbard/Saya
The saya is truly beautiful and well executed. The engraved gold sakura blossoms in the saya add a great deal aesthetically to the saya’s rich gold color. The saya is comfortably thick and much more robust than your run of the mill saya. The gold color also masks fingerprints very well, which is an added bonus. The horn fittings are well shaped, although I must admit the koiguchi fit was problematic. I had to shim the koiguchi right out of the box as the saya fit was far too loose. Further, notice how the horn and the wood around the koiguchi are not exactly connected and there is a noticeable gap between the wood and the horn. Again, a lack of attention to detail brings an otherwise excellent piece down.
Handling Characteristics
While I have noted several issues with the Bushido, there is a reason that it is my daily practice blade: the balance of the Bushido in hand is nearly perfect, especially if you prefer a dual-wielding style such as niten ichi ryu during practice. I would consider the Bushido to be a great sword for using with one hand, although I personally consider it too short of a blade and a bit too light to use two-handed. That bit is subjective, however, and many may find it to be an ideal blade for two handed practice. I just don’t see this as a sword that needs two hands to wield effectively, especially given the shorter blade length. Overall, I find it to be an excellently balanced sword that is a joy to practice with, given that the tsuka ito is tightened and doesn’t shift around the menuki. Some may disagree with me out of consideration for the overbuilt tsuka, and I will say that some traditionalists may find the handling characteristics of the tsuka to be a killer. I will say that the tsuka could be a bit slimmer, but I do appreciate the thicker size as it provides a more comfortable grip. If only the ito-maki didn’t present such problems out of the box, I would have no qualms at all about its handling.
Test Cutting (if applicable)
Being on a student’s budget at the moment, I do not have the funds for traditional targets for tameshigiri (between spending $200 on 10 tatami mats for one afternoon or six months’ supply of whiskey, I’ll take the whiskey). I do not want to engage in backyard cutting shenanigans with this sword, as it is frankly too nice looking to damage in such a way in my opinion. If I had sufficient funds where buying a replacement or two would not make me blink an eye, I would engage in destructive testing. As it currently stands, that is not an option.
I will say that it shears paper effortlessly, better than any other sword I have. Again, this sword may actually be too sharp in some parts of the nagasa. It cuts bottles easily, although not as cleanly as some other blades I have handled. I attribute this in part to the thicker blade profile and in part to perhaps an uneven sharpening job.
Conclusions
Overall, the Bushido handles very well and presents an aesthetically pleasing package. While I attest the blade is ideal for one handed practice and far too short to be used with two hands, it is a robust enough blade to meet the demands of most practitioners. The unfortunate issue with this sword is a lack of attention to detail on behalf of Hanwei. Between the obnoxiously loose ito-maki around the menuki on the omote side of the tsuka, the annoyingly loose koiguchi fit with an awkward gap between the horn and the wood, slight scuffs in the polish along the shinogi and the slightly too thick tsuka shape, there is a fair bit to critique with this sword. However, the overall build quality feels quite good in the hand and everything seems securely put together for the most part, so the sword somewhat redeems itself.
Pros
+ Excellent aesthetics
+ Excellent balance
+ Blade geometry is well done
+ High quality materials
Cons
- Sloppy ito-maki around the menuki on the omote side
- Slight scuffing along the shinogi
- Loose koiguchi fit required a shim out of the box
- Unimpressive samegawa
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, this is a good sword, but I think it isn’t worth the $825 it goes for on the SBG store due to the flaws I mentioned. The lack of quality control is very disappointing, as there are several flaws evident, particularly with the tsuka, that I do not see on cheaper blades from other sources such as Huawei, especially regarding the ito-maki. However, everything is very high quality and the handling characteristics are quite excellent, so it is fairly easy to forgive these flaws and appreciate the good stuff. Overall, I would recommend this sword to anyone who does not find a fat tsuka shape offensive and wants an aesthetically pleasing katana that handles very well in one-handed practice.
In sum, on a scale of 1 to 10 with a 1 being a $30 wallhanger, a 5 being a run of the mill production blade, and a 10 being a meticulously crafted piece with few if any flaws, I’d give this sword an 8.0.
Thanks for reading.
Hanwei’s Bushido katana is a model I have been particularly interested in since first discovering the Hanwei brand several years ago. After years of flirting with the idea of purchasing a Hanwei katana, I eventually found myself deliberating between the much celebrated Bamboo Mat model and the more visually elaborate Bushido katana. Following thorough sleuthing on the web, primarily on SBG, I decided that the models making use of the K120C powdered steel would present the most impressive blade for the price. While many of Hanwei’s ‘high end’ models strike me as being visually appealing (the Kaeru is a work of art and the Tombo is a compelling sword as well), the pathos of ‘Bushido’ visually manifested in a martial arts weapon was a defining characteristic that made the sword appeal to me. So, it came to be the first Hanwei katana in my collection.
Historical overview
The katana has a nuanced and fascinating history that is quite complex. There are many, many better posts, threads and articles on this forum that are far better at conveying the history of the weapon than I can express here.
Or you can just take that as a modest cop-out for this section on my behalf.
Full Disclosure
I wish I got paid to do these reviews. That’d be nice. Play with nice swords and critique them? Great. Free swords? Cool. Unfortunately, none of that is the case and I’m in the situation where I have relatively limited disposable income thanks to being a full-time student. Fortunately, that does keep the ‘sword bug’ from growing out of hand...although, that’s assuming it doesn’t have wings, in which case I’m screwed...
Anyways, this sword was purchased off of the SBG store. Fast, secure (I mean, even Solid Snake couldn’t get in this box) shipping complimented a very efficient and easy online ordering system. Great ordering experience all around.
Initial Impressions
My initial thought was ‘wow it looks pretty’
Initially, I was very much enamored with the Bushido but felt several reservations about the sword from the moment I first held it in my hands. Words cannot truly do justice to how awkward it is to experience a Hanwei “axe handle” tsuka for the first time. As much as I loved the aesthetic of the sword, I found myself just fixating on how awkward the tsuka shape is. I mean, it’s fat. At least it tapers approaching the kashira.
It required a bit of deliberation on my part as to whether this was even a suitable weapon for martial arts practice. As I control a katana with one hand as I practice, I had to pause and carefully deliberate over whether or not this tsuka shape would be a significant problem. The only way to properly resolve this quandary was to swing it around for a bit. The first few days of practicing with the blade, I really was skeptical on keeping the sword. The tsuka was so immensely bulky compared to anything I had practiced with up to that point that my hand experienced comparably fast fatigue during practice. In addition, there was an annoying part in the ito wrap where the hishi-gami was exposed (to be continued), which, complimented by a saya fit that required immediate shimming (more on this later) made me hesitant to keep the sword.
But all that is ignoring the balance of the sword and the fantastic blade and koshirae. I assert that when purchasing a production katana, aesthetics are secondary to performance. No exceptions. I do enjoy the aesthetics of swords and the Bushido does cater to aesthetics. The blade is quite striking (hold the groans), the koshirae are intricate and well executed and above all the blade felt perfectly balanced for what I expect a katana to handle like.
Thus, despite my reservations on the tsuka shape, I decided keeping the Bushido was the right choice. I decided to practice with it for a good amount of time (on average, two hours a day for the last five months) before posting a review as I felt it prudent to assess how well the sword held up to use. The remainder of the review will address my findings about this particular sword following an extensive amount of practice.
Statistics
Blade/Nagasa Length (w/o habaki): 26.7 inches
Handle/Tsuka Length: 11.3 inches
Overall Length (with saya): 40.5 inches
Thickness at Habaki: 0.25 inch
Thickness at Yokote: 0.17 inch
Width at Habaki: 1.22 inch
Width at Kissaki (along Yokote): 0.8 inch
POB (Point of Balance): 4.4 inches from tsuba
Weight: no scale
Components
The Blade/Nagasa
Here’s arguably the best part of the sword. The Bushido boasts a blade right at 27 inches in length past the habaki that has a notably high shinogi and a fair amount of niku for a production blade. It is a significantly more robust blade shape than a typical shinogi zukuri production katana in my opinion, yet the niku could arguably be a bit thicker.
Further, the edge is sharpened a bit too much. While having a razor sharp edge sounds good on paper (and shears paper rather well), the edge is not reinforced enough in my opinion for prolonged blade on blade contact or rigorous hard cutting, which undermines the purpose of having a more robust blade shape. Indeed, when assessing the relative edge hardness of the Bushido by banging it against a folded T10 blade from Huawei, it bothered me to see that the Bushido, which cost $825, suffered edge damage whereas the Huawei, which cost $350, did not. I attribute this to an overzealous sharpening job rather than a deficiency in the heat treat of the steel given the mune on the Hanwei was far more resilient in shrugging off damage compared to the Huawei.
The sugata is shinogi zukuri with a chu-kissaki. The lines are appreciably crisp, the shinogi is quite pronounced, the blade properly tapers from the shinogi to the mune rather than remaining the same thickness and the yokote is indeed geometric with an appreciable planar shift in the kissaki region.
The kissaki itself is meaty and robust, great for enduring thrusts into tough targets. An excellent diamond swelling appears at the kissaki, and adds to the kissaki’s well shaped character.
The hamon on the blade is concealed by the signature Hanwei frost, but is visible using certain lighting tricks.
The hamon is really quite impressive and does not follow a monotonous pattern, while retaining a feel of calm rather than many of the crazy choji hamon styles other vendors have begun to push.
The hada is subtle, with a bit of o-mokume here and hints of masame here.
The hada needs proper lighting to pop, offering choice visibility in full daylight or using an up-close flashlight such as those found on smartphones these days. In fact, initially I thought the hada was far too faint as it was masked by a layer of mucky oil the blade came with. And so I ended up using the uchiko powder that came in the Hanwei cleaning kit, only to become enraged at the horrid quality of the uchiko, if it can even be called that. The result was a series of nasty scratches, unlike any I have ever encountered, using even the cheapest uchiko off of ebay. To state my resentment towards Hanwei for packaging such cheap quality powder in their maintenance kits for a relatively nice production katana in a concise manner is difficult: I shall state that it is utter crap and be done with it.
Unfortunately, the blade came with some scuffs in the polish along the shinogi. I was disappointed in this: no blade I had ordered up to this point from any other vendor had scuffed polish, and while I ultimately deemed the scuffing to be insignificant, it is important to recognize that it is still very much present and disappointing to see in a sword in this price range.
The Handle/Tsuka
Here’s where my complaints with the Hanwei Bushido come to a boil. The tsuka, as I had mentioned earlier, is too thick. Now, I will state that over the months I have grown to tolerate and eventually even like the added girth: in fact, I greatly prefer to practice with the Bushido over my pieces from Huawei because I find the tsuka shape to be more comfortable. However, the fatter tuska shape becomes problematic as the ito wrap on the omote side of the tsuka is really sloppy around the bottom of the menuki, which leads to some slipping and sliding that can be hazardous towards a secure grip. As such, I had to spend an appreciable amount of time playing with the ito and menuki to make it more secure, although I still have to play around with the wrap around the omote menuki from time to time to prevent the wood core from being exposed. Suffice to say, this is extremely annoying to have to attend to, and something I do not expect is reasonable for a $800 sword to present. The lack of attention to detail here is truly obnoxious.
The ito-maki on the tsuka is very much underwhelming. The diamonds are inconsistent and the wood core becomes exposed after use. I really think Hanwei needs to put care into their ito-maki, because I have handled numerous swords costing less than half the price of the Bushido that had a much better wrap. However, the ito itself is a very, very comfortable and attractive looking brown cotton that is notably better quality than anything else I have handled in the production market up to this point.
Further, the samegawa on this katana is somewhat of a joke. It is not “high quality” in any sense of the word. Sure, there’s an emperor node hanging out towards the kashira end of the tsuba on the omote side, but a quick glance at the ura side of the tsuka reveals samegawa that is frankly of the quality you see on an ebay katana. Disappointing, to say the least.
The menuki, while pretty, are not exactly high quality either. The golden hue to the menuki has begun to fade with use, revealing a bland silver color. The menuki are yet another example of sloppy quality control and build quality that frankly should not be evident on a sword costing $800 since such issues are not at all evident on swords costing less than half the price.
The Guard/Tsuba
Thankfully, the tsuba is a true work of art. The beauty of this tsuba is better seen in pictures, so I shall let those speak for the tsuba. The full bodied, square tsuba present an excellent counter weight to the blade improving its feel of high maneuverability. I cannot stress enough how nicely done the tsuba is, and it is truly one of the highlights of the piece. It’s squarish shape also allows the blade to rest securely on the ground, ha facing up, which is nice when you just need to set a blade down for a moment and don’t want it touch the ground.
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
The kashira complements the image of the tsuba perfectly, forming a cohesive image. It is very well done and fits perfectly with the theme of the tsuba. The fuchi is also well done, although it betrays how over-sized the bulk of the tsuka truly is. At times it seems almost comical to me, honestly.
The Scabbard/Saya
The saya is truly beautiful and well executed. The engraved gold sakura blossoms in the saya add a great deal aesthetically to the saya’s rich gold color. The saya is comfortably thick and much more robust than your run of the mill saya. The gold color also masks fingerprints very well, which is an added bonus. The horn fittings are well shaped, although I must admit the koiguchi fit was problematic. I had to shim the koiguchi right out of the box as the saya fit was far too loose. Further, notice how the horn and the wood around the koiguchi are not exactly connected and there is a noticeable gap between the wood and the horn. Again, a lack of attention to detail brings an otherwise excellent piece down.
Handling Characteristics
While I have noted several issues with the Bushido, there is a reason that it is my daily practice blade: the balance of the Bushido in hand is nearly perfect, especially if you prefer a dual-wielding style such as niten ichi ryu during practice. I would consider the Bushido to be a great sword for using with one hand, although I personally consider it too short of a blade and a bit too light to use two-handed. That bit is subjective, however, and many may find it to be an ideal blade for two handed practice. I just don’t see this as a sword that needs two hands to wield effectively, especially given the shorter blade length. Overall, I find it to be an excellently balanced sword that is a joy to practice with, given that the tsuka ito is tightened and doesn’t shift around the menuki. Some may disagree with me out of consideration for the overbuilt tsuka, and I will say that some traditionalists may find the handling characteristics of the tsuka to be a killer. I will say that the tsuka could be a bit slimmer, but I do appreciate the thicker size as it provides a more comfortable grip. If only the ito-maki didn’t present such problems out of the box, I would have no qualms at all about its handling.
Test Cutting (if applicable)
Being on a student’s budget at the moment, I do not have the funds for traditional targets for tameshigiri (between spending $200 on 10 tatami mats for one afternoon or six months’ supply of whiskey, I’ll take the whiskey). I do not want to engage in backyard cutting shenanigans with this sword, as it is frankly too nice looking to damage in such a way in my opinion. If I had sufficient funds where buying a replacement or two would not make me blink an eye, I would engage in destructive testing. As it currently stands, that is not an option.
I will say that it shears paper effortlessly, better than any other sword I have. Again, this sword may actually be too sharp in some parts of the nagasa. It cuts bottles easily, although not as cleanly as some other blades I have handled. I attribute this in part to the thicker blade profile and in part to perhaps an uneven sharpening job.
Conclusions
Overall, the Bushido handles very well and presents an aesthetically pleasing package. While I attest the blade is ideal for one handed practice and far too short to be used with two hands, it is a robust enough blade to meet the demands of most practitioners. The unfortunate issue with this sword is a lack of attention to detail on behalf of Hanwei. Between the obnoxiously loose ito-maki around the menuki on the omote side of the tsuka, the annoyingly loose koiguchi fit with an awkward gap between the horn and the wood, slight scuffs in the polish along the shinogi and the slightly too thick tsuka shape, there is a fair bit to critique with this sword. However, the overall build quality feels quite good in the hand and everything seems securely put together for the most part, so the sword somewhat redeems itself.
Pros
+ Excellent aesthetics
+ Excellent balance
+ Blade geometry is well done
+ High quality materials
Cons
- Sloppy ito-maki around the menuki on the omote side
- Slight scuffing along the shinogi
- Loose koiguchi fit required a shim out of the box
- Unimpressive samegawa
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, this is a good sword, but I think it isn’t worth the $825 it goes for on the SBG store due to the flaws I mentioned. The lack of quality control is very disappointing, as there are several flaws evident, particularly with the tsuka, that I do not see on cheaper blades from other sources such as Huawei, especially regarding the ito-maki. However, everything is very high quality and the handling characteristics are quite excellent, so it is fairly easy to forgive these flaws and appreciate the good stuff. Overall, I would recommend this sword to anyone who does not find a fat tsuka shape offensive and wants an aesthetically pleasing katana that handles very well in one-handed practice.
In sum, on a scale of 1 to 10 with a 1 being a $30 wallhanger, a 5 being a run of the mill production blade, and a 10 being a meticulously crafted piece with few if any flaws, I’d give this sword an 8.0.
Thanks for reading.