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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Nov 3, 2017 21:06:58 GMT
Introduction: Disclaimer: I am french Canadian and my english can get on the weirdish side sometimes, so pray bear with me, and my amateurism. This is my very first Katana, and review, as promised in This thread Yes, I do realize many others, more knowledgeable than me (not hard to beat) have reviewed Ryujin katanas before. My interest in katana was rekindled not long ago and as my wife reminded me that we had wanted to decorate our bedroom Japanese style many years ago when we built our house, which we never did... So now that we are older and money is less of an issue we decided to go forward and I told myself ' Hey dude, why not get started a small japanese blades collection along with the furnitures? And may as well make it real blades instead of chep(o) wall hangers' and so here we are. Debated with myself for a couple week and tentatively shopped online only to start drowning in Amazon and Ebay offers, until I fumbled on the SBG website and registered (yeah me), and started educating myself. Thus. I chose the Ryujin T10 Custom due to its relatively low price (rserving money for Christmas expenses), good reviews and the fact that it is a reasonably good backyard cutter - I plan to start cutting some water bottles after I practice my form a wee bit. I fully plan to get RK Dojo Pro, or maybe Huawei spring steel for heavier (and more forgiving) cutting later on. Tbh, likely both. Or more. Duh. Delivery: It was delivered exactly two weeks after I put the order in (on the SBG store), some mail papers atped on the box (the usual) - I was kind of surprised and wary when I noticed the USPS slip where it was writen: ' USD 99$' and ' For Iato practice' but I guess it has to do with helping to go through customs. Intial impressions: So, regular cardboard box with styrofoam padding, the katana came in a black cotton bag with a nice Ryujin logo on it. Blade itself oiled and wrapped in plastic, which was cut and exposed the ha of the blade a couple places. The blade rattle in the saya, so it likely happened in transport. As you can see, the ito diamond patern is a bit uneven and you can see some wood at places, but I was expecting that. The ito seems tight, though I won't be able to say how well it holds until I get some cutting done. Edit: After gaining more experience and handling another katana, I can say that the ito is merely averagely tight and and that the menuki are moving a bit. Also notice the 'ridge' lines under teh ito: Samegawa panels merely glued over the tsuka core, not inset. In fact, everything is tight, except the saya that is quite lose. I will have to shim it to have a tight fit - I have no problem with some DIY stuff. More pictures: You can clearly see the nice hamon and kissaki, polish is nice. I did the paper cutting test, wife was impressed, quite sharp. - The blade is very straight and sharp, very nice hamon, nothing to say there. It doesn't show on the pics, but the bo-hi is a bit wavy and uneven, though you need to know what to look for to notice it. At this price range I am not complaining, no sir. - Except for the rattle, and being loose, the saya is very nice, no scuffs, a very little defect at the koiguchi joint that I can fix easily. - Tsuba is black iron, very nice and straight, with the praying mantis hilighted in gold. Both the fuchi and kashira are tight fitted, black iron, Yin Yang design add a nice touch on the kashira's end. Overall, I am very satisfied so far, will update this thread at a later time with more pictures and impressions on cutting, and whatever else comes to my demented mind. My wife asked me: ' So... does that mean I'm going going to have my own?' What a man could answer to that? Indeed. So I answered with a firm ' YES'. o7
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Post by Faldarin on Nov 3, 2017 22:53:01 GMT
Hahaha. Awesome. I'm glad that you fared better than I did with my Ryujin purchase. (I DID end up happy with what I got, but it took a lot of DIY.) A heads up - if you manage to get a production katana without saya rattle, hold onto that unicorn. Almost all of them need some work to keep from rattling, at least at lower pricepoints. As for the shipping papers, there's been SERIOUS crackdown on swords with international shipping even from China apparently, so, that doesn't surprise me much. Ryujin blades don't seem to disappoint again. The kissaki on yours looks much nicer than mine did. Really nice job catching the hamon in photos as well. You don't often see new people get it right. Hope you're happy with it, and that it cuts well.
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Post by zabazagobo on Nov 3, 2017 22:53:58 GMT
Thanks for sharing the review. Looks like a good buy for the price. Really like the looks of what you came up with, the white and red theme looks awesome. The black iron on white looks really cool, and that hamon does hit the right notes of gunome. Looking forward to hearing how it cuts.
Nice to hear the only flaws are some saya rattle and some wood visible on the tsuka. When even $800 Hanwei katanas rattle a bit and needs shimming and show some of the tsuka wood, it's kind of the norm with production katana at the moment.
Also, you're a lucky man to have a wife whose response is "Do I get my own?". I hope I get that lucky someday haha.
Cheers!
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Post by zabazagobo on Nov 3, 2017 22:58:49 GMT
A heads up - if you manage to get a production katana without saya rattle, hold onto that unicorn. Almost all of them need some work to keep from rattling, at least at lower pricepoints. "Unicorn"...no kidding! Haha. Out of a dozen Japanese blades, perhaps 4 of mine don't have noticeable rattle
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Post by Faldarin on Nov 3, 2017 23:24:45 GMT
That's better than mine. I have four, and one doesn't have rattle only because it was semi-custom, and shimmed by the person who put it together. So I'm not sure you can count it.
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Post by masterofossus on Nov 4, 2017 1:06:32 GMT
Thanks for the review.
I like the hamon on yours much much much better than the one on my budget katana, from Musashi. And not that I'm unhappy with my Musashi - it's a great budget sword - it just falls WAY short of the great one on yours, which follows the ha perfectly and then has a really nicely executed boshi. Excellent.
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Nov 5, 2017 4:25:15 GMT
Thank you for the comments gentlemen, much apreciated. Today, I shimmed the saya. it is now pretty tight, so much that my 12 and 14 years old sons can't release the blade (yes, they have been fascinated with the thing, had to go through full tutorial and indoctrination session with them, as in: do NOT touch it without permission. Hope it will hold...) Perfect.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Nov 5, 2017 6:58:05 GMT
Glad to hear that you got a piece that you like, and that you have made it better!
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Post by admin on Nov 7, 2017 4:13:12 GMT
It is borderline blasphemy, but I sometimes think it would be better if saya were made of plastic rather than wood..
The problem with wooden saya is that you could spend hours ensuring a perfect fit at the warehouse, but then it goes into a hot or cold delivery van, then a facility, then a truck or plane, then another van, and the dramatic and sudden temperature changes cause the saya to either contact or expand (less so tsuka, as they are bound with ito wrap, but still can happen to them too).
Then there is the difference in barometric pressure, temperature and humidity which will again cause the saya to contact or expand (or both, sometimes causing cracks).
It is the nature of wooden products I am afraid - historically they were made in one place and slowly taken elsewhere, giving the wood time to ajust to the seaonal progression - not sudden changes from aircondintioning and rapid transport hundreds or thousands of miles in a few days.
So unless we want plastic, its something all sword collectors need to bear in mind. Its a common complaint and common issue that costs us thousands of dollars a year to try and rectify, and the more people want them sent back to be fixed, the greater the pressure there is to raise prices to stay in business...
This is I think why Hanwei used to include a shim set and instructions on how to achieve a good fit with their Katana.
I hear it is much worse with all wooden products such as custom guitars. A craftsman might pour his heart and soul into making a perfect guitar, but if it goes too far to quickly and from one climate extreme to another (i.e. from Mexico to Canada) it could well end up warped and the customer thinks that the craftsman is crap or that he doesn't know what he is doing..
Same applies to saya and to some extent tsuka. Ryujin and other sword manufacturers aren't putting them on too tight or too loose because they don't care..
Such is the nature of wood (it does not effect every sword, but there are some times of year - notably the summer months, where it happens fairly frequently and is a source of constant frustration for sword makers and collectors alike).
Sometimes, you just got to shim the thing..
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Post by zabazagobo on Nov 7, 2017 5:18:08 GMT
It is borderline blasphemy, but I sometimes think it would be better if saya were made of plastic rather than wood.. The problem with wooden saya is that you could spend hours ensuring a perfect fit at the warehouse, but then it goes into a hot or cold delivery van, then a facility, then a truck or plane, then another van, and the dramatic and sudden temperature changes cause the saya to either contact or expand (less so tsuka, as they are bound with ito wrap, but still can happen to them too). Then there is the difference in barometric pressure, temperature and humidity which will again cause the saya to contact or expand (or both, sometimes causing cracks). It is the nature of wooden products I am afraid - historically they were made in one place and slowly taken elsewhere, giving the wood time to ajust to the seaonal progression - not sudden changes from aircondintioning and rapid transport hundreds or thousands of miles in a few days. So unless we want plastic, its something all sword collectors need to bear in mind. Its a common complaint and common issue that costs us thousands of dollars a year to try and rectify, and the more people want them sent back to be fixed, the greater the pressure there is to raise prices to stay in business... This is I think why Hanwei used to include a shim set and instructions on how to achieve a good fit with their Katana. I hear it is much worse with all wooden products such as custom guitars. A craftsman might pour his heart and soul into making a perfect guitar, but if it goes too far to quickly and from one climate extreme to another (i.e. from Mexico to Canada) it could well end up warped and the customer thinks that the craftsman is crap or that he doesn't know what he is doing.. Same applies to saya and to some extent tsuka. Ryujin and other sword manufacturers aren't putting them on too tight or too loose because they don't care.. Such is the nature of wood (it does not effect every sword, but there are some times of year - notably the summer months, where it happens fairly frequently and is a source of constant frustration for sword makers and collectors alike). Sometimes, you just got to shim the thing.. Not blasphemy at all. I often wonder why saya aren't made out of steel or a hard plastic not only to prevent warping, but also to double as a second weapon. It'd be awesome to be able to use your saya in such a way. The interior could be made of some forgiving material that is soft and wouldn't dull the blade when drawn while the exterior would be suitable to deflecting attacks and striking opponents.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Nov 7, 2017 5:28:20 GMT
I've seen a lot of discussion on saya and tsuka made of materials like G-10, Micarta and carbon fiber. I'd love to see a manufacturer make a line featuring them someday, as well as see how it wold work out fiscally.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Nov 7, 2017 6:04:39 GMT
My Hanwei Tactical Katana is made this way, but it doesn't look very fashionable.
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Post by admin on Nov 7, 2017 9:34:44 GMT
With the way the sword marker is right now, it's probably too risky.. ABS plastic is obviously going to be better than wood, but the vast majority of Katana collectors want their swords to be as close to the originals as possible, and that means we are stuck with wood for the time being..
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Nov 7, 2017 13:45:05 GMT
With the way the sword marker is right now, it's probably too risky.. ABS plastic is obviously going to be better than wood, but the vast majority of Katana collectors want their swords to be as close to the originals as possible, and that means we are stuck with wood for the time being..Good points on climate, given it came all the way up from CA to Quebec. And it is all fine. I've read a lot of reviews before going for that first buy, and from that I had figured already the likelyness have to do some work on most sword sets, as almost none are perfect. I'm fine with that, really, think of it as part of the deal. I used to collect toy models and play WH 40k and WH Fantasy, which include hands on work and lots of conversions, also used to work wood as a living, so some DIY is perfectly fine by me, I consider it as a challenge and part of being a collector. Now I understand that not everyone would have the same aproach of the 'problem' (if any) but that's me.
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Post by zabazagobo on Nov 7, 2017 19:18:16 GMT
Saya shimming is never a big deal, it's a part of life with using a blade for its intended purpose. My only gripe with saya are when they warp and how easy it is to dent them and ruin the aesthetic. If steel was substituted in for the majority (leave the interior wood and shim as needed), I'd be very pleased. Would be a cool development to see, but probably wouldn't become common in the production market, probably pretty cost prohibitive.
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Post by Faldarin on Nov 7, 2017 21:09:04 GMT
Saya shimming is never a big deal, it's a part of life with using a blade for its intended purpose. My only gripe with saya are when they warp and how easy it is to dent them and ruin the aesthetic. If steel was substituted in for the majority (leave the interior wood and shim as needed), I'd be very pleased. Would be a cool development to see, but probably wouldn't become common in the production market, probably pretty cost prohibitive. I know that Steven Huerta did some work where he did a leather-covered saya that looked quite good. Also very non-traditional, but quite good. That would be one way to protect from dents to ruin a clean look - with well done leather at least.
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Dec 17, 2017 14:52:50 GMT
Cutting update. Read my Winter cutting experience HERE. No video for this one, wife got back inside with her cell. The Ryujin handled well, felt light in hands and cut water/soda bottles and milk cartons very nicely. It got a certain presence in hand (tip heavier) than the Huawei and that is with a bo-hi, haven't handled a no-hi blade yet, I suspect I will like it even more. After that light cutting, the koshirae is still very tight, but the ito have loosened a bit, menukis definitely move more than they used to. I can see I will have to test my hand at tsukamaki sooner than I expected, especially since I plan to do some newspaper cutting in the holydays which will certainly put more strain on the wrapping. After handling the very tighly wrapped and well shaped (hishigami) tsuka of the Huawei, I have to give negative points to Ryujin for the (non-hishigami) relatively loose tsukamaki job they do there. Some could say that for 230$ sword I got what I paid for (and I'd agree) though one could argue the Huawei cost a measly 200$, so that is no excuse. There's certainly places for improvement. On a positive note, blade handled well, got some tini scratches (not scuffs) on the blade where I hit a particulary resilient large 2L juice jug - Plastic was broken and jagged after the cut, nothing clean there. May result from the cold that made the plastic brittle, also possibly a slightly misaligned cut as well, dunno. Overall, I am satisfied with the blade handling and cutting so far, disapointed by the tsuka, that is definitely the weak point of the sword. I will post an update after cutting newspaper rolls. o7
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Dec 17, 2017 20:58:31 GMT
Saya rattle is common among most high volume production swords and if you get one that doesn't, it's likely by chance and not representative of the brand. If the time were taken to custom fit each and every sword in the factory by carefully carving the inner channels perfectly so they allowed perfect movement but no rattle, it would cost a LOT more. Having a saya custom made by a real professional saya-shi can cost a small fortune alone, many times the cost of an entire production sword. Some brands do tend to have rattling saya less often but none are immune. As far as a loose fitting koiguchi, this is what I consider to be standard owner maintenance. Even on nihonto saya, the koiguchi fit would need to be adjusted occasionally, depending on use, condition, climate, etc. Of all the things one could have to do to maintain their own sword, this happens to be an extremely easy one to do yourself. Even when you get it to the perfect tension, it will eventually wear out or change after a while and will need to be adjusted again. Like filling your tires on your car or bike. Many people assume that a katana should not need any maintenance other than wiping down, cleaning and oiling the blade. If a katana just sits in the saya on a rack on your mantle, the maintenance requirement is low. If you use your sword for iai or tameshigiri, it will need more attention to keep it healthy and sound. Think of the stress and abuse the sword takes when used to cut, and not just the blade but all the furniture and fittings. If you think the original samurai swords didn't need constant maintenance and repairs when being used, you're wrong. Many will say that their production sword has been solid since they got it and nothing ever moves or gets loose or needs adjusting and it's probably because that tsuka has been jammed on so hard that the wood has crunched or cracked, or the fittings have been peened against the nakago to the point where metal is just mashed or almost fused and you need a mallet to remove them. This isn't a good thing imo and doesn't represent a properly made katana. This is not the way it was done in the past and should not be seen as the correct way to do it now either imo. Tools that see this kind of use and abuse will need maintenance and repair from time to time and everyone owning one should learn some basics of how to take care of it. Why should it be any different than any other tool you own? If you don't maintain your tools, they will not perform optimally for you and they also won't last as long. Shimming saya, adjusting fittings, replacing mekugi and seppa and sageo are a few of the things that are easy to do and one should be prepared to do themselves at some point I think. It gets a little more complicated when it comes to replacing fittings or redoing the tsukamaki and you might want to send it out to someone else for that. Just like owning a car, there are certain things one should do themselves and others that should be left to experts. This isn't really a comment to the op specifically, just a general point being made
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Dec 17, 2017 22:27:04 GMT
Thank you for the time you took typing this, good information, make sense all the way. I think that (with maybe some elaboration if need be) should be pinned somewhere on the forum as it is basic good sense and not something that may be obvious to a beginner starting up collecting. I have read a few guides on katana maintenance, including reading your website's tsukamaki guide. Also shimmed the saya, fixed the looseness and a bit of the rattling. My only real complaint about the Ryujin really is the not that tight ito that is coming loose very quickly. Other than that, it's an inexpensive sword, so I wasn't expecting perfection, which doesn't exist anyway. The positive part about it all is, it will force me off my arse and start practicing tsukamaki, because, why not. o7
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Post by Faldarin on Dec 17, 2017 23:00:04 GMT
Admittedly, I lacquered the ito for my Ryujin, so I can't tell you that I've run into the same problem. At that price point, I would rather not worry... but Japanese-style swords aren't my main interest either.
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