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Post by Roscoe57 on Nov 5, 2017 14:37:33 GMT
Last month I purchased a 9260 Katana from Swordsmith668. Made some changes to the order and kept the saya as shown. Main reason I purchased was the better saya. Well when it came in the saya was a purple metal flake. Looked like something a pimp would carry LOL. I contacted Anne with Swordsmith668, sent pictures along and she had the correct saya sent out a week later. This saya came in yesterday. Yes it was the better made saya with the bull horn. Problem is it still isn’t the correct color and it doesn’t fit at all. See pictures. I promptly sent a email about this issue. No reply yet. I have repainted the purple saya, so least have one that works sort of. Meaning you have to play with it a bit in order to get the blade all the way in. The rest of the katana is excellent. Super sharp, blade is straight with a decent polish, ito is tight, no cracks in the tsuka. This is the 4th and last Katana I will buy from them. All of them have the extra tight saya which requires some filing before the work correctly. Other problems have been: engraving on the wrong side. A 1060 Folded steel and clay tempered with Saya was very tight and the menuki were backwards and in the wrong positions, and the others just a very tight saya. First picture is the Saya shown on eBay and the second picture is the replacement saya. This was the saya they sent to start with. A far cry from the first picture shown here.
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pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Nov 5, 2017 15:11:30 GMT
I only see one photo and I assume that is the one on eBay.
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Post by pellius on Nov 5, 2017 18:37:47 GMT
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I had a few pretty good experiences buying from Hanbon, but that was a couple of years ago. They had been my go-to source for okay quality super-inexpensive swords.
I kinda moved on in terms of what I'm looking for, but I had been pointing out Hanbon as a viable option for budget buyers.
I hope this isn't an ongoing downward trend for Hanbon.
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Post by Roscoe57 on Nov 5, 2017 20:57:45 GMT
My first one from Hanbon was in 2012. Plain jane 1060 and is the best one I have had from Hanbon. I have had better luck with Ryan swords. I have never spent more than $200 on a katana from eBay China.
I tried my first Huawei last month and it came with a cracked Tsuka and a loose fuchi. Saya perfect fit.
I have one from St-Nihonto. My only dislike is that the Tsuka is very narrow. Now they know how to fit a saya.
Ryan Swords and St-Nihonto did not have wood and metal shavings inside of the Tsuka. And no drilling burrs on the steel.
Others I have are: Musashi, Munetoshi and Hanwei. No complaints at all for these makers.
Seems buying a Katana from a Chinese ebay seller is like a roll of the dice, never know what you will get. I am done with them.
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Post by zabazagobo on Nov 6, 2017 18:06:05 GMT
I can echo your complaints about a tight saya. Two of the three katana I bought from Hanbon had tight saya, with one being so tight that even to this day you have to wrestle it out. It's the kind of tightness you'd expect if the saya were crooked or something, which it isn't but is still a hassle to unsheathe.
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Post by treeslicer on Nov 6, 2017 20:35:42 GMT
I can echo your complaints about a tight saya. Two of the three katana I bought from Hanbon had tight saya, with one being so tight that even to this day you have to wrestle it out. It's the kind of tightness you'd expect if the saya were crooked or something, which it isn't but is still a hassle to unsheathe. Not implying anybody's lack of zanshin here, but have you guys with the "tight saya" checked your blades for subtle bends? Monosteel unokubi-zukuri in particular are especially bad about deflecting oh-so-slightly at the mune transition, and the first symptom is a tighter saya.
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Post by Roscoe57 on Nov 6, 2017 21:15:28 GMT
I can echo your complaints about a tight saya. Two of the three katana I bought from Hanbon had tight saya, with one being so tight that even to this day you have to wrestle it out. It's the kind of tightness you'd expect if the saya were crooked or something, which it isn't but is still a hassle to unsheathe. Not implying anybody's lack of zanshin here, but have you guys with the "tight saya" checked your blades for subtle bends? Monosteel unokubi-zukuri in particular are especially bad about deflecting oh-so-slightly at the mune transition, and the first symptom is a tighter saya. My blade is straight. Though both of the Saya's have a raised bevel about have way down inside of the saya.
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Post by Roscoe57 on Nov 6, 2017 21:16:59 GMT
I heard back from Swordsmith668 about the ultra tight saya:
Hello friend,
Please use the small tool file to twist the mouth of saya.
Yours sincerely, Anne
Contact: Skype: hanbonsword-anne
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Post by Roscoe57 on Nov 6, 2017 21:29:44 GMT
This is the replacement saya that they sent. Notice this is as far in as the blade will go. I believe the blade tip is hanging up on a bevel inside of the saya. I think that maybe Swordsmith668 / Hanbon has someone that doesn't know how to make a saya correctly? The above saya is a no go. The original crazy purple metal flake saya has been repainted and filed. Works better though not perfect. Both saya's have the bevel. The one I painted the bevel hole is larger. All this goofy saya crap is BS. I will never buy from Swordsmith668 / Hanbon again. Nor recommend them to anyone.
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Post by zabazagobo on Nov 6, 2017 21:44:23 GMT
"Please use the small tool file to twist the mouth of the saya"
That's a new one.
That picture reminds me of what one of mine was like. I had to get aggressive to wear down the wood so that it can be drawn in a somewhat manageable manner.
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Post by zabazagobo on Nov 6, 2017 21:48:25 GMT
I can echo your complaints about a tight saya. Two of the three katana I bought from Hanbon had tight saya, with one being so tight that even to this day you have to wrestle it out. It's the kind of tightness you'd expect if the saya were crooked or something, which it isn't but is still a hassle to unsheathe. Not implying anybody's lack of zanshin here, but have you guys with the "tight saya" checked your blades for subtle bends? Monosteel unokubi-zukuri in particular are especially bad about deflecting oh-so-slightly at the mune transition, and the first symptom is a tighter saya. It's definitely the saya. Misshapen and doesn't fit the blade correctly. My blade is a flawed shinogi-zukuri, but it's straight. The Unokubi I have from Hanbon is also straight and the saya has loosened up an O.K. amount over time. Never touch it much as the tsuka has a pretty bad shape (way too thick and boxish).
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Nov 6, 2017 22:01:31 GMT
Dang, that's a pretty garbage answer. It does happen that a vendor like this will lose one of its craftsmen. Maybe they lost their saya person? Maybe they just got lazy on their follow up and sent you a generic saya with your colors and decided to call it good? Either way, it's no bueno. I hate to pimp my own threads, but if you've got the time maybe you could post your experience in this one? sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/45748/sword-forge-buying-experience-results
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Post by treeslicer on Nov 6, 2017 22:03:20 GMT
Not implying anybody's lack of zanshin here, but have you guys with the "tight saya" checked your blades for subtle bends? Monosteel unokubi-zukuri in particular are especially bad about deflecting oh-so-slightly at the mune transition, and the first symptom is a tighter saya. It's definitely the saya. Misshapen and doesn't fit the blade correctly. My blade is a flawed shinogi-zukuri, but it's straight. The Unokubi I have from Hanbon is also straight and the saya has loosened up an O.K. amount over time. Never touch it much as the tsuka has a pretty bad shape (way too thick and boxish). Oh, well then, just adopt the Jigen-ryu Satsuma style suited to your tsuka, and don't forget to "Please use the small tool file to twist the mouth of saya." I see the sellers as way out of line here. I once had a Chinese reseller e-mail me (after I let them know I was sent a tanto with a chipped blade and a corroded brass tsuba), "Why you complain?? You get sword so cheap!!", and proceeded to semprini that my insisting on EMS shipping had robbed them of their profit, anyway.
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Post by zabazagobo on Nov 6, 2017 22:48:42 GMT
Oh, well then, just adopt the Jigen-ryu Satsuma style suited to your tsuka, and don't forget to "Please use the small tool file to twist the mouth of saya." I see the sellers as way out of line here. I once had a Chinese reseller e-mail me (after I let them know I was sent a tanto with a chipped blade and a corroded brass tsuba), "Why you complain?? You get sword so cheap!!", and proceeded to semprini that my insisting on EMS shipping had robbed them of their profit, anyway. Haha, I sense this could become a recurring bad customer service joke, "keep calm and please use the small tool file to twist". Your anecdote reminds me about this experience I had during a happy hour at a sushi bar last year where I got chewy junk and requested a replacement, the chef grilled me, saying "It's happy hour, it's cheap, you don't like that part, huh?" (who would? masochists?) before he reluctantly cut me adequate grade stuff. Stopped going there after that, just because someone sells something for a certain price doesn't mean quality should nosedive. Back to the thread topic though, this is why I deter people from Hanbon. They offer lots of options and you can put together a nice looking display piece, but in my experience the attention to detail and customer service post-purchase is pretty bad. Mine look nice on display, but I don't use them for anything other than that.
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Post by Roscoe57 on Nov 7, 2017 0:00:27 GMT
I updated the the pictures, showing the original saya they sent to start with. Yikes purple metal flake. LOL wife said it looks like something a woman would want or a pimp.
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Post by Roscoe57 on Nov 7, 2017 3:46:01 GMT
Case closed with swordsmith668. I asked for a $25 refund and Yao Yillin sent it asap. I will give Hanbon credit for being honest, helpful in trying to solve the saya problem. Along with very fast email replies. Excellent customer service.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Nov 9, 2017 6:56:18 GMT
Hey, Roscoe, I saw that you left some reviews. Thanks a bunch!
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Post by Roscoe57 on Nov 9, 2017 22:28:47 GMT
Hey, Roscoe, I saw that you left some reviews. Thanks a bunch! Yes that was me. Your welcome.
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