Jkoo/ Sino Sword custom Review
Dec 29, 2017 1:44:52 GMT
Post by Richard Arias on Dec 29, 2017 1:44:52 GMT
Hello All!
I paid for an order for a custom Hira Zukuri Katana on October 11th. Arriving at my door step today at 1:45pm that makes it 77 days between time paid for and the time it arrived.
The Specks:
Blade-I specified a 26inch Hira Zukuri Blade (26in Nagasa 35mm Motohaba, 8mm Motokasane, 30mm Sakihaba, 6mm sakikasane) that had to include a full 8mm thick Nakago with no taper in thickness, be signed and dated and have two mekugi ana. The Hamon is a Suguha straight hamon that could be no less than 1/4th of the width of the sword through the entire length but no more than 1/3. I asked for a folded T10 blade with 1-2 extra folds to have less crazy hada and to drop slightly the carbon content of T10 that is super high. And top it off with a finger stone finish.
Mounts: 10inch Tsuka handle from Fuchi to Kashira trying for a Rikko (hourglass) shape. Menuki in Gyaku-te (the menuki placed on opposite side to what has become the norm so that they are under your palms not your fingers). And two Mekugi the secondary rear mekugi to be made of Brass. Same' to be a full wrap in "Center Seem" having the two ends meet on the right side of the tsuka in the middle of the wrap diamonds. The rest was pretty standard using their stock metal Bonji koshirae and a ishime saya finish in a matte black with horn if they could swing it.
Why?: For so long now the market has been dominated by the "performance geometry" popularized by the Hataya Kotetsu starting almost 15 years ago and made standard by Hanwei in their "XL and Elite" geometry platforms. The width is useful in helping a sword cut out of a target sooner but the thin blades usually make for the blades of this type bend if you look at them wrong, but this is a sacrifice made to keep angles of entry and exit small. The lack of weight and momentum allows for easy swing speed and aim while cutting. I wanted some of the benefits of a "performance" blade with the short stout weight of something seen by Gunto era swords and the Early swords of the Nakamura Ha line of Toyama Iaido and Batto do. Because it is hard for me to use hips, movement or high amounts of swing speed to cut dense targets I chose a design that would grant me momentum with the use of "UMPH" as my sensei called it. It was clear to me preparing to cut for a competition using Japanese Used Tatami Omote that a single mat used in the Japanese competition is worth roughly 2 Mugen Dachi Tatami omote. Finesse granted by my sword at the time a Unokubi Zukuri semi custom Raptor were not the route for me in successful cutting.Many swordsman at the competition were using hanwei XL and many bent so badly that they could not get them back in the saya. Combined with Lower soak times and the binding in some mats being plastic rather than cotton... and that night made for some of the hardest mats I had ever seen.
Historically though I chose to go with a more gunto specified sword. YES I lose some reach, but the sword is easy to clear from the saya with little to no Saya movement and the 3ish inches of shortness over a standard production sword allows clearance in smaller areas like my Bedroom Batto do :) Blades of this type much like a commander style 1911 are a joy to use over the standard models for obvious reasons. They give up a little, but gain a lot of function.
How did it Go?:
Sino started off fine with prompt reply to questions asked. Problem started about 35 days in when the first bare blade pics came. The Blade was about 1mm to thin in both thickness and width on both ends. Van at Sino wanted to start fresh, but I wanted to see what this one would be finished. So I decided if their were to be two blades now to make one a plain Jane T10 with a "cosmetic polish" to see how it contrasted overall with the hand finish. After all the price difference between their cosmetic polish and finger stone finish for my blade was only a $45 price jump. An $85 price jump over just a plain Jane mirror polish. So I figured lets see if they differ in quality of finish and sharpness for the extra money.
Then two weeks ago the finished blades! Then a Week after that the full mount pictures. BUT.... the menuki were in the wrong spot forcing me to send an email and they were re wrapped a day later to be as they should be. I have a mess of pictures to prove their measurements because I was not going to submit final payment without the blades being verified to specks. Weight is said to be about 900 grams for the folded version (about 1.98lbs) and 950grams (2.09lbs) for the Plain T10. Now some of you may be thinking "that doesnt sound so bad"... well remember that is about 2lbs bare for blades that only measure 36inches from end to end. So they are not HEAVY but not feathers either.
Impressions:
The blades are paper cutting sharp. They cant shave or pop hair. In fact both have about 2in near the habaki that is BLUNT. So I will have to complain a little about that. The Polish gave me smooth flats of the blade but asymmetrical having more meat on one end than another. Not much but enough to catch my keen eye. The edge also has spots where grits were higher and smoother as with both you can see parts of the edge that shine differently. I call it micro burr. Not rough or chipped but some parts high grit and higher, sharp and sharper if that makes a kind of sense :)
Looks wise the polish is almost the same. Proving what I have said of Sino and most forges. They are polished by belt grinder, then sand paper and wet stone mixture. Then they are dipped in an acid bath to etch. Now the cosmetic polish of the plain T10 stops here... the folded version where I paid the extra $45.... it got hit with stones on just the hamon area to a funny effect. You can see some ji hada and some in right light in the hamon. But color wise the contrast is almost Barber pole because you can see the etch and the stone work contrast because they didnt use both finger stone types and didnt go over the whole blade.
Mounts:
They are tight and solid. Not perfectly flush and even ito to fuchi kashira, but not horrible. They tried their hand at the rikko hourglass shape and its there. But the handle could be a bit slimmer in length and thickness. The Tsuka look and feel overall is "Ok". My only gripe is they are .4in and .5 in longer than specified but under the massive 11in so thats something.
The fittings are by far the most neutral thing about both. Not ugly but not great, functional is what I can call them. Magnetic and thick but lacking detail looking like antiques that have patina and lost details with age. And honestly I kinda like it the whole plain old aged look they have. Its growing on me the more I swing them because they likely wont change with age like the black that wears off a lot of fittings these days.
The Saya are standard Isime black. Fits in between lose and to tight. Just a slight bit of firm hold away from "great fit" But nothing to damn the saya or make them more amazing from others in the price point.
OVERALL:
Honestly the blades are very worth it. Both blades shipped was under $900 (I paid an extra $98 per sword for EMS express). They are the quality level of the $500 (street price) level hanwei or Dynasty when you actually get a good example of one. And with the Full wrap of same', Brass mekugi, folding exc. (they even gave me a spare set of mekugi for both because I asked) your getting more. And to point out that the sword that the first didnt pass speck was only 7mm thick to 5mm 34mm wide to 29mm wide. That makes it a thick sword and more to speck than 3 Huawei, 3 James Raw attempts, An Imperial Forge attempt and various ebay forges failing to come even that close. Most of those charging WAY more money might I add... I would honestly say that Sharpness was almost identical to a Wind and Thunder I bought from KOA last Year and the overall polish of both is about at that Hanwei looks level. The Fittings of the Wind and Thunder are better no Doubt. but the fact that Blades and saya are so close given that one of those would cost you $674 shipped from KOA and not have the features these two swords have say a lot.
Overall guys the swords in hand were exactly what I expected. Not all I hoped for but nothing ever is. I would rate the overall experience and satisfaction an 8/10. Both blades have saya rub dings and the mounts show minor blemish from their travel but I cant hold that against Van and Sino. They actually tried and delivered most of what was asked for. And they did it without making me go broke.
I paid for an order for a custom Hira Zukuri Katana on October 11th. Arriving at my door step today at 1:45pm that makes it 77 days between time paid for and the time it arrived.
The Specks:
Blade-I specified a 26inch Hira Zukuri Blade (26in Nagasa 35mm Motohaba, 8mm Motokasane, 30mm Sakihaba, 6mm sakikasane) that had to include a full 8mm thick Nakago with no taper in thickness, be signed and dated and have two mekugi ana. The Hamon is a Suguha straight hamon that could be no less than 1/4th of the width of the sword through the entire length but no more than 1/3. I asked for a folded T10 blade with 1-2 extra folds to have less crazy hada and to drop slightly the carbon content of T10 that is super high. And top it off with a finger stone finish.
Mounts: 10inch Tsuka handle from Fuchi to Kashira trying for a Rikko (hourglass) shape. Menuki in Gyaku-te (the menuki placed on opposite side to what has become the norm so that they are under your palms not your fingers). And two Mekugi the secondary rear mekugi to be made of Brass. Same' to be a full wrap in "Center Seem" having the two ends meet on the right side of the tsuka in the middle of the wrap diamonds. The rest was pretty standard using their stock metal Bonji koshirae and a ishime saya finish in a matte black with horn if they could swing it.
Why?: For so long now the market has been dominated by the "performance geometry" popularized by the Hataya Kotetsu starting almost 15 years ago and made standard by Hanwei in their "XL and Elite" geometry platforms. The width is useful in helping a sword cut out of a target sooner but the thin blades usually make for the blades of this type bend if you look at them wrong, but this is a sacrifice made to keep angles of entry and exit small. The lack of weight and momentum allows for easy swing speed and aim while cutting. I wanted some of the benefits of a "performance" blade with the short stout weight of something seen by Gunto era swords and the Early swords of the Nakamura Ha line of Toyama Iaido and Batto do. Because it is hard for me to use hips, movement or high amounts of swing speed to cut dense targets I chose a design that would grant me momentum with the use of "UMPH" as my sensei called it. It was clear to me preparing to cut for a competition using Japanese Used Tatami Omote that a single mat used in the Japanese competition is worth roughly 2 Mugen Dachi Tatami omote. Finesse granted by my sword at the time a Unokubi Zukuri semi custom Raptor were not the route for me in successful cutting.Many swordsman at the competition were using hanwei XL and many bent so badly that they could not get them back in the saya. Combined with Lower soak times and the binding in some mats being plastic rather than cotton... and that night made for some of the hardest mats I had ever seen.
Historically though I chose to go with a more gunto specified sword. YES I lose some reach, but the sword is easy to clear from the saya with little to no Saya movement and the 3ish inches of shortness over a standard production sword allows clearance in smaller areas like my Bedroom Batto do :) Blades of this type much like a commander style 1911 are a joy to use over the standard models for obvious reasons. They give up a little, but gain a lot of function.
How did it Go?:
Sino started off fine with prompt reply to questions asked. Problem started about 35 days in when the first bare blade pics came. The Blade was about 1mm to thin in both thickness and width on both ends. Van at Sino wanted to start fresh, but I wanted to see what this one would be finished. So I decided if their were to be two blades now to make one a plain Jane T10 with a "cosmetic polish" to see how it contrasted overall with the hand finish. After all the price difference between their cosmetic polish and finger stone finish for my blade was only a $45 price jump. An $85 price jump over just a plain Jane mirror polish. So I figured lets see if they differ in quality of finish and sharpness for the extra money.
Then two weeks ago the finished blades! Then a Week after that the full mount pictures. BUT.... the menuki were in the wrong spot forcing me to send an email and they were re wrapped a day later to be as they should be. I have a mess of pictures to prove their measurements because I was not going to submit final payment without the blades being verified to specks. Weight is said to be about 900 grams for the folded version (about 1.98lbs) and 950grams (2.09lbs) for the Plain T10. Now some of you may be thinking "that doesnt sound so bad"... well remember that is about 2lbs bare for blades that only measure 36inches from end to end. So they are not HEAVY but not feathers either.
Impressions:
The blades are paper cutting sharp. They cant shave or pop hair. In fact both have about 2in near the habaki that is BLUNT. So I will have to complain a little about that. The Polish gave me smooth flats of the blade but asymmetrical having more meat on one end than another. Not much but enough to catch my keen eye. The edge also has spots where grits were higher and smoother as with both you can see parts of the edge that shine differently. I call it micro burr. Not rough or chipped but some parts high grit and higher, sharp and sharper if that makes a kind of sense :)
Looks wise the polish is almost the same. Proving what I have said of Sino and most forges. They are polished by belt grinder, then sand paper and wet stone mixture. Then they are dipped in an acid bath to etch. Now the cosmetic polish of the plain T10 stops here... the folded version where I paid the extra $45.... it got hit with stones on just the hamon area to a funny effect. You can see some ji hada and some in right light in the hamon. But color wise the contrast is almost Barber pole because you can see the etch and the stone work contrast because they didnt use both finger stone types and didnt go over the whole blade.
Mounts:
They are tight and solid. Not perfectly flush and even ito to fuchi kashira, but not horrible. They tried their hand at the rikko hourglass shape and its there. But the handle could be a bit slimmer in length and thickness. The Tsuka look and feel overall is "Ok". My only gripe is they are .4in and .5 in longer than specified but under the massive 11in so thats something.
The fittings are by far the most neutral thing about both. Not ugly but not great, functional is what I can call them. Magnetic and thick but lacking detail looking like antiques that have patina and lost details with age. And honestly I kinda like it the whole plain old aged look they have. Its growing on me the more I swing them because they likely wont change with age like the black that wears off a lot of fittings these days.
The Saya are standard Isime black. Fits in between lose and to tight. Just a slight bit of firm hold away from "great fit" But nothing to damn the saya or make them more amazing from others in the price point.
OVERALL:
Honestly the blades are very worth it. Both blades shipped was under $900 (I paid an extra $98 per sword for EMS express). They are the quality level of the $500 (street price) level hanwei or Dynasty when you actually get a good example of one. And with the Full wrap of same', Brass mekugi, folding exc. (they even gave me a spare set of mekugi for both because I asked) your getting more. And to point out that the sword that the first didnt pass speck was only 7mm thick to 5mm 34mm wide to 29mm wide. That makes it a thick sword and more to speck than 3 Huawei, 3 James Raw attempts, An Imperial Forge attempt and various ebay forges failing to come even that close. Most of those charging WAY more money might I add... I would honestly say that Sharpness was almost identical to a Wind and Thunder I bought from KOA last Year and the overall polish of both is about at that Hanwei looks level. The Fittings of the Wind and Thunder are better no Doubt. but the fact that Blades and saya are so close given that one of those would cost you $674 shipped from KOA and not have the features these two swords have say a lot.
Overall guys the swords in hand were exactly what I expected. Not all I hoped for but nothing ever is. I would rate the overall experience and satisfaction an 8/10. Both blades have saya rub dings and the mounts show minor blemish from their travel but I cant hold that against Van and Sino. They actually tried and delivered most of what was asked for. And they did it without making me go broke.