Dynasty Forge Daimyo Tamahagane Katana Review
Aug 29, 2018 14:39:47 GMT
Post by anthony on Aug 29, 2018 14:39:47 GMT
Introduction
This will be my first review and I am far from being an expert on swords. While this is not my first sword, it is the first one I was inspired to review due to the mixed feelings of disappointment and satisfaction with this purchase. I was inspired to buy this sword because I had been looking for a high end katana made in a traditional manner for a while now and the opportunity to get one presented itself and I jumped on it. Normally Dynasty Forge sells a sword of this class for around $2500, but I found it on sale from an ebay seller for less than half of that at $1050. I had been eyeballing some DF swords on Kult of Athena for weeks, but never pulled the trigger on any due to a variety of factors. Mostly because of a dwindling number of reviews of their products, and a few that I was able to find were mostly negative, or rather, the quality wasn't good enough to justify the high prices. The ebay seller I purchased it from shipped from Ohio, and it arrived in a mere 3 days to my home in north Florida. I opened the box it came in only to experience severe disappointment, followed by stunning excitement. A little disclaimer... I know that the definition of tamahagane depends on who you ask, so calling it a tamahagane swords that was manufactured in China should be taken with a grain of salt. I'm moreso just in the market for a sword made in a traditional way than I am concerned with where the materials came from.
Statistics
Unfortunately I don't have anything to measure length or weight with, however the buyer's listing which I can no longer view did include some stats that I will do my best to try to remember.
Blade Length: 29 inches and some change (Almost 30. Slightly longer than my Forge Direct 29 inch Kat).
Weight without Saya: Around 2lbs 7oz.
POB: Estimating around 4 to 5 inches up.
Components
This is where the disappointment begins.
Tsuka: The tsuka has a nice brown silk ito wrap on it. That's about the only good thing about it. The ito feels slightly loose, however that doesn't really feel like that big of a deal when handling it. It doesn't feel like it will become loose enough to be a problem. However, the tsuka itself is wider than any other katana I own and does not feel comfortable in the hand. The same is also a cheap grade and a piece of it actually cracked and fell apart towards the fuchi. Check out the comparison of the Dynasty Forge same compared to the same on one of my Forge Direct swords.
The tang is single pegged which I don't really have an opinion on, but the mekugi kind of juts out on both ends and looks unattractive as well as being at a massively skewed angle. I have other swords where the mekugi isn't perfectly straight, but on this one it's by far the worst. Not sure if that's a common thing and I'm sure it's not a problem functionally, but I really don't like the way it looks.
The Tsuba, Fuchi-Kashira, and Menuki: All of the fittings are made from the same material which feels and looks too cheap to be on a sword of this price. I honestly don't have any clue what kind of metal it is, but I expected something more ornate for a $2500 sword. Maybe I'm spoiled, but the fittings on my Ryujin swords and Forge Direct swords which cost a fraction of that are much nicer. The fittings are not tightly assembled and the tsuba actually rattles. . I also wanted to mention that on a listing on Kult of Athena of a similar Dynasty Forge model, the components are obviously loose on one of the listing photos.
Saya: The saya is as mixed bag. It looks beautiful, but it feels cheap. It's a red textured color with a nice thick black silk sageo, but it has almost no weight or thickness to it and doesn't fit the sword well. The sword will fall out easily if shaken, and it rattles. This may not be a big deal to some, but neither of my two Forge Direct swords rattle or fall out if shaken, and even my Ryujin Elite fits better. All of which I bought for less money combined compared to what the DF sword retails for. The koiguchi isn't as well done as the Forge Direct swords either.
The Blade: Up until now everything I've said has been mostly negative. Well, this is the part that made me not regret buying this sword. The blade is absolutely stunning. Dynasty Forge claims it's tamahagane, which I have no way of proving, but going by their word and the appearance of the blade, they did an amazing job with it. The hada is beautiful with a nice hamon, although I prefer a more natural looking hamon as the one on this sword looks almost perfectly even throughout the length of the blade, but it's still very nice looking. While not as prominent as on my Forge Direct swords, it has a geometric yokote with nice polish on the kissaki and a properly terminated bo-hi. An overall amazingly beautiful blade. If only the fittings were better, I'd go as far as to say it's the nicest sword that I own. I hope the photos capture how nice the blade actually looks.
Handling Characteristics
Aside from the way that the tsuka feels in the hand, as mentioned earlier, the sword handles very nicely. For being almost 30 inches, it feels surprisingly light and responsive. This, along with the quality of the blade, are the greatest aspects of this sword. I should mention I'm 6'2 with an athletic build, so it may just be that it's the perfect length and weight for someone my size.
Conclusion
A mixed bag of terrible and amazing. The worst fittings of any sword that I own, but possibly the best blade that I've ever seen on a production sword. The sword handles amazingly despite its length, but doesn't feel comfortable to grip. If Dynasty Forge put better fittings and assembled them better, they'd have some of the best overall swords on the market in my opinion.
Pros
Cons
This will be my first review and I am far from being an expert on swords. While this is not my first sword, it is the first one I was inspired to review due to the mixed feelings of disappointment and satisfaction with this purchase. I was inspired to buy this sword because I had been looking for a high end katana made in a traditional manner for a while now and the opportunity to get one presented itself and I jumped on it. Normally Dynasty Forge sells a sword of this class for around $2500, but I found it on sale from an ebay seller for less than half of that at $1050. I had been eyeballing some DF swords on Kult of Athena for weeks, but never pulled the trigger on any due to a variety of factors. Mostly because of a dwindling number of reviews of their products, and a few that I was able to find were mostly negative, or rather, the quality wasn't good enough to justify the high prices. The ebay seller I purchased it from shipped from Ohio, and it arrived in a mere 3 days to my home in north Florida. I opened the box it came in only to experience severe disappointment, followed by stunning excitement. A little disclaimer... I know that the definition of tamahagane depends on who you ask, so calling it a tamahagane swords that was manufactured in China should be taken with a grain of salt. I'm moreso just in the market for a sword made in a traditional way than I am concerned with where the materials came from.
Statistics
Unfortunately I don't have anything to measure length or weight with, however the buyer's listing which I can no longer view did include some stats that I will do my best to try to remember.
Blade Length: 29 inches and some change (Almost 30. Slightly longer than my Forge Direct 29 inch Kat).
Weight without Saya: Around 2lbs 7oz.
POB: Estimating around 4 to 5 inches up.
Components
This is where the disappointment begins.
Tsuka: The tsuka has a nice brown silk ito wrap on it. That's about the only good thing about it. The ito feels slightly loose, however that doesn't really feel like that big of a deal when handling it. It doesn't feel like it will become loose enough to be a problem. However, the tsuka itself is wider than any other katana I own and does not feel comfortable in the hand. The same is also a cheap grade and a piece of it actually cracked and fell apart towards the fuchi. Check out the comparison of the Dynasty Forge same compared to the same on one of my Forge Direct swords.
The tang is single pegged which I don't really have an opinion on, but the mekugi kind of juts out on both ends and looks unattractive as well as being at a massively skewed angle. I have other swords where the mekugi isn't perfectly straight, but on this one it's by far the worst. Not sure if that's a common thing and I'm sure it's not a problem functionally, but I really don't like the way it looks.
The Tsuba, Fuchi-Kashira, and Menuki: All of the fittings are made from the same material which feels and looks too cheap to be on a sword of this price. I honestly don't have any clue what kind of metal it is, but I expected something more ornate for a $2500 sword. Maybe I'm spoiled, but the fittings on my Ryujin swords and Forge Direct swords which cost a fraction of that are much nicer. The fittings are not tightly assembled and the tsuba actually rattles. . I also wanted to mention that on a listing on Kult of Athena of a similar Dynasty Forge model, the components are obviously loose on one of the listing photos.
Saya: The saya is as mixed bag. It looks beautiful, but it feels cheap. It's a red textured color with a nice thick black silk sageo, but it has almost no weight or thickness to it and doesn't fit the sword well. The sword will fall out easily if shaken, and it rattles. This may not be a big deal to some, but neither of my two Forge Direct swords rattle or fall out if shaken, and even my Ryujin Elite fits better. All of which I bought for less money combined compared to what the DF sword retails for. The koiguchi isn't as well done as the Forge Direct swords either.
The Blade: Up until now everything I've said has been mostly negative. Well, this is the part that made me not regret buying this sword. The blade is absolutely stunning. Dynasty Forge claims it's tamahagane, which I have no way of proving, but going by their word and the appearance of the blade, they did an amazing job with it. The hada is beautiful with a nice hamon, although I prefer a more natural looking hamon as the one on this sword looks almost perfectly even throughout the length of the blade, but it's still very nice looking. While not as prominent as on my Forge Direct swords, it has a geometric yokote with nice polish on the kissaki and a properly terminated bo-hi. An overall amazingly beautiful blade. If only the fittings were better, I'd go as far as to say it's the nicest sword that I own. I hope the photos capture how nice the blade actually looks.
Handling Characteristics
Aside from the way that the tsuka feels in the hand, as mentioned earlier, the sword handles very nicely. For being almost 30 inches, it feels surprisingly light and responsive. This, along with the quality of the blade, are the greatest aspects of this sword. I should mention I'm 6'2 with an athletic build, so it may just be that it's the perfect length and weight for someone my size.
Conclusion
A mixed bag of terrible and amazing. The worst fittings of any sword that I own, but possibly the best blade that I've ever seen on a production sword. The sword handles amazingly despite its length, but doesn't feel comfortable to grip. If Dynasty Forge put better fittings and assembled them better, they'd have some of the best overall swords on the market in my opinion.
Pros
- Beautifully stunning tamahagane blade with visible hada and hamon
- Sword feels light and handles well
Cons
- Ugly cheap fittings that are poorly assembled.
- High price
The bottom Line
Would I buy this sword for its retail price? Considering the cheap, poorly assembled fittings and the rattling saya... Hell no. I am pleased with my purchase for what I did pay for it though. I'm happy and excited to own such a beautifully crafted tamahagane blade, but I would be much more so if the fittings were of a quality high enough to match the worth of the blade. Overall, the two Forge Direct swords I own are of much higher quality and for a fraction of the price. I think that if Dynasty Forge would put more into their fittings they would have a remarkable product that more people might be willing to pay the hefty price for.