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Post by maewyn on Feb 5, 2020 15:40:01 GMT
Now I'm confused. I just read through the last 6 pages as I was interested in ordering a custom shinken from Jkoo/Sinosword. So what is the overall assessment of JKoo? Good? Bad? Everything I've read up until I saw this thread said they were good-to-go. Now, I'm not sure if dropping $400-500 on them is a wise move. Nothing they do is worth paying anywhere near that price for. Josh,Cottonatail Customs,probably has more experience with these and most things sold here than anyone commenting here.Id trust him first and foremost over any salesman or Jkoo review here. |
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Post by amstel78 on Feb 5, 2020 16:08:42 GMT
Now I'm confused. I just read through the last 6 pages as I was interested in ordering a custom shinken from Jkoo/Sinosword. So what is the overall assessment of JKoo? Good? Bad? Everything I've read up until I saw this thread said they were good-to-go. Now, I'm not sure if dropping $400-500 on them is a wise move. Nothing they do is worth paying anywhere near that price for. Josh,Cottonatail Customs,probably has more experience with these and most things sold here than anyone commenting here.Id trust him first and foremost over any salesman or Jkoo review here. You have pretty strong opinions about JKoo. Have you ordered something from them before? If so, could you share details? |
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Post by maewyn on Feb 5, 2020 16:24:14 GMT
Nothing they do is worth paying anywhere near that price for. Josh,Cottonatail Customs,probably has more experience with these and most things sold here than anyone commenting here.Id trust him first and foremost over any salesman or Jkoo review here. You have pretty strong opinions about JKoo. Have you ordered something from them before? If so, could you share details? I've seen 3 test samples fail,I've seen the crap wood quality and the low mount quality.The rest is really just knowing what you're seeing and common sense. |
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Post by amstel78 on Feb 5, 2020 16:54:02 GMT
Understood Maewyn. Thanks for your feedback.
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Post by Richard Arias on Feb 5, 2020 22:19:59 GMT
Nothing they do is worth paying anywhere near that price for. Josh,Cottonatail Customs,probably has more experience with these and most things sold here than anyone commenting here.Id trust him first and foremost over any salesman or Jkoo review here. You have pretty strong opinions about JKoo. Have you ordered something from them before? If so, could you share details? I owned 3 and sold the first two to fund a 3rd attempt. I just sold that one to buy a blade long on my challenge list that I also owned twice and sold to buy different projects. On the blades Aikidoka (Phil who posts here) brought the first I have not had him tell me it shattered or fell apart. The 2nd and 3rd sold on eBay 1 to a backyard cutter and the last recently to a JSA student at a well known California dojo that had this to say "So I have recently cut with the blade. It is certainly more than functional. I need to sharpen it a bit as I am normally using a blade that is sharper. Tsuka is a bit small in diameter for my hand. All in all once sharpened it will be a good cutter. Definitely worth what I paid for it." Now this user owns Kotetsu and Howard Clark blades ex. So this blade was a curiosity purchase and probably ranks right there with a Hanwei practical elite or the like to him. But that's kinda what nobody points out. My Sino with all the upgrades they had was $500 expedited to my door... Not cheap but not expensive. You see this in cars, gun industry, the food industry swords ex. The guy who owns the super trendy or popular whatever usually wouldn't waste his money on the other cheaper thing that the guy he knows who is "in the know" told him is bad. Every brand or item has had reviews. Sino is no exception. Nor anything else made. Even humans have birth defects. My first 2 Sino Cut poplar dowels and didn't fail. People here like being trendy and feel like they know things because their buddy in their Facebook group is a good cutter and people would rather say "ya he must be right he is so good" than form their own opinion from experience. Same with well liked Craftsman and vendors. But remember a vitamin shop owner isn't going to be totally transparent about the possibility of just a placebo effect.... and a lot of the Vendors and Facebook group swordsman aren't lying... But they definitely are not letting all the variables be seen much of the time so you can make your own call on important. Vitamin shops believe in vitamins... CBD shops believe the oil is a cure all. Every burger company thinks theirs is best... Everyone wants to be right and they feel that way when more people agreed and validate that feeling. Sino is just a Chinese reseller placing orders with local shops. My 3 blades seemed to identical to be made by 3 different shops. But I can't say yours would be the same. Matt's review is the best one that mirrors my own experience. Flaws and all I think if you make an order this is what you can expect. And if you don't like the sword they will redo it or refund you. So risk in my mind is minimal. I recently sent back a Motohara custom because while a decent sword I just couldn't justify the high price tag. I am to used to upgrading things that start as good building blocks. Looking at it I saw a tool I could match in most ways for less money simply by starting with a blade that may not be as trendy or well liked but focusing on what it can do rather than peoples perception of what it is. But that's me... Where do you fall? To quote Keith Larman: "I think you get what you pay for. A good sword is a combination of a properly forged and heat treated blade with good quality mounting, fit and finish. Production blades are by necessity exercises in compromise. The question is whether the compromises made are important to you or not. Or whether they impact safety or use." Don't take my word for it. You're trying to make yourself happy. Ask basic questions of wants and needs. Then people on the forum can better direct you. I would say Sino is "average". Again remember this is a forum with people on it... Name me 1 thing in this world that everyone is in agreement about... You can't so keep it in mind. Think on what you want for your money and let us know. |
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Post by Richard Arias on Feb 5, 2020 22:35:30 GMT
Don't be like this lady.
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Post by maewyn on Feb 5, 2020 23:06:26 GMT
Lol.
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Post by bradc on Feb 5, 2020 23:22:36 GMT
Now this user owns Kotetsu and Howard Clark blades Wait the legendary Kotetsu??? (Edo period) Or is there a brand/model I am unaware of? PS that stereo video is great 😂 |
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Post by maewyn on Feb 5, 2020 23:29:14 GMT
The fraud is speaking of the Hataya Kotetsu.
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Post by bradc on Feb 5, 2020 23:33:26 GMT
Ah... my jealousy has reduced back to normal levels, and I learned of a new sword. Cool. |
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Post by jyamada on Feb 5, 2020 23:35:13 GMT
Now this user owns Kotetsu and Howard Clark blades Wait the legendary Kotetsu??? (Edo period) Or is there a brand/model I am unaware of? PS that stereo video is great 😂 Hataya Sensei Kotetsu. Swords popular in JSA competition. |
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Post by maewyn on Feb 5, 2020 23:35:46 GMT
Ah... my jealousy has reduced back to normal levels, and I learned of a new sword. Cool. Didnt you just post a Motohara review?Now THAT is a nice sword.They have been tested side by side with several different Kotetsu.Youre good with that one.🙂 |
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Post by jyamada on Feb 5, 2020 23:53:55 GMT
Ah... my jealousy has reduced back to normal levels, and I learned of a new sword. Cool. Don't worry, you chose wisely with the Motohara. |
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Post by bradc on Feb 6, 2020 0:12:03 GMT
Ah... my jealousy has reduced back to normal levels, and I learned of a new sword. Cool. Don't worry, you chose wisely with the Motohara. Ah... my jealousy has reduced back to normal levels, and I learned of a new sword. Cool. Didnt you just post a Motohara review?Now THAT is a nice sword.They have been tested side by side with several different Kotetsu.Youre good with that one.🙂 I mean the Howard Clarks are one thing, but if someone here had plural multi million yen antique Kotetsu blades I would be extremely jealous 😂 The legend claims they cut stone after all... But yes I am very happy with my sword for my wants and needs. Now back to the discussion of swords for others wants and needs  |
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Post by Richard Arias on Feb 6, 2020 3:30:31 GMT
Now this user owns Kotetsu and Howard Clark blades Wait the legendary Kotetsu??? (Edo period) Or is there a brand/model I am unaware of? PS that stereo video is great 😂 I have been in sales of electronics for years and even cars a brief time. Yes the Motohara are good swords but like the Kotetsu are the price they are because of the cult fallowing. You can achieve a similar result with a lot of swords by having them upgraded by custom shops. But Motohara is a good "turn key" crate motor of the sword world. A lot of what people expect to see. But with the Kotetsu I first saw in 2006 at the Costa Mesa Tai kai as a spectator and in 07 at the Shin Shin Ryu Yuma tai Kai there was a lot of "but a Kotetsu and you'll win events" and "a Kotetsu will fix that". And Motohara is replacing that in recent years. My beef is while they are nice their bamboo cutting geometry looked to close to hanwei Elite geometry to me, their mat killer geometry like hanwei XL geometry and yes you guessed it the bo hi versions like Hanwei XL light geometry. Yes this is an oversimplification. But my Motohara was $1500 more than most practical plus performance geometry hanwei and my Sino. And for that price gap I prefer to build more of a rat rod deciding how I want that quality for the cash spread around the areas of my sword. The modern trend of performance geometry and popularity in various sword crowds makes a lot of blades to similar for me. If you look at a sword rack you can spot Kotetsu, Hanwei performance geometry, or Motohara... And for me if a blade is already going to fit in a cutting stereotype I want a little more personalization at the 1500-2k range or paid a lot less for a "bang for your buck" sword and know I didn't drop 2k for an "atta boy". www.toyamaryu.org/KatanaShinken2006.htm#Highest%20Ranked%20Swords This is when I came into the sword game. Note the "Toshi" is another name for the Kotetsu. And the Tori has been the "Kotetsu Killer" since it broke out. And just like the Motohara everyone had one then. Note the overall ranking and the cutting bang for your buck... Once you get into the higher Ranges like Kotetsu, Citadel and Motohara your arguing minutiae. Your arguing small things that are mostly personal preference standards that are less about what it does than what people perceive it to be. The further distance is what's between most things on most markets not farther 😏 With Sino you can have them replicate knockoffs of popular specifications for less. But let us not forget Kotetsu, Citadel and Motohara are also knockoffs. They are not Japanese Shinsakuto. And for me the $800 price gap the Motohara has over the Tori Performance series was just to much given that it likely won't the beat the Tori on mats by that in performance lincrease percentage. The $1000 gap a Kotetsu has over a Motohara and the $2000 ish gap Kotetsu has over the Tori series Is also more minutiae And reputation. A Tori XL ranked over it Back In 2006 and it still might who knows. Looking at those ratings (in the cutting blades rated) the particular group of Toyama testers found small gaps compared to price tag differences in swords. Notice the Tori XL is the #1? That still blows my mind given again price jumps. |
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Post by Richard Arias on Feb 6, 2020 4:02:41 GMT
This is the same conversation I hear about gluten free things, grass fed beef, cage free eggs, organics, and vegan foods ex. This could also be an apple vs Android forum debate Mac VS PC and the list goes on. As guys like Matt Jensen can tell you a person can spend 10k plus on a sword and not get perfection... If Sino was charging Bugei prices I might see peoples gripes but they aren't. Yes there are better things on the market... For huge price leaps. So if a person wants the Hi point of the sword market (basic long Quan work)leave them alone. High points are ugly but cheap.
The brow beating is getting old. "You shouldn't like that"... This could easily be applied to swords that are 2k. Especially since provided with a sample group of swords in a focus group outside of influence like this I don't think many buyers would be dissatisfied with a Motohara until you pulled out something like a High class Shinsakuto. Much like many here are doing to Sino and other budget sword owners....
We are all in the same boat guys. I bet some Japanese judges would rip Josh's work because delrin isn't traditional, he isn't using aged Japanese wood, some judge could complain that traditional wise certain types of wraps should be X diameter diamonds and so on. An old forum guy from SFI Paul Loatman had his wraps judged at a few token Kai and they ripped him for such small things.
In the gym most guys look at the guy next to them sure he or she is right and the other person is wrong. When I went to 13 different Kung Fu schools in Hong Kong most of them talked trash about every other school. Most blades people here own would not be allowed in Japan and the Japanese largely don't know or care who the Smith is.
Let's try just having barbershop conversation and debate and not "your stupid and "he's crazy" arguments. Let's switch from trying to match people to swords and try to match swords to the person.
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Post by bradc on Feb 6, 2020 4:32:46 GMT
Wait the legendary Kotetsu??? (Edo period) Or is there a brand/model I am unaware of? PS that stereo video is great 😂 I have been in sales of electronics for years and even cars a brief time. Yes the Motohara are good swords but like the Kotetsu are the price they are because of the cult fallowing. You can achieve a similar result with a lot of swords by having them upgraded by custom shops. But Motohara is a good "turn key" crate motor of the sword world. A lot of what people expect to see. But with the Kotetsu I first saw in 2006 at the Costa Mesa Tai kai as a spectator and in 07 at the Shin Shin Ryu Yuma tai Kai there was a lot of "but a Kotetsu and you'll win events" and "a Kotetsu will fix that". And Motohara is replacing that in recent years. My beef is while they are nice their bamboo cutting geometry looked to close to hanwei Elite geometry to me, their mat killer geometry like hanwei XL geometry and yes you guessed it the bo hi versions like Hanwei XL light geometry. Yes this is an oversimplification. But my Motohara was $1500 more than most practical plus performance geometry hanwei and my Sino. And for that price gap I prefer to build more of a rat rod deciding how I want that quality for the cash spread around the areas of my sword. The modern trend of performance geometry and popularity in various sword crowds makes a lot of blades to similar for me. If you look at a sword rack you can spot Kotetsu, Hanwei performance geometry, or Motohara... And for me if a blade is already going to fit in a cutting stereotype I want a little more personalization at the 1500-2k range or paid a lot less for a "bang for your buck" sword and know I didn't drop 2k for an "atta boy". www.toyamaryu.org/KatanaShinken2006.htm#Highest%20Ranked%20Swords This is when I came into the sword game. Note the "Toshi" is another name for the Kotetsu. And the Tori has been the "Kotetsu Killer" since it broke out. And just like the Motohara everyone had one then. Note the overall ranking and the cutting bang for your buck... Once you get into the higher Ranges like Kotetsu, Citadel and Motohara your arguing minutiae. Your arguing small things that are mostly personal preference standards that are less about what it does than what people perceive it to be. The further distance is what's between most things on most markets not farther 😏 With Sino you can have them replicate knockoffs of popular specifications for less. But let us not forget Kotetsu, Citadel and Motohara are also knockoffs. They are not Japanese Shinsakuto. And for me the $800 price gap the Motohara has over the Tori Performance series was just to much given that it likely won't the beat the Tori on mats by that in performance lincrease percentage. The $1000 gap a Kotetsu has over a Motohara and the $2000 ish gap Kotetsu has over the Tori series Is also more minutiae And reputation. A Tori XL ranked over it Back In 2006 and it still might who knows. Looking at those ratings (in the cutting blades rated) the particular group of Toyama testers found small gaps compared to price tag differences in swords. Notice the Tori XL is the #1? That still blows my mind given again price jumps. I think cars are an excellent analogy here. What is each user looking for? With some work a souped up but rusty datsun 240z can demolish some Ferraris in a 1/4 mile. But maybe it doesnt excel at other features, turning, fit and finish, prestige? What's important to you? Heck many show cars start from rough material and surpass anything production, but boy is it work to get there. Swords and everything else with a hobby community are the same. For me, cutting performance isn't on my list of considerations. So if I were to buy most production swords, I am hunting for the right blade length, kissaki type, compromising on having to shorten the tsuka and spending a lot of time getting things right (for me). For me the extra cost to get exactly what I want up front is worth it. Plus if we want to get picky I have seen bubbly lacquer and other such flaws on Hanweis. Do they affect performance? Does it always happen. Nope, but it's not what I wanted for my sword. Rat rodding and doing it yourself are great options if that's what you want. For me I found the price of my sword very reasonable and it fit my budget. Made in Japan Iaito can easily cost more than many production swords, and all of these options are downright cheap vs commissioning a nihonto. Which brings me to another point, comparing costs between countries is hard, labour costs differ drastically, and you can easily spend as much getting a tsuka wrapped as an entire sword depending on where you go. Ok that got a little ramble and was directed at the topic more than just your comment so I meandered there so please don't take this as a critique of your post. This communities expertise and exposure really helps us understand the compromises, risks, quality expectations, and performance for each product and vendor at all price ranges, and which of those apply to the users needs. And maybe we should all be cautious about being overly defensive of our favourite brands, and overly critical of those that are not for us. Or, ahem, commenting on brands we haven't seen or handled (I shall name no names).... Edit - I saw your other comment as I was posting this (typing while trying to convince a toddler its bed time is slow work). I think we basically agree |
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Post by Richard Arias on Feb 6, 2020 5:43:23 GMT
nihonzashi.ecwid.com/Kotetsu-Cutting-Swords-c31487801 I have been in sales of electronics for years and even cars a brief time. Yes the Motohara are good swords but like the Kotetsu are the price they are because of the cult fallowing. You can achieve a similar result with a lot of swords by having them upgraded by custom shops. But Motohara is a good "turn key" crate motor of the sword world. A lot of what people expect to see. But with the Kotetsu I first saw in 2006 at the Costa Mesa Tai kai as a spectator and in 07 at the Shin Shin Ryu Yuma tai Kai there was a lot of "but a Kotetsu and you'll win events" and "a Kotetsu will fix that". And Motohara is replacing that in recent years. My beef is while they are nice their bamboo cutting geometry looked to close to hanwei Elite geometry to me, their mat killer geometry like hanwei XL geometry and yes you guessed it the bo hi versions like Hanwei XL light geometry. Yes this is an oversimplification. But my Motohara was $1500 more than most practical plus performance geometry hanwei and my Sino. And for that price gap I prefer to build more of a rat rod deciding how I want that quality for the cash spread around the areas of my sword. The modern trend of performance geometry and popularity in various sword crowds makes a lot of blades to similar for me. If you look at a sword rack you can spot Kotetsu, Hanwei performance geometry, or Motohara... And for me if a blade is already going to fit in a cutting stereotype I want a little more personalization at the 1500-2k range or paid a lot less for a "bang for your buck" sword and know I didn't drop 2k for an "atta boy". www.toyamaryu.org/KatanaShinken2006.htm#Highest%20Ranked%20Swords This is when I came into the sword game. Note the "Toshi" is another name for the Kotetsu. And the Tori has been the "Kotetsu Killer" since it broke out. And just like the Motohara everyone had one then. Note the overall ranking and the cutting bang for your buck... Once you get into the higher Ranges like Kotetsu, Citadel and Motohara your arguing minutiae. Your arguing small things that are mostly personal preference standards that are less about what it does than what people perceive it to be. The further distance is what's between most things on most markets not farther 😏 With Sino you can have them replicate knockoffs of popular specifications for less. But let us not forget Kotetsu, Citadel and Motohara are also knockoffs. They are not Japanese Shinsakuto. And for me the $800 price gap the Motohara has over the Tori Performance series was just to much given that it likely won't the beat the Tori on mats by that in performance lincrease percentage. The $1000 gap a Kotetsu has over a Motohara and the $2000 ish gap Kotetsu has over the Tori series Is also more minutiae And reputation. A Tori XL ranked over it Back In 2006 and it still might who knows. Looking at those ratings (in the cutting blades rated) the particular group of Toyama testers found small gaps compared to price tag differences in swords. Notice the Tori XL is the #1? That still blows my mind given again price jumps. I think cars are an excellent analogy here. What is each user looking for? With some work a souped up but rusty datsun 240z can demolish some Ferraris in a 1/4 mile. But maybe it doesnt excel at other features, turning, fit and finish, prestige? What's important to you? Heck many show cars start from rough material and surpass anything production, but boy is it work to get there. Swords and everything else with a hobby community are the same. For me, cutting performance isn't on my list of considerations. So if I were to buy most production swords, I am hunting for the right blade length, kissaki type, compromising on having to shorten the tsuka and spending a lot of time getting things right (for me). For me the extra cost to get exactly what I want up front is worth it. Plus if we want to get picky I have seen bubbly lacquer and other such flaws on Hanweis. Do they affect performance? Does it always happen. Nope, but it's not what I wanted for my sword. Rat rodding and doing it yourself are great options if that's what you want. For me I found the price of my sword very reasonable and it fit my budget. Made in Japan Iaito can easily cost more than many production swords, and all of these options are downright cheap vs commissioning a nihonto. Which brings me to another point, comparing costs between countries is hard, labour costs differ drastically, and you can easily spend as much getting a tsuka wrapped as an entire sword depending on where you go. Ok that got a little ramble and was directed at the topic more than just your comment so I meandered there so please don't take this as a critique of your post. This communities expertise and exposure really helps us understand the compromises, risks, quality expectations, and performance for each product and vendor at all price ranges, and which of those apply to the users needs. And maybe we should all be cautious about being overly defensive of our favourite brands. Or, ahem, commenting on brands we haven't seen or handled (I shall name no names).... Edit - I saw your other comment as I was posting this (typing while trying to convince a toddler its bed time is slow work). I think we basically agree ;) I don't take anything personal. Try not to. But everyone is a person 😏. People have a tribe mentality and things can get very highschool click. For example the guy calling me a fraud is because he is in a Facebook group a former friend and training partner is in. And being in JSA you probably have bumped into branch politics or Inter dojo "do as you were taught" mentality. And my split with him was because he wanted to use his rank in one style to legitimize his own curriculum he made that was pretty much a mushroom stamp version of what many batto do schools do with minor tweaks. The problem is the teacher who taught us both was old school and had an old school approach to Combative and Classical sword work. Much more like the old standard of Batto do when it was first coming to the US. And I tend to gravitate towards that. Practical competency rather than slow zen art form performances. Things being what they are we parted ways because he wanted to teach a version of sword work that wasn't the original standard and I had no interest in learning it. There is more to it but it ties into the conversation in the sense that the art is taught often how the tool is sold "just buy what that guy says to". And that's such a narrow view lacking respect for the individual. Sword trends being what they are the modern blades are like modern versions of the challenger, charger, corvette and so on... They are kinda like the originals... But just as different as they are alike. And that just isn't made clear to people. Same with steel hype. How much supposed steel performance data can you find actually proven in use and not just hypothesized on paper? Much of a lot of things in life are like manufacturers claims you see marked on a label as having not been evaluated. So they are just claims not really proven. And there are so many varables in mat type, grade, roll tightness, soak time, stand size ex. Same with bamboo species. Nothing is near as consistent as people think nor proven... But your paying for things often like they are. Again motohara is worth it. You made a good buy in the sense that you get a blade as advertised rather than the China approach when you order it's "I hope I get lucky". But the motohara was over 170 hours of take home pay for me. And those hours were grinding shifts filled with alieve, blisters burst blood vessles... So a lot of swords won't pass that test. Ill review the one i chose wich was only 71 hours of my life.... A far cry from the Motohara... But a gap I can narrow with upgrades later if I want. Something happened last week that sums this up. I was working outside in my cheap $10 rayban knockoffs and a friend at work walks buy in actual wayfarers mocking me. I told him I could never justify $160 on glasses in fear of loss damage or breaking. My friend replies "I gotta have my bans man"... Minutes later I slip on some lose gravel and fall snapping my glasse in half. Laughing I said "See this is why I can't have raybans"... My buddy replies the same "nah I'd have to have new bans"... The old original JSA guys in the US were using cheap gunto from pawn shops. And the Chen blades Didn't start to get decent and reliable until the mid to late 2000s. People don't realize how lucky and spoiled they are to have SBG, KOA, Jason and other vendors. But I can look at posts from 2005 and older and find very much the same behavior with different people. It makes me sad to be honest. I would love to hang out and be sword nerds and talk shop all night with many guys here because every day people at work think me mad for spending the $700 I just spent on a sword... People here go " that's it?" 😂 So we do agree. And even where we don't I still respect you because you get it and made the best informed decision for you. I have a school motto my sifu is scrolling for me in Cantonese "if it works for you it's not wrong". Right is very relative and can be shot full of holes... Calorie counts on anything at the supermarket can be up to 50% off in any direction... Even bullets never chronograph at the advertised speeds due to variables... We all just do our best with what we "know". But thanks for the reply. I appreciate the human moment you afforded me. Sending you a virtual hat tip. |
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Post by Robert in California on Feb 6, 2020 6:28:06 GMT
In this area of interest, there is ALWAYS something better.
For instance, I want a Akihiro katana ($$$$$$$$$nihonto).
Long ago, an auction house had a Kotetsu katana for a starting bid of about $100,000 as I recall (still got the aution catalog around somewhere...I bid on a gendai katana for about $2,000 but the bid went too high.
Of the three Jkoo/Sinosword katanas, the first bent and had a wood shim in the oversized habaki (or maybe I'm thinking of the 2nd). The 2nd was too heavy for the preference of the evaluator (J.W.Pope). The third seemed ok, but the evaluator never gave me feedback except that did not stay razor sharp as long. The 3rd is the Jkoo/Sinosword sanmai katana with a review here at SBG.
RinC
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Post by Richard Arias on Feb 6, 2020 6:59:35 GMT
In this area of interest, there is ALWAYS something better. For instance, I want a Akihiro katana ($$$$$$$$$nihonto). Long ago, an auction house had a Kotetsu katana for a starting bid of about $100,000 as I recall (still got the aution catalog around somewhere...I bid on a gendai katana for about $2,000 but the bid went too high. Of the three Jkoo/Sinosword katanas, the first bent and had a wood shim in the oversized habaki (or maybe I'm thinking of the 2nd). The 2nd was too heavy for the preference of the evaluator (J.W.Pope). The third seemed ok, but the evaluator never gave me feedback except that did not stay razor sharp as long. The 3rd is the Jkoo/Sinosword sanmai katana with a review here at SBG. RinC Let's just not make it an us vs them Bob. If you don't build the box you don't have to think outside it. If you don't draw line there is no crossing it. |
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