Tori Tanto Review (Picture Heavy)
Aug 27, 2020 6:16:39 GMT
Post by Giantsquid23 on Aug 27, 2020 6:16:39 GMT
Introduction/Full Disclosure
This is a review of a Hanwei/CAS Iberia Tori Tanto that I purchased from a reputable ebay dealer. I’ve been interested in this piece for a long time, because the hamidashi tsuba and full-wrap samegawa tsuka appeal to me, and I’d prefer not spending four times as much to get a custom mounting from somewhere else. I purchased this sword with my own money, without any discounts, promotions, or special privileges. I am not receiving any compensation from the manufacturer for doing this review.
Specifications
Overall Length - 42.5 cm
Nagasa (Blade) Length - 27.5 cm
Tsuka (Handle) Length - 12 cm
Weight - 360 g
POB - 3.6 cm
Mune-machi Thickness - 6.2 mm
Kissaki Thickness - 3.9 mm
Steel Type - Folded and Differentially-Hardened K120C Powder Steel
Pictures Link (there are a lot of pictures and not all of them are good, but i found all of them helpful in some aspect): app.photobucket.com/u/haernfelhorn23/a/55759e2f-58d1-4148-8d3c-cc1fb35739bc
Initial Impression
To be honest, my initial impression was rather subdued. Although one of Hanwei’s top of the line tanto, this piece felt extremely “production” on opening the package. It came well secured, held in place by foam inserts, and the tanto was in a sword bag, and both the bag and the tanto inside were held in plastic bags. The sword bag is an attractive maroon color, however unlike the cotton or silk I expected, this bag was made of rayon or some similar synthetic material.
When the sword was first pulled from the plastic bag, there was a light layer of white dust covering it, similar in color and texture to uchiko. This readily wiped off, and then I was able to get my first impressions of the blade, which was quite nice, and felt better than expected in the hand.
The sword also came with a maintenance kit, containing uchiko powder, choji oil, a microfiber cloth, nuguigami paper, and a brass hammer for removing mekugi.
Tsuka
This is the main point that drew me to this sword, as I love the look of samegawa without ito, especially with a nice emperor’s node. Even without ito, the tsuka is very comfortable to hold and use.
The tsuka is approximately 12 cm long from tsuba to the end of kashira, and is tightly wrapped in a single sheet of bleached samegawa. There is an emperor’s node on the omote side, and on the ura side is the seam. Close to the fuchi on the omote side, the samegawa was sanded a bit excessively, and there’s glue residue on the fuchi.
The fuchi and kashira both do not line up with the tsuka, with both of them being a bit large.
Regarding the shape of the tsuka, the general shape is pleasant and comfortable to hold, however there is a dip in the shaping, not perceivable when holding, but you can see it if you look closely. I’ll try to show it on camera.
The menuki are pretty from afar, however I have no idea what they are supposed to be. This could just be my unfamiliarity with the shape it’s trying to emulate though. The menuki are permanently attached to the tsuka, and cover the mekugi hole. They feel quite tight, however when first handling the sword, I made several test cuts in the air without hitting anything, and I did feel the menuki on the ura side shift slightly for the first couple swings. I believe that was just it settling into place, however I am now aware of its presence, to make sure nothing happens to it during handling.
The fuchi and kashira have a surprisingly mediocre casting quality, and although I cannot easily make out what they are supposed to be, allegedly both have a crane and armor theme, complementary to the tori katana. There is some slight tarnishing on the brass emblem (i cannot remember the name of this part haha) on the kashira where the ito would normally be tied, and on the omote side, there is a slight dent.
The seppa are made of brass and feature stamped coin edges.
The habaki is brass and fits the blade very well, with no movement or gaps.
The tsuba is made of steel and painted black, with a carved design and several spots of different paint colors for added effect.
Saya
The saya is wood with a cha-ishime finish (dark brown paint with a gloss splatter effect). It feels very nice, and leagues ahead of the typical ebay cha-ishime finish.
It has buffalo horn kurikata and koiguchi, which are an attractive brown color, instead of the typical black. The sageo is quite nice, with a beautiful color, and heavy silk.
The koiguchi is quite nice, and would only benefit from a bit more wood on the mune side.
The saya fits the blade very well, with no rattling. When inserting the sword into the saya, however, one must lift the blade slightly, or else the kissaki gets caught in the wood.
The saya and tsuka align pretty well, and much better than most, if not all, swords in this price range.
The Blade
Let’s start off by talking about how horrid the Hanwei etch is, especially on their upper-range of swords. Straight from box, I essentially cannot see the actual hamon and any associated nie or nioi. The hada is etched, but in a weird, uneven way, so it almost appears sprayed on, instead of being real. I assume this is for the sake of keeping the blade affordable, and also withstanding tameshigiri better, however I would have liked to see a better cosmetic polish, similar to what’s seen on Huawei swords, as that style is both functional and attractive.
However, with some rounds of Flitz metal polish, as well as Mother's Mag Steel and Aluminum Polish, I was able to reduce the hada into a much more subdued, attractive appearance, and although the hamon etch is still there, nioi is now visible and makes the hamon much more attractive in the right lighting. This change is not easily visible in photos, but I’ll do my best to show the difference.
The steel is Hanwei’s proprietary K120C Swedish folded steel mix, with a gunome hamon, and a yakizume boshi. The hada is mokume.
There are some nice touches, such as the kaeri polish on the mune near the kissaki.
Pros
Fantastic handling, balance, and lively blade presence
Great blade shape and general tsuka shape
Nice saya, horn parts, and sageo
Overall fitting of koshirae
Small touches, like the kaeri polish
Nice maintenance kit
Cons
Overall casting quality of koshirae
Slight tsuba mis-shaping
Glue residue on fuchi
Vile Hanwei etch
Kissaki getting caught in the saya
Hope this review was informative! And although I was extremely nitpicky, I do genuinely enjoy this tanto and would recommend it.
This is a review of a Hanwei/CAS Iberia Tori Tanto that I purchased from a reputable ebay dealer. I’ve been interested in this piece for a long time, because the hamidashi tsuba and full-wrap samegawa tsuka appeal to me, and I’d prefer not spending four times as much to get a custom mounting from somewhere else. I purchased this sword with my own money, without any discounts, promotions, or special privileges. I am not receiving any compensation from the manufacturer for doing this review.
Specifications
Overall Length - 42.5 cm
Nagasa (Blade) Length - 27.5 cm
Tsuka (Handle) Length - 12 cm
Weight - 360 g
POB - 3.6 cm
Mune-machi Thickness - 6.2 mm
Kissaki Thickness - 3.9 mm
Steel Type - Folded and Differentially-Hardened K120C Powder Steel
Pictures Link (there are a lot of pictures and not all of them are good, but i found all of them helpful in some aspect): app.photobucket.com/u/haernfelhorn23/a/55759e2f-58d1-4148-8d3c-cc1fb35739bc
Initial Impression
To be honest, my initial impression was rather subdued. Although one of Hanwei’s top of the line tanto, this piece felt extremely “production” on opening the package. It came well secured, held in place by foam inserts, and the tanto was in a sword bag, and both the bag and the tanto inside were held in plastic bags. The sword bag is an attractive maroon color, however unlike the cotton or silk I expected, this bag was made of rayon or some similar synthetic material.
When the sword was first pulled from the plastic bag, there was a light layer of white dust covering it, similar in color and texture to uchiko. This readily wiped off, and then I was able to get my first impressions of the blade, which was quite nice, and felt better than expected in the hand.
The sword also came with a maintenance kit, containing uchiko powder, choji oil, a microfiber cloth, nuguigami paper, and a brass hammer for removing mekugi.
Tsuka
This is the main point that drew me to this sword, as I love the look of samegawa without ito, especially with a nice emperor’s node. Even without ito, the tsuka is very comfortable to hold and use.
The tsuka is approximately 12 cm long from tsuba to the end of kashira, and is tightly wrapped in a single sheet of bleached samegawa. There is an emperor’s node on the omote side, and on the ura side is the seam. Close to the fuchi on the omote side, the samegawa was sanded a bit excessively, and there’s glue residue on the fuchi.
The fuchi and kashira both do not line up with the tsuka, with both of them being a bit large.
Regarding the shape of the tsuka, the general shape is pleasant and comfortable to hold, however there is a dip in the shaping, not perceivable when holding, but you can see it if you look closely. I’ll try to show it on camera.
The menuki are pretty from afar, however I have no idea what they are supposed to be. This could just be my unfamiliarity with the shape it’s trying to emulate though. The menuki are permanently attached to the tsuka, and cover the mekugi hole. They feel quite tight, however when first handling the sword, I made several test cuts in the air without hitting anything, and I did feel the menuki on the ura side shift slightly for the first couple swings. I believe that was just it settling into place, however I am now aware of its presence, to make sure nothing happens to it during handling.
The fuchi and kashira have a surprisingly mediocre casting quality, and although I cannot easily make out what they are supposed to be, allegedly both have a crane and armor theme, complementary to the tori katana. There is some slight tarnishing on the brass emblem (i cannot remember the name of this part haha) on the kashira where the ito would normally be tied, and on the omote side, there is a slight dent.
The seppa are made of brass and feature stamped coin edges.
The habaki is brass and fits the blade very well, with no movement or gaps.
The tsuba is made of steel and painted black, with a carved design and several spots of different paint colors for added effect.
Saya
The saya is wood with a cha-ishime finish (dark brown paint with a gloss splatter effect). It feels very nice, and leagues ahead of the typical ebay cha-ishime finish.
It has buffalo horn kurikata and koiguchi, which are an attractive brown color, instead of the typical black. The sageo is quite nice, with a beautiful color, and heavy silk.
The koiguchi is quite nice, and would only benefit from a bit more wood on the mune side.
The saya fits the blade very well, with no rattling. When inserting the sword into the saya, however, one must lift the blade slightly, or else the kissaki gets caught in the wood.
The saya and tsuka align pretty well, and much better than most, if not all, swords in this price range.
The Blade
Let’s start off by talking about how horrid the Hanwei etch is, especially on their upper-range of swords. Straight from box, I essentially cannot see the actual hamon and any associated nie or nioi. The hada is etched, but in a weird, uneven way, so it almost appears sprayed on, instead of being real. I assume this is for the sake of keeping the blade affordable, and also withstanding tameshigiri better, however I would have liked to see a better cosmetic polish, similar to what’s seen on Huawei swords, as that style is both functional and attractive.
However, with some rounds of Flitz metal polish, as well as Mother's Mag Steel and Aluminum Polish, I was able to reduce the hada into a much more subdued, attractive appearance, and although the hamon etch is still there, nioi is now visible and makes the hamon much more attractive in the right lighting. This change is not easily visible in photos, but I’ll do my best to show the difference.
The steel is Hanwei’s proprietary K120C Swedish folded steel mix, with a gunome hamon, and a yakizume boshi. The hada is mokume.
There are some nice touches, such as the kaeri polish on the mune near the kissaki.
Pros
Fantastic handling, balance, and lively blade presence
Great blade shape and general tsuka shape
Nice saya, horn parts, and sageo
Overall fitting of koshirae
Small touches, like the kaeri polish
Nice maintenance kit
Cons
Overall casting quality of koshirae
Slight tsuba mis-shaping
Glue residue on fuchi
Vile Hanwei etch
Kissaki getting caught in the saya
Hope this review was informative! And although I was extremely nitpicky, I do genuinely enjoy this tanto and would recommend it.