Motohara D2 Bamboo cutter-Custom Order Review
Dec 14, 2020 20:04:56 GMT
Post by Stef on Dec 14, 2020 20:04:56 GMT
Hello peeps
So after a long excruciating wait the moto was finally delivered to me.
Full disclosure, this moto is second hand but has never been used to cut with so bare this is mind . this is a custom order to the specs of the previous owner
Value for this new would range between 4 to 5k if I understand this correctly but I can't be exact as prices for motohara have gone up with time.
There is no shortage of reviews and footage regarding this brand and no need to assess if this swords are good cutters, this is very well established and the consensus is unanimous, this review will therefore be from the point of view of a collector with an OCD for fit and finish.
I am not a practitioner and I don't think I can add anything concrete from that angle
the sword bag it came with is very nice it is blue and has some kanji on it, sageo ia purple silk, thick and very pleasing. As I plan to resale this to its rightful owner should he wish to have it I have put the sword bag and sageo aside in a sealed envelope (thus no pics )and replaced it with an red and black inden sageo that fit the sword better so bare in mind this is not the standard sageo.
The sword is very beautiful it feels well balanced in hand.
The saya is finished in a very large ishime like texture that I have never seen before but it is very pleasing very grippy and seems durable, scratches and fingerprints won't be visible so ideal for dojo use I suppose, it is made well and tapers very nicely and ends with a silver ishime kojiri that matches the fuchigashira but has no waves, I would have loved to see some waves at this price point but it isn't a deal breaker. kaerizuno is also nice, short and fat but with interesting lines and is pleasing to the eye, kurigata is simple shape with silver shitotodme with fine decorative file marks, shitodome are not too small and fit the new wider sageo well. koiguchi is nicely fit and polished to a shine like the rest of the parts but I am not sure if they are made out of horn or some derlin like material as they feel and look more like delrin, there were apparently some issues with horn breaking due to humidity changes and this seems a good solution if it is indeed delrin as it finishes well and is very strong .
Getting back to the koiguchi it is flat and not scalloped on the inside this is not strictly necessary but maybe a suggestion for motohara since they seem to go to great extent in small detail. the inside of the koiguchi has a split in the ha, I believe this is done by the previous owner as it is a neat cut and does not look like a split in the wood so bare this in mind when seeing the pictures.
the saya is a bit thick at the koiguchi compared to the blade but we are talking about a few mm ( sorry ODC) this is perfectly fine regardless.
see the saya next to a saya made by Raizen, his is slightly slimmer but they are almost the same in the other areas
On to the tsuka
Tsuka is very very beautiful, I know this tsuka was redone by motohara for free as it was a bit loose and they did a great job. samegawa is awesome with big nodes and a beautiful stained colour . ito is red almost purple italian leather. I love this 2 strand ito and the feel and the look.
the tsukamaki itself is well made the diamonds are even and tight and menuki are Gyaku placed. the tome (end knots )are very attractive but there is one mistake that most will not notice or care for unless familiar with tsukamaki, the last ito strand is added to fill in the gap this could be due to the tsuka receiving the new ito as an upgrade or a miscalculation in the ito or tsuka, this is a very small detail that will not affect the user and even I with my OCD do not care, this tsuka is beautiful and feels great .
Mekugi are simple bamboo mekugi, at this price point it be nice to get smoked bamboo imo
Fuchi and kashira and menuki are silver and look cast, but very very well cast (same as the kojiri I presume ) lots of details and no ugly smudges or textures shapes are nice elegant and sized well, none of those horrible huge tsuka here.
The seppa
Seppa:are copper and rokusho, with more decorative file work, simple and effective. the seppa are different in size and fit their respective side perfectly and are punched to sit perfectly,more attention to small detail that just makes me happy. it is easy to just slap on two cheap seppa and not care but to deliberately cut them to the exact size for each side of the tsuba is a very nice touch .
The tsuba
Tsuba is steel with a copper fukurin. I get the feeling the iron part might also be cast but I might be wrong. regardless it is finished very well the shapes are well formed and it fits the nakago well there are more punches to fit it to the nakago and this is another small but important detail. the fukurin is very nice and the joint is amolt invisible, a subtle patination has occurred or has been applied with some low heat and it adds to the wabi sabi feel of this tsuba
The habaki
This habaki is the the best part and the item that I like the best. it is perfectly fit to the blade, shaped beautifully and finished to perfection with a light sparkle in rokusho patina. the neko gaki and the file work is on point . this habaki is worth 400 dollars on its own .I asked a certain habaki maker and he gave me this info on this habaki stile
" This is tachi habaki and often is made without nomikomi. The layout sets out 8 relatively even area of ji. There is little "niku" (meat) to this style of habaki and were later adopted by the japanese military in their "Gunto" koshirae. War use did not have the sword thrust through a belt but was hung as tachi. The surrounding tosogu was as tachi and the habaki on many newly made blades and showato used the flat tachi habaki style." I really like this habaki and the patina but I have a soft spot for copper rokusho.
The blade or as a famous youtuber calls is "the stabby stabby part"
The blade is D2 steel with an irregular Hiro-suguha hamon it is 27 inches long and 1.27 inches wide at the habaki, it is a wide blade but not crazy wide and noto is doable with some practice even for a novice like me. hamachi and munemachi are not parallel but well finished regardless, the first 5 inches of the blade are not sharpened and this is not a mistake, this is good practice as it preserves hamachi upon further polishing and it is not an area used for cutting. past this 5 inches the blade is very sharp and can easily cut paper. the blade is nicely polished and upon very close inspection in daylight there are lots of liquid like effects on the shinogi-ji and I understand this D2 steel is very difficult to polish to such degree and cannot be offered with complex hamon has the heat treatment used by moto does not involve clay, I suspect they use molten salt but this is pure speculation on my part.
The Hamon is nevertheless rather pleasing and active with lots of little details but if you like the wild and more crazy hamon like I do this might not be for you.
The kissaki is nicely shaped and the mune side is well shaped and flares out and back in, all lines a accurate and correct nothing is misaligned.
The blade fits in the saya like a glove, there is no rattling and the koguchi grabs the habaki perfectly.
so what are my thought on this sexy babe?
I love this sword it fits me well and I like the feeling of it in the hand and the balance, but it is too wide for me just like my dotanuki and I always feel worried when performing noto no matter how delicate I am and this is simply due to the wider blade.
However I must look at this for what is it..... a dedicated cutter and in that respect this package is supreme no other cutter comes close to this type of finish and the lifetime warranty on the blade is something you do not see anywhere, no MAS or KURIN come close to this fit and finish.
I thought about ordering a motohara before and never pulled the trigger due to the limitation of the steel they use in regards to the hamon.
I am not a practitioner and I don't care much for super steels as a matter of fact I feel some people get lost in d!@k measuring competitions about how tough their sword is and why, so to spend 3k on just the blade makes no sense for me but for a practitioner looking for a dedicated cutter this is perhaps exactly the ticket you are looking for.
A less expensive option with more attractive hamon might attract people like me or perhaps this is exactly what they do not want and cannot do so many orders if they start offering less costly options.
I wouldn't buy this new not for any defects but because it is wasted on me, I simply appreciate the koshirae but will never really use it for what it is meant for .
My opinion should not reflect negatively on this sword but rather give you some insight on what this swords are and why they are now so well sought after. The combination, of top koshirae and seriously good cutting blades makes for a difficult to match package.
If they are worth the 4to 5k asking price is solely up to you but given that there are people that blow 10k on angel swords and others silly gimmicks this is perhaps a fair deal. this motohara is finished well and all the transitions are nicely done with no weird bumps or steps in the koshirae and tosogu this shows knowledge and skill, fat too often the koiguchi wont match the fuchi on custom sword or the tsuka looks like a potato or the kojiri is slapped on like a condom. But not here, here my OCD is at peace and I love that
If anyone has more info I missed or I have made a mistake regarding motohara please leave a comment
as there is a limit to pictures I will add all the other pictures in a second comment
So after a long excruciating wait the moto was finally delivered to me.
Full disclosure, this moto is second hand but has never been used to cut with so bare this is mind . this is a custom order to the specs of the previous owner
Value for this new would range between 4 to 5k if I understand this correctly but I can't be exact as prices for motohara have gone up with time.
There is no shortage of reviews and footage regarding this brand and no need to assess if this swords are good cutters, this is very well established and the consensus is unanimous, this review will therefore be from the point of view of a collector with an OCD for fit and finish.
I am not a practitioner and I don't think I can add anything concrete from that angle
the sword bag it came with is very nice it is blue and has some kanji on it, sageo ia purple silk, thick and very pleasing. As I plan to resale this to its rightful owner should he wish to have it I have put the sword bag and sageo aside in a sealed envelope (thus no pics )and replaced it with an red and black inden sageo that fit the sword better so bare in mind this is not the standard sageo.
The sword is very beautiful it feels well balanced in hand.
The saya is finished in a very large ishime like texture that I have never seen before but it is very pleasing very grippy and seems durable, scratches and fingerprints won't be visible so ideal for dojo use I suppose, it is made well and tapers very nicely and ends with a silver ishime kojiri that matches the fuchigashira but has no waves, I would have loved to see some waves at this price point but it isn't a deal breaker. kaerizuno is also nice, short and fat but with interesting lines and is pleasing to the eye, kurigata is simple shape with silver shitotodme with fine decorative file marks, shitodome are not too small and fit the new wider sageo well. koiguchi is nicely fit and polished to a shine like the rest of the parts but I am not sure if they are made out of horn or some derlin like material as they feel and look more like delrin, there were apparently some issues with horn breaking due to humidity changes and this seems a good solution if it is indeed delrin as it finishes well and is very strong .
Getting back to the koiguchi it is flat and not scalloped on the inside this is not strictly necessary but maybe a suggestion for motohara since they seem to go to great extent in small detail. the inside of the koiguchi has a split in the ha, I believe this is done by the previous owner as it is a neat cut and does not look like a split in the wood so bare this in mind when seeing the pictures.
the saya is a bit thick at the koiguchi compared to the blade but we are talking about a few mm ( sorry ODC) this is perfectly fine regardless.
see the saya next to a saya made by Raizen, his is slightly slimmer but they are almost the same in the other areas
On to the tsuka
Tsuka is very very beautiful, I know this tsuka was redone by motohara for free as it was a bit loose and they did a great job. samegawa is awesome with big nodes and a beautiful stained colour . ito is red almost purple italian leather. I love this 2 strand ito and the feel and the look.
the tsukamaki itself is well made the diamonds are even and tight and menuki are Gyaku placed. the tome (end knots )are very attractive but there is one mistake that most will not notice or care for unless familiar with tsukamaki, the last ito strand is added to fill in the gap this could be due to the tsuka receiving the new ito as an upgrade or a miscalculation in the ito or tsuka, this is a very small detail that will not affect the user and even I with my OCD do not care, this tsuka is beautiful and feels great .
Mekugi are simple bamboo mekugi, at this price point it be nice to get smoked bamboo imo
Fuchi and kashira and menuki are silver and look cast, but very very well cast (same as the kojiri I presume ) lots of details and no ugly smudges or textures shapes are nice elegant and sized well, none of those horrible huge tsuka here.
The seppa
Seppa:are copper and rokusho, with more decorative file work, simple and effective. the seppa are different in size and fit their respective side perfectly and are punched to sit perfectly,more attention to small detail that just makes me happy. it is easy to just slap on two cheap seppa and not care but to deliberately cut them to the exact size for each side of the tsuba is a very nice touch .
The tsuba
Tsuba is steel with a copper fukurin. I get the feeling the iron part might also be cast but I might be wrong. regardless it is finished very well the shapes are well formed and it fits the nakago well there are more punches to fit it to the nakago and this is another small but important detail. the fukurin is very nice and the joint is amolt invisible, a subtle patination has occurred or has been applied with some low heat and it adds to the wabi sabi feel of this tsuba
The habaki
This habaki is the the best part and the item that I like the best. it is perfectly fit to the blade, shaped beautifully and finished to perfection with a light sparkle in rokusho patina. the neko gaki and the file work is on point . this habaki is worth 400 dollars on its own .I asked a certain habaki maker and he gave me this info on this habaki stile
" This is tachi habaki and often is made without nomikomi. The layout sets out 8 relatively even area of ji. There is little "niku" (meat) to this style of habaki and were later adopted by the japanese military in their "Gunto" koshirae. War use did not have the sword thrust through a belt but was hung as tachi. The surrounding tosogu was as tachi and the habaki on many newly made blades and showato used the flat tachi habaki style." I really like this habaki and the patina but I have a soft spot for copper rokusho.
The blade or as a famous youtuber calls is "the stabby stabby part"
The blade is D2 steel with an irregular Hiro-suguha hamon it is 27 inches long and 1.27 inches wide at the habaki, it is a wide blade but not crazy wide and noto is doable with some practice even for a novice like me. hamachi and munemachi are not parallel but well finished regardless, the first 5 inches of the blade are not sharpened and this is not a mistake, this is good practice as it preserves hamachi upon further polishing and it is not an area used for cutting. past this 5 inches the blade is very sharp and can easily cut paper. the blade is nicely polished and upon very close inspection in daylight there are lots of liquid like effects on the shinogi-ji and I understand this D2 steel is very difficult to polish to such degree and cannot be offered with complex hamon has the heat treatment used by moto does not involve clay, I suspect they use molten salt but this is pure speculation on my part.
The Hamon is nevertheless rather pleasing and active with lots of little details but if you like the wild and more crazy hamon like I do this might not be for you.
The kissaki is nicely shaped and the mune side is well shaped and flares out and back in, all lines a accurate and correct nothing is misaligned.
The blade fits in the saya like a glove, there is no rattling and the koguchi grabs the habaki perfectly.
so what are my thought on this sexy babe?
I love this sword it fits me well and I like the feeling of it in the hand and the balance, but it is too wide for me just like my dotanuki and I always feel worried when performing noto no matter how delicate I am and this is simply due to the wider blade.
However I must look at this for what is it..... a dedicated cutter and in that respect this package is supreme no other cutter comes close to this type of finish and the lifetime warranty on the blade is something you do not see anywhere, no MAS or KURIN come close to this fit and finish.
I thought about ordering a motohara before and never pulled the trigger due to the limitation of the steel they use in regards to the hamon.
I am not a practitioner and I don't care much for super steels as a matter of fact I feel some people get lost in d!@k measuring competitions about how tough their sword is and why, so to spend 3k on just the blade makes no sense for me but for a practitioner looking for a dedicated cutter this is perhaps exactly the ticket you are looking for.
A less expensive option with more attractive hamon might attract people like me or perhaps this is exactly what they do not want and cannot do so many orders if they start offering less costly options.
I wouldn't buy this new not for any defects but because it is wasted on me, I simply appreciate the koshirae but will never really use it for what it is meant for .
My opinion should not reflect negatively on this sword but rather give you some insight on what this swords are and why they are now so well sought after. The combination, of top koshirae and seriously good cutting blades makes for a difficult to match package.
If they are worth the 4to 5k asking price is solely up to you but given that there are people that blow 10k on angel swords and others silly gimmicks this is perhaps a fair deal. this motohara is finished well and all the transitions are nicely done with no weird bumps or steps in the koshirae and tosogu this shows knowledge and skill, fat too often the koiguchi wont match the fuchi on custom sword or the tsuka looks like a potato or the kojiri is slapped on like a condom. But not here, here my OCD is at peace and I love that
If anyone has more info I missed or I have made a mistake regarding motohara please leave a comment
as there is a limit to pictures I will add all the other pictures in a second comment