Honshu / Shikoto / Sokojikara swords

I would like to see a yanmaodao or luiyedao with a good full tang and distal taper! Fancy dragon kung fu fittings are unnecessary and pretentious. I prefer the plain, solid fittings that Honshu is well known for with a secure scabbard too!

I haven't had those ones, but if you haven't seen them yet I exposed the tangs on the Honshu Grosse Messer and Honshu Historic single hander in my videos reviews for those. And I'll do the same for any others I end up reviewing.

Hey! 

I have some of your swords. 

I have a sokojikara,, and a honshu. Both of these swords have "failed" in a way, however both of them remain in action, cutting and such. 

In the case of my honshu, I am looking to discuss the design, because I feel that since the pommel came off (of the double edged sword), , the sword is better. Absolutely nothing got worse,, but some really important things got better. 

Now there is an important comment to make,, I do not use the sword for point control. I don't fence, and I don't stab. I just cut things in my back yard. I also handle it for entertainment, and practice some simple moves and postures. I am not a swordsman. However,, I do have a number of swords by now, and there are some similarities with other swords as well as some things I think I understand. 

first of all,, the honshu double edged sword used to vibrate a lot during strikes,, especially if they didn't cut,,, which was common. After the pommel broke off,, this doesn't happen. the sword feels more stable, easier to hold, less shocking to the hand,,, and also seems to cut every time instead of not every time. Now, pommels are mostly for point control, they are used on swords that stab,,, but the double edged sword feels like a ninja sword, not an arming sword or fencing sword,,, and that means cuts. So,, you might think that the straight blade is not ideal for cutting, but I have been cutting a lot with straight blades, and I find that although the logic of a curved saber is very sound,, a straight blade has more diverse "good cuts", although most of these good cuts are not decap-capable. ,,, with the pommel, however,, the center of percussion is lower in the blade, almost near the handle, and the available velocity in this portion of the blade is not very high. With the pommel gone, (just me thinking I know something), the center of percussion shifts much further up the blade,, and the good cut contact patch occupies the entire top half of the blade (incidentally, where the double edgedness is). ,,, also, the vibration center is out on the far end, and although I can't say there is NO vibration,, compared to what there was, I have not NOTICED any vibration yet. (previously the vibration was at a very low frequency,, not like a ring,, but instead like a 5hz flop). 

additionally, the sword is MUCH lighter in the hand,, so much so, that I feel I went from "well it's cheap so use it,, since I won't ruin an edge I care about" to, "wow, this is the actual daywalker sword, this sword is so good, it's my new number 1". 

I'm not joking about that either. That sword is literally in my bed with me. 
(ok, this is a little misleading. I don't have a bed, and I sleep on the floor in regular clothes,,, but ,, it's right there next to me right now, since it's in the hot seat,,, I DID quit putting it away)

I would like to suggest that the sword is redesigned without a pommel. Without a pommel, the sword moves somehow very fast in the hand for point control, faster than before and I don't know why that is, except that it is so much lighter,,, and also it went from a bit of a nightmare to cut with,,, to a very capable cutter. I won't comment on tatami cutting because I just have never done it,, but I can cut all of my favorite bottles,,, and that used to be really hard to do. I failed cut after failed cut with it , and kept trying because if it's hard then it should be a good challenge,,,, but now it's very stable during impact, and feels very appropriate cutting anywhere between the tip and about the blade center,,, which is really good because that's where the sword moves the fastest. <,, It really is a ninja sword by now, like blades. ,,, I also might not suggest that the tang is beefed up, although it's possible that it will be good for balance,, I think that the tang I have must be skeletonized,, and I have to say that if I were to go and be the designer,, I would simply add a bit of plastic to the handle where the pommel was, in order to make sure the grip is nice and full. (maybe not quite as long,, but maybe a ridge to give purchase.) 

now,, there is the aspect of the plastic where it creaks a bit, but I argue fear not,, plastic does that,, mine feels a bit creaky,, but it feels really stable, and does not feel like it will come apart. The most striking aspect of it is how much the cut improved AS WELL as how much more control I have over the blade due to the reduced weight. 

thanks!! BTW,, I have videos about both swords,, the sokojikara is a good sword, but it did chip on a log. it's a t-10, and I can only imagine the heat treat of t-10 is a big subject. I have been wondering if I should try the 5160 sword,, but as I have another katana already, and it has yet to fail, and it strikes me as a much more expensive blade than what I paid for it,,, I'm not ready to move past that one . (it's from amphy her,,, you must have seen her on facebook, the katana handle is the cheapest they have, and loose on purpose so I can take it apart more easily,,, we talked about it,,, but for 150$ I got a blade that really is nice. it had a tiny ding on it, which must be why they were selling it like that, but it really is my best katana. the balance is very fast, the blade is very sharp, and plastic cuts very silently). 

please,, let me know what you think about my comments on the honshu double edged sword. I think you might should go knock the pommel off of one and go play around with it. 

some places do that,, for example cruise "LK Chen swords", 

but lots of retailers or sellers actually don't know, because the smiths themselves actually don't know. Particularly when the swords are contracted to subcontracting smiths, those smiths will have suppliers of steel that basically know what they are selling, and know what's acceptable, and they don't spend all day working out specific steels, they buy whatever steel within the acceptable specs is available and work with that. What that means is they know roughly what steel it is, but since steels get so specific, they don't have necessarily the proper information all the way down the line. 

also, damascus,,, is not what you think. YOu must be imagining all of these smiths grinding away with power hammers making damascus forged bars and folding them like "forged in fire" or "alec steel" does. Yes, there are people doing this,, but A LOT of the "damascus swords" you will buy are made from "damascus bars" that you can actually just buy online if you like, but generally a maker will buy some sheets, cut the profiles out for a bunch of swords, and grind down. It's like buying sheets of aluminum or any other metal,, the factory can produce "damascus" sheet metal. Therefore,, it's even LESS likely that the retailer of the sword will be able to know, because by the time they get the sword, it would take a lot of calls back to get it, and then the steel isn't even very good, so it doesn't even impress anyone. 

I mean, I still think it's the window of time that you should really go buy an LK Chen sword, because eventually they can't possibly be as good as they are now, unless they go up in price, so the swords LK Chen is producing right this moment will be an era that is remembered. Also, they're really good.