Post by katrulzin on Feb 1, 2021 7:54:24 GMT
Hey guys!
Not sure where to start my first post, as I didn't see a introduction section, but here I am. Katrulzin is a bit of a made up fantasy name that I tend to use online. Anyways I bought a Lion Dog recently from Swords of the East and I'm really excited, had a hard time in picking a blade with very specific specs and haven't recieve it yet as I purchased on a weekend.
I bought a LEGO (limited edition Golden Oriole) by Bugei(Hanwei) back in 2000 that used folded K120 and took very good care of it for many years. I eventually did part with it, even though it'll always have a special place in my heart as it was my first quality katana. I eventually wanted something different spec wise, as I felt the Golden Oriole had a tad of a short blade to my liking and also felt the handle was just an inch too long, especially since it was already almost half the length of the blade itself. Still a great Katana, good control and balance due to the large handle. So naturally I got the Lion Dog, longer blade/shorter handle and feel 13 to 13.5 is a sweet spot for my preference. I wouldn't mind a 11-12 inch, but I personally don't like my hands bunched too close together and partly why I went with a Lion Dog as opposed to a Bamboo Mat, though I feel the Mat has the better hamon.
So yeah, hopefully I'll post some pictures whenever I get my Lion Dog and make it a more permanent companion and never part with it, at least until I die and give it to someone special to me lol. Something off topic that I want to mention that I feel is really cool, is sometimes I did use Noxon 7 metal polish on my blade, just to give it a little shine and not ruin the polish as I kept it oiled all the time except when I went out of town one time for a good deal of time and used it then. But as an experiment, Noxon mixed with sodium bicarbonate into a thick paste produced some very interesting results(chemical reaction) to the steel.
Now I don't recommend anyone trying this unless it honestly doesn't bother you to alter the orginal polish, but... it didn't really affect the hamon really, what it did do however, is that it made the hada very very visible and made it pop in good detail. I actually really really liked the result. It made the woodgrain pattern give a nice whitish (but not overly white, very subtle) appearance and in between the bands of the woodgrain was normal steel color, as the rest of the blade, and those two colors would alternate making the eye of the woodgrain a nice off white hue, making it very very visible. It even made the grain apparent on the ji that wasn't noticeable until after. I thought it was a great way to make the hada more "loud" and very visible. Course this is my personal preference. I wish I had some pictures, or at least my old pictures, but unfortunately they're gone and I no longer have the blade to take new ones... which I regret, as it did look very good.
Anyways just wanted to share that very long rant and look forward to future posts, especially after I get my new katana in the near future. Cheers!
-Kat
And yes, I do cut whenever I have a blade, as a moderate test of durability and general sharpness as in "Did the heat treat go well?" Kind of question. Nothing too heavy though, as I like to keep the blade in some what decent condition, but functionality is important to me, as it's not just a mere decoration to me and spend the extra money for a reason.
Not sure where to start my first post, as I didn't see a introduction section, but here I am. Katrulzin is a bit of a made up fantasy name that I tend to use online. Anyways I bought a Lion Dog recently from Swords of the East and I'm really excited, had a hard time in picking a blade with very specific specs and haven't recieve it yet as I purchased on a weekend.
I bought a LEGO (limited edition Golden Oriole) by Bugei(Hanwei) back in 2000 that used folded K120 and took very good care of it for many years. I eventually did part with it, even though it'll always have a special place in my heart as it was my first quality katana. I eventually wanted something different spec wise, as I felt the Golden Oriole had a tad of a short blade to my liking and also felt the handle was just an inch too long, especially since it was already almost half the length of the blade itself. Still a great Katana, good control and balance due to the large handle. So naturally I got the Lion Dog, longer blade/shorter handle and feel 13 to 13.5 is a sweet spot for my preference. I wouldn't mind a 11-12 inch, but I personally don't like my hands bunched too close together and partly why I went with a Lion Dog as opposed to a Bamboo Mat, though I feel the Mat has the better hamon.
So yeah, hopefully I'll post some pictures whenever I get my Lion Dog and make it a more permanent companion and never part with it, at least until I die and give it to someone special to me lol. Something off topic that I want to mention that I feel is really cool, is sometimes I did use Noxon 7 metal polish on my blade, just to give it a little shine and not ruin the polish as I kept it oiled all the time except when I went out of town one time for a good deal of time and used it then. But as an experiment, Noxon mixed with sodium bicarbonate into a thick paste produced some very interesting results(chemical reaction) to the steel.
Now I don't recommend anyone trying this unless it honestly doesn't bother you to alter the orginal polish, but... it didn't really affect the hamon really, what it did do however, is that it made the hada very very visible and made it pop in good detail. I actually really really liked the result. It made the woodgrain pattern give a nice whitish (but not overly white, very subtle) appearance and in between the bands of the woodgrain was normal steel color, as the rest of the blade, and those two colors would alternate making the eye of the woodgrain a nice off white hue, making it very very visible. It even made the grain apparent on the ji that wasn't noticeable until after. I thought it was a great way to make the hada more "loud" and very visible. Course this is my personal preference. I wish I had some pictures, or at least my old pictures, but unfortunately they're gone and I no longer have the blade to take new ones... which I regret, as it did look very good.
Anyways just wanted to share that very long rant and look forward to future posts, especially after I get my new katana in the near future. Cheers!
-Kat
And yes, I do cut whenever I have a blade, as a moderate test of durability and general sharpness as in "Did the heat treat go well?" Kind of question. Nothing too heavy though, as I like to keep the blade in some what decent condition, but functionality is important to me, as it's not just a mere decoration to me and spend the extra money for a reason.