AJGBlack
Member
"This world will stress you like Orson Wells on the radio." -RTJ
Posts: 378
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Post by AJGBlack on Apr 12, 2021 16:16:24 GMT
This isn't going to follow the usual format as this is really a first impressions review and more in depth reviews have been done by others.
The good: The balance is excellent. Moving from strike to guard is easy and kata are smooth. The grip is a little narrow, but comfortable in both one or two hands. Everything (except the kashira) is solid in place. The ito does not move without really reefing on it. This blade sings in the hand. Despite having no bo-hi you can get a good “whoosh” or tachi-kaze/blade-wind from a proper swing. The fit in the saya/scabbard is pretty much perfect. Once slid in all the way it holds solidly even when shaken upside-down but you can still push the tsuba forward with your thumb to pop it forward before you draw. There is a little saya rattle, but I've had much worse.
The not good: The finish on this is kind of awful. There are scuffs on the blade. One that looks like a machine skip on the blade above the hamon where the polisher skipped off whatever wheel they were using and caught the blade on a machine. The etch on the hamon has a flaw near the kissaki on one side that looks like a little piece of dirt got on the blade before etch and left a blank spot. The habaki has an obvious thumb print and it as well as the seppa on that side of the tsuba have a rough finish and are a bit dirty. The kashira has a little bit of wiggle, like the end of the tsuka was carved a little too small for it. There is a snag and some fraying in the ito midway down the tsuka.
I know that this is a sub-$400 sword as of this review, but a little more attention to detail would have made this an amazing purchase instead of just a good one. One of the reasons I’m keeping it is because of a YouTube review where the owner scrubbed the black finish off the kashirai, which looked amazing, and the fact that I wanted to get the tsuka re-wrapped anyway if it’s what I wanted.
I can post pics if anyone is interested in the issues I found.
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AJGBlack
Member
"This world will stress you like Orson Wells on the radio." -RTJ
Posts: 378
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Post by AJGBlack on Apr 12, 2021 22:17:23 GMT
Pics, for those interested. Kissaki spot Seppa Dirt Habaki thumb print. The scuffs on the blade are harder to capture with my camera and it's too cloudy for natural light, but there you go. As I said before, I really like the sword and plan on keeping it, but it is a little disappointing even at this price point.
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Post by vidar on Apr 14, 2021 7:43:32 GMT
Thanks for the review. How ‘bad’ is the fit of the kashira? Do you think it will become a problem after using the sword for the while?
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AJGBlack
Member
"This world will stress you like Orson Wells on the radio." -RTJ
Posts: 378
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Post by AJGBlack on Apr 14, 2021 12:49:17 GMT
I've been playing with it on the daily since it arrived and it hasn't gotten any worse.
I think that the shape of it helps. It's deeper than the average kashira so a tiny bit of wiggle seems minor.
I'd be tempted to just inject some glue or epoxy under it, but since I plan on having it remounted I think it's fine for now.
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Post by Elrikk on Apr 14, 2021 16:25:02 GMT
I always thought that “Hana Katana” was the Japanese version of the Miley Cyrus’ Disney show.
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Post by jester on May 22, 2021 16:51:37 GMT
I sent it back 10 minutes after it arrived, so I didn't open it to check the nakago and the inside of the tsuka. In my case, here's the pros and cons I've managed to experience.
Good: - kissaki and yokote - tight fittings - no rattling (sword) - balance was ok but nothing special (this is personal anyway, I suppose it depends on your body size)
Bad: - blade came with several scratches - habaki scratched in a curved way - saya incredibly loose: you could turn it about 5 grades with the sword inside. The sword was falling off even before reaching upside down. Basically the left side of the habaki was not even touching the koiguchi. - awful polishing - hamon almost invisible - several spot of dirt on tsuba, habaki, sappa and kashira - shoelace sageo
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Post by vidar on May 23, 2021 11:17:14 GMT
Ouch, that should have been inspected better before shipping. Where did you buy it?
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Post by jester on May 23, 2021 11:59:09 GMT
Ouch, that should have been inspected better before shipping. Where did you buy it? Here They said "these are minor defects and therefore they don't deem the sword faulty", so they refused to refund the delivery costs (just £12 actually, so not a biggie). While I agree some scratches might be "normal" in this price range, I disagree on the saya: one thing is a loose saya, another thing is a saya that is so loose it turns around the blade. We clearly have two different opinions on H&S. And they said they DID inspect the sword before shipping. Anyway, got the refund and they are shipping me a Hanwei practical XL.
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Post by vidar on May 23, 2021 14:23:16 GMT
Great, so they will just ship it again to the next customer who orders a Hana Katana…
I’m not sure if I’m asking too much, but a good shop would thoroughly inspect the products when they arrive and send them back to the factory in case of defects…
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Post by tombeck on May 23, 2021 14:52:39 GMT
I don't trust this vendor whatsoever. I sent them an email a couple of months ago asking if they could check the saya fit on the Dragon King Fletchling katana, if they had one in stock that was a decent fit I would buy it. They said they would need to ask their supplier if they had stock first. I asked them a week later for an update and they said they are still waiting to hear back from the supplier. Two weeks later I emailed to say not to bother, and that I wouldn't purchase from a company that takes 2 weeks just to check an item is in stock. They appear to be just a middleman, they also have another website with exactly the same stock here www.theswordshop.co.uk/ which I thought was a bit shady. I can't imagine they deal with QC themselves either. Also jester you listed the yokote as a pro above, am I right in thinking the DK swords have cosmetic yokote? Still might be interested in picking one up but not from this company.
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Post by jester on May 23, 2021 15:16:53 GMT
Great, so they will just ship it again to the next customer who orders a Hana Katana… I’m not sure if I’m asking too much, but a good shop would thoroughly inspect the products when they arrive and send them back to the factory in case of defects… Oh, I agree. Tell you what, considering the scratches and the state of the saya, I'd not be surprised if at least one former customer bought it, sent back, got a refund or exchange, and I was just the next in line. Have to say, UK sucks. The few vendors we have left are just a bunch of incompetent knobs, trying to rob newbies by lies. have a look at this review I did for another katana on trustpilot: link They replied with an avalanche of lies. "This came back and was in perfect order except the damage as the customer had placed the wooden stand against the lacquered saya without any protection, transit is bumpy and the saya was dented as a result.
Despite this, I still issued a full refund as a gesture of goodwill - the sword was then resold on our clearance page and the image is still on there. Of course the new customer is more than happy with the sword as anyone should be."I couldn't possibly have placed the wooden stand against the saya because the stand was wrapped in the same paper they sent it and was fitted into its allocated slot into the ergonomic box, 10cm away from the slot fitted for the saya, which was also wrapped and into the cotton bag. And the new customer CANNOT be happy because the kashira went completely off and, unless someone performed magic overnight, the blade is still so dull it can't even cut paper, it's geometry is still wrong without any distal taper (making it feel like a crowbar in hand) and the tsuka is still freaking GLUED.
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Post by jester on May 23, 2021 15:21:15 GMT
Also jester you listed the yokote as a pro above, am I right in thinking the DK swords have cosmetic yokote? Still might be interested in picking one up but not from this company. I am quite sure it wasn't geometric (although I can't remember because as soon as I inspected the blade, I immediately put it back to get a refund) but I do remember the line was matching both sides perfectly and the polishing on it was well enough defined. EDIT: forget it, I've just took a look at the picture I did and it is definitely ornamental but I've spotted other imperfections like a wrong curvature in the counter-polishing and a quite bad polishing overall. One less thing in the pros.
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Post by vidar on May 23, 2021 16:50:53 GMT
Great, so they will just ship it again to the next customer who orders a Hana Katana… I’m not sure if I’m asking too much, but a good shop would thoroughly inspect the products when they arrive and send them back to the factory in case of defects… Oh, I agree. Tell you what, considering the scratches and the state of the saya, I'd not be surprised if at least one former customer bought it, sent back, got a refund or exchange, and I was just the next in line. Have to say, UK sucks. The few vendors we have left are just a bunch of incompetent knobs, trying to rob newbies by lies. have a look at this review I did for another katana on trustpilot: link They replied with an avalanche of lies. "This came back and was in perfect order except the damage as the customer had placed the wooden stand against the lacquered saya without any protection, transit is bumpy and the saya was dented as a result.
Despite this, I still issued a full refund as a gesture of goodwill - the sword was then resold on our clearance page and the image is still on there. Of course the new customer is more than happy with the sword as anyone should be."I couldn't possibly have placed the wooden stand against the saya because the stand was wrapped in the same paper they sent it and was fitted into its allocated slot into the ergonomic box, 10cm away from the slot fitted for the saya, which was also wrapped and into the cotton bag. And the new customer CANNOT be happy because the kashira went completely off and, unless someone performed magic overnight, the blade is still so dull it can't even cut paper, it's geometry is still wrong without any distal taper (making it feel like a crowbar in hand) and the tsuka is still freaking GLUED. What an arrogant reply they sent you. Seeing this I wouldn’t ever consider buying anything from them. My only experience with UK based shops is with Nine Circles, and that has been very positive. Their Kurin swords are also very good. Just a pity that they aren’t available anymore. Hopefully they will come back.
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AJGBlack
Member
"This world will stress you like Orson Wells on the radio." -RTJ
Posts: 378
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Post by AJGBlack on May 23, 2021 18:57:31 GMT
So, update on this katana. The slight bit of wiggle in the kashira has stopped. I suspect climate shift from the warehouse to mine. The saya fit is still solid. I actually took a scotch brite to the fittings and removed some of the blackening. The habaki polished up nicely as well and it somehow make the saya fit better? IDK.
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Post by silas75 on May 23, 2021 19:19:44 GMT
I had issues with my fletching from DK. Tsuba may have had some glue keeping it snug. The mekugi shaping and placement were all jacked up. Nice blade though.
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