Musashi Shirakawa Bamboo Review (2020 manufacture)
Jun 26, 2021 0:08:44 GMT
Post by tera on Jun 26, 2021 0:08:44 GMT
Leading disclaimer: I purchased this sword personally and was not paid, given any special deal, or asked to endorse or review by anyone.
Introduction
This is my first live edged sword purchase, and to be up-front it is NOT the model I settled on based on advice in my first post to these boards. However, I have been waiting for my two favorite models to return to stock for a while now, and know I may be waiting many months (or more) yet. As it seems like most Chinese sourced sword vendors of repute are running low on stock, I bought this as a gamble against the "swordpocalypse" that the industry seems to be facing, just to have a beginner's blade on-hand.
From my reading of other reviews and posts, the Musashi line seems like a common entry-level sword. Basically, about as inexpensive as you go without buying... semprini? I chose the Bamboo koshirae as the tsuba looked most three dimensional and I honestly didn't care about Koshirae. My goal here was to acquire serviceable steel while it is available. Also, while the Musashi line is well known on the boards, I thought I'd see how well a recent model would hold up to their historical reputation.
Sourcing and Pricing
This is not a standard category for a review, but it bares mentioning in this case. Almost everyone is out of popular sword models, but I found this on Amazon via the seller 1sword. My intention was to purchase from Kult of Athena, but they were unfortunately out of stock. I will note, they have at least one model of Shirakawa in stock as of my writing this. I received an email to that effect the day my amazon order arrived.
Why Amazon? Well, it came down to money, but also comfort. Amazon protects customers from bad sellers reasonably well. 1Sword lists that it accepts returns. Also, it was Prime Day. For those of you with Amazon credit cards, that meant 6% back on your purchases. I also had a $30 gift card. So, doing the math, with taxes and free shipping I ended up paying under $90 for a $124 dollar sword. That puts it in 1045 wall-hanger pricing, but it is purportedly DH 1060 with real same. Granted, that's from having an Amazon gift card laying around, but that was a deal I couldn't resist.
Historical overview
According to the pedigree paperwork provided by the manufacturer, this sword was manufactured in August 2020 (this may be important later). Other than that, I have no information on any intended historical accuracy of the blade. It is pretty 'basic'. It is listed as clay tempered maru-kitae with bo-hi. My guess is it follows a modern "standard" as Musashi advertises their products as the "Official weapon of the United States Kempo Team."
My apologies for not knowing more details of the sword design's history.
Full Disclosure
In this section of the review, the reviewer states anything that would cause them to have “reviewer bias” – that is, a possibility (however slight or unintentional it may be) to slant the review in a positive or negative direction. This might be a connection to the manufacturer/vendor (e.g. Hanwei, the SBG Sword Store, Kult of Athena, etc), the fact that a sword was a discounted or free “review sword” (as sometimes happens), or even their inexperience as a collector that might cause them to miss things that more knowledgeable reviewers wouldn’t. The intention here is to increase the accuracy and transparency of our reviews; not to suggest that a review that has some bias is of no use – everything is biased to some extent – but to increase the information available to the reader in helping them make an informed decision. Examples of what might go in this section include:
I purchased this sword for an absurdly low price given the current market, and am spoiled by my Paul Chen Musashi Iaito that is some 20 years old. While I have some exposure to JSA, I am new to tameshigiri so this is my first live blade. My lack of knowledge with cutting and having a very nice Iaito as my only reference may color my judgement.
Initial Impressions
Ordered on the 21st of June, 2021, the package arrived June 24th. That tells me 1Sword must have had these in a US Warehouse. The package arrived with a very slight crease in the exterior cardboard box, that carried over to the interior, very decorative branded box. There was no padding between the two, but there was also no gap so the package did not slip or rattle. The sword itself was nicely wrapped in a simple, black cotton sword bag suspended in styrofoam blocks.
Photo of packaging below. Notice the crease in the brown box as well as the branded box towards the end of the name "Musashi". Only minor damage to the styrofoam.
Overall, the sword felt light even in the bag. Once removing the bag I inspected the saya. It is glossy black, smooth, with no defects but felt... odd (explained later). I gently pushed with my thumb at 1 o'clock to unlock the blade from the saya. Then pushed some more. Finally, I discovered why this was difficult. The blade is completely wrapped in plastic wrap within the saya.
The Tsuka, as expected, felt like it was wrapped with shoe string. Very soft and fuzzy. To be fair, the diamonds are much more regular than I expected and I have been spoiled by my tight, real-leather wrapped iaito. My plan was to customize this sword if the steel turned out fine, so this did not bother me. The Tsuba is surprisingly attractive, though it has a few small pieces of metal at the mid-seam left over from the injection molding process. I didn't have a magnet with me, but it paperwork that says the fittings are zinc alloy. Photo (with flash, to highlight differences) of my Paul Chen with leather (above) and the Musashi with... cotton? ito (below):
The saya's weight and odd feel were explained on inspecting the koiguchi. It looks like a reddish wood is used but surrounded by plastic. I'm not upset, we're talking about a sub $150 sword even at list price, less than $100 to me. The Same, however, is real. I can tell this not only by comparing to the Paul Chen, but also by being able to see the rough cut edges of it exposing the wood underneath at the top and bottom of the tsuka on one side. Proper tsukamaki may be able to hide this later. Both mekugi feel solid, and there is NO rattle, not even in when in the saya, but the mekugi sit VERY proud of the tsuka.
Gratuitous shot of the well known engraving of "Musashi" and "China" on the seppa. Also a look at the tsuba, and a peak a something new to me. The seppa are wider than the tsuba in places, leading to an oreo cookie looking effect. Maybe this is common, but I haven't seen it before. Best case, this is less metal to add weight and it does not appear at all structurally unsound.
Okay, so what about the steel? Afterall, this is why I took a gamble on this model. Well, this is where I need the forum community's help. The hamon looks real, but I can only describe the style as... eratic? It is somewhat inconsistent over the length of the blade. Again, this piece was purchased to be functional so I don't care. There are two places, however, where the hamon comes close to the blade edge (the ha). It was incredibly difficult to capture this on camera, and honestly the hamon is more visible in person.
Is this too close to the ha? Is this a fatal issue that renders the sword unsafe for cutting soft to medium targets (tatami, or at least... sigh... water bottles) or is this within acceptable norms? Smith and enthusiast opinions welcome and requested.
About the kissaki. There is a gesture at it being geometric, I think, but it more appears to be the line they took a grinder to it. The polish on the kissaki is a bit of a mess, much more rough than the rest of the blade. Overall, though, the blade is attractive and certainly better than wire-brushed hamon on 440 stainless. Below is a close-up of the kissaki. I thought this may have been leftover oil, so I took several passes with rice paper but, no, this is the finish. Also, here is an image of the Musashi Shirakawa Bamboo sitting above my Paul Chen Musashi Iaito.
It does handle similar to my Iaito, which is convenient, and draws a little easier due to the slightly more pronounced curve at the tsuka.
I'm pausing the review here.
Until I hear back about the possible spots of hamon falling of the ha, I am reluctant to disassemble further. If there is a fatal flaw, I will either have to take the seller up on their return policy or use this as a practice blade for customization.Statistics
Sword's specifications according to the 'pedigree', will provide detailed measurements if the sword is worth keeping:
Blade/Nagasa Length: 28.5"
Handle/Tsuka Length: 11.5"
Overall Length: 40.5"
Guard/Tsuba Width: 3"
POB (Point of Balance): (undetermined)
COP (Center of Percussion): (undetermined)
Weight: 40.5"
Components
This has been detailed pretty thoroughly above, but summary thoughts below. Overall I'd say it is attractive and not tacky, like most low-end swords and wall-hangers. I don't think this would offend the sensibilities of a sword school Sensei if this was your entry level cutter (always talk to your own Sensei first):
The Blade/Nagasa
Believably dual hardened and generally attractive. Inconsistent hamon pattern. Poorly polished kissaki
The Handle/Tsuka
Real same under soft, shoe-stringy tsuka ito. Comfortable to hold and not too thick in any dimension.
The Guard/Tsuba
Listed as Zinc Alloy, but very attractive and serviceable. All fittings tight with no rattle.
The Pommel/Fuchi-Kashira
Much more attractive than I expected for zinc alloy and quite pleasant to look at.
The Scabbard/Saya
Appears to be plastic enclosed wood of some reddish tint. Very surprisingly, no saya rattle and the habaki locks in tight. I was not expecting this on so low cost a sword.
Handling Characteristics
The sword is about as light as my iaito even though it has a wider blade profile towards the kissaki. It also handles similarly, with a rearward balance point. It is fairly agile and quite suitable for my iai practice if nothing else. I will spend more time with it in the coming weeks and post updates.
Test Cutting (if applicable):
None performed yet as I'm waiting on input on the blade's fitness for this function. I am also new to test cutting, so it may be a while before posting my thoughts which will still be from an amateur's perspective.
Conclusions:
As long as the hamon doesn't fall off the blade in a dangerous way, I'd say this is an outstanding deal in my case. It is an attractive entry level sword with good balance made of dual hardened 1060 steel at the price point of many 1045 or 440 wall-hangers. My overall impression was surprise, and in a good way. It is tight, solid, and certainly meets the needs of a beginning student. The ito is low quality, but all reviews I read warned me of this. Honestly, for $125 it's not bad. For under $90 in my case, it's exceptional.
Summary:
Pros
Give a brief list of the aspects of the sword that you believed were the most positive, for example:
- Very low cost for a 1060 DH blade with real same.
- Attractive, understated fittings that would not look out of place in a traditional dojo.
- Everything is tight with NO rattle in the fittings or with the saya. This is surprising at this price point
- Even triangles on the tsukamaki. This is somewhat unusual at this price.
- AVAILABLE. For context, this review is written in mid 2021, when supply of inexpensive live blades from China is a bit thin but many online vendors still have access to the Musashi line.
- Amazon backing quality and speed of transaction, with the seller advertising a return policy if item is defective.
- Cheap, but perfectly practical black cotton sword bag included. The cardboard box is printed on 3 sides in color and decorative in itself.
Cons
Give a brief list of the aspects of the sword that you believed were the most negative, for example:
- Wood of the Tsuka is visible in two spots.
- Quality of the ito is rather poor, but still serviceable. It was pretty much exactly what I was expecting at this price point.
- They used zinc alloy fittings, Iron would have been better (and are available on other swords at $150+)
- Possible fatal flaw with hamon dropping off the edge (but I am asking more experienced folks for their thoughts here)
- Poor polish on the kissaki, but as a cutter I'd expect the blade to acquire finish scratching.
- Didn't come with maintainance kit (but was not advertised as doing so, it would just be a nice add-on)
After that, you can move on to:
The Bottom Line
Right now supply is low and demand is high. If you don't have a high budget, access to a higher quality sword (Huawei, Hanwei, etc.), and don't want to wait (potentially months to a year) for supply to recover, the Musashi line may be a good starter for you. Alternatively, for about $150 list price you could get a Ryujin Hatamoto 1060 DH with better fittings. I was ready to purchase one of those due to the swordpacalypse before discovering the opportunity to obtain this model at such little cost. However, the availability and reputation of the humble Musashi blade as a decent starter sword (found occassionally for a good deal) still make it competitive as an entry level blade.
I would recommend this to anyone who just wanted a 'real sword' for display. This is a very good value when compared to most wall-hangers. 1060 is also a fairly forgiving steel for beginning cutters, so if you can't find or afford a mono-tempered spring steel beater this is an inexpensive dip into the world of tameshigiri.
On the negative side, I did purchase this specifically as a cheap, entry-level cutter but am unsure if it is safe to use for that purpose. NOTE that applies specifically to the blade in my possession and is not meant to imply anything about Musashi's overall quality control. One item is not statistically significant.