Cheness Cutlery Mugen Daisho
Jul 6, 2021 22:16:07 GMT
Post by The Owlbear Jew on Jul 6, 2021 22:16:07 GMT
Introduction
Historical overview
As a majority of you probably know, Katana and Ko-Katana are Japanese bladed weapons wielded by the Samurai of Ancient Japan, and more recently by the Japanese Military in WWII. Based upon my personal experience with Katana, consisting of toys, a few Gunto style Katanas briefly handled at various gun shows, and a cheap Kill Bill replica I ended on a tree (gone, but never fogotten), these seem historically inaccurate in that they were unfolded monosteel, but that can be attibuted to the fact that folding modern steel only adds risk, and the payout is a little cosmetic boost. Otherwise, they look fairly accurate. For many years, i've thought Katanas were just hyped up with nothing really special about them. Like, I wanted one or two, but only so I could have what I saw as a more well rounded collection. That was, of course, before I handled these blades.
Full Disclosure
I am a rank amateur when it comes to higher quality swords, but I bought these with my own money, and my review will be as impartial as possible.
Initial Impressions
Statistics
Components
The Guard/Tsuba
Fuchi-Kashira
The fuchi and Kashira were both mass produced, based on the sanded down seam marks, but they're botrh wello patterned, and the little demon face on the menuki is cute, which i guess means it could have used more detail. still great for the price.
The Scabbard/Saya
I stand about 5'10, 225 lbs (some of it muscle) and the blades handle very well for me. The Katana definitely feels more blade heavy than the Ko Katana, but they both lack bo-hi and are made for cutting, so it doesn't feel like much of a drawback to me.I've swung them around, not through any katas, but just through some spins and whatnot, and the ko katana feels like it's doing what it was made for. The Katana feels like it just wants to be slammied into something solid so that it can destroy.
Test Cutting (if applicable)
Conclusions
Overall, I consider these a wonderful investment. Price with tax and shipping was $644.93, and i got a relatively lovely Daisho set of 9260 blades designed for heavy cutting. I really want to doll them up with better fittings and whatnot, but they're meant to be used! So I guess i'll have to convince my wife to let me get another set before they sell out.
Pros
- nice tight ito wrap
- Meant for cutting and feels like it.
- through hardened well forged 9260 blades
Cons
- Tsubas were pretty rough
The Bottom Line
I have been interested in swords for most of my life, starting out at about 4 or 5 with Leonardo's Katanas on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Naturally, my parents got me plenty of toy swords growing up because that was my jam. Fast forward about 25 years, a couple dozen wall hangers i definitely should not have used and abused the way I did, and one automobile leaf spring sword my dad made for me that was infinitely better than it had any right to be, I decided i would not pay another dime unless it was going to be on a good quality "Big Boy" sword. Since then, I have only been able to make three purchases: The Ritter Steel Celtic Short Sword, a Cheness OEM Tanto, and the Mugen Daisho.
I was perusing the SBG after a bit of a sword hiatus (I got really into lightsabers for a while), and noticed that Cheness was going out of business. Having heard good things about them, i decided to head over and see what the sale was like. I saw the Mugen Diasho under "New Cheness Swords" section. Now, it might have been because it was three in the morning, and I was very tired, but I knew i had to buy them immediately. After a very excited week of reading everything on Cheness's website a dozen times to temper my expectations, they arrived, and man oh man were they worth the wait.
Historical overview
As a majority of you probably know, Katana and Ko-Katana are Japanese bladed weapons wielded by the Samurai of Ancient Japan, and more recently by the Japanese Military in WWII. Based upon my personal experience with Katana, consisting of toys, a few Gunto style Katanas briefly handled at various gun shows, and a cheap Kill Bill replica I ended on a tree (gone, but never fogotten), these seem historically inaccurate in that they were unfolded monosteel, but that can be attibuted to the fact that folding modern steel only adds risk, and the payout is a little cosmetic boost. Otherwise, they look fairly accurate. For many years, i've thought Katanas were just hyped up with nothing really special about them. Like, I wanted one or two, but only so I could have what I saw as a more well rounded collection. That was, of course, before I handled these blades.
Full Disclosure
I am a rank amateur when it comes to higher quality swords, but I bought these with my own money, and my review will be as impartial as possible.
Initial Impressions
If I have a complaint about Cheness's customer service, it is the fact that they don't give out tracking numbers, So after about three days, I was anxiously looking out my window every time i heard a car so I could snatch up my delivery before porch pirates could.
Once it arrived, I rushed it inside and tore open the box. I was greeted by two very stylish sword boxes
And inside were two lovely sword bags. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be some swords in the bags, too!
Now, having read over the expectations section of Cheness's website, as well as several reviews, I was expecting to be quite underwhelmed bu the tsuka and fittings. I definitely wasn't expecting top of the line one of a kind fittings on the blades, I still have to say I was pretty impressed with the fittings at first glance. The fake Hamon, which they advise will be fake, was a nice wave, and the kissaki was a little rougher looking that I was hoping for, but all in all I was quite impressed by the two blades. Also, they were quite sharp right out of the box, as my two freshly sliced thumbs and palm can attest to (I'm all healed up now, though, don't worry).
Statistics
Material: Monosteel through tempered 9260 Spring Steel
Nagasa Length:
Katana: 28"|
Ko Katana: 20.75"
Tsuka Length:
Katana:10.75"
Ko Katana: 10.5"
Ko Katana: 10.5"
Overall Length:
Katana:39"
Ko Katana: 31.75"
Ko Katana: 31.75"
Tsuba Width:
Katana:3" diameter
Ko Katana: 3" diameter
Ko Katana: 3" diameter
POB (Point of Balance):
Katana: 16.5 CM forward of hilt
Ko Katana: 8.5 CM forward of hilt
Ko Katana: 8.5 CM forward of hilt
Weight:
Katana: 2 lbs 4.3 oz
Ko Katana: 2 lbs 0.5 oz
Components
Everything about the Daisho set was more or less as I expected it would be. the fittings were mass produced, the hamon was fake but looked nice, and the kissaki was about as disappointing as I thought it would be.
The Blade/Nagasa
The blades arrived sharp and straight, which is about as much as I was hoping for. The polish seemed quite a bit better than I was anticipating. Granted, not quite a mirror, but I could definitely see some details in my reflection.
As I said, the Kissaki was rather disappointing. I was expecting it to be rough, but not quite this rough.
The Handle/Tsuka
The arrived in excellent condition. After popping out the mekugi (one brass, one bamboo), it was a bit of a fight to get the tsukas off. After drilling out space for the mekugi, they do not clean out the tsuka, so the sawdust and metal shavings really wedged the handles on there. After winning my battles, I saw that the tsukas were not cracked, and had real same panels, which was a nice touch. the ito on both was tight with very little wiggle. the same does tent/pucker up a bit when the mekugi are reinserted, so they could have fit the panels a bit better.
The Guard/Tsuba
The tsubas were both a little worse for wear. one of them was very coarsely ground out so that it would fit, and the other was actually cracked a bit and glued (I have since removed the excess glue, and it is barely noticeable now)
Fuchi-Kashira
The fuchi and Kashira were both mass produced, based on the sanded down seam marks, but they're botrh wello patterned, and the little demon face on the menuki is cute, which i guess means it could have used more detail. still great for the price.
The Scabbard/Saya
The sayas are glossy black with a nicely tied cotton sageo. the fit was excellent when they first arrived, but now several dozen draws later, they were a bit loose and couldn't hold the blade when turned upside down, but a lazy shim of electrical/duct tape took care of the problem. I really attribute that more to user error than a fault with the saya.
Handling Characteristics
I stand about 5'10, 225 lbs (some of it muscle) and the blades handle very well for me. The Katana definitely feels more blade heavy than the Ko Katana, but they both lack bo-hi and are made for cutting, so it doesn't feel like much of a drawback to me.I've swung them around, not through any katas, but just through some spins and whatnot, and the ko katana feels like it's doing what it was made for. The Katana feels like it just wants to be slammied into something solid so that it can destroy.
Test Cutting (if applicable)
I have very little space to do cutting at the moment, but I did happen to have a few boxes and pool noodles. So, I asked my wife to flee to safety, and I set up my targets. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it, but once I did, the Katana cut through the box and the arm of my couch like a dream. My wife has always hated the couch, so she wasn't very upset. And even after slicing through the fabric, the padding, and embedding into the wooden arm, the blade didn't have a ding or dent on it!
The Ko Katana turned the pool noodle into so much dead foam. I found a local dojo that teaches Tameshigiri, so I'm looking forward to taking classes and kicking asses with these two bad boys!
Conclusions
Overall, I consider these a wonderful investment. Price with tax and shipping was $644.93, and i got a relatively lovely Daisho set of 9260 blades designed for heavy cutting. I really want to doll them up with better fittings and whatnot, but they're meant to be used! So I guess i'll have to convince my wife to let me get another set before they sell out.
Pros
- nice tight ito wrap
- Meant for cutting and feels like it.
- through hardened well forged 9260 blades
Cons
- Tsubas were pretty rough
- Kissakis looked pretty bad
- STILL working on getting rid of all the wax/grease/whatever they put on the blade in the saya to protect it during shipping.
The Bottom Line
The big question: Would i recommend these swords? That depends. If you're a newbie like me, hell yes. They're a great step into the larger world of functional swords. If you're looking for some good quality cutting blades that you can customize with your own fittings? Yes! The blades are pretty great quality, just look past the kissaki, and even then if you're looking for cutters, the blade will get scratched up anyway.
If you've been in the game for a while and you have higher tier blades already? even so, yeah! They're great beaters that seem like they can take a lot of abuse!
Bottom line, these swords were definitely a great way for me to get back in the saddle and into the larger world of sword collecting (and using!)
pictures from the review, in all their full sized glory: