Zsey China DH Katana
Jan 4, 2022 9:03:18 GMT
Post by pvsampson on Jan 4, 2022 9:03:18 GMT
This sword arrived today,4th January after being sent from China on 17th December.
I did not pay for this sword,it was sent to me free of charge for review after correspondence with Zsey. I have no affiliation with Zsey.
The sword arrived in a presentation box that was wrapped in a woven plastic. Sword and saya wrapped in bubble wrap with both in a plastic sleeve. Tsuka was covered in a shrinkwrap and blade had cling wrap with a light oil coating on the steel. Tsuka length is 26cm,blade is 71cm and the sword weighs 995 grams, 1230 with saya. The sword is the same as this except mine has silk ito. www.swordjp.com/product/katana-sword/
After cleaning the oil off and unwrapping tsuka the first thing I checked was the ito. Chocolate brown,super tight and nice even diamonds with neat knots this ticked my approval box.Fuchi and kashira are well cast brass,nice and crisp,a floral and vine design that looks pretty good.Tsuka itself has a nice slim waisted design to it that feels good in the hand and there was zero movement when swinging the sword around.Also the menuki sit straight but I have no idea what they are supposed to be,like just about all menuki I see. There was noise,and investigating I discovered a slightly loose habaki. The habaki fits the blade well yet there was a very small gap between fuchi and seppa that meant the fittings were not quite snug enough. I removed the tsuka,it was tight but came off easily enough using timber removal tool,the samegawa panels are recessed into the core,no signs of cracks or core damage and the nakago is well defined and no sharp edges or burrs.
Replacing the tsuka I gave the kashira a firm strike with the palm of my hand to seat it,pushed in the single mekugi and the habaki was not moving,nice and tight as it should be. Habaki is basic and could maybe have been a little better finished,but I have seen worse.This and the seppa are the only things that I feel could be better.Seppa are standard and site says they are copper.
The tsuba is " iron" with a black coating,(thinking powder coat),and a very nice design. No sharp edges,well made and looks pretty damn good.
The blade looks excellent. Shinogi zukuri with crisp lines,it is polished to the Level A. (All the blades from Zsey are hand polished with stones, sashikomi style, in three different grades, A, A+ and A++.) With a suguha hamon the finish on the blade shows that the polishers know what they are doing and have this technique well and truly worked out. I haven't cut with the sword yet. I have seen video of Zsey swords being used on bamboo with no issues.
This is a well put together sword. All the fittings are well made,look good and fit well.As mentioned before ito is tight and not going anywhere. Blade looks awesome.
Management of Zsey are communicative and responsive. Their understanding of English is very good,but some things may need a bit of explaining.Very pleasant to deal with. The prices on the site are for the international quality swords,and these differ from the generic Chinese market quality. (Horn on saya and hishigami for example).
Do the swords look as good as the ones on the site? Based on this one,absolutely. Better in person.
It is,quite honestly, a very nice sword.
imgur.com/a/aVU6c5a
I did not pay for this sword,it was sent to me free of charge for review after correspondence with Zsey. I have no affiliation with Zsey.
The sword arrived in a presentation box that was wrapped in a woven plastic. Sword and saya wrapped in bubble wrap with both in a plastic sleeve. Tsuka was covered in a shrinkwrap and blade had cling wrap with a light oil coating on the steel. Tsuka length is 26cm,blade is 71cm and the sword weighs 995 grams, 1230 with saya. The sword is the same as this except mine has silk ito. www.swordjp.com/product/katana-sword/
After cleaning the oil off and unwrapping tsuka the first thing I checked was the ito. Chocolate brown,super tight and nice even diamonds with neat knots this ticked my approval box.Fuchi and kashira are well cast brass,nice and crisp,a floral and vine design that looks pretty good.Tsuka itself has a nice slim waisted design to it that feels good in the hand and there was zero movement when swinging the sword around.Also the menuki sit straight but I have no idea what they are supposed to be,like just about all menuki I see. There was noise,and investigating I discovered a slightly loose habaki. The habaki fits the blade well yet there was a very small gap between fuchi and seppa that meant the fittings were not quite snug enough. I removed the tsuka,it was tight but came off easily enough using timber removal tool,the samegawa panels are recessed into the core,no signs of cracks or core damage and the nakago is well defined and no sharp edges or burrs.
Replacing the tsuka I gave the kashira a firm strike with the palm of my hand to seat it,pushed in the single mekugi and the habaki was not moving,nice and tight as it should be. Habaki is basic and could maybe have been a little better finished,but I have seen worse.This and the seppa are the only things that I feel could be better.Seppa are standard and site says they are copper.
The tsuba is " iron" with a black coating,(thinking powder coat),and a very nice design. No sharp edges,well made and looks pretty damn good.
The blade looks excellent. Shinogi zukuri with crisp lines,it is polished to the Level A. (All the blades from Zsey are hand polished with stones, sashikomi style, in three different grades, A, A+ and A++.) With a suguha hamon the finish on the blade shows that the polishers know what they are doing and have this technique well and truly worked out. I haven't cut with the sword yet. I have seen video of Zsey swords being used on bamboo with no issues.
This is a well put together sword. All the fittings are well made,look good and fit well.As mentioned before ito is tight and not going anywhere. Blade looks awesome.
Management of Zsey are communicative and responsive. Their understanding of English is very good,but some things may need a bit of explaining.Very pleasant to deal with. The prices on the site are for the international quality swords,and these differ from the generic Chinese market quality. (Horn on saya and hishigami for example).
Do the swords look as good as the ones on the site? Based on this one,absolutely. Better in person.
It is,quite honestly, a very nice sword.
imgur.com/a/aVU6c5a