Yagoro
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Ikkyu in Kendo and Kenjutsu Practitioner
Posts: 1,643
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Post by Yagoro on Apr 20, 2022 18:18:06 GMT
So to my surprise, I received the Hawk Katana I ordered from Skyjiro's Ebay in the mail today. It took approximately 1 week from the time of ordering to arrive. Rather than customizing my own and having them make it, I asked them to send me a pre-forged one and surprise me. Well boy am I surprised. Pictures will be attached at the end of the review. Overview: www.ebay.com/itm/284736269257
Tsuka The first part of the sword I will be going over is the Tsuka. The Tsuka on this sword is around 12" long, and has a nice slender shape to it. The Tsuka Ito is tied in Katatemaki style and features a flower/bird motif. The Tsukamaki on this sword is nice and tight, and does not budge regardless of how hard i push on it. The diamonds are rather even for a production sword, but they could be better. The Samegawa is the weakest aspect on the Tsuka, with it being a rather low quality panel. The transitions for the Fuchi and the Kashira are done extremely well, and there are no ledges to hurt your hands on. The Tsuka Ito is apparently silk, although it feels more like cotton. The Tsuba is in a Naga Maru Gata style, and features a hawk with some flowers on it. It seems rather small, but that may just be me. The Menuki are rather disappointing, and the casting job on them leaves much to be desired. Something I really like that they did with the tsuka is paint the Mekugi black so they do not stand out. All in all, the Tsuka on this sword is surprisingly well done, especially for a production sword. Everything is tight and it feels good in my hands. Habaki and Seppa Oddly enough, the Habaki is not in the typical Skyjiro style, and instead is completely devoid of any features. I believe it is nickel plated brass, although it may be nickel plated copper. There are slight gaps between the Habaki and blade, but nothing that ruins the overall aesthetics of the sword. The Seppa are also I believe nickel plated brass. Both Habaki and Seppa are tight and have no play in them. Blade
This will be the longest part of the review, as the blade on the sword I received is probably what surprised me the most. The blade on this sword is around 29" long and is in the Unokubi zukuri style. It features a large bohi that terminates around a third up the blade. As you may notice, the blade has a really weird polish/temper(?) to it that gives it this black color, while also making the hamon orange. Originally, I thought the blade would have a normal polish on it, but honestly I am rather happy with how it looks. It definitely is unique. The blade surface has no scratches or marks on it, and the planes are very straight. The Yokote on the blade is kinda meh. Its not really well defined, and it can only really be seen at certain angles. The hamon on this blade is of the Midare style, and is well defined and very clear. There is also a slight amount of niku present. The unokubi zukuri design of the blade makes it a pleasure to handle, as it feels incredibly light and nimble when moving it around. Saya
The saya is the most boring part of this sword. It is finished in a simple black lacquer, with Kojiri and Koiguchi being made of water buffalo horn. The lacquer has no ripples on it, and seems to be applied rather generously. There is no saya rattle present when the blade is in it, although there is some space between the Koiguchi and Tsuba when sheathed, but this is to be expected. Pros and Cons:
Pros:
Everything is nice and tight Sword handles excellently Tsuka is very comfortable Blade looks pretty Fittings are cast decently Saya is executed nicely Transitions are excellent Cons:
Habaki could be fit better Blade appearance may be gaudy/edgy to some Fuchi-koiguchi could line up better Yokote is rather poorly defined Fittings lack creativity for a Skyjiro sword A little expensive for what you get Conclusions:
Honestly, I am extremely happy with this shinken. It is now my best handling sword I own(better than my two Kaneies), and it also happens to be the least flawed sword I own. If you like how this shinken looks, I highly recommend picking it up, although I would NOT USE SKYJIROS OFFICIAL SITE. If you are going to get it, get it off their ebay store. This is because paypal can be used on ebay, giving you better buyer protection, along with ebays already existing buyer protection. If anyone has any idea how they got this finish on the blade, please let me know. It almost looks like they blued it or something. Also, this is my first time ever doing a review, so leave comments telling me what I could improve. |
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Post by JH Lee on Apr 20, 2022 19:54:16 GMT
I rather like the kissaki. The colors of the blade.... ew.
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Yagoro
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Ikkyu in Kendo and Kenjutsu Practitioner
Posts: 1,643
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Post by Yagoro on Apr 20, 2022 19:59:43 GMT
I rather like the kissaki. The colors of the blade.... ew. Yeah it is kinda odd. I actually like it a little just because of how different it is from all my other shinken lol. Im really curious to see how they got the colors like that. |
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Post by treeslicer on Apr 20, 2022 22:42:24 GMT
I rather like the kissaki. The colors of the blade.... ew. Yeah it is kinda odd. I actually like it a little just because of how different it is from all my other shinken lol. Im really curious to see how they got the colors like that. It's a variant called the " Black Hawk", and they aren't telling how it was done. The coppery color of the hamon suggests that the coloring method is possibly related to the tanpan polishing technique (using copper sulfate to put copper accents on the ji) briefly described on page 136 of The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing, a book discussed here before. I'd expect that it's some kind of proprietary hot blue formula, likely applied along with a 300 F stress relief reheating..
On the whole, a good review, but would you please provide a link to the eBay offering (yes, I expect it's over, please link it anyway)? It would also be illuminating to know what you paid for this, as they have different levels of katana with the "Hawk" name. I wonder if they have any more of this model lying around, it was a rather rare bird to start with.
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Yagoro
Member
Ikkyu in Kendo and Kenjutsu Practitioner
Posts: 1,643
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Post by Yagoro on Apr 21, 2022 2:27:30 GMT
Yeah it is kinda odd. I actually like it a little just because of how different it is from all my other shinken lol. Im really curious to see how they got the colors like that. It's a variant called the " Black Hawk", and they aren't telling how it was done. The coppery color of the hamon suggests that the coloring method is possibly related to the tanpan polishing technique (using copper sulfate to put copper accents on the ji) briefly described on page 136 of The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing, a book discussed here before. I'd expect that it's some kind of proprietary hot blue formula, likely applied along with a 300 F stress relief reheating..
On the whole, a good review, but would you please provide a link to the eBay offering (yes, I expect it's over, please link it anyway)? It would also be illuminating to know what you paid for this, as they have different levels of katana with the "Hawk" name. I wonder if they have any more of this model lying around, it was a rather rare bird to start with.
Just got back from kendo and attached link to review. Thanks for the info! I have never seen a copper sulfate polish. I wonder why more companies don't do it? |
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Post by treeslicer on Apr 21, 2022 3:49:37 GMT
It's a variant called the " Black Hawk", and they aren't telling how it was done. The coppery color of the hamon suggests that the coloring method is possibly related to the tanpan polishing technique (using copper sulfate to put copper accents on the ji) briefly described on page 136 of The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing, a book discussed here before. I'd expect that it's some kind of proprietary hot blue formula, likely applied along with a 300 F stress relief reheating..
On the whole, a good review, but would you please provide a link to the eBay offering (yes, I expect it's over, please link it anyway)? It would also be illuminating to know what you paid for this, as they have different levels of katana with the "Hawk" name. I wonder if they have any more of this model lying around, it was a rather rare bird to start with.
Just got back from kendo and attached link to review. Thanks for the info! I have never seen a copper sulfate polish. I wonder why more companies don't do it? Thanks a great deal for the link. 
Dear heavens!! So you sent them $989.00, and received both an unokubi zukuri instead of the pictured and described shinogi zukuri, and an unexpected unusual custom colored blade as well! You don't seem at all upset about it, so you must have much stronger nerves than most posters that I see on here talking about Skyjiro.  
Here's some more data that I dug up about your new tatami slicer:
Congrats on having a very unusual addition to your collection.
IMHO, more companies don't do it because it has limited market popularity compared with the traditional finish. You also can't really appreciate any activities of the blade steel with a semi-opaque and colored finish obscuring them. OTOH, yours would be just the thing for sword-and-spaceship cosplay at conventions. |
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Yagoro
Member
Ikkyu in Kendo and Kenjutsu Practitioner
Posts: 1,643
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Post by Yagoro on Apr 21, 2022 22:25:35 GMT
Just got back from kendo and attached link to review. Thanks for the info! I have never seen a copper sulfate polish. I wonder why more companies don't do it? Thanks a great deal for the link.
Dear heavens!! So you sent them $989.00, and received both an unokubi zukuri instead of the pictured and described shinogi zukuri, and an unexpected unusual custom colored blade as well! You don't seem at all upset about it, so you must have much stronger nerves than most posters that I see on here talking about Skyjiro.
Here's some more data that I dug up about your new tatami slicer:
Congrats on having a very unusual addition to your collection.
IMHO, more companies don't do it because it has limited market popularity compared with the traditional finish. You also can't really appreciate any activities of the blade steel with a semi-opaque and colored finish obscuring them. OTOH, yours would be just the thing for sword-and-spaceship cosplay at conventions. LOL well to be fair, I did call them and they told me the one they had in stock was the black Hawk, but at first I just assumed it was a regular hawk with a black tsukamaki lol |
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Post by blairbob on Apr 22, 2022 6:47:46 GMT
It's a fine looking sword though that colored red part of the hamon is something I've seen lately out of some series called Demon Slayer something. This is just a lot higher quality than the typical swords I've seen for $50-75.
In on training group, one of the guys bought one of these and it annoys the semprini outta me he bought this but he's a grown guy and the Sensei of the group (I train with them but I don't consider him my Sensei as I have another) hasn't said semprini. All because I forgot to send him a link for cheap iaito instead.
I even looked at it the other day and can't find the mekugi on it's hilt (plastic same of course).
This would be light years better.
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Yagoro
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Ikkyu in Kendo and Kenjutsu Practitioner
Posts: 1,643
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Post by Yagoro on Apr 22, 2022 6:55:58 GMT
It's a fine looking sword though that colored red part of the hamon is something I've seen lately out of some series called Demon Slayer something. This is just a lot higher quality than the typical swords I've seen for $50-75. In on training group, one of the guys bought one of these and it annoys the semprini outta me he bought this but he's a grown guy and the Sensei of the group (I train with them but I don't consider him my Sensei as I have another) hasn't said semprini. All because I forgot to send him a link for cheap iaito instead. I even looked at it the other day and can't find the mekugi on it's hilt (plastic same of course). This would be light years better. I think I understand why that sensei went with one of their swords. Despite skyjiro's sempriniesque reputation for customer service and delivering on promises, I cant say that their swords arent quality. This thing handles like a dream, definitely comparable with my kaneies, and leagues better than my dragon kings(although they are more cutters than they are practitioner swords). If you want a quality iaito, I highly suggest tozando, although if you are look for a shinken below 1000 dollars, id go with either skyjiro, huawei, or dynasty forge. Thats not to say hanwei, dragon king, or hanbon dont make decent swords at that price point, its more that the swords they offer usually are more beefy and better suited for cutting. That or in hanwei's case the tsukas tend to be very bulky and annoying to use for iaido. |
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Post by treeslicer on Apr 22, 2022 15:02:30 GMT
It's a fine looking sword................... This would be light years better. ............skyjiro's sempriniesque reputation............. You definitely have a way with words. Like!!!! |
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Post by blairbob on Apr 23, 2022 18:41:43 GMT
The sensei was not involved in the process but I'm pretty sure he knows semprini all about Chinese shinken as he does not own any or expressed any interest in owning any. He has Iaito he bought in Japan. His group is very small and informal so it's likely why he hasn't told him to not use that POS. The Iaito I gave to another mudansha was made by JWHotSteel off Ebay when they first started dropping on Ebay. It wouldn't even be as nice as an iaito by Musashi but it has mekugi and is better wrapped though it has fake same and didn't cost much (I figured I'd buy a cheap sword of theirs before I threw down money on a custom sword which I never ended up doing)
I need to take a closer look and see if I can find out if those swords are pinned as I didn't see any pins but they may be hidden underneath the fake same. It wouldn't be safe to use at home if it isn't.
It also handles like a cheap pos even compared to my Cheness which also handles a lot heavier than that Sensei's Japanese Iaito (which are very nice for the price). My sensei has an old Hanwei iaito but those were built pretty light and handle nimbly compared to a Cheness.
Not with mudansha but occasionally during kumitachi, the blades will make some contact sometimes in some waza. I'm not a fan of contacting aluminum blades at all whatever. Maybe they can take some light contact but it doesn't seem sensible if you can do it with steel blunted swords.
I'm not sure if non steel iaito might take a bend with too much force.
I also seem to recall hearing non steel iaito blades snap but this might have happened a long, long time ago when they first making them. I dunno. I have heard of blades flying out of the tsuka if the mekugi slipped out (hence why there are 2 in modern production swords instead of 1).
While the Japanese Iaito have the superior fit and finish, I just prefer training with something that is more realistic to a real sword even if bokuto/bokken and fukuro shinai are even less similar than aluminum iaito. Don't get me started on fukuro shinai. I absolutely hate training with those things unless I'm gonna smack someone with it.
While the system I train in has an Iai component, it's far more concerned on how to use a sword once it's been deployed if it doesn't start in Seigan/Chudan/Gedan/Hasso/Jodan typically. It is not an Iaido/jutsu school or ryu-ha.
I'm fairly impressed by this Musashi I bought for what I paid for it used as an impulse buy. I had thought about blunting it if I messed up carving the koiguchi for my Cheness replacement saya that was too tight (but I was successful so it's useable again). Their iaito are cheaper than the Shinken and I've never tried to purposefully blunt a sword so the chance of screwing it up is possible.
If I had $200 to piss away, I'd likely buy 2 of the Musashi iaito and give them to the mudansha to train with. It would be nice if they had an actual koiguchi made of horn for safety. I suppose they could be wrapped with something to reinforce the saya just in case.
I have another buddy who commissioned a custom shinken out of China that is blunted. I did ask him what company he used and he said he was going to look it up but hasn't gotten back to me. It's totally customized so fits him perfectly. I've seen it but never have held it.
Someone I talked to on reddit just bought a Dragon King and after chatting with another user, they really appeal to me. Unfortunately, I don't like any of their color or themes. I supposed they could be remounted but that's more $$. I think I would like a Shobu for my last cutting blade or a UnoKubi without yokote like this Raptor (besides something that isn't such a beast bc I'm a hobbit).
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Post by JH Lee on Apr 24, 2022 18:40:32 GMT
Can you explain what do you dislike about fukuro shinai? Thank you.
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Post by blairbob on Apr 24, 2022 21:55:38 GMT
we are getting off topic but they are pretty much straight as they lack any curvature of the blade (though some blades barely have any curvature). they don't have something that simulates the shinogi or mune. they lack tsuba. sometimes the curvature of the blade changes technique. how you see the sword, how you parry, etc.
they roughly weigh about a lb or 1/2kg so tend to weigh even less than bokuto and feel flimsier like chanbara swords. sure, you can pretend they are real to try and develop that intention.
the nice thing is you can move fast and if you hit someone, you're not going to bruise them or cause some serious damage with a bokuto/bokken. or uke's knuckles aren't gonna get clipped since some bokuto lack tsuba
there is something to be said about developing the ability to just smack someone which you can't really do with bokuto/iaito unless you have some kind of padding or armor. and swinging or cutting at full force
also they will break over time, or the padding in the tip slips and impaling someone with bamboo isn't a good idea.
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Yagoro
Member
Ikkyu in Kendo and Kenjutsu Practitioner
Posts: 1,643
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Post by Yagoro on Apr 29, 2022 20:25:56 GMT
Yeah it is kinda odd. I actually like it a little just because of how different it is from all my other shinken lol. Im really curious to see how they got the colors like that. It's a variant called the " Black Hawk", and they aren't telling how it was done. The coppery color of the hamon suggests that the coloring method is possibly related to the tanpan polishing technique (using copper sulfate to put copper accents on the ji) briefly described on page 136 of The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing, a book discussed here before. I'd expect that it's some kind of proprietary hot blue formula, likely applied along with a 300 F stress relief reheating..
On the whole, a good review, but would you please provide a link to the eBay offering (yes, I expect it's over, please link it anyway)? It would also be illuminating to know what you paid for this, as they have different levels of katana with the "Hawk" name. I wonder if they have any more of this model lying around, it was a rather rare bird to start with.
By the way, would you know if that copper polish could be rubbed off just by cleaning it with an oil rag? Because it seems like some of it comes off when i oil the blade. |
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Post by treeslicer on Apr 30, 2022 4:40:33 GMT
It's a variant called the " Black Hawk", and they aren't telling how it was done. The coppery color of the hamon suggests that the coloring method is possibly related to the tanpan polishing technique (using copper sulfate to put copper accents on the ji) briefly described on page 136 of The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing, a book discussed here before. I'd expect that it's some kind of proprietary hot blue formula, likely applied along with a 300 F stress relief reheating..
On the whole, a good review, but would you please provide a link to the eBay offering (yes, I expect it's over, please link it anyway)? It would also be illuminating to know what you paid for this, as they have different levels of katana with the "Hawk" name. I wonder if they have any more of this model lying around, it was a rather rare bird to start with.
By the way, would you know if that copper polish could be rubbed off just by cleaning it with an oil rag? Because it seems like some of it comes off when i oil the blade. Not sure, because I've never handled one, but I know from experience that you can wear off gun blue or keris blacking (similar chemical deposition processes) by polishing. Same goes for most metal platings. |
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Yagoro
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Ikkyu in Kendo and Kenjutsu Practitioner
Posts: 1,643
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Post by Yagoro on Apr 30, 2022 7:50:29 GMT
This is correct. If it is similar to blueing, it will come off with abrasives but should not come off from wiping with an oily rag by itself. For example, My final step in blueing an item is a healthy scrubbing with Extra fine steel wool, and it is not removed from that. yeah thats what i suspected. I was wondering because when i oil it and rub it down there is some orange residue on the rag. Maybe the rag needs to be cleaned, or its residue left over from the polishing process. |
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