Tori Elite Review: One of Hanwei's Best?
Sept 4, 2022 0:53:43 GMT
Post by Yagoro on Sept 4, 2022 0:53:43 GMT
I decided to write a review on the pre owned Tori Elite Katana I purchased from Kult of athena for 720 dollars. A new Tori elite from KOA will charge you 1168 dollars, but you can usually find them for cheaper elsewhere. Now on to the review:
Blade Aesthetics:
Hanwei states that their elite edge geometry is suited for more cutting emphasized swords for those that dont want to sacrifice the traditional aesthetics of their katana. Now originally I took this statement with a grain of salt, and assumed that the edge would have zero niku and cosmetics yokote to maximize mat cutting potential. Well Im happy to say I was wrong. The edge appears to have ample ha niku, as well as a geometric yokote, which is executed pretty well for a production sword. The blade itself is rather attractive, with tons of distal taper, and a nice yasurime done on the kissaki mune. The nakago is rather well done, and has the typical mei amd yasurime found on most higher end Hanwei blades. The hada is rather uncontrolled, but still interesting to look at. The hamon is notare and has the typical hanwei frosting done to it, not a big issue to me, and I actually kind of like it, but may put off some.
Koshirae: The main reason I bought this blade was because of the koshirae, as I am a huge sucker for mokko tsuba. Im glad to say I am not disappointed in this department either. The casting quality of these pieces is typical hanwei faire: nothing too special, but not particularly bad either. Overall the casting is well done. Everything fits tightly onto the tsuka, and the tsukamaki itself is rather tight. The ito is a brown suede, and I am a big fan of how it feels. Something I do not like about the tsuka is the location of the mekugi: They decided to place them underneath the ito, such that the part of the ito that is located on top of the mekugi will never be as tight as the rest of the ito, unless you want to not be able to take the sword apart. Another part I really like about the koshirae is the transitions: no ledges are present, and everything is rather symmetrical.
Habaki and Seppa:
I am a big fan of the habaki that Hanwei put on this sword. as it is a little more unique than their typical offering. It is a brass habaki, with scratch marks and some light water droplets, giving it a very classy look. Something else I am a big fan of are the seppa: they are cut out so the kozuka and kogatana holes are entirely open, a small detail, but nevertheless one that gives the sword more of an authentic feel to it. No idea why more companies dont do this.
Saya:
The saya on this piece is great. No rattles, and fits perfectly. The saya itself is half rattan half brown ishime, giving it a timeless look. The ishime is applied very consistently, and the rattan is also well done, with the black lacquer on top showing no signs of rippling or cracking. The saya also has a horn kojiri, kurikata, and koiguchi. Unfortunately the horn on the kojiri and koiguchi show signs of bleaching(hence why they are brown) which may impact their structural integrity in the coming years.
Handling:
To me, as many may know, handling is one of the most important aspects of a sword. If it doesnt handle well, its basically just an expensive metal crowbar. Good thing with the tori, that isnt the case. This blade handles a little bit better than my bamboo mat, but I wouldnt say as well as my kaneie budo. With a pob of around 4.5 inches, it feels incredibly nimble, making wielding it with one hand rather easy. Doing batto with it is a breeze, and it is not tiring to swing around for hours on end.
Stats:
Sorii type: Tori Sorii(if its not obvious by the name of the sword lol)
Sorii: 3/4 inches
Nagasa: 28 inches
Tsuka: 11 inches
Overall, I am incredibly happy in my purchase of this sword, and definitely recommend it for those looking for a dojo sword with some classical flair, and one that can still be used for cutting. The blade width may put off some, but to me that is not an issue. I plan to do some cutting with it soon, and will upload pictures and videos of that to this review afterwards.
Pros:
Good looking blade
Unique habaki and seppa
Handles well
Fittings are well cast
Transitions are good
Tsukamaki is rather tight
Saya is very well executed and fits perfectly
Cuts extremely well
Has niku
Cons:
Annoyingly placed mekugi
Kissaki could be executed a little bit crisper
Sageo feels a little bit cheap
Samegawa panel lacks any large diamonds or interesting activity
Ito diamonds could be a little bit more even
Blade Aesthetics:
Hanwei states that their elite edge geometry is suited for more cutting emphasized swords for those that dont want to sacrifice the traditional aesthetics of their katana. Now originally I took this statement with a grain of salt, and assumed that the edge would have zero niku and cosmetics yokote to maximize mat cutting potential. Well Im happy to say I was wrong. The edge appears to have ample ha niku, as well as a geometric yokote, which is executed pretty well for a production sword. The blade itself is rather attractive, with tons of distal taper, and a nice yasurime done on the kissaki mune. The nakago is rather well done, and has the typical mei amd yasurime found on most higher end Hanwei blades. The hada is rather uncontrolled, but still interesting to look at. The hamon is notare and has the typical hanwei frosting done to it, not a big issue to me, and I actually kind of like it, but may put off some.
Koshirae: The main reason I bought this blade was because of the koshirae, as I am a huge sucker for mokko tsuba. Im glad to say I am not disappointed in this department either. The casting quality of these pieces is typical hanwei faire: nothing too special, but not particularly bad either. Overall the casting is well done. Everything fits tightly onto the tsuka, and the tsukamaki itself is rather tight. The ito is a brown suede, and I am a big fan of how it feels. Something I do not like about the tsuka is the location of the mekugi: They decided to place them underneath the ito, such that the part of the ito that is located on top of the mekugi will never be as tight as the rest of the ito, unless you want to not be able to take the sword apart. Another part I really like about the koshirae is the transitions: no ledges are present, and everything is rather symmetrical.
Habaki and Seppa:
I am a big fan of the habaki that Hanwei put on this sword. as it is a little more unique than their typical offering. It is a brass habaki, with scratch marks and some light water droplets, giving it a very classy look. Something else I am a big fan of are the seppa: they are cut out so the kozuka and kogatana holes are entirely open, a small detail, but nevertheless one that gives the sword more of an authentic feel to it. No idea why more companies dont do this.
Saya:
The saya on this piece is great. No rattles, and fits perfectly. The saya itself is half rattan half brown ishime, giving it a timeless look. The ishime is applied very consistently, and the rattan is also well done, with the black lacquer on top showing no signs of rippling or cracking. The saya also has a horn kojiri, kurikata, and koiguchi. Unfortunately the horn on the kojiri and koiguchi show signs of bleaching(hence why they are brown) which may impact their structural integrity in the coming years.
Handling:
To me, as many may know, handling is one of the most important aspects of a sword. If it doesnt handle well, its basically just an expensive metal crowbar. Good thing with the tori, that isnt the case. This blade handles a little bit better than my bamboo mat, but I wouldnt say as well as my kaneie budo. With a pob of around 4.5 inches, it feels incredibly nimble, making wielding it with one hand rather easy. Doing batto with it is a breeze, and it is not tiring to swing around for hours on end.
Stats:
Sorii type: Tori Sorii(if its not obvious by the name of the sword lol)
Sorii: 3/4 inches
Nagasa: 28 inches
Tsuka: 11 inches
Overall, I am incredibly happy in my purchase of this sword, and definitely recommend it for those looking for a dojo sword with some classical flair, and one that can still be used for cutting. The blade width may put off some, but to me that is not an issue. I plan to do some cutting with it soon, and will upload pictures and videos of that to this review afterwards.
Pros:
Good looking blade
Unique habaki and seppa
Handles well
Fittings are well cast
Transitions are good
Tsukamaki is rather tight
Saya is very well executed and fits perfectly
Cuts extremely well
Has niku
Cons:
Annoyingly placed mekugi
Kissaki could be executed a little bit crisper
Sageo feels a little bit cheap
Samegawa panel lacks any large diamonds or interesting activity
Ito diamonds could be a little bit more even