Dragon Sword 9260 brushed steel katana
Jan 21, 2023 14:15:01 GMT
Post by rh on Jan 21, 2023 14:15:01 GMT
Edit: You have to click on the boxes below „Sword Nr. 2:“ to see pictures of it. I dont know why they dont appear on the thread and have tried to replace the links multiple times.
Disclaimer:
I did not receive any payment for this review.
The swords were bought at a discount price during a open for all discount event.
I am not a native english speaker.
The seller:
Dragon Sword is a Brand run by a company called CYC Trading Co. The Company seems to be based in China however their swords are shipped from Puchong Malaysia. CYC Trading Co. likely also runs the ZSey Brand. When asked they will claim that dragon sword and ZSey have a loose affiliation as their owners are friends. However Swords from both brands are shipped by CYC Trading Co. from Puchong Malaysia. Moreover their youtube product presentations are made in more than one instance in the same place by the same man. My guess is that they intend to set up ZSey as a high end brand and dont want to link it to the cheaper Dragon Sword brand.
Buying experience:
I ordered the first sword when Dragon Sword offered a 79$ discount on this model. To receive this discount you had to reach out to dragon sword via email. After sending the request i received a discount code within minutes. Because of a website error it didnt work so i received a payment request with the reduced price of 128$ instead. Their customer service is very responsive it took never more than 24 hours to receive an answer and almost all time they answered within 1-2 hours.
The first sword was shipped to me via fedex express approx. 10 days after placing the order and arrived 4 days after being handed to fedex.
When the sword arrived i was instantly dissapointed because the tsuka was different from pictures and description on their website. On the other hand the quality surpassed any katana in this price range i had seen so far. I reached out to them and they instantly apologized for what was an error of their staff. They offered me a refund of 20$. As i wanted to test the sword as it is sold on their website we instead settled on me paying 108$ (including shipping) to get the right sword but with a different saya. They were very polite and there were no discussions.
The second sword took about 14 days to arrive after being ordered. When i received it i was rather suprised to see a sword with a fit and finish far worse than on the first sword (see review of second sword below). I again reached out to them, showed all the flaws and recommended that they should do a stricter quality control. They quickly replied and refunded me 108$ (For which i didnt ask in my email). We then discussed all the flaws and they were very keen on getting pictures/videos to learn how to avoid them in the future.
The swords:
I will consider the normal price of 128$ + 50 $ shipping when judging the price to quality ratio. I have owned swords from Jkoo (older production before they became bad), Yari No Hanzo and Ryansword in the 200$ price range. Thats what i will judge on the two Dragon Sword katana.
You can choose different saya/tsuba/ito (including silk ito) from their website. Also you can get a blade without a bohi for this sword. Most of the options shouldnt increase the price.
Sword Nr. 1:
Statistics:
Weight - 920 gr
Nagasa - 71cm
Tsuka lenght - 26cm
PoB - ca. 14cm
Distal taper - 7mm to 5mm
Good:
- Very good seamless transition from ito to fuchi and kashira.
- High quality looking tsuba based on antique owari style tsuba.
- Good fit of Habaki. No gaps between Habaki and blade. Blade spine aligned with habaki
- Good shape of koiguchi. Blade slides into saya without getting stuck.
- Very sharp blade which wont scratch easily from cutting
- Light audible blade makes training easy and enjoyable
- Light well shaped saya which is different from other sellers saya
- Cleanly drilled mekugi holes in the tsuka
- Good tsuka shape not too fat or angular
Average:
- Ito tightness. It is totally acceptable but there are producers who make tighter ito with hishigami (Jkoo).
- Fuchi and Kashira design. It is a matter of personal taste but in my opinion a simple matte black iron fuchi and kashira would suit the tsuba much better.
- Average samegawa quality. Seen on most other katana in this price range.
-Simple Menuki design
Bad:
- Ito came frayed. Even without usage there are little frays sticking out of it.
Conclusion:
This sword has a very good price to quality ratio. Looking at this sword i would go so far and say that you wont find another seller who has such a high quality of fit and finish for the same price.
Sword Nr. 2:
Statistics:
Weight - 918 gr
Nagasa - 71cm
Tsuka lenght - 26cm
PoB - ca. 14cm
Distal taper - 7mm to 5mm
Bad:
- Uncleanly drilled Mekugi hole in tsuka. There is a gap of 1-2mm and you can see the nakago shining through under an angle.
- No brushed on cosmetic yokote as on Sword Nr. 1
- Bad sharpening at beginnig of kissaki. Edge is toothy.
- Bad alignent of saya and tsuka. Seppa sticks out on one side of saya.
- Low quality samegawa. Very small nodules. Looks yellow/grey.
- Loose Tsuba and Habaki after swinging the sword for 10 times. Tried tapping Tsuka with Hammer but didnt help. Solved it by putting cut out paper pieces between tsuba and seppa as i could not put it under the fuchi because it cant be removed from tsuka. (Dragon Sword stated that they dont glue their fuchi to the tsuka core)
Edit: I succeeded to seperate the fuchi by placing a chopstick on its lower rim and hitting the chopstick with a hammer. The fuchi is not glued on.
- Clearly visible panel line on the tsuka
Good:
- Same things as with sword Nr. 1 if not mentioned differently in „Bad“
- Sword made to the same stats as the first one
Average:
- Same things as with sword Nr. 1 if not mentioned differently in „Bad“
Conclusion:
Compared to Sword Nr. 1 this is of a considerably worse quality. If i would have seen and handled this sword in a shop i would not have bought it. For me as a european comsumer there are europe based sellers from which i can buy katana with a better price to quality ratio in the same price range and the possibility of sending them back if there would be a quality issue.
Overall conclusion from consumer viewpoint:
There is a huge quality difference between Sword Nr. 1 and Sword Nr. 2! While Dragon Sword can clearly deliver a product with the best price to quality ratio in this price category i as a consumer dont feel that i can rely on getting such a product. Buying from them is coupled with the risk of receiving the wrong product or a product with a quality far worse than they are able to deliver. Therefore i would insist on receiving pictures before shipping to avoid obvious things like the mekugi hole issue and receiving the wrong product. Nonetheless i would order again from them as they have a lot of potential. When there are enough positive reviews on their swords i would even buy a more expensive sword from them. For now i will however wait with that and see if they are able to deliver constantly swords of such a high quality as they are able to.
Disclaimer:
I did not receive any payment for this review.
The swords were bought at a discount price during a open for all discount event.
I am not a native english speaker.
The seller:
Dragon Sword is a Brand run by a company called CYC Trading Co. The Company seems to be based in China however their swords are shipped from Puchong Malaysia. CYC Trading Co. likely also runs the ZSey Brand. When asked they will claim that dragon sword and ZSey have a loose affiliation as their owners are friends. However Swords from both brands are shipped by CYC Trading Co. from Puchong Malaysia. Moreover their youtube product presentations are made in more than one instance in the same place by the same man. My guess is that they intend to set up ZSey as a high end brand and dont want to link it to the cheaper Dragon Sword brand.
Buying experience:
I ordered the first sword when Dragon Sword offered a 79$ discount on this model. To receive this discount you had to reach out to dragon sword via email. After sending the request i received a discount code within minutes. Because of a website error it didnt work so i received a payment request with the reduced price of 128$ instead. Their customer service is very responsive it took never more than 24 hours to receive an answer and almost all time they answered within 1-2 hours.
The first sword was shipped to me via fedex express approx. 10 days after placing the order and arrived 4 days after being handed to fedex.
When the sword arrived i was instantly dissapointed because the tsuka was different from pictures and description on their website. On the other hand the quality surpassed any katana in this price range i had seen so far. I reached out to them and they instantly apologized for what was an error of their staff. They offered me a refund of 20$. As i wanted to test the sword as it is sold on their website we instead settled on me paying 108$ (including shipping) to get the right sword but with a different saya. They were very polite and there were no discussions.
The second sword took about 14 days to arrive after being ordered. When i received it i was rather suprised to see a sword with a fit and finish far worse than on the first sword (see review of second sword below). I again reached out to them, showed all the flaws and recommended that they should do a stricter quality control. They quickly replied and refunded me 108$ (For which i didnt ask in my email). We then discussed all the flaws and they were very keen on getting pictures/videos to learn how to avoid them in the future.
The swords:
I will consider the normal price of 128$ + 50 $ shipping when judging the price to quality ratio. I have owned swords from Jkoo (older production before they became bad), Yari No Hanzo and Ryansword in the 200$ price range. Thats what i will judge on the two Dragon Sword katana.
You can choose different saya/tsuba/ito (including silk ito) from their website. Also you can get a blade without a bohi for this sword. Most of the options shouldnt increase the price.
Sword Nr. 1:
Statistics:
Weight - 920 gr
Nagasa - 71cm
Tsuka lenght - 26cm
PoB - ca. 14cm
Distal taper - 7mm to 5mm
Good:
- Very good seamless transition from ito to fuchi and kashira.
- High quality looking tsuba based on antique owari style tsuba.
- Good fit of Habaki. No gaps between Habaki and blade. Blade spine aligned with habaki
- Good shape of koiguchi. Blade slides into saya without getting stuck.
- Very sharp blade which wont scratch easily from cutting
- Light audible blade makes training easy and enjoyable
- Light well shaped saya which is different from other sellers saya
- Cleanly drilled mekugi holes in the tsuka
- Good tsuka shape not too fat or angular
Average:
- Ito tightness. It is totally acceptable but there are producers who make tighter ito with hishigami (Jkoo).
- Fuchi and Kashira design. It is a matter of personal taste but in my opinion a simple matte black iron fuchi and kashira would suit the tsuba much better.
- Average samegawa quality. Seen on most other katana in this price range.
-Simple Menuki design
Bad:
- Ito came frayed. Even without usage there are little frays sticking out of it.
Conclusion:
This sword has a very good price to quality ratio. Looking at this sword i would go so far and say that you wont find another seller who has such a high quality of fit and finish for the same price.
Sword Nr. 2:
Statistics:
Weight - 918 gr
Nagasa - 71cm
Tsuka lenght - 26cm
PoB - ca. 14cm
Distal taper - 7mm to 5mm
Bad:
- Uncleanly drilled Mekugi hole in tsuka. There is a gap of 1-2mm and you can see the nakago shining through under an angle.
- No brushed on cosmetic yokote as on Sword Nr. 1
- Bad sharpening at beginnig of kissaki. Edge is toothy.
- Bad alignent of saya and tsuka. Seppa sticks out on one side of saya.
- Low quality samegawa. Very small nodules. Looks yellow/grey.
- Loose Tsuba and Habaki after swinging the sword for 10 times. Tried tapping Tsuka with Hammer but didnt help. Solved it by putting cut out paper pieces between tsuba and seppa as i could not put it under the fuchi because it cant be removed from tsuka. (Dragon Sword stated that they dont glue their fuchi to the tsuka core)
Edit: I succeeded to seperate the fuchi by placing a chopstick on its lower rim and hitting the chopstick with a hammer. The fuchi is not glued on.
- Clearly visible panel line on the tsuka
Good:
- Same things as with sword Nr. 1 if not mentioned differently in „Bad“
- Sword made to the same stats as the first one
Average:
- Same things as with sword Nr. 1 if not mentioned differently in „Bad“
Conclusion:
Compared to Sword Nr. 1 this is of a considerably worse quality. If i would have seen and handled this sword in a shop i would not have bought it. For me as a european comsumer there are europe based sellers from which i can buy katana with a better price to quality ratio in the same price range and the possibility of sending them back if there would be a quality issue.
Overall conclusion from consumer viewpoint:
There is a huge quality difference between Sword Nr. 1 and Sword Nr. 2! While Dragon Sword can clearly deliver a product with the best price to quality ratio in this price category i as a consumer dont feel that i can rely on getting such a product. Buying from them is coupled with the risk of receiving the wrong product or a product with a quality far worse than they are able to deliver. Therefore i would insist on receiving pictures before shipping to avoid obvious things like the mekugi hole issue and receiving the wrong product. Nonetheless i would order again from them as they have a lot of potential. When there are enough positive reviews on their swords i would even buy a more expensive sword from them. For now i will however wait with that and see if they are able to deliver constantly swords of such a high quality as they are able to.
Looking forward to becoming a more active member. 