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Post by vidar on May 9, 2023 16:13:56 GMT
Hi all!
I’m considering to buy a second hand Cold Steel Mizutori katana, just for tameshigiri. But I can’t really find good or detailed reviews of this sword. Does anyone have experience and would you recommend it or not?
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Post by jyamada on May 9, 2023 16:26:50 GMT
Looks like Huanuo made it, like other Cold Steel katanas. Habaki, seppa, mekugi, tsukamaki looks like Huanuo mount. Might be similar to a Dynasty Forge Bushi 1095 (also made by Huanuo), with different fittings. If you can get it for a "good" price, might be worthwhile. Mount quality can vary on Huanuo made stuff.
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Post by vidar on May 9, 2023 16:52:52 GMT
Thanks. I will inspect it before buying it. So I should be able to see if the mounting quality is good. Main concern I have is the heat treatment. I intend to cut green bamboo with it, so if the edge is not well made, it could chip or roll…
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Post by blairbob on May 9, 2023 23:09:13 GMT
i would think if it's treated well, it would be a good robust cutter given their demoes of cutting hogs and cars and semprini.
damn, the mizutori uses 1095 unlike their blades using 1060 with a DH blade.
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Post by shepherd214 on May 13, 2023 3:40:32 GMT
Thanks. I will inspect it before buying it. So I should be able to see if the mounting quality is good. Main concern I have is the heat treatment. I intend to cut green bamboo with it, so if the edge is not well made, it could chip or roll… You'll get some people here super picky about cold steel because they are biased, but Ive never seen a heat treatment issue with their blades. Their mounting is hit or miss, but when I had my warrior series swords, I just fixed it all by filling the tang area up with epoxy and coating my ito with polyurethane varnish. Stiffens the wrap up to have almost no movement and makes the handle and fittings solid and indestructible. These swords are meant to be used hard and trained with daily so it's not really a big deal to me.
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Post by blairbob on May 13, 2023 4:36:33 GMT
there is a part of me that dislikes the idea of spending what i have on a sword that might have loose koiguchi fit or ito when new.
on the other hand, there is a part of me that would possibly everything if my budget was bottomless, even if to just play with it for awhile.
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Post by vidar on May 20, 2023 21:49:11 GMT
So I went to have a look at this sword.
I really like the design. The sword looks great. The castings are very nice. The sword deals like a powerful cutter but still well balanced. The tsuka feels good in the hand, much better than Hanwei axe handles. The katana had a natural Hamon, while there was also a wakizashi that had a weird chemical enhanced Hamon. The tsuka, tsuba, fuchi and kashira were all very tight. There’s a beautiful end cap at the bottom of the saya that was also nice and tight.
Unfortunately: the Ito was quite loose. You could easily move it with your thumb. The saya fit was also quite bad, if you hold the sword vertical from the tsuka, the saya would just fall of…
In my opinion, with better quality control, this could have been a great sword.
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Post by shepherd214 on May 29, 2023 15:41:44 GMT
So I went to have a look at this sword. I really like the design. The sword looks great. The castings are very nice. The sword deals like a powerful cutter but still well balanced. The tsuka feels good in the hand, much better than Hanwei axe handles. The katana had a natural Hamon, while there was also a wakizashi that had a weird chemical enhanced Hamon. The tsuka, tsuba, fuchi and kashira were all very tight. There’s a beautiful end cap at the bottom of the saya that was also nice and tight. Unfortunately: the Ito was quite loose. You could easily move it with your thumb. The saya fit was also quite bad, if you hold the sword vertical from the tsuka, the saya would just fall of… In my opinion, with better quality control, this could have been a great sword. Ito tightness can easily be fixed by coating it with some polyurethane. The saya tightness can also easily be fixed with a shim of thick paper glued inside.
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RE:Wrap Studio
Manufacturer/Vendor
A wise man learns from his mistakes, a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others.
Posts: 89
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Post by RE:Wrap Studio on May 29, 2023 16:45:23 GMT
So I went to have a look at this sword. I really like the design. The sword looks great. The castings are very nice. The sword deals like a powerful cutter but still well balanced. The tsuka feels good in the hand, much better than Hanwei axe handles. The katana had a natural Hamon, while there was also a wakizashi that had a weird chemical enhanced Hamon. The tsuka, tsuba, fuchi and kashira were all very tight. There’s a beautiful end cap at the bottom of the saya that was also nice and tight. Unfortunately: the Ito was quite loose. You could easily move it with your thumb. The saya fit was also quite bad, if you hold the sword vertical from the tsuka, the saya would just fall of… In my opinion, with better quality control, this could have been a great sword. Depending on how it was used previously, I would not say that a loose saya or ito is necessarily bad quality. Sounds like wear and tear which happens really unless it is never used. as mentioned by other people, shimming the koiguchi will bring that tight fit back. I use bolsa wood strips you can get from any craft store but there are many other options as well. as for the loose ito, a clear, semi gloss polyurethane coat would help tighten it up a bit (I use Minwax brand personally). That is really the only option other than rewrapping the entire tsuka. All and all, if the blade is in amazing shape and the fittings seem to be solid, seems like a great buy to me.
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Post by mrstabby on May 29, 2023 17:02:29 GMT
I am a barbarian, I use plastic bottle pieces for fixing loose stuff sometimes
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Post by vidar on May 30, 2023 17:13:28 GMT
So I went to have a look at this sword. I really like the design. The sword looks great. The castings are very nice. The sword deals like a powerful cutter but still well balanced. The tsuka feels good in the hand, much better than Hanwei axe handles. The katana had a natural Hamon, while there was also a wakizashi that had a weird chemical enhanced Hamon. The tsuka, tsuba, fuchi and kashira were all very tight. There’s a beautiful end cap at the bottom of the saya that was also nice and tight. Unfortunately: the Ito was quite loose. You could easily move it with your thumb. The saya fit was also quite bad, if you hold the sword vertical from the tsuka, the saya would just fall of… In my opinion, with better quality control, this could have been a great sword. Depending on how it was used previously, I would not say that a loose saya or ito is necessarily bad quality. Sounds like wear and tear which happens really unless it is never used. as mentioned by other people, shimming the koiguchi will bring that tight fit back. I use bolsa wood strips you can get from any craft store but there are many other options as well. as for the loose ito, a clear, semi gloss polyurethane coat would help tighten it up a bit (I use Minwax brand personally). That is really the only option other than rewrapping the entire tsuka. All and all, if the blade is in amazing shape and the fittings seem to be solid, seems like a great buy to me. Thanks for the feedback! The sword was barely used. Indeed these defects are not the end of the world, but it should be addressed in the factory Coating the Ito, doesn’t that make it feel hard and brittle?
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RE:Wrap Studio
Manufacturer/Vendor
A wise man learns from his mistakes, a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others.
Posts: 89
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Post by RE:Wrap Studio on May 30, 2023 18:39:29 GMT
Depending on how it was used previously, I would not say that a loose saya or ito is necessarily bad quality. Sounds like wear and tear which happens really unless it is never used. as mentioned by other people, shimming the koiguchi will bring that tight fit back. I use bolsa wood strips you can get from any craft store but there are many other options as well. as for the loose ito, a clear, semi gloss polyurethane coat would help tighten it up a bit (I use Minwax brand personally). That is really the only option other than rewrapping the entire tsuka. All and all, if the blade is in amazing shape and the fittings seem to be solid, seems like a great buy to me. Thanks for the feedback! The sword was barely used. Indeed these defects are not the end of the world, but it should be addressed in the factory Coating the Ito, doesn’t that make it feel hard and brittle? Normally yes that would be the case. However, there is a cool trick you can use to prevent that. I use a small paintbrush and paint a thin coat of the lacquer all along the wrapped ito and next (this is the important part) while wearing latex gloves, you want to massage the lacquer into the fibers for a few minutes. That way, once it dries you aren't left with the brittle feeling. Lacquering also has the added benefit of helping to protect against palm sweat and the like.
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Post by vidar on May 31, 2023 22:00:01 GMT
I just bought a second hand Hanwei Bamboo mat katana, for the same price. I still like the overall look of the Mizutori katana better, but the Hanwei is better assembled.
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