High-End Shadow Dancer / Dragon Sword? $980 Nagamaki-Zukuri
Dec 29, 2023 1:09:36 GMT
Post by swordfriendrc on Dec 29, 2023 1:09:36 GMT
My 2nd sword from Shadow Dancer (previously Dragon Sword) and this one's got a very interesting geometry. I'd like to share my thoughts on its appearance and handling (This one is too expensive so I am not going to cut with it right now ). Note that I am trying to compare it with my Huawei dotanuki nami koshirae ($800) when thinking about its pros and cons.
Appearance
+ slim and waisted handles with nice looking antique solid-silver fittings
+ super tight ito with consistent diamonds (surprisingly much better than my Minosaka)
+ Saya with beautiful Chogai lacquiring, and handmade to fit the sword perfectly.
+ ShadowDancer/Zsey's standard sashikomi polishing looks great for the price point (but this is not their highest-end polishing)
- Wood surface inside the saya seems cheaper for this price point
- the tail of soe-bohi (smaller one of the two bo-hi) is not well-finished when you look very closely
Handling
+ This is relatively heavy (1059g without saya) and yet it has good balance (compared with my S7 from them).
- The menuki is a bit bulky for my hands. I'd prefer a thinner one. This might just be a personal preference since my sensei also uses very bulky menuki.
Does it worth the price?
Yes and no IMO:
Yes if you mainly use it for iai and ornament.
No if you only care about tameshigiri (I bought my S7 with super mirror polishing from them for tameshigiri)
Specs from website (with some modification based on my own measurement)
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<Koshirae>
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■Tsuba:Cupronickel Antique
■F&K:Cupronickel Antique
■Menuki:Cupronickel Antique
■Seppa:Brass Silver Plated
■Habaki:Cupronickel
■Tsuka:Haichi Style (waisted)
■Tsuka Samegawa:White Rayskin
■Tsuka Ito:Kapok Ito(From Japan)
■Mukugi:1
■Kashira&Kurikata Shitodome:Cupronickel
■Saya:With Horns
■Sageo:Thickened Normal Sageo
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<Blade>
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■Nagasa:71CM (I measure it at 70cm)
■Motohaba:3.2CM
■Motokasane:0.7CM
■Sakihaba:2.4CM
■Sakikasane:0.4CM
■Sori:About 1.5CM
■Tsuka Length:26CM (This one is very accurate)
■Bohi:With Bohi (Two Bohi)
■Material:Crucible Steel
■Hamon Style:Suguha
■Blade Style:Nagamaki Zukuri
■Heat Treatment: Clay Temper
■Weight with/without Saya :1180g/1059g
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<Polishing>
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■Polishing:Sashikomi Polishing
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More details can be found in the review video (This is my first one so the quality is a bit crappy...):