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Post by ignatius on Apr 2, 2024 19:12:00 GMT
This is less of a review of one specific sword and more of a story of the custom ordering process, what was requested, what was received and if it hit the mark. The goal was to create a setup that was a "train like you fight" setup. What the meant was I wanted a shinken and iaito that used the exact same koshirae that I would swap out based on what type of keiko I was doing. The unused blade would stay in a provided shirasaya. This project ended up becoming what I call "The Tale of Three Blades" Order your custom JKOO here... www.sinosword.com/Custom-Japa... Link to Manufacturers socials... www.facebook.com/sinoswords/www.youtube.com/channel/UCxdv... Link to Instagram page... www.instagram.com/studiogdt/
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Post by larason2 on Apr 4, 2024 4:10:26 GMT
Interesting video with good production values and good shots of the swords, thanks!
Personally I think what you were requesting is probably impossible. When it comes to hand forged swords, it's really hard to get the same length, same sori, same nakago, etc. every time. This is because they all start with different amounts of steel before the three pieces are laminated together, and the process of laminating and forging results in different lengths of resulting swords (even if you were to start with the same weight, dimensions and length). When a sword is forged, you necessarily get forge scale on it, and this flakes off, meaning that you're continually losing mass of the sword over time, depending on the sword's then current dimensions, how hot it is, how long it sat in the heat, how long you've forged it, etc. So the fact they managed to find two swords that had the same sori and same length is by itself remarkable. They probably had to go through a hundred already forged swords to find that, or carefully forge two blanks that were very similar to try and get them to turn out as identical as possible. The bits and bobs on the one sword are bits of forge scale that were left on. Usually they grind those off, but that would have resulted in one sword thinner than the other, and so not a good match for the koshirae, so they didn't. I don't blame you for sending it back, but I think that's evidence they really went the extra mile to try to accommodate your request. If you asked a Japanese smith to do this, they would just refuse.
As for the problems with the koshirae, the seppa not quite lining up and so on, that's pretty standard for a Longquan sword. They make the tsuba, fuchi/kashira, and seppa in the same mold or with the same stamp, so those all come exactly the same, but as mentioned they have to try to get them on swords that can be wildly different. Some companies like Ronin just silicone things to make them work. The holes on the seppa are intentionally oversized so they fit every sword, so they'll never fit tightly. They use cheap wood that's sometimes falling apart for the tsuka and saya. The saya, they make a ton in the 4 or 5 different standard curvatures of sori, then they also oversize them inside so practically anything will fit. As a result, they usually jiggle around in there, and it's hard to get a good fit over the habaki. The habaki are all the same, but they file them until they fit, meaning they all end up slightly different. So I don't think I've ever seen a good fit and finish for these kind of koshirae. On another note though, I like the colour scheme and style you chose for the koshirae, really classic.
As for the blades, I agree with you they all have issues. When you show all three with the ha pointing up, the top sword has the ko-shinogi with a different curvature than the kissaki. Since they gave enough room between the end of the bo-hi and the ko-shinogi however, this is fixable. You'll notice the polishing yokote and the geometric yokote are in different locations! This, however, is also fixable if you repolish it. The long kissaki is a taste thing which I don't mind (sort of osoraku). The middle sword they ground the bo-hi too long, and there's no space between it and the line of the ko-shinogi. This is part of the reason I don't like bo-hi, is that you can't ungrind them! It's a good thing this one's kissaki is immaculate, otherwise at least for me it would be dead in the water. It's going to be a nightmare to repolish though. I'd say of the three, the iaito (the one on the bottom) has the least remediable flaw, and that is that the thickness of the blade gets too thin after the middle of the sword, then opens out again at the kissaki. If I was working on that sword, I'd have to totally reprofile the blade to make the blade thickness correct throughout, which for me would be a deal breaker on a sword like this. The curvature of the kissaki and the ko-shinogi don't match, but at least you have enough steel here to be able to correct it. So here, two of them have deal breaker problems with geometry for me. However, I'd never order one with bo-hi, and if they were no-hi, I'd just correct the problems found here on the repolish and move on. Not everyone can repolish their blade though! It would annoy me that the iato would wind up overly thin though, so that one for sure I'd send back.
As for the polish, both of the top ones are acid washed, so there's no real objective basis to say one's "better" than the other. The difference between one and the other comes down to how much acid they put on, and how long they left it before wiping off. Personally I like the polish on the middle one better! I like the frosted white of the ha, and you can see the details of the ji a bit better. The hamon is less visible, but you can still see it, and it's more detailed. That being said, there's nothing wrong with your opinion that you don't like it as much as the other! I'd still repolish it anyways, so it doesn't really matter. If I had your original sword with the patches of forge scale left on, I'd still also repolish them out, so it wouldn't have bothered me.
So all in all, I'd say good review. What you got is pretty standard for any Longquan smith at the price (which all seem to have a similar lemon rate), it's just too bad you got three lemons! As I said, two of the swords you ended up with basically have irremediable deficiencies in their geometry, which would have caused me to send them back. I'm still a big fan of Jkoo's steel and forging (I actually have another bare blade order in the works), and as long as you order the right thing and are either ok with them not being perfect, or able to fix any problems that come along yourself, it should be ok. I don't blame you for liking bo-hi, but clearly there's a lot more to go wrong at the kissaki if you order it with that. I think they really tried to acccomodate a difficult request, and fell short. Doesn't mean I'd never order from Jkoo again, but your experience helps guide what I'd ask them to do! It's good to know what sellers like them are definitely unable to accommodate, so your review is helpful to the community. I don't have anything against iaido, but if I were you I'd just practice with a sharpened sword like I do (your top one seems to be the overall winner out of the three). You have to be a bit more careful, but you really are training with what you will use. Most swords have only one koshirae and only one shirasaya, and I think that is the way to go. That way, the smith can just focus on making a good sword.
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Post by blairbob on Apr 4, 2024 5:19:03 GMT
I feel like they should have been able to place the kurikata roughly in the same place on both saya of all things. Use a measuring tape and definitely not eyeball it.
As for a shinken and iaito blade perfectly matching the same tsuka, this sounds tough unless they were using a CNC machine to cut the blanks. Easier to just make 2 tsuka with the same furniture, ito as approxiamate as possible, even if that wasn't what you wanted in the first place
Could a Japanese or well known non Japanese smith do this with precision? (Howard Clark, Michael Bell, Bob Engnath, Rado, etc)
Well that and each blade not even weighing in the same ballpark or shape. Big oops.
Still enjoyed the video!
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Post by ignatius on Apr 4, 2024 14:13:54 GMT
Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for the great feedback and interaction. This is exactly the type of thing I hope these videos produce, which is awesome discussion about the products/experiences.
Larson: Thank you for the very detailed breakdown. What you say makes total sense. About 20 years ago, I attempted a re-polish of a Last Legend that had a poor mirror polish on it. It was a mono-steel blade so there wasn't much to bring out. Since these were paid swords and not review samples, I had a fear of attempting a re-polish on the first sword. I'm sure someone with the skill set could fix it though. I normally would not use an iaito for practice, the request was more of an experiment and letting others see the limitations of what could be done-but perhaps I came off a bit harsh not knowing how truly difficult the request was. That would be my experience with construction methods.
Blairbob: Thank you again for participating with my content and providing feedback.
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Post by blairbob on Apr 5, 2024 0:05:34 GMT
Yeah, I actually liked it as I'm picky about a lot of katana reviews (I'll watch some if it's on a sword/brand I'm really interested even if I don't particularly care for the reviewer) but it's nice to see practitioners do reviews as well as not butcher terminology. To the point of I've thought about doing it myself. Now, to figure out what sword system you train in...
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Post by ignatius on Apr 5, 2024 1:16:36 GMT
Yeah, I actually liked it as I'm picky about a lot of katana reviews (I'll watch some if it's on a sword/brand I'm really interested even if I don't particularly care for the reviewer) but it's nice to see practitioners do reviews as well as not butcher terminology. To the point of I've thought about doing it myself. Now, to figure out what sword system you train in... I can’t claim to be a true “practitioner” 90% of my training experience was over twenty years ago and I just got the opportunity to pick it back up (same school at least). The physical aspect is definitely a diminishable skill so I’m treating it like I have zero experience in a past life. As a result I will most likely butcher terminology and mispronounce things at times. I am absolutely open to critique however. Everything that has been shared so far I think has made each review slightly better in some form or fashion. Ideally once life calms down a bit and I get more dojo time, I’d like to revisit these reviews. I’d like an iai centric review of each (but with the same review methodology so it’s a direct comparison with different swords) a tameshigiri review of each (with standardized cuts) and then much further down the line, a sort of a “how has it held up” review and if any issues developed during prolonged usage. That’s the thought process at least but honestly I’m not sure people want to hear me talk that much! Hahah. And lastly, thank you for saying I haven’t annoyed you (yet) with my review style lol.
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Post by blairbob on Apr 5, 2024 5:31:49 GMT
I don't think Matt Jensen has ever had many of the 3rd type of reviews because there has been so much on his plate to review and so much of it probably sits or get traded/sold or are just review samples.
I really need to get around to trying some of the Toyama ryu tameshigiri/suemonogiri waza. Just for funsies.
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Post by Cottontail Customs on Apr 5, 2024 23:56:19 GMT
First off, I enjoyed your video very much, as usual. Secondly, yes, I'd love to see you branch out and do all sorts of sword related videos, I think it would be interesting, entertaining and good for the sword community overall.
For me, this experience provided a lot of evidence to what I've believed for years and that is, they didn't make any of it. I believe strongly that drop down menu sellers like Jkoo only source blades and parts and possibly do some assembly but don't actually make a thing, custom or otherwise. I see no evidence that the blades or furniture were made in house because even though each forged blade and handmade piece of furniture wouldn't be exactly the same, they should have been much closer in nearly every aspect.
Even though I believe what I said to be true and feel I knew it already, I found this recounting of your experience very insightful and informative and the end result, while maybe not a success in getting what you wanted, was a result that is still valuable to the production katana community overall, as I mentioned above.
Good work on the video. Again, I really enjoyed it and look forward to more.
Josh
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Post by ignatius on Apr 6, 2024 1:12:07 GMT
First off, I enjoyed your video very much, as usual. Secondly, yes, I'd love to see you branch out and do all sorts of sword related videos, I think it would be interesting, entertaining and good for the sword community overall. For me, this experience provided a lot of evidence to what I've believed for years and that is, they didn't make any of it. I believe strongly that drop down menu sellers like Jkoo only source blades and parts and possibly do some assembly but don't actually make a thing, custom or otherwise. I see no evidence that the blades or furniture were made in house because even though each forged blade and handmade piece of furniture wouldn't be exactly the same, they should have been much closer in nearly every aspect. Even though I believe what I said to be true and feel I knew it already, I found this recounting of your experience very insightful and informative and the end result, while maybe not a success in getting what you wanted, was a result that is still valuable to the production katana community overall, as I mentioned above. Good work on the video. Again, I really enjoyed it and look forward to more. Josh In this specific experience, I’d have to agree with you. When I first set eyes on my replacement sword I was like “woah! Uhhhh wait a minute…I’m not complaining but why does it look so different?” That was something I did not expect, I expected a near exact replacement and to be in alignment with your theory, I don’t think they have that capability. In fact I would guess in the interest of customer service, they probably contacted the supplier and said “hey we need a tier up from that last one we ordered” That’s what it felt like. With the current full custom sword I have on order with RyanSword, I hope to bring a different sort of review along with it. I’ve been working with them to take videos of the build process from start to finish. It will be interesting to see since many other Longquan “manufacturers” videos are shot in people’s front porches cutting bottles or in shacks with poor dudes in chanklas. I’m excited to get a behind the scenes look and bring it to everyone.
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