2 Katana review from Ebay seller "huawei-sword"
Apr 2, 2009 4:37:20 GMT
Post by shadowhowler on Apr 2, 2009 4:37:20 GMT
Side by Side review of FUNCTIONAL MONOSTEEL NO GROOVE JAPANESE SAMURAI KATANA and FUNCTIONAL MIRROR POLISHED RAZOR SHARP JAPANESE SWORD from Ebay Seller huawei-sword, by Sean O. Stevens, Grovetown GA
Introduction
I bought these two Katana off of Ebay specifically to review for you guys here at SBG. Fellow Forumite ichiban had said good things about this Ebay seller:
myworld.ebay.com/huawei-sword/
...who is relatively new on the scene. I figured, if they turned out to be decent swords for the money, it would be a good option for people looking for katana in the sub $100 area. Also, since a lot of the Katana available here in the USA are VERY expensive to ship overseas, I thought it might be a great option for our SBG friends not in the States.
So, I decided the worst that could happen was I would be out almost 200 bucks (which is pretty bad, actually, when you are as broke as me) but if they did turn out well, then ichiban and myself would have helped find another 'diamond in the rough' so to speak.
I looked over the options... settled on two slight different swords... (which happened to have green and purple ito, the Stevens colors.)
...then I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
Historical overview
Most everyone has some idea of the history of the Katana. These two blades are made in a Shinogi Zukuri style, like 99% of the production katana you find today.
However, of greater interest is the history of Ebay sellers who deal in Katana. Ebay can be a minefield for the sword collector. There are many good deals to be found, but also a lot of SLO's and poorly made sharp pieces of steel some call swords. For most of us, we pretty much avoid Ebay with the exception of a few trusted sellers.
So, now we are hopping to find another.
Initial Impressions
The swords shipped very quickly, less then a week, which is nice and surprising as they came from China.
They were packaged very well in foam cut to fit the swords.
They came in two of the nicest sword bags I have ever received a production sword in.
The swords look as described... fairly attractive, and of course, I love the color combo.
The blades had a bit of some sort of oil on them, not too much.
After cleaning them up a bit, they had a nice polish with a temper line of some sort, more noticeable on the purple ito bo-hi sword.
Both swords have a decent feel to them... tho nothing to really make you stand up and say 'Wow!'. They don't rattle or feel flimsy, and the ito seems tight, the fittings plain but not plastic.
All in all, a decent first impression.
Statistics
Purple sword with Bo-Hi
Blade Length - 28"
Tsuka Length - 10"
Overall Length - 38"
Sori seems to be about a standard 1/2, and the weight about 2 & 1/2 lbs. The seller claims the blade to be "1060 Through Hardened Carbon Monosteel" but also "Visible Hamon". I think the "hamon", which is attractive and not brushed on, is a quench line of some sort.
Green sword No-Hi
Blade Length - 28
Tsuka Length - 10
Overall Length - 38
About same sori as the Bo-Hi blade, a bit heavier tho at about 2lbs 12oz. The seller claims this blade to be "1095 Through Hardened Carbon Monosteel" and makes no mention of a hamon, but there is a very slight temper line visible.
Components
The Blade
Both blades have a shinny, not quite mirror polish, but close. Both have a temper line, tho it's far more attractive and noticeable in the purple sword. The the kissaki's are rough counter-polished, the the yokote is of course not real. Still... the blades are attractive, straight, and decently sharp. They cut paper with no problem.
The Nakago
No mei or other identifying marks. Seems solid enough for the price range.
The Tsuka
As you can see... the purple sword has quite the crack in the tsuka. Kinda a bummer. Also, these two swords were VERY difficult to dissasemble... the hardest to take apart I have yet to encounter. When I reassembled them, I could so why... the tsuba and seppa are not well fit to the nakago... getting everything back on was as hard as getting it off. Still, once put back together, everything feels tight again... but I know that monster crack is there in the tsuka of the purple sword... so no more cutting for it until replaced or fixed.
The ito is on fairly tight... it can be forced to move if pushed but feels good in the hand. A basic cotton is used, and the menuki can be pushed around a bit as well. They appear to be a light alloy of some sort.
The fuchi came right of the tsuka... they are a little to large for the tsuka I think.
The kashira is flat black, nothing special but nice and plain. The ito braid into the kashira is a bit... meh. Not a great knot.
The mekugi were of poor quality and need to be replaced.
The Same is real and at this price point is fine.
Tsuba, Seppa, and Habaki
All of basic design and adequate for the sword. On tsuba I did notice a bit of a burr, which I filled away for it to fit better. The tsubas appear to be steel painted black. The seppa and habaki appear to be brass. All standard fair.
The Saya
Basic black, shinny, fit decent with a small amount of rattle. The Sageo seems to be the same cotton as the ito.
Handling Characteristics
Both katana handle ok... neither of them feels very alive in hand but the balance is decent. They are not super light, even the Bo-Hi blade has some heft to it. I prefer the No-Hi blade... it feels like it has a bit more authority. For small people these might not feel very good. My wife is 5'2 and LOVE the feel of the Musasshi Bamboo Katana... because its very light and has a slim tsuka. However for a thick large handed guy like myself, these are close to the mark.
There is nothing 'wrong' with the balance and handling of these katana... but they are just very neutral. Basic.
Test Cutting
These blades both cut surprisingly well. The two bottles on the left were cut by these blades, while the one on the far right by a custom sword that cost more then 7 times as much as one of these swords.
If a picture is worth a thousand words... how about a video.
After the cutting, the No-Hi blade showed a VERY small scratch...
Conclusions
I went into this purchase with an open mind. I am normally very skeptical of unknown Ebay sellers. I figured, however, that if no one checks them out, then how will we find the good ones?
My first impressions were VERY good. However, upon taking the blades apart my opinion did drop a bit. The blades seem good... and I like the 'hamon' like temper line on them. They cut well and are balanced decently for swords of their price. Also the seller offers a few options that might appeal to people that are not always easy to find on more well known production swords.
However they are not fit together overly well... the fittings likely not being designed for the blades they are hard to disassemble and reassemble. The cracked tsuka is sad.
So, like most things in life, there is good and bad.
Pros
Affordable. The swords themselves are very inexpensive... the shipping cost is nearly or more then the cost of the swords... but the total cost is still low, sub $100.
Options. They have some different options then you see in the production market.
Overseas buyers. Often a Katana that costs $80 in the USA costs twice that ore more in Europe or Asia because of shipping. These swords might be a great alternative for buyers overseas looking for something under $100.
Cons
Unknown track record. New on the scene, we don't yet know much about these blades. The cracked tsuka I got shows some quality control issues may be present, but we have not a large enough sample as of yet to know for sure.
Basic. The swords are decent... but there is no single aspect about them that really makes one go "Wow".
The Bottom Line
I think if you are looking under $100 these swords are certainly an option. Especially if you live somewhere where the more well known Musasshi and Masahiro style sub $100 swords become NOT sub $100 swords. In the USA, there are a few options for a similar price that might be a safer bet. However, if a particular style this seller has to offer that you can't find somewhere else catches your fancy, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the purchase at this price.
Unless you get a cracked tsuka, of course. Be safe, and check your sword... and be prepared to have a bit of a time taking it apart.
Still, after all is said and done, these swords are a viable option at their pricepoint... and it is ALWAYS good to have more options.
Thanks for Reading!
Introduction
I bought these two Katana off of Ebay specifically to review for you guys here at SBG. Fellow Forumite ichiban had said good things about this Ebay seller:
myworld.ebay.com/huawei-sword/
...who is relatively new on the scene. I figured, if they turned out to be decent swords for the money, it would be a good option for people looking for katana in the sub $100 area. Also, since a lot of the Katana available here in the USA are VERY expensive to ship overseas, I thought it might be a great option for our SBG friends not in the States.
So, I decided the worst that could happen was I would be out almost 200 bucks (which is pretty bad, actually, when you are as broke as me) but if they did turn out well, then ichiban and myself would have helped find another 'diamond in the rough' so to speak.
I looked over the options... settled on two slight different swords... (which happened to have green and purple ito, the Stevens colors.)
...then I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
Historical overview
Most everyone has some idea of the history of the Katana. These two blades are made in a Shinogi Zukuri style, like 99% of the production katana you find today.
However, of greater interest is the history of Ebay sellers who deal in Katana. Ebay can be a minefield for the sword collector. There are many good deals to be found, but also a lot of SLO's and poorly made sharp pieces of steel some call swords. For most of us, we pretty much avoid Ebay with the exception of a few trusted sellers.
So, now we are hopping to find another.
Initial Impressions
The swords shipped very quickly, less then a week, which is nice and surprising as they came from China.
They were packaged very well in foam cut to fit the swords.
They came in two of the nicest sword bags I have ever received a production sword in.
The swords look as described... fairly attractive, and of course, I love the color combo.
The blades had a bit of some sort of oil on them, not too much.
After cleaning them up a bit, they had a nice polish with a temper line of some sort, more noticeable on the purple ito bo-hi sword.
Both swords have a decent feel to them... tho nothing to really make you stand up and say 'Wow!'. They don't rattle or feel flimsy, and the ito seems tight, the fittings plain but not plastic.
All in all, a decent first impression.
Statistics
Purple sword with Bo-Hi
Blade Length - 28"
Tsuka Length - 10"
Overall Length - 38"
Sori seems to be about a standard 1/2, and the weight about 2 & 1/2 lbs. The seller claims the blade to be "1060 Through Hardened Carbon Monosteel" but also "Visible Hamon". I think the "hamon", which is attractive and not brushed on, is a quench line of some sort.
Green sword No-Hi
Blade Length - 28
Tsuka Length - 10
Overall Length - 38
About same sori as the Bo-Hi blade, a bit heavier tho at about 2lbs 12oz. The seller claims this blade to be "1095 Through Hardened Carbon Monosteel" and makes no mention of a hamon, but there is a very slight temper line visible.
Components
The Blade
Both blades have a shinny, not quite mirror polish, but close. Both have a temper line, tho it's far more attractive and noticeable in the purple sword. The the kissaki's are rough counter-polished, the the yokote is of course not real. Still... the blades are attractive, straight, and decently sharp. They cut paper with no problem.
The Nakago
No mei or other identifying marks. Seems solid enough for the price range.
The Tsuka
As you can see... the purple sword has quite the crack in the tsuka. Kinda a bummer. Also, these two swords were VERY difficult to dissasemble... the hardest to take apart I have yet to encounter. When I reassembled them, I could so why... the tsuba and seppa are not well fit to the nakago... getting everything back on was as hard as getting it off. Still, once put back together, everything feels tight again... but I know that monster crack is there in the tsuka of the purple sword... so no more cutting for it until replaced or fixed.
The ito is on fairly tight... it can be forced to move if pushed but feels good in the hand. A basic cotton is used, and the menuki can be pushed around a bit as well. They appear to be a light alloy of some sort.
The fuchi came right of the tsuka... they are a little to large for the tsuka I think.
The kashira is flat black, nothing special but nice and plain. The ito braid into the kashira is a bit... meh. Not a great knot.
The mekugi were of poor quality and need to be replaced.
The Same is real and at this price point is fine.
Tsuba, Seppa, and Habaki
All of basic design and adequate for the sword. On tsuba I did notice a bit of a burr, which I filled away for it to fit better. The tsubas appear to be steel painted black. The seppa and habaki appear to be brass. All standard fair.
The Saya
Basic black, shinny, fit decent with a small amount of rattle. The Sageo seems to be the same cotton as the ito.
Handling Characteristics
Both katana handle ok... neither of them feels very alive in hand but the balance is decent. They are not super light, even the Bo-Hi blade has some heft to it. I prefer the No-Hi blade... it feels like it has a bit more authority. For small people these might not feel very good. My wife is 5'2 and LOVE the feel of the Musasshi Bamboo Katana... because its very light and has a slim tsuka. However for a thick large handed guy like myself, these are close to the mark.
There is nothing 'wrong' with the balance and handling of these katana... but they are just very neutral. Basic.
Test Cutting
These blades both cut surprisingly well. The two bottles on the left were cut by these blades, while the one on the far right by a custom sword that cost more then 7 times as much as one of these swords.
If a picture is worth a thousand words... how about a video.
After the cutting, the No-Hi blade showed a VERY small scratch...
Conclusions
I went into this purchase with an open mind. I am normally very skeptical of unknown Ebay sellers. I figured, however, that if no one checks them out, then how will we find the good ones?
My first impressions were VERY good. However, upon taking the blades apart my opinion did drop a bit. The blades seem good... and I like the 'hamon' like temper line on them. They cut well and are balanced decently for swords of their price. Also the seller offers a few options that might appeal to people that are not always easy to find on more well known production swords.
However they are not fit together overly well... the fittings likely not being designed for the blades they are hard to disassemble and reassemble. The cracked tsuka is sad.
So, like most things in life, there is good and bad.
Pros
Affordable. The swords themselves are very inexpensive... the shipping cost is nearly or more then the cost of the swords... but the total cost is still low, sub $100.
Options. They have some different options then you see in the production market.
Overseas buyers. Often a Katana that costs $80 in the USA costs twice that ore more in Europe or Asia because of shipping. These swords might be a great alternative for buyers overseas looking for something under $100.
Cons
Unknown track record. New on the scene, we don't yet know much about these blades. The cracked tsuka I got shows some quality control issues may be present, but we have not a large enough sample as of yet to know for sure.
Basic. The swords are decent... but there is no single aspect about them that really makes one go "Wow".
The Bottom Line
I think if you are looking under $100 these swords are certainly an option. Especially if you live somewhere where the more well known Musasshi and Masahiro style sub $100 swords become NOT sub $100 swords. In the USA, there are a few options for a similar price that might be a safer bet. However, if a particular style this seller has to offer that you can't find somewhere else catches your fancy, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the purchase at this price.
Unless you get a cracked tsuka, of course. Be safe, and check your sword... and be prepared to have a bit of a time taking it apart.
Still, after all is said and done, these swords are a viable option at their pricepoint... and it is ALWAYS good to have more options.
Thanks for Reading!