willrichtor
December 17th, 2009, 01:37 AM
Next up in my reviews is the Bushido Tenma Katana.
note: this review is specific to a heavily discounted model obtained on closeout, pictures of this specific sword can be seen on the storefront
I recently purchased a Bushido Tenma katana with pattern welded blade, not for the regular retail of $175, not for the absolute steal discount price of $120, but for the "just get it out of my sight" price of $80. MSRP for this model is $250. The piece was discounted for a slight flaw with the kashira. Jason was kind enough to reassure me it was "not too bad" and I figured it wouldn't matter, I might just remount the whole thing anyway with new koshirae.
Now, there are a couple of very minor things with this sword, but the aforementioned flaw was not so much a flaw as just some sloppy work. The kashira is of the sort that glues to the end of the pommel rather than having the holes to thread the ito through. When it was glued to the tsuka, evidently they got a little carried away with the glue and slathered it all over the face of the kashira. It appeared to be either elmers or maybe weldbond from the rubberiness. A half hour of scraping at it with my thumbnail and it's all gone. Thumbnail too =))
This Tenma sports a blade length of 28 1/2" tsuba to kissaki. The tsuka is wrapped katate maki with a natural sand coloured suede ito. The menuki are almost entirely hidden in the ito. The style of wrap is not to my tastes really, but it is actually fairly good looking. The suede ito feels nice, but soils very easily. The tsuka is fairly slender - a bit smaller around than the kashira. The same is missing a patch of nodes near the tsuba, as can be seen in the store pics, but otherwise is of nice quality. The tsuba features a yurei, possibly Oyuki on one side, and a river scene with a grotesque Kappa on the reverse. The tsuba is a lovely red copper with a nice patina and silver/gold detailing.The plating is very tastefully done, unlike a lot of tsubas I have seen where the highlights are chosen arbitrarily.
The saya is a typical production saya. Lightweight, laquered gloss black with a decent finish and attractive wine red sageo. It is, however, a size or two too big for the sword. There is no friction fit between the throat and habaki, and the sword will slide free if held at an angle.
Now, the blade. The center of balance is about 6 1/2" from the tsuba, and the mune displays very little distal taper, with 90% or more occuring in the kissaki. The sori seems deep for a production sword. The hi are wide and fairly clean. The ha is uniform and moderately sharp, but there is one spot near the C.O.B. where there is a tiny chip and burr.I doubt I will ever cut anything with that area of the sword, but if it did become an issue, it is small enough to be easily worked out.
The most remarkable thing about the sword is the blade steel. The folds can be seen up close thanks to the subtle contrast between the layers. There is a ton of activity along the length of the blade, and the polish is very even, with one exception. On the omote side a couple of inches from the habaki, there is a spot on the jigane polished to a higher sheen than the rest of th sword. Upon close inspection, the faint ghost marks of an etching can be seen. There is a large M followed by the text Master Cutlery. It looks as if someone had tried to polish the branding off the blade. Whoever too it upon themselves, I thank you.
This is probably one of the nicest swords that can be found for under $200. The tsuba is gorgeous, the blade is incredible, and overall it has a unique look you don't find in this price range. Had I bought the sword at the full regular price and received this "flawed" piece, I wouldn't have complained ;)
*****
note: this review is specific to a heavily discounted model obtained on closeout, pictures of this specific sword can be seen on the storefront
I recently purchased a Bushido Tenma katana with pattern welded blade, not for the regular retail of $175, not for the absolute steal discount price of $120, but for the "just get it out of my sight" price of $80. MSRP for this model is $250. The piece was discounted for a slight flaw with the kashira. Jason was kind enough to reassure me it was "not too bad" and I figured it wouldn't matter, I might just remount the whole thing anyway with new koshirae.
Now, there are a couple of very minor things with this sword, but the aforementioned flaw was not so much a flaw as just some sloppy work. The kashira is of the sort that glues to the end of the pommel rather than having the holes to thread the ito through. When it was glued to the tsuka, evidently they got a little carried away with the glue and slathered it all over the face of the kashira. It appeared to be either elmers or maybe weldbond from the rubberiness. A half hour of scraping at it with my thumbnail and it's all gone. Thumbnail too =))
This Tenma sports a blade length of 28 1/2" tsuba to kissaki. The tsuka is wrapped katate maki with a natural sand coloured suede ito. The menuki are almost entirely hidden in the ito. The style of wrap is not to my tastes really, but it is actually fairly good looking. The suede ito feels nice, but soils very easily. The tsuka is fairly slender - a bit smaller around than the kashira. The same is missing a patch of nodes near the tsuba, as can be seen in the store pics, but otherwise is of nice quality. The tsuba features a yurei, possibly Oyuki on one side, and a river scene with a grotesque Kappa on the reverse. The tsuba is a lovely red copper with a nice patina and silver/gold detailing.The plating is very tastefully done, unlike a lot of tsubas I have seen where the highlights are chosen arbitrarily.
The saya is a typical production saya. Lightweight, laquered gloss black with a decent finish and attractive wine red sageo. It is, however, a size or two too big for the sword. There is no friction fit between the throat and habaki, and the sword will slide free if held at an angle.
Now, the blade. The center of balance is about 6 1/2" from the tsuba, and the mune displays very little distal taper, with 90% or more occuring in the kissaki. The sori seems deep for a production sword. The hi are wide and fairly clean. The ha is uniform and moderately sharp, but there is one spot near the C.O.B. where there is a tiny chip and burr.I doubt I will ever cut anything with that area of the sword, but if it did become an issue, it is small enough to be easily worked out.
The most remarkable thing about the sword is the blade steel. The folds can be seen up close thanks to the subtle contrast between the layers. There is a ton of activity along the length of the blade, and the polish is very even, with one exception. On the omote side a couple of inches from the habaki, there is a spot on the jigane polished to a higher sheen than the rest of th sword. Upon close inspection, the faint ghost marks of an etching can be seen. There is a large M followed by the text Master Cutlery. It looks as if someone had tried to polish the branding off the blade. Whoever too it upon themselves, I thank you.
This is probably one of the nicest swords that can be found for under $200. The tsuba is gorgeous, the blade is incredible, and overall it has a unique look you don't find in this price range. Had I bought the sword at the full regular price and received this "flawed" piece, I wouldn't have complained ;)
*****