chiburi
March 27th, 2010, 05:48 PM
Hi folks,
I received my Torakami a few weeks back, and boy, has it been growing on me. I actually compared it (cutting) with the Bugei Crane, which I subsequently have returned (didn't like the 27.5" blade with 13" handle - no "feel" to the blade).
Anyway, The Torakami is a great blade for the money!
I like the geometry. The kissaki is quite good. Love the hamon. The fittings were very tight with no rattling. You'll see I compare the Cheness SGC, Tenchi, and the bottom sword is the Torakami. I really, really like the curvature of the blade, along with the noticeable angle of the handle.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02925.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02923.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02933.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02915.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02930.jpg
I cut mats with the Crane and Torakami. Afterward, I called Bugei and told them I didn't want the sword. The Torakami just felt better to me. After cutting double rolled mats, I decided to soak and cut 4. Since I had a few left....I rolled up 7 mats and cut through them the other day with (initially) a kesa (see video link - not sure how to embed it).
Gotta love the Torakami - it took some good effort to get through 7 mats, but it felt really good using this sword.
7 mats rolled up is ridiculously heavy - quite surprised by that! It was so big, it didn't really fit very well on the stand, you can see it leaning to the side.
Alas, I had to use a garbage can for this one, as my wife was tired of me soaking the mats in the bathtub. The garbage can wasn't big enough to soak the entire mat, so you'll notice the bottom is pretty dry.
Quite a bit of fun. On one pic, the sun was shining a bit too much, so you can't see the total "depth of the cut," but it was 15" total. Pretty happy with the angles of the cuts - hope you enjoy!
Chib
Video:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/sanjoseHKD/videos/46/
The big cahuna- it was actually standing upright at this point!
This image is reduced by 32%, click it to view full size.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/DSC02971.jpg (http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/DSC02971.jpg)
Kesa cut angle pic:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/DSC02973.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/?action=view¤t=DSC02973.jpg)
Tough to see, but the total cut depth:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/DSC02976.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/?action=view¤t=DSC02976.jpg)
Slicing through:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/7_mat_cut.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/?action=view¤t=7_mat_cut.jpg)
One of me before my big ---- eating grin...:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/7_mat_cut_d.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/?action=view¤t=7_mat_cut_d.jpg)
THE END...
I received my Torakami a few weeks back, and boy, has it been growing on me. I actually compared it (cutting) with the Bugei Crane, which I subsequently have returned (didn't like the 27.5" blade with 13" handle - no "feel" to the blade).
Anyway, The Torakami is a great blade for the money!
I like the geometry. The kissaki is quite good. Love the hamon. The fittings were very tight with no rattling. You'll see I compare the Cheness SGC, Tenchi, and the bottom sword is the Torakami. I really, really like the curvature of the blade, along with the noticeable angle of the handle.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02925.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02923.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02933.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02915.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/Sword/DSC02930.jpg
I cut mats with the Crane and Torakami. Afterward, I called Bugei and told them I didn't want the sword. The Torakami just felt better to me. After cutting double rolled mats, I decided to soak and cut 4. Since I had a few left....I rolled up 7 mats and cut through them the other day with (initially) a kesa (see video link - not sure how to embed it).
Gotta love the Torakami - it took some good effort to get through 7 mats, but it felt really good using this sword.
7 mats rolled up is ridiculously heavy - quite surprised by that! It was so big, it didn't really fit very well on the stand, you can see it leaning to the side.
Alas, I had to use a garbage can for this one, as my wife was tired of me soaking the mats in the bathtub. The garbage can wasn't big enough to soak the entire mat, so you'll notice the bottom is pretty dry.
Quite a bit of fun. On one pic, the sun was shining a bit too much, so you can't see the total "depth of the cut," but it was 15" total. Pretty happy with the angles of the cuts - hope you enjoy!
Chib
Video:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/sanjoseHKD/videos/46/
The big cahuna- it was actually standing upright at this point!
This image is reduced by 32%, click it to view full size.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/DSC02971.jpg (http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/DSC02971.jpg)
Kesa cut angle pic:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/DSC02973.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/?action=view¤t=DSC02973.jpg)
Tough to see, but the total cut depth:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/DSC02976.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/?action=view¤t=DSC02976.jpg)
Slicing through:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/7_mat_cut.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/?action=view¤t=7_mat_cut.jpg)
One of me before my big ---- eating grin...:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/7_mat_cut_d.jpg (http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd197/quadexhaust/?action=view¤t=7_mat_cut_d.jpg)
THE END...