Taygrd
July 12th, 2008, 12:11 AM
We all dream of getting a great katana that is traditionally made at a great price. I had never purchased a Ryumon before and was hoping this sword would meet all of my expectations. I knew that it did not have the "pop out and hit you in the eyeball" jihada when I purchased it. That was fine with me since the traditional swords did not scream "look at me I'm Damascus(folded, whatever)". As far as pricing goes Swords of Might was $215 compared to the $300 price of other venders. The sword came with a burgandy sword bag, a real nice wooden sword box, and a cleaning kit. When it arrived my first impression was love at first sight. This sword has a graceful and slender appearance. The tsuka was of a smaller diameter than the other swords I owned, and felt like some of the nihonto I have had the honor to hold. I was really impressed with the blade and overall quality for the price.
http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=125
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/Origami.jpghttp://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/RyumonBox.jpg
THE BLADE
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/OkinawaBlade.jpg
Jihada: Difficult to determine
Hamon: Toran (shallow)
Zori: Tori
Mune: Iori
Lenght: 28 Inches
The sugata was very gracefull and flowed well with the koshirae. The bo-hi only added to the blades beauty and I think made the sword as attractive as it is. The shinogi was even down the blade and evenly ground and polished. The habaki was brass and fitted well to the blade. The chu-kissaki was well ground and defined.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/kissaki2.jpg
The nakago was finished like every other production sword I have seen. There was some rough grinding marks where the front mekugi-ana was smoothed. The nakago was roughly finished but honestly that was to be expected of a sword in this price range. The mei was carved well and prominant.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/Okinawa2.jpg
The blade was very sharp right out of the box and the ha was consistant throughout the blade. I did a little cutting with it and it cut nicely. I did not do any heavy cutting since I wanted this blade for display.
The Koshirae
I have to admit this sword was fit together as well any I have seen and better than most. No rattle, no gaps, it was a tight fit. The mekugi were of good quality bamboo and were shaped to fit. I was able to remove them from the tsuka without incident.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/Okinawa1.jpg
The tsuka came off the nakago as it should. The seppa were fit as an exact match and were of good quality as well. The tsuba was remarkable in the fact that is was one of the best fits I have seen on any production sword. No gaps and perfectly sized to the nakago it came off with moderate pressure. The tsuba is blued steel and was in the shape of the Tomoe mon.
The tsuka had three areas that I was not impressed with. The good points were the tsukamaki was almost perfect. The folds were even throughout the handle. The menuki was gold alloy of the Japanese Spiderman legend. Okay now my inner critic will come out. The same was of poor quality and I have had cheaper swords come wth larger nodules and cleaner than what was on my sword. I know that this varies greatly from sword to sword and what gets put on is what is at hand at the time of manufacture. So the next Ryumon I purchase may have perfect same. The same panels were one piece unlike some of the other swords that thay put two pieces on one side of the tsuka. The same was dirty and had glue smeared on it. They also ground the same smooth to get the panels to fit. It was not a full same wrap(most production swords are not) but the same was inset into the tsuka, and I have to say this was done with some skill.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/Okinawa3.jpg
The ito was that shoestring stuff that I always whine about and was fuzzy. My last critical point of the sword was the fuchi/kashira. They were a high gloss made of a smooth alloy that the grind lines were apparent on. Okay call me a snob, I can live with that. Even with those detractors I was still very much in love with this sword. The rest of the workmanship was beyond what I would have expected even from a sword costing three time as much. The saya had a nice sageo wapped in the formal style and the finish was flawless.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/OkinawaSaya2.jpg
Overall
I would recommend this sword to anyone who wants a traditionally made sword at this price. It is one of my favorites and is now undergoing a little modification to meet my taste. If I purchase another sword Ryumon will be up there on my list. The fit and finish on the sword is solid and I would not hesitate to cut with it on a regular basis. I give this one out of a 5 a 4 3/4. Great sword at a great price.
http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=125
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/Origami.jpghttp://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/RyumonBox.jpg
THE BLADE
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/OkinawaBlade.jpg
Jihada: Difficult to determine
Hamon: Toran (shallow)
Zori: Tori
Mune: Iori
Lenght: 28 Inches
The sugata was very gracefull and flowed well with the koshirae. The bo-hi only added to the blades beauty and I think made the sword as attractive as it is. The shinogi was even down the blade and evenly ground and polished. The habaki was brass and fitted well to the blade. The chu-kissaki was well ground and defined.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/kissaki2.jpg
The nakago was finished like every other production sword I have seen. There was some rough grinding marks where the front mekugi-ana was smoothed. The nakago was roughly finished but honestly that was to be expected of a sword in this price range. The mei was carved well and prominant.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/Okinawa2.jpg
The blade was very sharp right out of the box and the ha was consistant throughout the blade. I did a little cutting with it and it cut nicely. I did not do any heavy cutting since I wanted this blade for display.
The Koshirae
I have to admit this sword was fit together as well any I have seen and better than most. No rattle, no gaps, it was a tight fit. The mekugi were of good quality bamboo and were shaped to fit. I was able to remove them from the tsuka without incident.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/Okinawa1.jpg
The tsuka came off the nakago as it should. The seppa were fit as an exact match and were of good quality as well. The tsuba was remarkable in the fact that is was one of the best fits I have seen on any production sword. No gaps and perfectly sized to the nakago it came off with moderate pressure. The tsuba is blued steel and was in the shape of the Tomoe mon.
The tsuka had three areas that I was not impressed with. The good points were the tsukamaki was almost perfect. The folds were even throughout the handle. The menuki was gold alloy of the Japanese Spiderman legend. Okay now my inner critic will come out. The same was of poor quality and I have had cheaper swords come wth larger nodules and cleaner than what was on my sword. I know that this varies greatly from sword to sword and what gets put on is what is at hand at the time of manufacture. So the next Ryumon I purchase may have perfect same. The same panels were one piece unlike some of the other swords that thay put two pieces on one side of the tsuka. The same was dirty and had glue smeared on it. They also ground the same smooth to get the panels to fit. It was not a full same wrap(most production swords are not) but the same was inset into the tsuka, and I have to say this was done with some skill.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/Okinawa3.jpg
The ito was that shoestring stuff that I always whine about and was fuzzy. My last critical point of the sword was the fuchi/kashira. They were a high gloss made of a smooth alloy that the grind lines were apparent on. Okay call me a snob, I can live with that. Even with those detractors I was still very much in love with this sword. The rest of the workmanship was beyond what I would have expected even from a sword costing three time as much. The saya had a nice sageo wapped in the formal style and the finish was flawless.
http://www.geocities.com/taylorhandmadeknives/OkinawaSaya2.jpg
Overall
I would recommend this sword to anyone who wants a traditionally made sword at this price. It is one of my favorites and is now undergoing a little modification to meet my taste. If I purchase another sword Ryumon will be up there on my list. The fit and finish on the sword is solid and I would not hesitate to cut with it on a regular basis. I give this one out of a 5 a 4 3/4. Great sword at a great price.