Ronin78
August 21st, 2008, 10:51 PM
Well after reading nothing but good things about this sword and wanting a functional Katana I ordered one from SOM and it shipped 3 days ago. I got home today and here it was.:king:
Let me start by saying Im not an expert but feel that Im knowledgeable enough on swords and Japanese things in general its a passion of mine so to speak. Anyway enough about me.
The sword. Its incredible for the money, and even at 3 TIMES its price it would still be the best bang for buck going today in swords IMO. If anyone has doubts please refer to the superior cutting video on the SOM website. I dont know the mans name but his cutting technique is excellent and fluid and a joy to watch. I hope to be half that good one day. That finally sold me on the Musashi Katana. That and of all the Tsuba designs ever made by man, I truly LOVE the double C Musashi Tsuba which I understand he designed but never used himself.
At any rate the review is as follows. It came packed in a plain green Musashi box.
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0095.jpg
Upon opening the box it sat wrapped in its cotton sword bag.
When I pulled it from its bag, I was shocked to see its fit and finish. You must consider price as always and its truly worth 3 times its selling price. The following pictures were all taken with indoor lighting and my iPhone. I cant find the charger for my 9mp digicam, the wife got to it and its missing. Thats a whole new thread there.
The blade had a light coat of oil that cleaned up easily and well. The blade is polished very well IMO for the price of this sword, the hamon while fake is well done and doesnt overpower the blade either. The blade is extremely sharp. Mine is sharp all the way up and down the blade, no dull spots, maybe I got lucky but this thing is SHARP.
The same is fake and the Ito appears to be cotton. Its wrapped VERY well and VERY tight for a sword in this price range. The balance is beautiful. I would say about 5" out from the Tsuba. Feels light and fast in the hand. All fittings are very tight with no play whatsoever at all. The saya holds the sword very tight, no play and it wont come out if you turn upside down, however and nudge from the thumb and its ready to go.
My pics are not the best but it truly does look better in person. I will compare it to the PC Practical actually. My friend has the PC Practical and I must say I feel this sword is its equal in every way. The PC has a better polish job, but its also 3 times the price of the Musashi and then some.
All in all if your thinking about buying this sword do so. Its an incredible deal. Im going to buy a few more, for friends and to have a new one sitting in the box just in case.
No cutting review you say? Well I am just beginning Iaido training and though I have some years of Aikido behind me and much practice with a bokken I will leave the cutting until Im ready to do it properly. But there is an exceptional cutting video already on SOM website, so there is all the proof anyone needs.
All in all, you simply can not go wrong with this sword. You just cant. Simple as that. If it were $150 I would still be just as happy, but at $65 shipped, Im more pleased than I have been in years with any purchase I have made. If I had a $50K sword built tomorrow it would have a Musashi Tsuba, just saying...
Buy it and be happy!:king:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0086.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0087.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0088.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0089.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0090.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0091.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0092.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0093.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0094.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0095.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0097.jpg
Let me start by saying Im not an expert but feel that Im knowledgeable enough on swords and Japanese things in general its a passion of mine so to speak. Anyway enough about me.
The sword. Its incredible for the money, and even at 3 TIMES its price it would still be the best bang for buck going today in swords IMO. If anyone has doubts please refer to the superior cutting video on the SOM website. I dont know the mans name but his cutting technique is excellent and fluid and a joy to watch. I hope to be half that good one day. That finally sold me on the Musashi Katana. That and of all the Tsuba designs ever made by man, I truly LOVE the double C Musashi Tsuba which I understand he designed but never used himself.
At any rate the review is as follows. It came packed in a plain green Musashi box.
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0095.jpg
Upon opening the box it sat wrapped in its cotton sword bag.
When I pulled it from its bag, I was shocked to see its fit and finish. You must consider price as always and its truly worth 3 times its selling price. The following pictures were all taken with indoor lighting and my iPhone. I cant find the charger for my 9mp digicam, the wife got to it and its missing. Thats a whole new thread there.
The blade had a light coat of oil that cleaned up easily and well. The blade is polished very well IMO for the price of this sword, the hamon while fake is well done and doesnt overpower the blade either. The blade is extremely sharp. Mine is sharp all the way up and down the blade, no dull spots, maybe I got lucky but this thing is SHARP.
The same is fake and the Ito appears to be cotton. Its wrapped VERY well and VERY tight for a sword in this price range. The balance is beautiful. I would say about 5" out from the Tsuba. Feels light and fast in the hand. All fittings are very tight with no play whatsoever at all. The saya holds the sword very tight, no play and it wont come out if you turn upside down, however and nudge from the thumb and its ready to go.
My pics are not the best but it truly does look better in person. I will compare it to the PC Practical actually. My friend has the PC Practical and I must say I feel this sword is its equal in every way. The PC has a better polish job, but its also 3 times the price of the Musashi and then some.
All in all if your thinking about buying this sword do so. Its an incredible deal. Im going to buy a few more, for friends and to have a new one sitting in the box just in case.
No cutting review you say? Well I am just beginning Iaido training and though I have some years of Aikido behind me and much practice with a bokken I will leave the cutting until Im ready to do it properly. But there is an exceptional cutting video already on SOM website, so there is all the proof anyone needs.
All in all, you simply can not go wrong with this sword. You just cant. Simple as that. If it were $150 I would still be just as happy, but at $65 shipped, Im more pleased than I have been in years with any purchase I have made. If I had a $50K sword built tomorrow it would have a Musashi Tsuba, just saying...
Buy it and be happy!:king:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0086.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0087.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0088.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0089.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0090.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0091.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0092.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0093.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0094.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0095.jpg
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z101/redsoxfan78/IMG_0097.jpg