Hi all!
After getting a Shinto Katana for myself,
I thought I would share my findings with
the people here, as reference.
First things first. Unpacking.
After recieving my sword, I was impressed with the
amount of packing and the build of the box.
I can say it is to be expected for a mid end
sword manufacturer.
Next, I would keep the vacuum handy as your
cleaning kit will be saturated with blade
polish.
I vacumes completly, once still, the ball does
not leak polish.
Be carefull to keep the thin layer of Balza wood
as this will be handy is your Saya ever gets loose. It will
be used (at leat small pieces) to line
the inner part of the Saya to make it tight again.
Now, on to the sword.
It is a nice piece:
The Saya is very well laquered, but the finish
is fragile. If you look at it too hard, you will scratch it.
The blade is well made and fit and finish is without flaw.
Everything fits well and nothing seems out of place.
The hilt cotton pattern is well made, tight
and does not shift.
Real Ray skin covers the wood of the hilt
and its a good medium as it does not
slip, even if wet with humidity or sweat.
The Tsuka is also well made, robust
and two tone.
The hitl is tight, with no pay whatsoever.
Another thing I like a lot is that all parts are
steel, brass or wood. No syntetic material was used.
Even the cross pins are bamboo.
Impressive is the blade. It is both very strait,
with a nice Sori
This picture also demonstrate that the Yokote is real.
Its not just for show. The blade point starts at the Yokote and finished in a razor
sharp point.
Another point is the COB:
Its about 5 inches off the Tsuka, which makes
a good balanced sword.
It feels light and agile in the hand, and lenght is
OK for just about all situations.
I would say that its a little heavy for Kata, but
I trust it in cutting.
Unfortunatly, I dont have pix of what I cut,
but for example, the shipping carton was shed to pieces
with no effort.
Also, my neibourgh trimmed his shrubs
and 2 inch Chevrefeuil was cut with no
effort.
I can only imagine going through 4 inches of Maple,
but it seems very probable.
Finally, I did a polish upgrade:
So I hope you likes my review, please post any questions you may have!
