Cold Steel chisagatana review. quick and dirty.

[Jeff Ellis]

sorry, no pictures yet, i'll post them later.

they claim the sword weighs 45 ounces, about 2.2 pounds, it feels more like its about 4 to 5 pounds, i weighed myself with it and went up 4 pounds.. so they lie... the weight on it is poorly distrubuted. the blade itself is about 1.4 inches in width with no profile tapering at all, the blades about 24.5 inches long as well, and the kissaki is poorly ground on, leaving a small step on the ha where the yokote is, no not a small angle, this is a very tiny radius that goes into the ha....

i believe the tsuka is 11 or 12 inches.. either way, the tsuka is hard for me to grip as they matched the width of the tsuka to whe width of the saya, about 1.75 inches, tapering to a more comfortable grip towards the kashira (which is loose) with an hourglass figure to it. i took the tsuka off to check how it was made, it seems to be a cheap wood that was poorly carved to shape. in fact it seems as if they cut the mune side off in a wedge shape, ran the core over a router shaped to the nakago shape, shimmed it up, glued the mune side back on relievig it some, then wrapped it as tight as possible. it looks as though this is what caused the tsuka to crack on both sides of the mune side. the same is very poor quality as well, you can see right to the core thru it.

the fittings are in fact black iron.

this particular sword was missing the mekugi pins, so i added some delrin ones to dry handle it. the mekugiana are at a 45 degree angle, and are about .25 inches in diameter with NO taper in them whatsoever.

i didnt like how it felt, or even how it drew from the saya, which had to be oversized as well to fit the blade.

the bohi is nicely cut in, it might look better if it were extended a

little more towards the kissaki.

in all, the sword is good for a beating sword, nothing more in my opinion.

if they were to scale the blade width down a bit, say to 1.25 inches, and add a profile tapering into it, it would look and feel a lot better.

not a good buy for me, in fact, its gone back to the dealer....

[Elan Condyle]

Finaly an objective review.

I respect the fact that you're brutaly honest in your reviews Jeff.

Do you have the feeling that this model was rushed out or are you of the opinion that the sword you recieved is typical of Cold Steels quality?

[Jeff Ellis]

Originally posted by Elan Condyle
Finaly an objective review.

I respect the fact that you're brutaly honest in your reviews Jeff.

Do you have the feeling that this model was rushed out or are you of the opinion that the sword you recieved is typical of Cold Steels quality?

i dont feel it was rushed, i feel it was a qc slip up in this instance. its the second cold steel sword i've handled, the first being the o-tanto.. neither one felt any good to me

i'm no professional, but i can say this particular sword i had wasnt the best.. the saya was even scuffed up right out of the box and it was in bubble wrap...

i havent heard anything really bad about cold steel, and wanted a hands on experience i suppose. i've seen cold steel swords in varying conditions tho.. all were new... the otanto was rusted.

i forgot to add i, the habaki was very tightly in the koiguchi, and i had to use a pull and thumb push to get it out..

the tanto was the same way, tho the girl that was showing me had to pull very hard with both hands... so in my experience, this is their typical quality, but might not be in others.

i would not bet my life on it. the bohi is there to lighten it, yet the extra material on the blade shows why they have to put the bohi there.

[Elan Condyle]

I understand what you are saying.

I don't have any experience with their swords but have actually returned two of their knives due to similar QC problems. For this reason I have been hesitant to invest the money in one of their swords. My hesitancy has been warrented, it would seem. Thanks again Jeff.

[Scott Byler]

Makes me wonder what that O katana might weigh in at. That is a fairly big sword, so it has potential to be a beast, judgine from the chisa....

I only mention it since I was thinking of picking one of the big fellers up. Not a whole lot others out there to choose from...

Anybody out there ever handled said sword model?

[D. Opheim]

I just sold my "warrior" series katana (to help pay bills) and found it to be a little on the beefy side but well made and good balance for cutting purposes. I didn't feel the need to dismantle it, but after a year of use, everything remain nice and tight. I found the tsuka my most favorite part because of its nice tapering and good grip it provided. I have come to understand that your model katana was rushed into production do to lack of detail in the blade geometry. My katana had a nice linier tapering to the blade, this new Chisa seems to miss that so more can be produced faster. I would like to think that Cold Steel would eventually change the design as more people like ourselves comment on it.

[Chris Holzman]

Originally posted by Jeff Ellis
i dont feel it was rushed, i feel it was a qc slip up in this instance. its the second cold steel sword i've handled, the first being the o-tanto.. neither one felt any good to me

i'm no professional, but i can say this particular sword i had wasnt the best.. the saya was even scuffed up right out of the box and it was in bubble wrap...

i havent heard anything really bad about cold steel, and wanted a hands on experience i suppose. i've seen cold steel swords in varying conditions tho.. all were new... the otanto was rusted.

i forgot to add i, the habaki was very tightly in the koiguchi, and i had to use a pull and thumb push to get it out..

the tanto was the same way, tho the girl that was showing me had to pull very hard with both hands... so in my experience, this is their typical quality, but might not be in others.

i would not bet my life on it. the bohi is there to lighten it, yet the extra material on the blade shows why they have to put the bohi there.

I've handled a friend's double edged katana from CS. It refused to seat fully in the saya because the habaki-ana was cut wierdly, and the habaki was a bit misformed. after much filing on both pieces, it fit fairly well. it was also hideously dull. as in non-bamboo cutting dull. yuck. I have sharper butter knives than that. I was not impressed overall.

[Thomas H.]

A friend of mine is considering getting a ColdSteel katana, perhaps I should talk to him.

[D. Opheim]

Originally posted by Thomas H.
A friend of mine is considering getting a ColdSteel katana, perhaps I should talk to him.

All things considered, there still goods swords for the price. Like many manufactures before them, quality and improvments take time.

[Keith A. Cummins]

I have owned two. Sold one, and then wished I hadn't. So, I bought another. I also own two O-tanto.

Yes, they fit tight in the saya. All the blades have.

The chisa katana rattle toward the kissaki in the saya. The saya were not scuffed up when I got them.

One o-tanto was poorly fitted with a noticable gap between the front seppa and the tsuba. This tanto was also dull, but the other three blades have been sharp.

Mekugi at an angle but mine were tapered.

I weighed my first chisa katana on a scale in the lab. Right at 45 oz. It balanced about 4.5 inches in front of the tsuba. Haven't weighed the second one but it feels the same.

There is no true yokote, just difference in grind lines.

Yes, the tsuka is wide.

Its a short, heavy, chopper. Handles very different than longer katana. It was meant to.

I like them. Yes, no hamon, and yes, production blades mass made. But made traditionally, with iron furniture and if (big if) you get one with good quality control a very nice sword for playing around. Not one for serious work in the dojo whether cutting or iaido. Not meant to be, I think. Meant to provide a traditionally made katana at a price most people can afford. Uneven quality control seems to be the biggest problem to me.

[Jeff Ellis]

Originally posted by Keith A. Cummins
I have owned two. Sold one, and then wished I hadn't. So, I bought another. I also own two O-tanto.

Yes, they fit tight in the saya. All the blades have.

The chisa katana rattle toward the kissaki in the saya. The saya were not scuffed up when I got them.

One o-tanto was poorly fitted with a noticable gap between the front seppa and the tsuba. This tanto was also dull, but the other three blades have been sharp.

Mekugi at an angle but mine were tapered.

I weighed my first chisa katana on a scale in the lab. Right at 45 oz. It balanced about 4.5 inches in front of the tsuba. Haven't weighed the second one but it feels the same.

There is no true yokote, just difference in grind lines.

Yes, the tsuka is wide.

Its a short, heavy, chopper. Handles very different than longer katana. It was meant to.

I like them. Yes, no hamon, and yes, production blades mass made. But made traditionally, with iron furniture and if (big if) you get one with good quality control a very nice sword for playing around. Not one for serious work in the dojo whether cutting or iaido. Not meant to be, I think. Meant to provide a traditionally made katana at a price most people can afford. Uneven quality control seems to be the biggest problem to me.

the yokote IS a difference in grinds.. it was real from wha i could tell...

they arent traditional in any sense...

[Keith A. Cummins]

While not wanting to get into a semantic argument, let me say by "traditional" I meant they have a tsuba, a tsuka, fuchi and kashir, mekugi, etc. Tsuka and all are removeable. And a real 1050 tempered blade. Which, may or may not be dull. Yokote....no change in edge geometry that I can see on my two examples. Just changing grind direction, and thus lines, on what appears to be a belt grinder. If you mean not hand forged of river sand iron smelted in small batches, with a differential temper and a hamon, you are correct. They are what they are. The inconsistent quality control seems the biggest problem.

Keith

[Jeff Ellis]

Originally posted by Keith A. Cummins
While not wanting to get into a semantic argument, let me say by "traditional" I meant they have a tsuba, a tsuka, fuchi and kashir, mekugi, etc. Tsuka and all are removeable. And a real 1050 tempered blade. Which, may or may not be dull. Yokote....no change in edge geometry that I can see on my two examples. Just changing grind direction, and thus lines, on what appears to be a belt grinder. If you mean not hand forged of river sand iron smelted in small batches, with a differential temper and a hamon, you are correct. They are what they are. The inconsistent quality control seems the biggest problem.

Keith

keith? this was my review of the cold steel chisagatana, i gave my opinion on it. if you would like to see it have a good review, feel free to write your own up.

the particular one i had, was not traditional in my mind.

if you use your ideas, then that means every sword out thers is traditional, right down to wall hangers.

it was my opinion that cold steel cut corners on this sword.

the tsuka construction was a very very good example of this.

the sword, in my opinion, is oversized massively.

the tsuka was poorly constructed, which led to the breaks in it, the mekugi i put into it had no taper at all, and fit perfectly.

as stated before, if you dislike my review, you can always do your own. not attacking you.

[Jeff Ellis]

Originally posted by Keith A. Cummins
Yokote....no change in edge geometry that I can see on my two examples. Just changing grind direction, and thus lines, on what appears to be a belt grinder.

that sharp angle at the yokote in the picture is the transition, this chisagatana had that, but it wasnt that much.

the yokote is also a change in the shaping of the ji.

the yokote actually involves many many transitions.

it wasnt perfect, but i think it was close enough. i wasnt happy with the sword no matter what you say. so, :\

[Jeff Ellis]

Originally posted by Keith A. Cummins
While not wanting to get into a semantic argument, let me say by "traditional" I meant they have a tsuba, a tsuka, fuchi and kashir, mekugi, etc. Tsuka and all are removeable. And a real 1050 tempered blade. Which, may or may not be dull. Yokote....no change in edge geometry that I can see on my two examples. Just changing grind direction, and thus lines, on what appears to be a belt grinder. If you mean not hand forged of river sand iron smelted in small batches, with a differential temper and a hamon, you are correct. They are what they are. The inconsistent quality control seems the biggest problem.

Keith

also i'm giving my opinion based on a few nihonto i have.

[JLinker]

Originally posted by Jeff Ellis
the yokote IS a difference in grinds.. it was real from wha i could tell...

No. Just....no.

[Andrew W. Priestley]

Originally posted by Elan Condyle
I understand what you are saying.

I don't have any experience with their swords but have actually returned two of their knives due to similar QC problems. For this reason I have been hesitant to invest the money in one of their swords. My hesitancy has been warrented, it would seem. Thanks again Jeff.

I have a Cold Steel SRK knife. The thing is tough as nails and overbuilt...which is why it is one of the most popular knives purchased by military and special ops folks. But my knife needed some work out of the box. The tip edge angle was excessive. It needed to file it back to get an edge andlge that could actually cut. Sure you could drive the thing through an oil drum with the original tip, but the tip was useless for anything more delicate than that. A little file work and stone work brought it to where I needed it to be.

Good review of the Chisa. I was considering one for a bit down the road. I'll look elsewhere.

[Jeff Ellis]

Originally posted by JLinker
No. Just....no.

sorry, i meant to add in "caused by a difference in the grinds" the angles change at the yokote on both the ha and ji

it was once mentioned to me that a properly done kantana has no paralell surfaces on any of the flat faces. the shinogi can be paralell, but i believe that was about it. at the yokote, every angle on the blade changes, you can feel it if you run your finger over it when its polished properly. any and every angle on a katana is supposed to be sharp and crisp.

the yokote on the cold steel sword may not have been as sharp as i liked, but it was there mr linker. the yokote is not just a line they should scratch on, it has a purpose and reason for being there.

and if you're going to be so blunt as to just say "no, just no" please give me a reasoning for your rejection of what i said. dont just say it and leave with no real reason for saying it, i personally find it very rude when people do that.