review : You won't believe it

[M.K. Ridgeway]

I'm going to tell you ,I am shocked by this and expect noone here to take me seriously.I recently took delivery of a katana bought off of ebay and was shocked.I had to restrain myself from writing about it then and there.Well its been two weeks now
and the sword has been through hell,and between me or the sword, i came out he worse for wear.

Folks I am not a beginner and I will name this product unashamedly MASAHIRO.

Yes masahiro.

This line of swords has taken a beating here in the recent past,just do a search and see.

Well either I got lucky or they got their s#$t together or something.

The katana came in a card board box which contained within it a heavy card board tube.Inside that wrapped in a sword bag held in place by 4 styrofoam rings was the katana.

I had forgotten about winning the auction thats how much I expected from this sword.
First impression was surprise.

Tsuka is slim and waisted.The lines are elegant and it feels good in the grip.Menuki are bronze and under the palm.One mekugi.Ito is black cotton, and TIGHT.Tsuka is fully wrapped in real same.


All fittings are bronze,theme is bamboo with mokko style tsuba.Tsuba ,fuchi and kashira are all well made and very tight.

The mune is 7.5 mm.The ha is scary sharp.The munekado swells where the shinogi join it to form an elegant "snakehead tip".Hamon is no doubt etched but subtle.POB is 5.25" from the tsuba.Kissaki polishing could be better,though yokote is somewhat crisp.Good edge geometry.

Saya fit is tight although there is a tiny rattle and no buffalo horn.

Box was stood on end and sliced cleanly in half .Half was thrown in the air and sliced cleanly into halves which fell lightly at my feet.

I'm tired of typing.

Coke bottles ,bamboo, saplings, vines,milk jugs,and pine branches have died at its blade.It feels light quick and agile,and cuts easily.Sword is still tight after two weeks and many swings.

Steel is 1045 . the manufacturer claims rockwells of 45 and 40.A little soft for the ha, but it should sharpen well. edge has held fine so far."corewrap" construction claimed what, kobuse ?I have no way of confirming or refuting these claims.

Folks, this is no $1000 sword ,but it makes me ashamed of the katana I spent $1000 on.

What's my frame of reference?I have given a chen ppk away as I thought it unusable.I have handled many highend production models , and just a few nihonto.I own a Citadel yoshi.Is tis Masahiro as good as my yoshi?In many ways yes.It is certainly more substantial feeeling,and cuts heavier targets with less work.

When you figure the yoshi at $998 and that this sword arrived at my door for $86 it is better than the yoshi by leaps and bounds.

I am no beginner starry eyed at a wallhanger.I am PROUD of this sword.

So snicker,poke fun and shake your head.Move this thread to the beginners forum if you choose.

I'll hide my smile at your $1000 cutters, cause I own one too.Maybe you'll try one of these Masahiro.Maybe you'll think the same as me.
I can't figure out why my Masahiro is so much different from the others I've read about here.

Just lucky I guess.

Or maybe they are the next good thing.

All I know is I'm buying more.

mk


PS:I'll try to find the digi camera and see if I can figure out how to import some pictures.

[ThomJ]

Originally posted by M.K. Ridgeway
What's my frame of reference?I have given a chen ppk away as I thought it unusable.I have handled many highend production models , and just a few nihonto.I own a Citadel yoshi.Is tis Masahiro as good as my yoshi?In many ways yes.It is certainly more substantial feeeling,and cuts heavier targets with less work.

Please enlighten us as to the Nihonto you've handled.

[Glenn Morrill]

PHOTOS MAN!!!!..Where are the photos? And what prompted you to buy it in the first place?

[M.K. Ridgeway]

Thaitsuko kumori : thaitsuko claims to be nihonto though priced at a production level price.I have handled a couple of Gendaito era WWII souviniers.

I make no claim at being a nihonto expert nor do I claim that a hundred dollar production sword is in anyway comparable to antique nihonto.

The claim of quality was based on comparison to other production level katana.

I did not post in the nihonto forum.

I neither need or desire your approval in anyway in fact if I did desire approval I would not make a post contrary to the accepted line of thought to call myself out for ridicule.I would stand back and throw rocks at those who do like some others.

I am flatterd you have studied everything i have said here so closely.

Sorry I cannot say the same of you.

Regardless I knew I would be succeptable to shots like this when i made this post.

Why say we when you mean yourself?

Ok , lets say I am a raw newbie.I still can make a cut with my yoshi batodo and the masahiro and compare the two.

thanks for your thoughts.


mk

EDIT:If my post makes no sense its because the post I was responding to was changed.

[M.K. Ridgeway]

Originally posted by Glenn Morrill
PHOTOS MAN!!!!..Where are the photos? And what prompted you to buy it in the first place?

Well ,I bought a new sandwedge on eBay and surfed for some swords.I bought a 5160 bare shobu zukuri style blade and just for laughs bid on the masahiro and a couple of chinese crap pieces from one of the ill-regarded dealers.The ones from that dealer were pretty much what I expected, toys with cheap fittings and bad geometry ,but I was a little surprised at the qquality of the blades.
The masahiro blew me away.
Either they have bad quality control or they've made improvements because what I recieved in no way resembled what Ive read about.No milky prominent hamon,no loose ito and definitely not a blunt edge.

I'll try to get some photos up tomorrow.
mk

[ThomJ]

Thaitsuki are low end production pieces made in Thailand...

They are not nihonto.

Gendaito era WW2 souveniers, do you mean Gunto? please explain yourself further. The swords produced during WW2 are amazingly varied.

[M.K. Ridgeway]

Originally posted by ThomJ
Thaitsuki are low end production pieces made in Thailand...

They are not nihonto.

Gendaito era WW2 souveniers, do you mean Gunto? please explain yourself further. The swords produced during WW2 are amazingly varied.

Pieces produced before WWII which were siezed from civilians.My uncle has a small collection of WWii items which is where I got my luftwaffe officers sword.

However the subject of this thread is not nihonto and I will retract any statements made about such.


mk

[Alan C.]

Luftwaffe are the german air force, no? I think you will need to post some hq pictures for any of us to come close to taking you seriously.

[Joe C.]

I for one applaud you for staying with your convictions even though you knew they would get scoffed at and be generally un-popular.

I say have an open-mind!

[Sherman Chow]

Originally posted by M.K. Ridgeway
I am PROUD of this sword.

Why? Do you own the company that makes the masahiro?
Okay, enough kidding aside. I'm having a hard gauging where you're coming from. You keep stating that these masahiro "swords" are better than high end production swords, but you don't really explain why.

Hopefully, your explanations will be included in the many pictures you're taking, which you will provide shortly.

Looking forward to this. It should be enlightening on a number of levels.


Sherman

[Ty N.]

The market for production kats has become fiercely competitive since the late 90's, so it's no surprise when a new product comes along which demonstrates higher quality than many others in the same price range. I think the trend will continue, as is the norm whenever competition is allowed to thrive...


EDIT: I've had quite enough of nihonto snobbery since joining SFI. Anyone can acquire knowledge, but to belittle others is to demonstrate a lack of wisdom.

[Glen C.]

Originally posted by Alan C.
Luftwaffe are the german air force, no? I think you will need to post some hq pictures for any of us to come close to taking you seriously.

Hi Alan,

Are you unfamiliar with the Lufftwaffe sword, or maybe just unsure he might have one? The thread could have been a bit better titled, he could have been a little less exhuberant and others a bit more open.

Cheers

Hotspur; one could easily have read it and moved on, saying nothing

[Ty N.]

I thought they were German waffles...

[Joe C.]

Originally posted by Ty N.
The market for production kats has become fiercely competitive since the late 90's, so it's no surprise when a new product comes along which demonstrates higher quality than many others in the same price range. I think the trend will continue, as is the norm whenever competition is allowed to thrive...


EDIT: I've had quite enough of nihonto snobbery since joining SFI. Anyone can acquire knowledge, but to belittle others is to demonstrate a lack of wisdom.

Well said on both counts.

As much as I have read about Nihonto here, I find it hard to believe that a large percentage of Japanese sword enthusiasts, actually own one.

P.S. If it could just be agreed upon that a $86.00 sword is better than a PPK, I think that is news worthy.

[Dave Drawdy]

and that would be 'air' waffles. The topic is a masahiro, not documentation of someone's history of sword handling. He compared it to a couple of specific blades, that should provide a baseline reference, more than most people do. More than enough detail proved for comparison. I'd be interested in seeing pics.

Dave

[Dave Drawdy]

Originally posted by Joe C.
As much as I have read about Nihonto here, I find it hard to believe that a large percentage of Japanese sword enthusiasts, actually own one.

Most don't.

Dave

[M.K. Ridgeway]

Originally posted by Alan C.
Luftwaffe are the german air force, no? I think you will need to post some hq pictures for any of us to come close to taking you seriously.

I couldn't care less.Offered up is one review of an extremely cheap production sword,from the perception of one who feels it is a better value than his expensive production sword.

Superior to top end productio models?No way.Is my $1000 sword 12 times better than this one? No way.

My claim is exceptional value for the money spent.

As for taking me seriously, none of you pay my rent or grace my bed.You are a bunch of faceless cyber people whom I chat with through wires.If you ask me a lot of you take yourselves too seriously.

Furthermore,I certainly can not claim the entire line is consistent with the one I recieved.At least one was reviewed poorly here.

I have no stake in this other than recieving what I consider a great deal and letting people know about it.If you don't want to believe it then really, what do I care?


mk

[Restita DeJesus]

Okay, everyone. MK has a new sword, has taken time to do a write up on it.....let's at least be a bit supportive of the pride he has in his sword. *g*

Lets go back to playing nice on this discussion.

[A Lousignont]

I for one am very interested in seeing pictures of the newly acquired sword...and also interested in seeing links to this vendor.

[Glen C.]

Originally posted by A Lousignont
I for one am very interested in seeing pictures of the newly acquired sword...and also interested in seeing links to this vendor.

There are many selling these swords. If you go to a search engine, like Google and enter Mashiro katana as a search term, there are many sources. A fair variety of options for style. Some like them, some don't.

Cheers

Hotspur; there are also old threads here

[Alan C.]

Originally posted by M.K. Ridgeway
I couldn't care less.Offered up is one review of an extremely cheap production sword,from the perception of one who feels it is a better value than his expensive production sword.

Superior to top end productio models?No way.Is my $1000 sword 12 times better than this one? No way.

My claim is exceptional value for the money spent.

As for taking me seriously, none of you pay my rent or grace my bed.You are a bunch of faceless cyber people whom I chat with through wires.If you ask me a lot of you take yourselves too seriously.

Furthermore,I certainly can not claim the entire line is consistent with the one I recieved.At least one was reviewed poorly here.

I have no stake in this other than recieving what I consider a great deal and letting people know about it.If you don't want to believe it then really, what do I care?


mk

Wow, one comment from me and everyone has to chime in. See how that works? I am now responsible for my opinion to anyone that reads it. You're responsible too, for what you said, whether or not you think we deserve it here at the forum. I don't think it's too much to ask for some proof to back up your opinions, seeing that not all of us have a $1000 sword and a masahiro to compare with. But if you are noting going post any facts or pictures to back that up, well, I'm fine with that too, I just won't take your "review" seriously. And of course you care what we think, other wise you won't be posting.

[A Lousignont]

Originally posted by Glen C.
There are many selling these swords. If you go to a search engine, like Google and enter Mashiro katana as a search term, there are many sources. A fair variety of options for style. Some like them, some don't.

Cheers

Hotspur; there are also old threads here

I am MORE interested to learn of the SPECIFIC vendor that Mr. Ridgeway purchases his sword from, and the particular model of sword.

[michael wilson]

Let the Guy with the Masahiro have his say

A few of the UK guys were pleasently surprised by the Quality
of Tony Long katana - and bear in mind thses were not "newbs"

some "own" Nihonto and had collections started over 30 years
ago , straight away we had a guy calling us liars and questioning our right to own swords , The same person has posted a few times in this thread -

Are we not all comrades in arms with a common interest -

"i'll say this for the thoudandth time " these swords are not Nihon-to - they are not Shinken , they are an affordable entry level blade and a way in the door to the often exclusive world of
swords - and if your $100 sword leads you to develop as a sword collector or MA student then all power to you .

I loved Dave Drawdy's comment about experts not owning Nihon-to - I thought all the experts must have owned muromachi blades from day one .

Mick

[David Stephenson]

He might be ... quite right. I did a search for MASAHIRO katana on google and found a few, they look pretty reasonable for a cheaper production sword.

I mean obviously they can't compare with an authentic one, which is a work of majestic art.

But they look reasonable. Maybe they have some place in the world.

[Matt Lanteigne]

Did some posts get edited out of this thread? I'm confused...why all the hostility?

I've never heard of this new company...looking forward to the pics.