MAKOTO Handmade Sharp Samurai Shirasaya Sword …

(This is a long review)Normally I never do reviews but in this case I am. Before buying anything on Amazon I usu. read the reviews. I am constantly amazed at the (I hate to call it stupidity) reviews that sometimes aren’t even understandable; so many mispelled words; and sentence syntax that is that of an eight year old; and then there are the ones that try to answer a question ‘is it sharp?’ and the first guy says “very sharp” and the very next guy says “dull”. I don’t get it. I did not see a review for the Rosewood Katana so here is my ‘stab’ at it. Let’s start with what it actually is:SHIRASAYA: Japanese sword mountings are the various housings and associated fittings that hold the blade of a Japanese sword when it is being worn or stored. Koshirae refers to the ornate mountings of a Japanese sword used when the sword blade is being worn by its owner, whereas the shirasaya is a plain undecorated wooden mounting composed of a saya (scabbard) and tsuka (handle) that the sword blade is stored in when not being used.HAMON (Temper line): ‘Is it real?’ No, it is not real and the mfg. even states that it is not real. It is too much of a ‘perfect’ wave pattern to be the real thing anyway.WEIGHT: The handle and blade weighs 1# 15oz. (31.3 oz.) (888g) The scabbard alone weighs 6.6 oz. (187g) Total weight is 2#6oz. (37.95oz) (1,075g)MEASUREMENTS: Handle is 11”; Blade is 28.5”; Overall including scabbard is 40.5” (for those of you who are actually counting, the ‘extra’ inch is because the blade does not go all the way to the end of the scabbard-one inch away)HIGH CARBON STEEL: For those who asked the question of ‘why is there oily stuff all over the blade?’ there is a very good reason. Yes, it is oil and it is there to protect the blade from rust and/or corrosion. Steel =Iron = Ferrous= Fe; in contact with the Air = Oxygen = O2; and what you get is FeO2 (commonly called Ferrous Oxide, also known as “Rust”) If you wipe this oily coating off the blade when you first get it and then when you are done with it you should always put a light coat of oil back on the blade. 3in1 lightweight oil works great.TANG: The mfg says that it IS a full handle tang. Some of the reviews said “NOT a full tang” and then another one said it “It is a full handle tang”. Who are you going to believe? Some people said they even took it apart. WHY? There is no way I’m going to take my handle apart and then try to put it back together and try to match the matte finish on the Rosewood handle with the scabbard. I happen to have several ‘very strong’ magnets and I put one on the blade and it clung very tight to the blade. Then I took another magnet and went down along the handle and it ‘sensed’ the metal of the tang right through the wood of the handle all the way to about 1” from the end. IT IS a full length tang. One of my pics shows the magnets clinging to the wood of the handle. “A picture is worth a 1000 words”SHARPNESS: Again, here we go….one guy says “Its dull” and another says “Very sharp”. What’s with these reviewers?? Here’s the facts. I got my blade and ran my thumb ‘across’ it very carefully. It IS sharp. Sharp enough that I would not run my finger ‘along’ the blade as it is very capable of cutting skin. I have a “Chefs Choice” Trizor Edge XV knife sharpener (that I happened to buy on Amazon and am VERY happy with it) It has 2 diamond cutting wheels and the third is a buffing wheel. I was amazed that the thickness of the blade did fit in the wheels. I did not want to actually re-cut the blade so I put it through the third ‘buffing’ wheel….3 times on each side and it was SO SHARP that I literally could not run my finger ‘across’ it. So I tried it on a piece of regular copy paper; held it with my left hand and ran the blade across it with my other hand and one slice down went right down the paper in one smooth motion. Again, the pic tells the story.FINISH: The Rosewood is beautiful and the handle matches the scabbard perfectly. There is no difference in the finish or the wood from one end to the other. There is no small gap between the two either. For example, I was showing it to a friend and pulled it out of the sword bag (provided) and he didn’t know what it was. He thought it was a long piece of wood. I said to pull it apart and he nearly dropped it!! He was amazed.FIT: The blade slides into the scabbard easily and when the ferrule (Habaki) enters the scabbard it is a very nice snug fit. There is no ‘looseness’ in the fit and the blade is also snug inside. No rattles of any kind.Overall I am very pleased with this Katana. For the price of $53 you can’t beat it. For those reviewers who said that I ‘was fighting with another sword’ and the blade was all beat up, I have to say this to them; This is NOT a fighting sword, it is a showpiece and that is it’s intended purpose. If you want to practice with another steel blade you have to expect it to get ‘beat up’. It is not a Damascus steel blade otherwise you would be paying upwards of $900 for that kind of blade. You get what you pay for!! With this sword I can say that I feel that I got more than what I paid for. It is worth every dollar. I apologize for the length of this review but I had a lot to say. Thank you for letting me share.

Okay....first a disclaimer. I am NOT a sword expert. I know about good knives, but swords are totally foreign to me. So this review is from an average guy.... like many of you. Okay, let's get to it. First, the heft was impressive. Not heavy, but you know you're holding something. The sword was well packed, so there was absolutely no damage such as scuffs, dings, or knicks. The sword comes in a black soft sleeve to further protect it from being scratched. Upon visual inspection, the finish is a beautiful glossy light honey color. It fits tightly in the sheath with no rattling whatsoever. Upon drawing it, the blade was sharp. Not razor sharp, but if you took a sincere swing at a soft target, it would definitely do respectable damage. I'm confident I can put a much better edge on it with a stone and some patient grinding. The edge has that wavy line along it....I know there is a specific term for it, but again, I am not an expert or versed in Japanese. Overall, it is simplistic and elegant in its design. I didn't want an overly ornate sword with wraps, etching, or even a hand guard (again there is a term, but offhand, I'm at a loss). For $50, I was solidly impressed. I do know that swords can range up to the thousands, so I wasn't expecting much. I'm happy to report I was pleasantly surprised. It's beautifully crafted for its price, and the blade itself certainly warrants a respectable nod. The description says full tang, and another buyer stated they took it apart, and found it to be indeed, full tang. I'm inclined to believe that it is. For the money, I would say this one is certainly worthy of consideration. I'm a hardcore critic, but really found no shortcomings to speak of. For decorative purposes, it's a beauty. Even for you water-bottle killing samurai, I'm sure you'll be capable of littering the yard with fallen Dasani bottles.For you hardcore sword aficionados, you may find fault with its design....but remember, this is NOT a high end several thousand dollar Shirisaya. I don't know if I'd depend on it during the zombie apocalypse, but for the average Amazon shopper.....it's $50 very well spent in my opinion. I hope this aids you in your decision.

First off, I was a little hesitant about buying the sword from stock photo. Photo shows saya and tsuka to be different in color. The one I received not only is the same color, but also made from matching wood. Grain can definitely be seen flowing into one another. Pin in tsuka is hardly visible.I just noticed the pictures that I posted, are a little off color. It is actually lighter.With that said, the sword is fantastic.Very well balanced and light to handle.Blade is extremely sharp.Word of caution, because there is no tuba, guard, I suggest that you hold the sword as usual, but push away using your thumbs. Mine is super tight and just holding with your hands and pulling apart, you may slip and the blade will be baptized.Hamon line is very even and visible.Not much more I can say, except that I doubt you'll be disappointed in buying one.I'm not!No worries!

I got this sword and it arrived in a nice and sturdy package and i was excited to start using and practicing with this sword. I took it out of its sheath only to find this sword is horrendously weighted. I didn't think much of this because the blade was very nice looking (and sharp) and i was ready to use it. I started to practice against another sword i had purchased from amazon when i looked down at the blade and it was torn up beyond repair!!! I would not recommend buying this lazy and mass produced garbage pile of a sword.

Belle épée pour le prix et coupant mais lorsque je l'ai tester la lame ses plier ses pour cela que je lui donne trois étoiles