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View Full Version : Cutting test of Shogun Katana and Tiger Wakizashi



Toyamadude
8th December 2000, 14:21
Last night I cut using the Tiger Wakizashi and Spirit of the Shogun Katana both of which I received as prizes from the Orlando Tai Kai and Seattle Tai Kai. This is my honest impression of how these swords appear and how functional they are as sold. There was no sharpening, cleaning etc performed to these blades.

Both of the blades had little sori to them . The waki had full length bo hi on both sides. Both blades when examined in light show ripples along their sides along their full length, evidence of a non-stone finsihing procedure. The edge on both blades was not extremely sharp, and looked like both rolled slightly to the edge. The groove in the waki was mostly straight, but had some wavering in it. Fittings on the waki were nice. Wrap was tight and the finish on the saya was nice. The wrap on the Katana was a little loose and probably would not stay in place under heavy use. The fittings were decent onthe katana, which also rattled significantly when fully seated in the saya. Both came with Sageo in the traditional wrap along the saya.
The waki was finished in a full polish showing clear hada and temper. The katana was not fully polished below the shinogi-ji which hid most of the hada from sight. I think they call this a "satin" finish.

Cutting targets were full single tatami, rolled and soaked in water for 48 hours. The wara was still dripping when cut.

The waki failed to fully cut through the single wara using a side horizontal cut. It went 3/4 of the way through and I used significant effort during the cut. Unfortunately I did not perform any Kesa giri's with the waki.

The katana did cut through the single wara with repeated kesa giri's from both sides. Effort to do this was significant. It also did cut through using a horizontal cut.

My impression is that these blades need additional sharpening in order to be used for tameshigiri. It is unclear how well they will hold an edge. Based on the narrow width of the blade and slight roll to the edge, I am not sure either would stand up to repeated sharpenings without soon affecting the strength of the blade.

I think as entry level swords both are reasonable. I believe that for long term study of tameshigiri however, these would soon not be able to meet the serious practioners needs.

I realize that there are people who may or may not appreciate these comments. Take them any way you want. This is my honest opinion of these swords as they are sold.

Sorry to those who might take offense to this.

Kris
10th December 2000, 14:14
Thank you for your report. Im hope no one takes offense to what you have stated, as it was done so in a professional manner and from actuall experience.

Please make note that it is required to sign your posts with your full name... just a heads up, before a moderator brings it up :)

Joss
10th December 2000, 16:22
I'll add to that that the following:

- The price of the Spirit of the Shogun kat' is $589 (Xmas sale - MSRP is $789) at swordarmory.com. The Tiger katana would be $945 and the wak' is $710 at Bugei which has a special offer on them right now.

- The kat' sells with a sword bag, cleaning kit and a lacquered stand. The Tiger with the cleaning kit and a bag.

- Even fully polished I don't think you would see a hada on the Spirit of the Shogun as those are not forged folded. By the way, a quick question: would it make sense to have a full polish on a blade meant for tameshigiri? Just wondering...

- Swordarmory.com sells the Spirit of the Shogun kat' with a 1-year warranty, which they claim is an industry first.

- The Spirit of the Shogun kat' comes in 4 color schemes - red, black, blue, and green.

Toyamadude
11th December 2000, 12:05
HAving Full polish on a Blade when purchased is the norm usually. Even though through repeated use and sharpening it will fade. Just reporting the "as sold" condition of the blade and making no judgements as to why it was not fully polished.

Toyamadude

Victor Woo
14th December 2000, 07:06
Dear Toyamadude,

I am glad that you have finally received the prizes that you have won in competition. I agree with your assessment of the Shogun series weapons from Last Legend /SwordArmory.com. Although these swords are marketed for test cutting they will not reach their full potential until they are sent to the polisher for a test cutting polish. Most of our students that have purchased these swords have opted to have local polisher sharpen their sword.

On the question of edge retention and life of the sword due to repeated sharpening, I don't believe it is a problem. I have a Paul Chen Shinto Katana that I have only sharpened once. Since that time three years ago I have cut 200 pieces of tatami omote with the sword. The sword is as sharp today as it was three years ago. A properly sharpened edge can retain its sharpness for a long time. In our school the senior students spend about one hour out of every six class hours doing tameshigiri. I will probably cut about 80 pieces of goza for this year. The sempai students that are junior to me will be lucky to cut half of the number targets that I cut in a year.

For those people that don't know, Tom Smyth has proven that he is the best "cutter" in competition on both coast at the nidan/sandan level. He is a serious practitioner of tameshigiri. He has a sword that is optimized for test cutting and he has the skill to wield such a sword. For those of us that are not at Toyamadude's skill level the Shogun series katanas are more than adequate for the swordsman competing at the shodan level or for the swordsman that cut less than 100 targets per year.

Best regards,
Victor Y. Woo

The superior man does not prettify weapons. If one were to find weapons to be aesthetically pleasing, this would lead to the slaughter of men. One who delights in killing will not rule all that is under heaven.

Toyamadude
14th December 2000, 14:36
Victor :
thanks for the kind words... I agree ( per my original post) that these swords would serve well for the entry level .

When are you coming out here for a visit or vacation ????

Toyamadude

Dan Harden
14th December 2000, 15:18
deleted

[Edited by Dan Harden on 12-22-2000 at 11:28 AM]