Humble budoka sharing some of his martial journey in the way of the sword and bow. Hope you enjoy, feel free to share your experiences, I am always looking to learn from others. Note: Katana depicted on my homepage was forged by Miike Ju Yasumitsu (of the Komiya Swordsmith Family) in 1992 in Fukuoka, Kyushu Japan.
Dear Sir, I am also interested in buying a sword from E-Sword, however I tried multiple times to contact Mr. Masayuki Hirako by message or telephone but couldn't reach him either way. May I know how did you reach him? Thanks! Lee
@@waywardronin8755 Thank you for your prompt reply! I will try to contact him again! Also, could you inspect the items online through video chat with him, or everything purely rely on the photos they post online?
@@leerong7183 you can email him for questions but all of the photos that he takes are very accurate. Nothing was misrepresented; probably the most detailed pictures offered online for sure.
The swordmaking that we have now is largely from the 18th century or from the Edo period. Anything before that is passed down verbally and not written down, so how ancient swords were made has a missing link.
Yes you're correct, that is why Japan is really making efforts to keep the swordmaking tradition going. Most of the existing swordsmiths are the only link between present and past with knowledge that was passed between each generation.
Beautiful sword the craftsman ship these guys put into these old katanas time spent making just the blade alone really blew me away a lot of man hours.
Thanks for watching! Yes Nihonto craftsmanship is truly amazing functional works of art. The amount of knowledge and skill to forge one of these swords is awe inspiring. That’s why I am truly appreciative to be the caretaker of each of the Nihonto I have in my collection. I feel obliged to honor the sword smiths and all of the subsequent generations of people over the last 500+ years that have cared for the swords before me.
@@waywardronin8755 Absolutely i had a uncle that was a blacksmith not for his actual day to day job but a hobby of his he made a lot of different beautiful knifes in his day no swords though he really appreciated people that admired his work a lot of passion going into he's been gone now since 1996 R.I.P.
Thank you for the advice! Yes, being relaxed and loose is key for sure. What’s the old saying? slowslow is smooth and smooth is fast, and the only way to be smooth is to be relaxed. Sometimes easier said than done lol but that’s why I keep practicing.
My German buddy over in Germany said he just bought one and he only payed like 4 to 500 bucks and is very happy with it said very sharp and a beautiful sword.
Indeed, it supremely sharp, and very well-crafted. Hanwei has sometimes been known for having manufacturing flaws, but both of my Hanwei swords are very well done with no flaws in the blades or in the koshirae. I really like the way James Williams collaborated with the Hanwei team to create this line of raptor series swords.
Nice! looking sword 👌 looks very sharp to i always wanted the real thing which i found out cost up to thousands of dollars not to mention the waiting process of how the Japanese hand make them that steel they use is impressive.
Thanks for the comments! I appreciate it! Yes, collecting Nihonto is not a cheap hobby lol But the nice thing, especially nowadays you can get a high-quality non-Japanese sword, especially from China (specifically Longquan region) for a reasonable price with modern steel that is durable and hold a good edge. Those manufacturers are great strides in quality of their furniture and fittings. The Hanwei Raptor series is a good example of that. Good quality, 5160 Spring steel coupled with nicely done koshirae at a reasonable price. Of course there’s no duplicating real Japanese Nihonto but there are plenty of options to purchase a Japanese style katana, wakizashi or tanto and a reasonable price
@@patrioticyank4940 Anytime my friend, there are many good resources on here check out Karl's channel too, he has really good reviews and videos UChqUn_idMCZaieqFqG_Juig
I totally get it! I get sword envy, especially with Karl and his sword room and collection. It’s amazing. By the way, I subbed your channel. Very cool stuff. youtube.com/@katana-karl?si=YxuUpgTku1Iuwtkj
Thank you I appreciate that. I’m very lucky to have found this sword and become its caretaker. It’s truly a functional work of art, beautiful and deadly.
Thank you for subbing. I really appreciate it! I’m actually working on an updated video of my sword collection. It’s changed in the last couple years. I’ve added some European rapiers and a few more Nihonto
This is a interesting blade profile. Some of these style blades were used on Naginata. Basically it’s similar to a Shinogi profile up until the last third of the blade, then it just transitions into a diamond shape profile . So essentially it makes the tip of the blade very light and quick. This is good website that explains different profile types www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/styles.html
I do like it very much. I’ve had this sword for almost 10 years now and it’s a favorite of mine. The 5160 carbon steel is very forgiving, but holds a nice edge and polish. Also it cuts very well , and with a good point of balance with the longer tsuka And lighter blade geometry make it a quick sword.
Absolutely! But the 70s was an awesome decade. Nothing wrong with having fun with it! I’ve never claimed it was historically accurate. I just like using them and cutting with them because it’s fun.
The Ninjato is a historical blade used especially in Koga Ryu Ninja school. It was a homemade sword, not expensive like the samurai sword. 500 years ago, in ancient Japan, there were no cameras and no social media to record everything the Ninja did. Ninja secrets were mostly not written down because it was actually secret. That is why you cannot find your so called "evidence" for its existence. Because it was a secret tool. The Ninja who made these swords never recorded these swords. They had no cameras and no cell phones!And more importantly, they simply did not record it because their identities had to remain secret. They did not even sign their names on the Ninjato blade tangs. Secrecy was most important! That is the secret history and truth of the beautiful Ninjato. Ninjutsu is actually secret combat and espionage, so they knew that a secret should always just be a secret. So, if there is no written documentation that Ninja sometimes farted, can we say that "Historical Ninja never farted"? People are small minded sometimes and refuse to see the bigger picture! Some things does not have to be written down to be real. If any Ninja school used any tool on their missions, it really is a historical Ninja tool, regardless of whether they revealed the secrets on paper or not! The universe is bigger than we think! Do not be narrow minded! My whole family loves steak and we eat it quite often but none of us has ever written it down, so five hundred years from now, no one will ever be able to prove that our family ate it so much! So if people don't write down their historical secrets, it doesn't mean they weren't real! The Ninjato is taught in Koga Ryu Ninja schools and it is beautiful and it deserves respect.❤
Thank you sir! If you are interested in aquiring a Nihonto, I highly recommend Mr. Hirako's business (in video description). Whether you are looking for an older sword (Shinshinto, Shinto or Koto), or a gendaito like this Yasumitsu; his website has a very large selection with very detailed and accurate photos.
Both here, and with your katana, you should be directing your toes in the direction of your target. I have trained Kaishin Ryu and Kyokushin for nearly 40 years and am a master archer. Please, take this advice and recondition yourself. You'll see a huge difference.
Thank you Karl this was a special find! Got lucky finding this mid-1500s wakizashi. The koshirae caught my eye but the profile of the blade and the beautiful activity in the hamon won me over. Love that dealer sold it with shiasaya and tsunagi to store the blade but still able to display koshirae. I will be adding more info in description later.
I know it’s hard to choose, I like both for different reasons… the koshirae on the Iga I think is a little nicer but the metal work and overall design of Kouga is really cool … I guess that’s why I bought both! Lol
