Cloudhammer Steelworks $450 Katana 

Edit here- This is a $450 Katana, not $400, oops!

You are correct about the saya. Even fake bull horn would look better. Note if you have a problem with a CloudHammer and need a replacement part, you will never see it. These are the main resons why I never bought another one.

Great video! I own the same exact katana and I can say all the points you went through are 100% on point. I agree with you on the handle, it was one of the components that impressed me out of the box. The ishime texture on the saya on my copy started to peel a bit, revealing underneath a blue wooden saya. Personally I do like the aesthetics of the katana, but I totally understand where you are coming from on it. In my opinion, I do recommend the katana. The entire feel and construction of the katana felt like I got my money's worth. Also, Cloudhammer does offer similar swords in different styles and at similar prices. Once again, thank you for the amazing review and keep up the hard work!

I am a leather smith. Building a leather protective skin for the saya would be not too difficult with some cool custom designs and make it nicely reinforced! I was thinking of getting one of their dragon themed katanas and doing some custom saya leather skin work🤔. Thank you for the review.

This looks like a cherry blossom themed one on the site for $450

Another great review. Thank you.

If anything ever happens to my Cloudhammer, It'll be the tsuka I miss the most. That ito is so comfortable and tight its crazy.

Classic!! I laughed when you stuck the sword in the base of the stand while you fixed cardboard target,lol. It reminded me of the old cowboy movies when the sheriff used his priceless Colt 45 as a hammer to put up wanted posters,lol. On another note,John at RVA Katana is awesome!

Hey Matt, great video. Just wanted to draw your attention to the cloudhammer typo in the title and in the bio. Cya in the one

Good to know. Thanks. God bless ☘️

Great job brother, very well done ❤

my cat is chasing a chicken she is torn between chase and watching your presentation must be doing something right.

Nice cuts on the cardboard tube. I would argue that 2.5lbs is actually med-heavy for a katana, but either way nice sword and good showing. * just personal metric, I consider ~1000g to be light, ~1100g as medium, and ~1200g as heavy. At 1134g, I guess that's not so bad of a weight.

@Matthew_Jensen what steel is this one?

6:15 I guess my expectations are higher, I expect $200 swords to have tight Ito wraps. I've been spoiled by a $170 Siwode sword with a tight Ito wrap. If something of that price can have a tight wrap, there's really no excuse for a $400 sword.

Maybe it’s just me but I don’t really see where the $450 comes from with this blade. I can think of blades that do more for cheaper.

Hello everyone, I'm new here and also new to iado and tamashigiri. Would someone with experience recommend a decent sword in the beginner's range, say $200, please? Thank you for your help.

No bohi and unfolded tends to make for a more durable sword.

Just a comment for the algorithm

Hi Matt! I have noticed something consistent over the years watching your content, and if I may (with the utmost respect) criticize your system of review briefly, in the spirit of minimizing your impact on those around you and potentially also alleviating certain stressors that may result in this practice: In this video you state right at the beginning that this sword is another man's dojo sword. Directly after that, you then say that you have had the sword for the better part of a year. Herein lies my criticism, as this seems to be a common thing for you to do. So, I will break the criticism down into 3 parts to keep it truly constructive: Observation, Impact, and then recommendation. 1) Observation: You keep review swords that belong to other men far too long in your possession. I would consider it a clear disrespect and overreach on your part. Highly valuing your own experience with the piece, while necessarily devaluing the man who owns the piece's experience with his property. Telling the donors that it will take you a very long time to review is not an excuse for your ignorance. 2) Impact: By keeping pieces owned by others for an inappropriate amount of time, you inadvertently cause tension between parties, and likely bring a negative impact on those who are helping you by volunteering their person weapons to be showcased on your channel, even if this negative impact goes unspoken- no man wants to be without his weapon for a year. 3) Recommendation: You need to have a higher level of respect for men who provide their personal weapons for you to showcase and review on your channel. If you feel that you are simply overwhelmed with the amount of swords you have, it is your responsibility to appropriately decline donors if you feel that you simply cannot have an appropriate and respect-filled honorable turnaround time on donor weapons. I recommend setting yourself a hardline standard and operating procedure on future donor weapons, for example you may employ a system of communication like: "Hello sir, I accept your weapon to be reviewed on my channel and I thank you for providing it to me, for the benefit of myself and all who view my channel. To maintain honor and good relationships, I use a 1 month turnaround time on all temporarily donated pieces. If I cannot in good faith review the sword and send it back within 1 month of receiving it, I would decline the offer, with respect for you and my own time."

The fittings are never too your liking....