Great video, that habaki does go well with some katanas not this one thought. 138.00 dollars not bad,my first lee sword was 136.00 with discount, but its got real rayskin, and it was sharp right out of the box.
@gargoylesblade thanks man. I disagree, I feel it's just a terrible habaki in general. Definitely all preference, but I prefer to never see that habaki again lol. It didn't come sharp, but now it pulls doubles on empties and cuts noodle scraps after. Definitely has a great heat treat and a good geometry, if not those cuts wouldn't be possible.
Sweet man - would make for a good project blade to mess around with. I remember getting my first leopard habaki on an ebay Kat 😅 thought it looked cool in the pics then not that impressed when I saw it lol (blade had tsunami/wave fittings that were silver/gold & I dipped them in black metallic nail polish and buffed them out with a dremel so they're more matching black/gold then spray lacquered them all) and used the blade for my first attempt at acid etching, still not my fave but defiantly looks better than when I got it lol
Exactly brother. These are great blades to start with and learn on or customize. I've already tsuba swabbed and habaki swapped this blade, and it pulls cuts some of my more expensive blades can't for $138 bucks. @joske2838
Not bad. Pretty balanced hamon. Actually well done. Ishime style saya always looks cheap, but what can you do. Agree just a straight Mokko tsuba with basic habaki would be more suiting. Btw I think they just call the wrap synthetic silk to sound fancy. Nothing similar to silk. It's basically nylon. Not raggin on you or the sword, I just think the marketing is bullshit and always has been. Looks like a great candidate for lemon juice / vinegar etch and polish. Actually a lot to work with there.
Yeah when those pool noodles get down to stumps, it takes a serious edge to keep cutting them. Good test of the edge ability. Also that double empty was badass. Could see you meant that one. Agree as well about the sharpening. You gotta learn one way or the other. Cool review, glad you're happy with it.
Decent! Pretty much what I expected for a rom sword. Actually I'm a bit surprised it wasn't sharp. I've heard from other people they come pretty sharp, a little toothy but sharp. I agree the habaki looks soooo tacky, rom definitely has a thing for the tacky habaki. Pretty much every sword they sell has something like that one. Just looks terrible,(imo) oh well can't have everything for 140$ lol. And 100% agree about sharpening, swords get dull especially cutting plastic and cardboard and shit. Unless all you cut up is watermelons and pumpkins, you're going to have to sharpen eventually. If not right out of the box. Especially with euro swords, they're rarely sharp enough. Happy 4th of July my American brothers!!! Merica! F#@k ya!
@sinisterswordsman25 this one actually surprised the shit outta me. Once I put an edge on it it became a beast of a cutter. Actually can't put it down right now lol
@@SpaceGhost182 yeah that new sword honey moon is always nice lol Rom is definitely on the "shut up and take my money" list. I want that gold blade, but now I don't know it would be nice to get a dh blade. All my swords are th, I love my nanbokucho but it would be a lot cooler with a sick looking hamon. Not huge deal to me but it's a pretty important detail to the point that they wire brush fake ones because people are expecting it. Even if you don't know shit about swords you're probably aware of the wavey line on the blade. So 140$ plus a little sharpening for a t10 blade? Shut up and take my money. I know what I'm asking for Christmas this year lol.
See, and that's the problem I have with ROM. It's like they are trying to make it look better than it is, or look more expensive.I can't do the gawdy bright gold painted/plated crap. The habaki is tacky AF. The blade coming dull out the box only makes it worse, despite being salvageable after sharpening. Standard fare for an entry level katana with the faux rayskin and synthetic ito, no horn saya parts, yadda yadda. It's just gonna be a hard pass for me.
Totally understandable. I've already tsuba and habaki swapped it, and honestly it's pulling cuts I couldn't get with more expensive blades. @preparedsurvivalist2245
