As a metal worker I can say that 1045 is underestimated a lot. It is likely a "better" sword steel than many historical swords, of course not all historical swords, some were better but many were not great steel. 1045is very tough, it will take a lot of abuse and nearly never break
Yup. People talk a lot about Japanese steel but don't realize it is impressive because they had really crummy iron sources, not that the swords were actually super strong. It was amazing the smiths were able to make a useable sword with what really was terrible geographic assets to make anything metal. Low quality modern swords with how refined even the cheapest Chinese modern steel is will be way better even without folding. I think the best benefit of this sword even for people who own folded steel swords is to learn how to sharpen a sword properly. It's not a super easy skill to learn, and can make expensive mistakes.
Forget the SwordvSword contact, I'm shock that thing survived being hit against a laptop and remained in usable sword shape. Great review Matt! Hope you feel better that was adorable when you and your daughter were cutting together lol
@Amber MGL I suggest you go outside and take a look at some of these mindless drooling walkers out there. Sure if you define a zombie as someone who actually wants brains there aren't many of them...
@@wudangmasterlee8123 He's talking about the stupid people in society who are basically like zombies. I mean perfect example was the BLM riots. There were tons of people chased by hoards of rioters down the street, it looked exactly like a zombie video game. Hoodsite when it was still up had a video about a shop owner who was defending her shop from rioters, they were breaking through the glass and she was mowing them down with a rifle like a game of nazi zombies. Worst part is she got arrested and charged for defending herself, while none of the rioters were charged with anything.
I love mine, it was my first sharp sword and it has grown on me. I messed up some cuts, once even nicked the tip cutting in the garage on the steel door runner overhead... cleaned up easily no lasting damage. A year later still sharp, still straight, and yeh its not as pretty as others but it has held up. Now I want someone to make a functional $50 longsword.
The steel will roll pretty easily.at the angle it is ground. To give it slightly more durability you can add a micro bevel after the honing is complete. The micro bevel can be added with a fine grit sandpaper, stone. Then green buffing compound on a leather strop. It should prevent some of the rolling that this soft steel is known for. Great video!
You may have sold me on this one Matt! I would take the edge off and use it strictly for iato. It’s cheaper than an aluminum blade that they sell in the stores. Bravo for another great review!
Well, it took an incredible amount of abuse before it failed. The real test is to see how many home invaders it goes through before it fails. I am pretty sure you can count on it for that! (No sense damaging your expensive swords on scumbags)
I disagree as well. You'd have something of equal steel quality in both performance and toughness if you sharpened rebar. I would argue the furnishings are far more valuable then the steel used here that they come fixed to. In other words the sayia, handle, wrap, tsuba cost more than the actual steel. We also need to define what functional is. I would say deformation while cutting through the softest of targets and not even doing that well, is hardly something that should be considered "functional" when the only thing you can safely do with it is draw it and re-sheath it. I would even go so far as to say they probably didn't even harden it as doing so would require steel with enough carbon content to take to tempering, this "sword" clearly doesn't have that. A waste of $50 imho
The Kenjutsu class I took we actually treated our sharpened swords for both solo practice and cutting, we treated our swords with reverence, bowed to them before and after class etc. Meanwhile I'm watching this serious destructive testing. For 50 bucks this is amazing. Also when ever I test cut I always clean polish and resharpen my swords and that prolongs it's life. This sword would cut and stab in a fight where you had the sword and no one had armor. You might get just one or two fights out of it before you had to move it back into shape.
When I'm looking for a sword review, this is exactly the type of video I'm looking for... I don't want a video that only talks about how pretty the sword looks (like, no sh*t. I know the sword is pretty, that's why I wanted a review) I'm trying to see whether the sword is something that'll last a long time or something that will just break if I so much as sneeze in it's direction *looks at Shinwa* Overall, a great video...
have to agree with you on these. All though they about as bottom of the barrel as you can get, the blades arent actually all that bad, and the way they handle is almost a breath of fresh air for someone like me, who most owns longer T10 blades(30+inches) with wide heavy cutting geometries, this feel like cutting with air, almost like aido blades with an edge. not too mention, they're also just fun to use when you just wanna let your inner teenager out and just go wack some tree branches with out damaging your $800+ art pieces lol
That's one of the things I love about good budget blades they will get tested to the max and some time hold up as good and on a few instence even better than very expressive ones because no one will test them overly hard and for obvious reasons, but budget blade take a butt whipping and we enjoy watching. I like that budget Katana Sword ,it will serve well as a light functional sword and decorative Wall Hanger Sword. Two kinds of cool. Good Review of the Budget Blade 👍
I bought one of these recently. The one I got was in better shape tho. Alot of the descrepancies he had with the handle and cotton specifically, werent a problem. I havent used it on anything yet, but now im confident it is actually pretty hardy.
I have like an 80-100$ musha from their “mon” line (don’t know proper names but they all have some mon on the saya) and it’s lasted some few years. Not a great sword but a fun one. Glad to hear their cheaper option is still nice. Though mine came with a plastic koiguchi cover (goes over the saya like the metal one but is supposed to be removed)
That 1045 steel is still a lot of better than the one I had made out of 1010/1020 mild steel. That one was so soft that you can adjust the zori by hitting it against a tree, just once. The curvature would even change when hitting water bottles. I threw it in a scrap pile. In case anyone is interested. The last 2 numbers are the carbon content. 1045 being 0.45% carbon. 1020 being 0.20%. 1095 being 0.95%.
Great review! I've been a long-time student of Japanese martial arts and kenjutsu/Aikiken figure strongly in my training. Being not at all rich, when I first was looking for a real katana good for basic cutting, I stumbled upon a Musashi-branded katana. Literature said it was "hand-made" (doubtful, I figure), but differentially tempered and made with, IIRC 1060 carbon steel. Price with shipping was around the $200 mark so VERY skeptically, I ordered it. Sword came in and I was very surprised with the quality. While I doubt it was "hand made and clay-tempered in the traditional way" (ah, advertising), it has a genuine hamon, something I haven't seen before on swords under about the $800 - $1,000 price mark. It is quite solid and very sharp. It has held up to quite a bit of cutting (mostly pool noodles - not only cheaper than tatami but if you make any mistake at all it really shows). I've also cut water bottles with no problems. I shamefully perhaps have cleanly cut quite a few finger-thick tree limbs whilst cleaning up the back yard. No edge damage and no discernable dulling (still cuts those noodles perfectly smooth). I have one instructor who rolls his eyes at any sword priced under four figures (in fairness, he's used genuine antiques) but others, including some gifted students of ours have sang it's praises. I'm guessing mine is a couple steps up from the $50 version featured here, and while it's certainly not a $1,000 sword (cotton tsuka-ito, etc.) it has held up quite well and I doubt one could find a better blade for more than double the price (which is still I realize, a cheap katana in the grand scheme of things, LOL). Anyway, great review, new subscriber (as you appear to actually know what you're talking about and I appreciate that).
I hope there is a list of katana with traditional construction that can be disassembled as opposed to epoxied tangs. I guess we can watch all the review videos and figure out the list ourselves, or contact the maker.
Great video myself and a coworker watched it just now on night shifts. He is not a sword guys like myself but is considering it now with such a low price point.
Ha. Nice slice on all those beer cans. I bet not many people could make that cut! Sometimes its fun to have something you can swing hard and put away wet I guess.
i had a musha bride's sword with the hanzo lion stamped in the blade. it was, i assume 1045 high carbon steel. just like this, but it did not bend, even when chopping through three inch oak branches.
Your noto are starting to look pretty good. Interesting to see what these swords can do, considering the extremely low price. As I expected, they're probably more suitable for play targets such as bottles. Surprisingly durable though, judging from the part where you break it. If it could hold an edge, it might have been usable as a beginner cutter. Would be great to have a blade for such a low price the beginners could ruin with no worry.
Not a bad weapon for anyone who wants to stockpile weapons to build a post-apocalyptical army a'la Caesar's legion. These could be for your "Loan-sword Ashigaru", and save your personal collection for your trusted "samurai".
Matthew Jensen around 15:00 it really shows lol! Great videos I just found your channel a couple days ago and they’ve all been helpful, informative, and most of all interesting. Which can be tough to do in this field of RU-vid.
I like the Metal koiguchi. I'm new to sword practice and got my practice sword from Hanbon Forge in China. it was 127 dollars and because I was afraid I'd cut fingers off, opted for the dull iaito option. I use my teachers sword when we do cutting, but plan to get a sharp sword soon. The Metal koiguchi would certainly make me feel a little less concerned for my fingers while I get better at this sword stuff.
Great review as usual, i just love your down to earth and dry humor the music was a tiny bit loud in relation to your voice at times I feel like though. Though I am a knifemaker I do not have too much experience with 1045 since it is too soft for the type of blades I make. However you being able to bend a through hardened Blade that far without breaking it despite all the abuse the blade has gone through makes me seriously doubt their heat treatment. Either they tempered it super hot or they didnt harden it at all. 1045 is softer then f.E. 1075 or 1085 obviously but not by that margin. If you have swords that soft you might do a file test for reviews sake, if you take a normal metal file to it and scratch along the blade with a corner of it it shouldnt really bite into the metal but scate across. Scratching is fine on a high polish but it should not actually bite into the blade.
Swords tend to be more flexible so they don't shatter or break when being hit against things. The flex allows it to absorb more shock without breaking because a bent board can still be more use in combat than a broken one
I would if one were provided like the bit in this video. I would imagine they do about the same. I would not guess they are more durable buy the same order of magnitude as the price.
Matthew, I appreciate your professionalism and desire to be honest and open about your knowledge and experience level. I just knew I couldn't be the only person blessed with a rational personality type as well as the irrational need for a room full of sharp pointy objects. People with the ability to appreciate true craftsmanship are becoming rare.
I think people who are into technical hobbies, or fields of work, are usually rational. Calm enough to stop, focus in on something and admire it, to eventually study it. You see people like Matthew in jobs where tech maintenance is necessary, or into the technical side of guns or archery. Swords can seem simple on the outside but be so incredibly complicated depending how far you wanna go into it.
Hello Sir, I have a question, I would like a Katana Carbon steel T10, full tang. Or would you recommend a Carbon steel 1095? Or 9260 Spring steel? Would there be something at a good price? Around € 150?
When I made this comment, I've not seen this video yet in full, but basing just on the first one (cutting), I'll be willing to buy such for $50 if only it's available in our place. I couldn't cut all those things even with a $100 bill. Lol! Thanks for this review. I don't think I'll regret buying such an inexpensive Katana for $50. It's worth for the money.... Edit: After seeing this video in full, I say that if you'll do the same to a $6,000 Katana, I'd like to see how it looks like. Do you have a previous video on that? I subscribed, because it's interesting here.
I bought a Musashi , Wakazshi, for under £100.00, and I found none of the defects, I’m no expert, just a collector,out for a bargain, I think you can get a good bargain, I e a sword for sale at £200.00, has a mark down price in a sale, does not diminish its original price,just the mark down price,does not diminish, its quality, and with that ,have a nice day!
And you know watching this video ,I think that type of sword would be a good survival weapon to keep in a secret survival container that you Barry and if you need to use a weapon and you lose all your others that's a go-to type weapon .
I know they are budget but have you ever tried Shinwa? Curious what you have to say about them. Interesting to see you look somewhat confused when it didn't break before you got the brick.
Definitely. Plus he can learn how to sharpen it while I would be hesitant to do so on a several hundred dollar sword. It might be a little large for him though, but the other side of that is that he strengthens his muscles faster and he will hit his growth spurt soon.
You made some good cuts on the veggies with that blade, it was cutting good enough,, and if you put a sharpining stone to it you probable would be better than hen new.
Vegetables are really easy to cut through. Even if you put a good edge on it, the softness of the steel means it will become dull within several cuts. However, I see this as an excellent trainer as sharpening the sword constantly means you are unlikely to make a mistake when you ever need to sharpen your more expensive swords. I personally don't believe in sending it in to be sharpened. Learning to maintain the sword is like half of the fun of learning swords.
I'm not much into destroying swords or videos abusing them, but for the money it costs i think it is a good sword, maybe a 1000 dollar custom sword wouldn't perform as good as this one but no one is going to abuse an expensive sword to prove it.
@@Matthew_Jensen i now i've watched the videos on your channel, maybe is because i don't explain myself properly in english but what i meant was we tend to treat "cheap" things more roughly than expensive ones, you would never cut rug or cans with your wallter sorrells blade or other expensive sword you have, because they're more expensive and i guess your are more careful with them. I understand your approach to this kind of reviews non the less, and i "enjoy" them in a sad way XD.
You have a fair point, honestly, if it were not a review sample I would not intentionally break it regardless of the price. That said, when someone provides a sword for review, breaking it is not something I mind. If Mr. Sorrells provided me one under the same circumstances, then I would be happy to break it.
@@Matthew_Jensen You are a brave man, i couldn't break a 50 dollar sword, not thinkig of breaking an expensive one, Thank we have people like you willing to do it.
My $250 1060 katana can't cut a water bottle either it's me because i do not know how to weid a katana or it's the sword but the sword is razor sharp enough to glide and cut cut papers
bought this sword for a friends wedding present. I am going to take it apart, chemical etch a dragon into the blade at the hilt, wrap the handle in superior material, sharpen the blade and polish all metal pieces to a shine. Will be the same sword but at leas prettier and more presentable.
When a guy gives an honest disclaimer like he gave at the beginning you kinda want to listen to him. And you can trust what he’s saying a little more. And then to see him move with the sword you can tell he’s actually trained Iaido. Most sword reviewers are fat gamer nerds or drunken bikers that are only swordsman in their own heads. Imaginary, made up, improper, swordsmanship. This guy is not. Good reviewer of katana. Imparts important information to consider when buying a sword.
I intend this as constructive criticism, I found the background music distracting. I would suggest using music of a more ambient nature, or using no music at all.
Out of curiosity, what to you use to listen to the video? Headphones, PC speakers? I struggle with what to do for background noise. I don't really have an ideal setup for sound so I end up getting a lot of background noise. The criticism is helpful. Thank you.
@@Matthew_Jensen I'm usually wearing headphones when perusing RU-vid. I feel like the general volume of the music wasn't too loud, I could still make out your voice fine, but one particular song had a lot of swells of volume and intensity which kept drawing my attention away from what you were saying. I think something less dynamic might be a better choice.