One thing I like about Skalla is the honest reviews, even if he risks antagonizing the manufacturer. He's not going to just give BS fluff, he calls the flaws and the virtues like he sees them.
Its a beautiful looking sword and deffinately fits what I know about the period its from, when Japan was in a state of crash-modernisation to catch up with the rest of the world in the late 1800's to early 1900's. The apparently shoddy construction would also fit, since I recall katana's being banged out cheap and dirty in factory's during the second world war as officer's swords and this would fit with the way this one of constructed. Still, it looks gorgeous and combines two f my favourite styles of sword.
You actually pronounced the name of the sword near perfectly... Japanese is pretty much phonetic, it's just silly little weeaboos who cry about everything that make people think it's hard to pronounce. French, now that's hard to pronounce; half the damn letters are silent.
French at least _marks_ the bits demanding peculiar pronouncement in writing. I'm told Russian is conversely retardedly tonal and doesn't deign to even note the variations in writing...
I've seen your comment and well - it's not complelty wrong, but it really mess things up. You can usually read words as they are written, there are very few exeptions and rules in writing. It would be slightly (or not that slightly, it depends) different from what a native Russian sounds like, but it is more about vowel reduction and informal speach, than actual rules. Your speach will be absolutly understandable in this case. There can be a opposite problem though: there some homophones in Russian have different writing but sounds the same, but they are mostly parts of a general vocabulary and means a way different things, so it isn't a real problem either. The actual problem for Englishspeaking person or a German for example, who would like to learn Russian would be it's grammar, as it is a very syntactical language and pronansiation, but not the spelling or reading rules.
The Kyu Gunto were not very well made swords, particularly the ones made during WW2. By both tradition, all military officers needed to carry a sword. However, Japan was NOT a resource rich country (the reason it was invading it's neighbors was an attempt to gain natural resources like oil and iron). There wasn't overly large amounts of good steel that could be spared to make swords (every swords they made could of been a rifled or used to make a tank instead), nor enough traditional sword manufacturers in the country to actually make enough swords for all the Japanese officers. So, the government just used the bottom of the barrel of blacksmiths and the cheapest steel to stamp out as many Gunto's as possible. In WW2, the sword was not meant to be used in combat, guns far outclassed the sword (although the pistol most Japanese officers were issued, the Nambu, also was plagued with many problems including plenty reported cases of misfires). The sword gave the officer the appearance of authority, and connected the modern military with the Samurai of Japan's past. I am guessing the poor hardness and durability of the Kyu Gunto Skall got is actually accurate to the originals.
+notbobby125 Kyu Gunto were discontinued after 1932, though they were still worn till the end of WW2. Japan did make mass-produced swords for combat, and they did quite a lot of research on that. The result was Type 95 Gunto, which were designed for use by high ranking NCOs. Type 95 Gunto were made rust-resistant Army Sword Steel, with lower hardness for easy maintenance. Though Type 95 Gunto were inferior to hand-forged katana, Japanese officers considered them surprisingly good for mass-produced swords. They cut well, though didn't hold their edges long. Of course at the end of the war, Gunto, like many other Japanese weapons, were poorly made.
+notbobby125 Most Imperial Japanese swords were pretty good in quality. Japan at the time was a military dictatorship after all so they would equip their soldiers with the best of materials.
+notbobby125 I have to disagree. Corners were certainly cut (like oil quenching and use of power hammers) compared to traditionally made blades to meet the needs of mass production, but NOT at the expense of functionality or durability. WW2 era gunto were the last swords in history to be intended for actual combat and their manufacture was taken as seriously as that of modern weapons. A common material used to make them was steel taken from obsolete Swedish made railroad tracks and it proved to be an excellent blade material. An officer's gunto was never simply stamped out except for the last ditch examples made in the closing months of the war.
Last Days of Skarva I would definitely take a Gunto over a Nambu, but which one are you referring to? The Type 14 isn't too bad, it just lacks stopping power and ease of use. The Type 94 however, is probably Japan's biggest shame, low capacity, low stopping power, ugly as hell, ergonomics of a brick, and could fire when you don't expect it.
Matthew Pham Think about that realistically for a second. Let's say you're facing only a single opponent and you have first choice of either the gunto or a type 94, with the other guy getting the remaining weapon, you're really going to take the gunto? Now I love guntos and have several ranging from from Showato to a really nice RJT blade, but in a real life or death situation I would have to take even an inferior pistol over any sword and play the odds that I can fire at least a magazine or two before the Nambu fails. I guess the best option for a Japanese officer would have been to carry both.
Seems like an easy modification to make it stronger. Drill right though the handle and tang closer to the end of the tang. Get a brass screw and nut that matches the other, or ask the company for one, and put it right though the new hole. Maybe some epoxy as well, more to fill in any dead space. That should be more than enough to make it strong enough for most cutting. They do seem to have stuck to the original design though. Even the steel quality is about the same as the originals.
Forging katana with traditional methods is inefficient and expensive, so the sabres for Japanese soldiers in WWII were manufactured by modern factories.
Interesting piece. Being a smith, I find really strange that the flat of the blade is harder than the edge. It might be that the edge was overheated during sharpenning, ruining the heat treatment and afecting hardness...
This low quality is to be expected when the quality of glorious Nippon steel is compromised by the Russians. I bet this was only folded sixteen thousand times. Amateurs.
for fuck's sake, why can't someone sent him a decent Japanese sword? I just want him to review a Katana that's actually crafted in Japan, not western/china reproductions.
+鄭皓宇 It wouldn't make much of a difference. I mean, yes, it would be of a much higher quality, but he just doesn't like the design of the katana in the first place, and katanas are meant to be wielded differently than western swords, which he is much more familiar with.
+鄭皓宇 The place it's built in does not change it's quality, plenty of shitty katanas are made in japan and plenty of good ones in the west and vice versa
I've always wondered if there have been hybrid swords like inspirations from other cultures after seeing the Katana. I would love to have something like this.
Too bad they advertise it as functional. I have a old civil war reproduction sword that is for demo/wear only. It looks pretty great for that, but like the one I own, you simply don't use it to really cut anything.
I got my first real sword yesterday, a kyu-gunto from the Warlord Era in China. It's a nice blade, but the handle is a bit small, and the knuckle-bar sticks into the knuckle of my index finger. It's got a cast brass handle, with markings on it of the Kuomintang. Kyu-Guntos are my favorite type of Japanese sword. It needs sharpening up (it's pretty blunt, but it's not intentionally blunt) and i'm not 100% sure if it's a parade sword or a combat sword, but the fact it was once sharp gives me the impression it was made for fighting. Also they didn't make things out of stainless steel back then, so the blade won't shatter. I'm not gonna do anything heavier than cutting water bottles with it though, because it's an original. However i am going to polish up the blade, handle and scabbard, and sharpen it. It's seen better days, but there is no actual damage to it, other than a dent in the scabbard (still totally functional though, and tight) just hasn't been polished and sharpened. It's nice to finally have a real sword, and a actual historical one too. I'm gonna ask a Chinese friend of mine to translate what's stamped on the blade, as i can't read Chinese, or translate it on my own. But i'm just happy to own it, no matter what it is. It's a lovely looking bit of kit. Also as for the tang, the tang on mine is full, however it is thinner than the blade, kinda like a thick rat tang. It's not literally thin piece of metal, it's about 75% of the blade, but the blade wouldn't fit into the handle if the tang was the same thickness. It has a iron tang too, you can see the scarf weld about 6 inches from the hilt (another reason i think it's a combat sword, you wouldn't need a iron tang on a parade piece) It's peened at the end of the handle (the handle and knuckle bar are one piece of cast brass)
i think it may be an accurate reproduction, at this time the Japanese military were rushing to modernise to catch up to the west and more more concerned with quantity over quality so they could fit out their new troops, at this time there was the Wars with Russia and Indo-China as well as their expansion into Malaysia.
I'm guessing the issues with the tang were a fault of the design being intended for mass production relatively cheaply. Swords issued to ashigaru and foot soldiers in prior periods tended to also be quite shit. One thing I will say, not to excuse the quality of the sword (that tang sucks) is that most swords are not intended to chop tree limps. Most body parts are not as tough as a tree limb of comparable thickness. I mean, maybe if you were chopping bone, but that's not the purpose of most swords.
+TheSamuraiGoomba aren't traditional katana's made with the three quarter tang though and I know for a fact that the one pin is used in traditional katan's
+TheSamuraiGoomba it's the 19th century dude, I doubt the japanese imperial army had "ashigaru" militia. In the japanese military tradition, swords are mostly ornamental, they dont' have to be of high quality really.
+Tristen Barton They may have been used to execute prisoners and chinese civilians, but in battle... frankly a bayonet (or a submachine gun) would be way more efficient in the rare cases you'd get into a melee fight.
Eh...from what little I know, the early versions/patterns of the Kyu Gunto were actually pretty damn high quality for something that is supposed to be mass-produced. That said, its quality did get worse with successive generations/patterns...
Do some research on the Koa Issen swords manufactured in Manchuria. These were probably the finest quality semi-mass-produced swords ever made for a military. They used a high-carbon steel tube, placed a milder steel core in it, then forged the blade. I found a tip-damaged blade at a flea market, shortened it to wakizashi length, and added a handle. It is 24" of razor blade.
See, your opinion about swords is much the same as mine with guitars: it was made to be used, and in use you will develop scratches and damage to the finish! Everyone I know thinks I'm a fucking idiot for leaving my guitar with scratches and the finish dulled! I think it just looks sexier. Would you ever let your first Albion get scratches?
I might be wrong and someone please correct me if I am, but I had read that many family swords were cut down to except these types of guards. Meaning family samurai swords, which were used by officers of samurai decent, were modified leading to the rarity of many historical swords in Japan. I might be wrong.
That tang is actually the traditional Japanese style. Sometimes they were secured with two pegs, but usually you'd find 3/4 length tangs and a single peg holding the grip on. Of course the handle wrapping on top of that would probably help a lot. I wonder if this is an accurate replica of a gunto though as far as the hilt goes since it does seem shoddy. I'd imagine they used at least two pegs in the period.
The construction of the sword is typical of most Japanese blades. This one shows the influence of European style, combined with traditional construction. Some of the best Japanese swords were made during WWII in Manchuria, where a process was developed to put a lower-carbon rod in a high-carbon tube and forge the blade. I have one of these Koa-Issen blades, and it is one long razor blade.
Not a fan of katanas, but i really like the look of that sword... if the handle were a little less shiny and a little more solid i might get one. quite a shame i couldn't really justify the time or money to get one and put a custom handle on it.
Ya know, it's sad that every time I see you review swords, pommel jokes keep popping up in my head. It's like I've been infected with pommel syndrome because the joke is by far over, but I just want to keep doing it.
Kyu Gunto = 旧軍刀 (old military saber) Adopted in 1886, used till around the 1930's. Its aesthetics resemble a western saber with a nickel-plated scabbard, although the ray skin handle and cherry-blossom engravings pay homage to traditional Japanese swords. One of the interesting things about them is that most of them were produced with two-handed wielding in mind, so that it could be wielded in a similar fashion as katanas, as opposed to most Western cut-and-thrust style blades. This was most likely due to the fact that it was easier to train soldiers with the styles and methods that were already prevalent within Japan instead of the newly-formed military having to adapt to not only newer firearms, but also melee weapons training.
you can add another seppa to try and tighten the handle up. you can also use a punch to tighten the guard. most Japanese swords have marks on the tsuba to tighten it. I like the design of the sword I may make one sooner or later but I want to try and make one of the African sickle swords too.
I gotta say I love the look of that one, it's a very pretty sword, also seems it should be easy to fit it with a second pin to make it secured properly.
Would a sword from that era actually have been used as a primary weapon? Or was it something that was decoration for officers only to be used if both the officer's rifle and pistol were unusable?
I seriously can't get over how good is your camera o.o I told myself that I wont comment on such silly thing, since you bought it, but holy moly it's amazing!
I'm really surprised how many new "battle ready" swords have a very poorly fitted hilt. such a huge defect and something youd think would be a priority for the manufacturer. thanks for the clip these review really help people to not get ripped off with poorly made weapons.
I've seen videos of people trying out a 1909 Japanese Army manual (Kenjutsu-Kyohan), which included techniques for the gunto, with aluminum kyu-gunto replicas, and the fighting style seems to be a hybrid of European saber and Japanese katana fighting (there are both one-handed and two-handed techniques). Check out Duncan MacLeod's channel for the guntojutsu videos. Here's one of them: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4lsQ7NgvdHw.html Apparently the kyu-gunto was part of the Meiji Japanese experimenting with mixing in Western and Japanese elements to basically everything (they also did this with their bayonet doctrine, adopting French bayonet techniques to Japanese fencing style - jukenjutsu). guntojutsu was one of the less successful endeavors in this regard and the Japanese military mostly switched back to the "traditional" Katana design. Also, I think some people here misunderstand the terminology "Russo-Japanese Sword." This was not a Russian sword and most definitely not used by the Russians (unless looted from dead Japanese officers I suppose). It was Japanese designed and manufactured, used most famously by the Imperial Japanese military during the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905. That's where it gets the name.
If I may give you a tip on how to use those testers. Your better of if you pay attention to the the feel of the file biting into the steel. Because something that's for instance 40 hrc can still mark the surface of a blade that's 45 hrc, especially if it's a sharp point. And while it may scratch you won't feel it ''grab'' the material like a harder file would when it's digging in. No offense though because your videos of in general quit cool.
It's a shame the handle wasn't quite as sturdy as you would've liked. When I heard about it, I instantly thought about you because I remembered you stated you disliked katana tsuba.
"I think if I hadn't done the abusive testing I probably wouldn't have even have found significant flaws." and this is one of the reasons I enjoy your reviews even though I don't collect or use swords. i get to see how things hold up, and also get how they fail or succeed, or endure changes while retaining functionality explained and demonstrated in your review videos. :)
Hey Skal, I'm actually interested in buying the Model USS116 Shin Gunto from KultofAthena, made by the same company that made this one. Would you say that this review is probably a good representation of the quality/strength of that particular item? As far as I know, all these swords are made in the same manner.
Skall, I love all of your vids, but I think i like these reviews more. they give me ideas on what kind of swords to collect. the vids help because if i buy any of these swords it costs me my entire paycheck. Thnx for keeping everyone informed and keep up with the awesome content
Question Skall, So for example, the problems with this sword, would you put the work into fixing the handle yourself? I imagine putting at least another screw into the tang would be very simple and help alleviate the problem with the loosening grip.
What is your oppinion on nerf swords, like the nerf vantage sword and the large claymore sword. do you think that they are good practice swords for training, or do you think that they are just a toy. even though they have the dimensions of real swords
I doubt the historical swords were used for much fighting either. They would probably rather use a handgun for short range than a little saber like that.
Hi Skall, out of the curiousity what is the carbon content of the 6150 steel used for your precious Albions when you deem EN9s 0.5%-0.6% of carbon low by the modern standards? I know you (and Albion in fact) use the term "high carbon steel" pretty much for every common sword steel which in fact is not true. 5160, 6150, 1055, 1060 and other similar steels are all in fact medium carbon (spring) steels. 1080/1095 or O2 for example are at least what you need to call it high carbon but these are rather rare in longer blades. EN9 is on pair with 1055 and it is perfectly valid steel for a sword. It's just some indian guy didn't do its job of heat treating properly. Nothing to do with the carbon content.
It could be differential hardness like a traditional katana? But if so it seems backwards, the Kawagane (skin) is supposed to be soft, but the Shingane (heart) edge is supposed to be hard
Is it really a sword? Looks to me like a sabre or cutlass. But I'm no expert. Russo-Japanese sword. So I guess it was a japanese sword used during the Russo-Japanese war. Anyway, Skall, can you make a review of my favourite weapon, the Cossack/Caucasus sabre "Shashka", if you ever get your hands on one.
Wow. Have been wanting a Kyu Gunto for sooooooo long. But my parents doesnt allow me to buy one because they said "It doesnt worth the money" or maybe "That thing doesnt have any function but it costs so much". And when i said "But i use my own money" they would tell me "So what? Were trying to teach you how to use your money properly". Now they just allows me to collect cheapo $45 wallhanger low end thing. Hope i could get a raise.
crazyguywithasword I am using my own money. But my parents is unsupportive and did not allow me to buy it at all until i got more. So, i think i need to wait until i got more money. And thar mean i need to wait some more years.
Can someone explain what is temper i kinda understand but which is difference between leaving it in oven for 2h and putting it into furnace and quench it?
Dusan Pavlovic the heating and rapid cooling in oil/water is heat treating and hardens the blade and makes it very brittle. Tempering (heating to a lower temperature) relieves the stress in the blade and makes it less brittle.
Hey, Skall. I've been looking all over for armor and/or weapons from the Byzantine Empire (Later on in its lifespan, particularly) but have found nothing. Have you any knowledge of a place that sells anything Byzantine related? Thanks.
