You Know I've been watching your videos from some time now, and I genuinely enjoy your videos. It's informative and thoughtful. Whenever I see one of your videos come up on my recommendation immediately click. thanks for the good work.
Nice, honest review, thanks for the upload. I can't unsee the massive saya compared to the fuchi. Maybe it's just me, but something doesn't sit right the way the company claims "Nihonto authentic Japanese Swords".
I'm glad you make these videos. I was looking at Thaitsuki swords but if I'm going to spend that much I think a Citadel or Skyjiro might be a better choice.
+s. kane Thanks for the kind words. Video editing is not fun. I have to stare at my own face and hear my own voice for hours... believe it or not, I don't like hearing myself talk. Anyhoo, I appreciate the kind words about the editing.
I am on a budget of $1,000 or maybe a thousand and $300 I want a sword with great fitings and tough sword,I am between the hanwei oni L6, lion dog, thaitsuki hoso,,skyjiro hota tegai,which one do you recommend???
I was not happy with the Oni L6, cant recommend it if you are looking for something tough.. it does look nice through. The Lion dog has been tougher and the fittings OK. I liked the Skyjiro Hota Tegai but the theme was not my taste. Still seemed nice and put togather well. The thituski KTN3 has some of the nicest fittings out of the ones you are looking at but I am not sold on the rest of the assembly..
My issue with them is they dont disclose the exact steel type they use on their blades. All swordmakers that make these swords at these price points should be first of all proud of what they do and stand behind their quality, and be completely transparent about the materials used.
Again a very entertaining and down-to-earth review! I'm actually wondering whether it really has a sanmai construction. I read a thread once about a reseller who touted his swords as true sanmai, while they were just overpriced, folded monosteel blades.
There was a big thing about that with Ryan Sword a little while ago. I think the Thaitsuki are san mai.. for what they charge it could be and it has the appearance of san mai.. but I suppose I would not know without breaking one in half..
Ryan Sword, that's the one! That's true, I guess you'd have to break it to find out. I'm not sure how you could do it otherwise. Would be great to have a non-destructive method though.
The only way I know of to tell is to cut the blade in half examine the cross section at the break.. probably after dunking the blade in some sort of etching acid. There are some things I can look at on the blade and guess that it is laminated but those have been shown to be faked in the past. I suppose the difference is that Thaitsuki is charging 2k for a blade and with the labor needed to do that work it seems possible.. Its hard to think that there is a kobuse or sanmai katana out there for $400 and I think that is what Ryan Sword was asking.. I could be wrong on that though..
You can tell if it's sanmai by looking for the sanmai line. This line is found near the edge and on the spine. And the photos here don't demonstrate this (but maybe it's the photos)
+Aldito Hernandez Personally I don't know if it is overpriced for what you get.. Folded sword that feels good in the hand as well as handmade fittings and silver habaki/seppa.. Its the execution that throws me off.. At that price and for what their target is.. I think they missed the mark a bit.
A friend of mine has one of these. He was able to actually make some special requests and mixed up pieces from their variety of models to make himself something more custom. It both shines and suffers in all the same ways this sword in your review did. The furniture is excellent and overall it has good weight and feels really nice in the hand, but the tsukaito is loose, very loose, and the kissaki is just a shame.
+Aaron Scudder Its not a guarantee but its something I think a lot of folks would expect.. Then again, panels were used historically too.. If it is for show, its not a big deal but for use, I would rather a full wrap.
+Matthew Jensen( Funny Sword Reviews) I never knew that, I guess its more practical; s till expect more for 2K tho. By the way your reviews are really funny man subscribing
From what little else I can't find online about these it seems the blade is pretty impressive performance wise, if they could fine tune the finish and fittings for the same price they could be on to a winner.
+Gorebashed I think there are only a few folks out there who would find value in it but I still agree. If they could get the last mile down, I think it would be much more justifiable.. In my mind this sword is intended as a cutting blade that looks good and has traditional constriction with ties to history.. That is a compelling story and value proposition.. But in that price bracket you expect it to function as a traditional blade would.. because that is what they are going for.. Its not an artistic or modern interpretation on Japanese swords, it is supposed to be a close recreation of nihonto..
+Matthew Jensen yeah I think they are shooting themselves in the foot somewhat with the claims they make. Personally I care way more for performance than tradition, guess I just haven't seen many swords in this price range actually being tested and so am suspicious even if they are beautiful.
+Gorebashed There is a different kind of sword for performance.. L6 and other super steels go after that market. Some folks like the idea of handmade and use of traditional methods. They don't make it a better cutting blade but there is some appeal. It just depends on user preferences and what you want. I think if you are buying one of these aesthetics and story matter just as much as performance.
+Matthew Jensen To be honest your Oni Katana review stopped me from buying it, for a sword designed for use and made out of a super steel it seemed to chip way too easily.
+Gorebashed L6 is not known for edge retention but it is less likely to take a bend or twist. Most of the folks I know that use a MAS or Hanwei L6 blade say that it requires sharpening a little more often.
Matthew Jensen puuuuuh bad quality for this price ..... the tsuka ito, the mekugis, the koiguchi, the sageo knot, the mirrorpolish on the blade and many more thinks are like a 700 € katana!!
I have not been impressed with Hanwei L6. The oni looks cool and feels good in the hand for its size but does not hold up well. The mantis does not feel good in the hand at all. I am not sure about the hunter.. I am more disappointed with the resilience. As for HSTS, I have not had many but I hear good things and I know there are some respectable folks that give them high praise.
LOL, well, they are nice. I have had a few and none of them were bad. I would say that the more clark L6 blades I have the more I get the feeling they are a tool more than an art object. Don't get me wrong they are great and well made but almost every part of them screams I am a weapon first and I am an art object second..
Its scary how foreign companies hide their location. Mathew, where can we get a proper smith, custom smith blade? whether Japanese iaito e.g sword store or Prismatic?
No but I've seen them in action on Zombie Go Boom there custom made Katana's and there pretty bad you can order them with any blade and handle size you want the blade size being 36 inches I would get a blade that's 33 inches
Hi great content. New to sword and knife collecting. Sorry if this is an annoying question, but I want to get a Katana as a wedding present to a friend that has lived in Japan and studied Kendo in Korea. I was hoping to find and honest, well functioning Katana for around $700. Function and combat more than looks. Is there a video of yours you could direct me to where I could find this information? Thanks in advance, and great content!!
It is hard to answer that question, maybe just a gift card to Kult of Athna or something. Find the right sword for someone else is hard. You could also take a look at Kult of Athena for stuff instock around the budget. Their prices are pretty good.
@@Matthew_Jensen Thank you for the quick response!! That's actually really helpful. KoA is a great site. I guess Ill just have to grab my self something then. Thanks again.
I can say instantly that this sword must be great, because it is manufactured in Thailand, and I personally know the owner of Thaitsuki. LOL! Unfortunately, I do not own any of his sword. I hope I will.
+ศานต์ไท หุ่นพยนต์ I can't agree that it is great because it is manufactured in Thailand. I can argue that it not a ripoff but I found several things somewhat disappointing about the sword. I think it has all the pieces to make a very solid sword but the final assembly is not done well in my personal opinion.
+Matthew Jensen (Funny Sword Reviews) Do not take my previous comment seriously. It was just a bias in favor of my nationality. Your pronounce the name "Thaitsuki" correctly, at least in the same way as when the owner and I talk about it. I am not sure about the claim of its forge being a Japanese shrine. When I visited its forge, sometime 10 years ago, it was a common factory. I am not sure whether the owner has moved the base of Thaitsuki production plant to another forge or not. A friend of mine owns a Thaitsuki Katana, he purchased it 10 years ago. After he wielded the sword for about a month, the Ito (his Ito is leather) became loose and he sent the sword back for being re-wrapped by Thaitsuki. Of course, it is easy for him, because he lived in Bangkok while Thaitsuki production plant was in Samut Sakhon, approximately 40 kilometers from his home.
+ศานต์ไท หุ่นพยนต์ Sarcasm does not always come through in text. I know I like American manufacturers and I cheer for their success. The ito is the biggest miss on the sword. They got a lot of things right but they got some important things wrong. The koiguchi can be explained, hell some folks might even prefer it that way... But dangerously loose ito and a bad kissaki polish are just not cool for a sword in that price point. To be clear, if they were going for a rough polish I would not have complained but the hand polishing is supposed to be a feature of the blade. I think they did well on the polish for the most part. The hada is subtle and I want to examine it in a light like nihonto. The lines are clean and the bohi is well done. Most manufacturers can't get that right... But the kissaki was worse that a Hanwei PPK. That said, the kissaki was functional and the ito was not.. I wonder if the ito has to do with humidity and temperature change?? Maybe it affects the silk more than the rest of the materials.. I just can't imagine it left the factory this way.
It depends on what you are looking for.. I don't think they are bad but they are not for everyone. Also, I think they need a little work before they are really for heavy cutting or iai.. but that is my personal opinion.
Pisses me off that a $2000 katata has such poor attention to detail. I was going to say that the Asian market takes advantage of rich Americans and keeps pumping out crap swords for us to buy from them, but even Albion (made in USA) seems to have just as many inconsistencies.
This review was in 2016 now is 2022 and they have improved over time as many people suggest that on internet BUT....but. They still import blades from China and THEN they are only doing custom handmade fittings to these "already made in China" blades. So whatever your expectations are its not worth it. For 2000USD or even 3000USD you are better of buying REAL NIHONTO than this.
and theres alot less work in making a european style sword as opposed to a japanese style sword. though for the price of this you could get a citadel which id say is on par with albion.
I don't know that there is less work that goes into it. There are a lot of factors to consider in making any sword if you want to do it at a high level. I think you just see more practicing swordsmiths making japanese style blades at a high level.. but there are some euro pieces that have the same level of detail in them as fine japanese blades. at least in my opinion.
bmxriderforlife1234 look up Peter Johnssons sword theory and then come back and tell me how much less work it takes to make them look www.albion-swords.com/swords/johnsson/peter.htm and then here's another one grauenwolf.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/peter-johnssons-ground-breaking-theory-on-the-design-of-the-medieval-sword/
Matthew Jensen they require just as much attention to the making of the blade and the pieces that are made for them but japanese swords have more going on, in my opinion at least with all the little stuff that goes into a koshirae and when you consider all the extras that are occasionally seen on historical or modern japanese made blades versus production and most modern customs. id say at least in my opinion the closest relatable sword from european types of swords would be a viking sword or early migration era sword, anhd some of those can even require much more attention to detail. my point is that on average a high end katana is gonna take more time simply due to the number of things to manufacture.
Aldito Hernandez im not ripping on albion or european style swords im simply saying a fully traditional sword of each type, the japanese sword has more fittings that must be made the grip or tsuksa requires alot of attention to detail to have the fittings match up then the saya, which sometimes are made of multiple pieces of wood with an inner core and out sleeve thats removable from the core incase of damage to the outer. then stuff like the shitodome and seppa. seriously not saying a european sword is easy to make some of those blades are extremely complex in geometry and its amazing to think how perfect they made these things all the way back then when people are having trouble doing it right today even at higher end price points. i just personally feel a japanese style sword has more small details to miss or mess up, where as most european swords are more utilitarian and its the big details like the blade and fit you gotta watch out for. im actually planning on one day finding a smith to make me a custom long sword in the styling of the albion sempach, as well as possibly if hes still making sword then. or i find someone making similar quality of high end european type swords, a templ viking or migration era sword. theyre extremely beautiful and from what i understand many are in museum collections and based off historical finds. there's a specific example of his sword i want, www.templ.net/pics-weapons/144-sword_of_d_type/144-main-v.jpg beautiful no?
I have seen panel samegawa on tsuka that have tight ito. I don't know if the full wrap helps it stay tight or not... I thought it enhanced the structural integrity but I am not sure how it affects ito.
the samegawa acts as an abrasive surface for the ito to hold on to. my guess is that a full wrap should offer more surface friction for the ito to grab. chinese forges do this even on their high-end tsukas so, either they're very stingy or they must think these katanas are ornamental rather than functional weapons.
Is is so ironic that current Japanese shinken and they are mostly... poor due to tamahagane and non mukansa status of smith.. Seen bushido students jam midway in the mat as their tamahagane blade bent, and it being unbent discretely on the side. But the fittings and finish? divine even the mediocre ones are devine. Even iaitos are awesomely done. However, outside Japan lately we get amazing metallurgy but poor conceptual finish, fake itos, Weird blade exccentricities. Oh dear lord have the japanese change the laws so we may get Japanese made T-10, 1095 with master craftsmen finish... To be fair sword store does blades in PRC and the fittings in Japan. 1800 USD but it is so obscure who would know about their steel iaito????
I talk to a girl that went to school with the guy who started the company and the bullshit 400 year story not at all true.. The first swords he made sucked and a $120 musashi was much better
I'm Thai the Thaisuki it's in Thailand yep I saw it's in wep Thaisuki I know the Thaisuki is the best in Thailand but the cold steel is better than Thaisuki
I don't agree with that statement personally. I have owned a few pieces from both companies and it would be hard for me to say Cold Steel is better than Thaitsuki. Then again, I suppose it depends what you want out of a sword.
