r/Katanas

I thought this would be a fun game to play. 3 are Chinese reproductions and 1 is a Japanese nihonto.

Comment and discuss below!

The answer is below 👇

>!The real Japanese sword is D. It is a Muneyuki attributed NBTHK katana. A, is a Phoenix Armory oroshigane katana from RVA, B is a custom Dremsword oroshigane katana and C is a Zhou Forge tamahagane katana!<

Beyond being what appears to me to be an officer's shin gunto Koshirae with a "field scabbard" saya, I really have no idea where to look for more information on this blade. I don't even really know if it's authentic but I see no reason to believe it isn't

I was about to go to sleep and I stumbled across this while browsing eBay tonight and now my blood is pumping.

$5,900!!!

Fake NBTHK (pictures are taken on a couch?).

The nakago is obviously Chinese mass produced.

A "horimono" that looks like a drunk person just bought a Dremel.

A cheap Chinese blade with cheap mounts.

I really, really hope no one falls for this guys scam. If you want to report the listing it's here

Just finished a custom TMNT-inspired 3D relief tsuba in solid brass for a project and thought some people here might be interested in seeing the result.

Recently, one thing Ghost Blades has been focusing heavily on is creating tsuba's that feel less like flat etched or mass-produced designs and more on custom metalwork. The goal is to preserve the spirit of traditional fittings while exploring more artistic, modern and collector-oriented concepts:

-deep 3D relief engraving

-custom double-sided compositions

-mythology, anime and dark fantasy themes

-hand-finished brass surfaces

-fully custom commissioned artwork

Every design is created specifically for the geometry of a real tsuba rather than simply placing artwork onto a circle.

Ghost Blades is now opening up for fully custom tsuba commissions for collectors who want something genuinely personal and one-of-a-kind for their katana builds. 🥷🏽

So I finally bought my first katana. €500 but with a 50% discount, so I paid €250. At first impression, I actually liked it a lot. The blade is straight, the tsuka with hishigami feels solid, the overall proportions look good, and visually it has real presence. The hamon is attractive, the grip feels secure, and from a distance it genuinely feels like a proper sword rather than a cheap wallhanger.
But then I started inspecting it more closely. The saya is slightly loose. The kurikata was snapped off. The sword rattles a little in the saya and will slide out if tilted. The samegawa has a small damaged section. The tsukamaki is acceptable, but not amazing. And then I noticed something that really bothered me: the habaki, seppa and tsuba appear to be glued together with epoxy.

That completely changed how I perceived the sword.
One of the things I love about Japanese swords is the construction. So the idea that the fittings can be disassembled, maintained, adjusted and appreciated individually. Discovering that parts were essentially fixed together to compensate for tolerances made the whole thing suddenly feel much more “industrial” than traditional.
Ironically, I don’t even mind rough tool marks or visible filing. In fact, I like that. It gives character. What bothers me is when the construction itself feels dishonest or improvised.
Now I’m stuck in a weird position:

-visually, I still really like the katana;
-mechanically, I understand why they probably glued it;

But personally it still bothers me more than it probably should that i can’t take it apart. I contacted Yarinohanzo and they are quite reasonable about it. They offered to repair the kurikata but haven’t answered the question about the adhesives they used.

Part of me wants to return it. Another part of me wants to carefully disassemble it, shim and refit the habaki properly, and turn it into a learning project. Did anyone else go through this phase with their first production katana?

Hey, I wanted to show around my first Katana. As new practitioner I hope to soon be ready to put it to the test in tameshigriri.

The Tsuka with tsuba, fuchi, seppa and Habaki is about 32cm long, the nagasa (1095) is 79.5cm long, with a pretty average Sori, making the whole sword a pretty decent 112cm long. The thickness is also average or a bit thinner.

The Tsuka was described as perfect by one and as too short by the other one of my sensei.

The Hamon is according to the previous owner, who also configured it a Choji, and the blade geometry looks to me like Unokubi-Zukri with a double Hi, one full and one half length of the blade.

The kissaki looks like a Chu kissaki without Boshi though I am not that deep into Sword mechanics yet.

It was custom designed by the man I bought it from for 500€ and I think he did a marvellous job. The blade sings really nicely when swinging. In my opinion it feels really agile and light thanks to the zukri choice and relative thin-ness. It’s definitely not something to use lightly in tameshigiri, I suppose it’s easy to bend/break with really bad technique.

The saya is pretty tight. The Katana locks nicely and it doesn’t wobble a lot on its own if not forced. Personally I am not a big fan of the saya design, but I can see why one would pick it over more expensive variants. Often the configurators don’t have that much of a selection and this one is somewhat decent while not looking massively boring or flashy.

Also forgive the rudimentary knot on the saya. It’s being used for training regularly and I am simply too lazy to bind a proper knot every two days.

Things I want to change or have already changed are Sageo (the original is plain black, that’s now on my Bokken), the tsuba I would like to be in line with the Kashira and Menuki as a Nami (wave) pattern.

Just got some pictures of my latest Shadow dancer order and... that's a kissaki... and then some... 😄

Shinsakuto by Noshu Ju Fusataro with a blade length of 72.7 cm. The curve is 1.8 cm, the base width is 33 mm, the base thickness is 0.7 mm, the tip width is 2.4 mm, the tip thickness is 0.45 mm, and the blade weight is approximately 675 grams.
Fusataro is a student of the 25th Generation Fujiwara Kanefusa - one of the attached photos shows him at work. All the metal fittings on the modern koshirae - bar the tsuba - are pure silver.

I'm not a collector of antiques of any sort. I’m not planning to collect. I only wanted something meaningful to commemorate my recent trip to Japan.

Listing from Aoi Art:

Katana: in Shirasaya(NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token)

SIgnature :Bizen Koku Ju Osafune Magouemon Jo Kiyomitsu.
Eiroku 12 Nen 2 Gatsu Kichijitsu(February 1569)
備前国住長船孫右衛門尉清光
永禄十二年二月吉日

Sayagaki: written by Honami Nisshu in November 1984.
Bizen Koku Ju Osafune Magouemon Jo Kiyomitsu
Geishu Asano family's Heirloom item
The Nakago is Ubu, has signature, and production date.
The blade length is 2 Shaku 1 Sun 5 bu.

Bizen Kuni Jyu Osafune Magouemon Jyo Kiyomitsu.Denrai Geisyu Asano family’s
sword.
Ubu nagkaga,Date: February, 12th Year of Eiroku (1569), Lucky Day
Length 2syaku 1sun 5bu Ari Honami Nissyu. (National treasure: for polishing)

(We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijyo saku, Jyojyo saku Jyo saku and regular saku)
This sword belongs to Jyo Jyo Saku ranking.

Habaki: Silver Habaki with a family crest engraved.
Blade Length: 65.2 cm or 25.66 inches
Curvature: 1.7 cm or 0.66 inches
Peg Holes: 3
Width at Base: 3.26 cm or 1.28 inches
Width at Tip: 2.29 cm or 0.90 inches
Thickness: 0.73 cm or 0.28 inches
Sword Weight: 790 grams
Era: Muromachi Period, Eiroku 12th Year
Shape: The blade's shape is broad with a deep curve and a thick, elongated point. The curvature is excellent.
Jigane: The grain pattern on the steel surface is exquisite, showing a mixture of small wood grain patterns, and it displays a beautiful reflection.
Hamon: The hamon (temper line) is bright and clear, with irregularities resembling small feet. The boshi (temper line at the
tip) is irregular and turns back.

Features: Bizen Kuni Ju Osafune Magouemon -jo Kiyomitsu, a common name signer,
meticulously crafted this sword, likely upon requests from daimyo families and others. As
you can see, the beauty of the steel surface is exceptional, and the reflections on the
densely packed steel are stunning. The hamon is bright, clear, and intricately adorned
with fine gold lines.
This sword waas reported as geisyu Asanoke(Daimyo’s family)well known sword.
The sayagaki was written by Honami Nissyu who was a national treasure polisher.

Aoi Art's Comment: This magnificent piece with the common name signature is believed to have been carefully preserved as a work for daimyo families. It is a healthy and splendid piece.

NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token
Aoi Art estimation paper
Whole Oshigata

Got a fairly decent same skin today - although it will need to be cut carefully to make the large nodules fall in a straight line. It's for a koshirae I intend to have made at some point for a shinsaku tanto I own. I've also included photos of the blade itself plus the modern sterling silver menuki and shitodome I intend to use.

From an old farm in DK.

Just wanted to show some pictures of the nami wakizashi I recently got from KOA, I was very impressed with the blade and the handling!

I am currently in Tokyo and I managed to see some amazing famous nihonto today. First slide is the Dojigiri Yasutsuna, one of the Tenka Goken. There was also a special exhibit from the Maeda Ikutokukai and one of the swords was the Odenta Mitsuyo, another one of the Tenka Goken.
I was also very lucky to see the Tarosaku Masamune in the Maeda exhibition. I had wanted to see it in person for a long time!
The last slide is the Kiriha Sadamune which was my personal favourite of the day.

took a chance on an amazon odachi and im mad happy with it