Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Mar 31, 2009 22:27:30 GMT -5
Kensei Dragonfly
It's been a while since I've gotten a new production katana, and when Kensei's new models began arriving I decided to break the slump.
For those who don't know, Kensei is the new incarnation of Oni Forge, or perhaps more accurately Oni Forge's successor.
Specifications
Nagasa: 28.5 in.
Tsuka: 11.5 in.
Weight: 2.5 lbs
Sori: 1/2 in.
Moto-Haba: 1 1/4 in.
Saki-Haba: 1 in.
Moto-Kasane: 7.5 mm
Saki-kasane: 5 mm
Steel: AISI 1070
POB: 5.25 in. from tsuba
Aesthetics
Sugata is shinogi zukuri with a nice subtle suguha hamon. No Hanwei frostiness here. The counterpolished kissaki is 2.5 inches with a komaru(small circle ) boshi.
The omote side features a bo-hi running the length of the blade, and the ura side sports parallel so-hi.
Fuchigashira are stone textured , blackened brass, and the tsuba is a casting featuring a dragonfly motif. Menuki are blackened dragonfly.
The tsuka is wrapped with brown ito over white same.
The saya is a black pebbled finish , which is one of the details I feel really complement this katana.
Fit and Finish is overall very good.Everything is tight, with no wiggles, shakes, shifts, wobbles or looseness at all. The feel is very solid. The kissaki shaping is appealing to me. as is the overall flow of the sword.There is a slight rattle in the saya and the yokote placement is a litle off.
Handling Characteristics
The Dragonfly has sports car handling. The balance point is about 5.25 inches from the tsuba, thanks to the hi, and the taper.
The tsuka provides a rock solid grip, and as I said, nothing shifts or moves when the katana is swung.
Cutting
Since I will likely pass this sword on, I did not attempt any heavy cutting, but the dragonfly gives the impression of being good for a two mat roll.
I did try my hand on some dry 20 ounce bottles, and the sword cut them easily, after I got used to the shallower sori.
I normally cut empties with the older cousin to the dragonfly , the Tonbo, with .75 inch sori. The shallower sori takes a little getting used to, as the deeper sori did when I first used it.
The Dragonfly seems to be geared to heavier targets than the tonbo.
Conclusion
One of the things I've come to expect from Loren over the years is fresh designs that deviate from the same old same old.
The Dragonfly is certainly no disappointment there. It's parallel so-hi, textured saya and O - kissaki set it apart from the normal production sugata, while maintaing the rock solid construction and performance of previous offerings. By offering the Dragonfly as a daisho, and with two different tsuka lengths, Kensei is positioned to serve it's customers needs and move into the future with fresh, original products.
It's been a while since I've gotten a new production katana, and when Kensei's new models began arriving I decided to break the slump.
For those who don't know, Kensei is the new incarnation of Oni Forge, or perhaps more accurately Oni Forge's successor.
Specifications
Nagasa: 28.5 in.
Tsuka: 11.5 in.
Weight: 2.5 lbs
Sori: 1/2 in.
Moto-Haba: 1 1/4 in.
Saki-Haba: 1 in.
Moto-Kasane: 7.5 mm
Saki-kasane: 5 mm
Steel: AISI 1070
POB: 5.25 in. from tsuba
Aesthetics
Sugata is shinogi zukuri with a nice subtle suguha hamon. No Hanwei frostiness here. The counterpolished kissaki is 2.5 inches with a komaru(small circle ) boshi.
The omote side features a bo-hi running the length of the blade, and the ura side sports parallel so-hi.
Fuchigashira are stone textured , blackened brass, and the tsuba is a casting featuring a dragonfly motif. Menuki are blackened dragonfly.
The tsuka is wrapped with brown ito over white same.
The saya is a black pebbled finish , which is one of the details I feel really complement this katana.
Fit and Finish is overall very good.Everything is tight, with no wiggles, shakes, shifts, wobbles or looseness at all. The feel is very solid. The kissaki shaping is appealing to me. as is the overall flow of the sword.There is a slight rattle in the saya and the yokote placement is a litle off.
Handling Characteristics
The Dragonfly has sports car handling. The balance point is about 5.25 inches from the tsuba, thanks to the hi, and the taper.
The tsuka provides a rock solid grip, and as I said, nothing shifts or moves when the katana is swung.
Cutting
Since I will likely pass this sword on, I did not attempt any heavy cutting, but the dragonfly gives the impression of being good for a two mat roll.
I did try my hand on some dry 20 ounce bottles, and the sword cut them easily, after I got used to the shallower sori.
I normally cut empties with the older cousin to the dragonfly , the Tonbo, with .75 inch sori. The shallower sori takes a little getting used to, as the deeper sori did when I first used it.
The Dragonfly seems to be geared to heavier targets than the tonbo.
Conclusion
One of the things I've come to expect from Loren over the years is fresh designs that deviate from the same old same old.
The Dragonfly is certainly no disappointment there. It's parallel so-hi, textured saya and O - kissaki set it apart from the normal production sugata, while maintaing the rock solid construction and performance of previous offerings. By offering the Dragonfly as a daisho, and with two different tsuka lengths, Kensei is positioned to serve it's customers needs and move into the future with fresh, original products.