Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Jun 26, 2009 12:27:17 GMT -5
Masahiro Yajuu Katana
Review by Marc Kaden Ridgeway,Atlanta GA ------3May2009
I actually bought this sword a while back... it was the second one of these I've had. I sold the first one, and bought the more recent one as a gift.
Well , with all the talk of Musashi brand katana , and other low cost brands, I thought it was time another look was taken at Masahiro. Masahiro is often disparaged, but have put out some decent enough katana.
A bit of history on Masahiro. It is a brand owned by Master Cutlery, and the swords are bought from various forges, and rebranded as Masahiro, so as you can imagine quality varies wildly from model to model, depending on what supplier it is sourced from.
I want to apologize for the picture quality, which is not up to my usual standards... since this was bought as a gift, I no longer have it, and have have to go on a scavenger hunt through my archives for photos, and borrowed a couple, like the first one , which came from a vendor.Some of photos are comparison pictures with other swords, especially the Masahiro Bamboo. Unlike the Bamboo, these are still being produced and are still available.
The Yajuu arrived in a plain brown box, including a cheap, rough bag bearing the Masahiro trademark, and a cleaning kit.
Specifications
Nagasa-------- 27.5 in
Tsuka-----------11 in with fittings
Kissaki----------2 in
motokasane--- 1.2 in
sakikasane----- .9 in
motohaba------ 6.5 mm
sakihaba--------5 mm
Sori--------------- .65 in
Pob--------------- 5 in from tsuba
Weight---------- 2.2 lbs
1060 steel through hardened
Aesthetics; Fit & Finish
This is both a strong point, and a weak point for this katana. Overall, for a budget sword, it is pretty damn attractive.
The sugata is shinogi zukuri, with a 2 inch chu-kissaki that is poorly shaped . The yokote is cosmetic and incorrectly placed , a product of counterpolish that is definitely machine done with a template, and may even be laser.
Also at the mune-kado, the mune at the kissaki, too much material was taken from one side of the mune making the point appear curved , though it is not. Although these are claimed to be hand-made, I feel they are milled not forged, likely with a great deal of mechanization .
The hamon is wire-brushed.
The tsuka is slim. well shaped, and tapers, and is paneled in white samegawa(rayskin) and wrapped in blue cotton ito that does not alternate.
The seppa are stamped.
The menuki are gold colored dragons, and likely plastic.
The fittings are what steal the show. The fuchi and kashira are well polished, and presumably brass, as is the tsuba. The tsuba is VERY attractive, even though it is a rip-off of the Hanwei Shinto.
The saya is black laqured wood with blue shoestring sageo, and a polished brass throat... a nice touch.
Everything is tight, and nothing shifts are moves at all aside from some slight movement in the ito.
Handling
Without a doubt, this is a strong point of this sword. It is light and quick and well balanced.
The tsuka is well shaped, and the sword in general has a nice flow to it.
With this sword in hand, it's easy to forget what it is...
In the photo below , the Dragon is pictured beside several other models. It is the second sword down... I think it shows the overall shaping to good effect.
Cutting
The Yajuu is actually not a bad little cutter. It handles light targets really well, but isn't really balanced for heavier targets.
I did cut heavy targets like bamboo, and the sword suffered no damage... its not a matter of it not being tough enough, it just is a bit light , and you have to force it through the cut , resulting in a lot of scooped cuts.
The Good , The Bad & The Ugly
Lots of all to go around. The sword handles well and cuts pretty decently,aesthetically the sword looks pretty good on the surface level especially the mount... The wrap is a bit bad... the wire brushed hamon is just ugly.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion
This is not a great sword by any stretch of the imagination, not even a good sword, but as low cost katana go, it is a pretty decent one. It definitely shows that Masahiro deserves another look along with Musashi and others instead of being dismissed out of hand.
If you are in the market for thios type of sword, and don't mind the shortcuts that go into it , this is the equal of most out there.
However , if you don't like wire-brushed hamon, etc. , this is not the way to go.
In addition, one must consider price. The price I paid was about $70 for the first one, and about $80 for the second one. At this price the sword is worth buying.
These are availiable from various websites and ebay vendors for prices at around $150 -$160 . At this price I would NOT buy this sword.
These are also availiable from handmadeswords sometimes... sometimes they call them Masahiro, and other times they do not, but occasionally they have them for less than $100. At that price they are worth considering.
Thanks for reading...
Review by Marc Kaden Ridgeway,Atlanta GA ------3May2009
I actually bought this sword a while back... it was the second one of these I've had. I sold the first one, and bought the more recent one as a gift.
Well , with all the talk of Musashi brand katana , and other low cost brands, I thought it was time another look was taken at Masahiro. Masahiro is often disparaged, but have put out some decent enough katana.
A bit of history on Masahiro. It is a brand owned by Master Cutlery, and the swords are bought from various forges, and rebranded as Masahiro, so as you can imagine quality varies wildly from model to model, depending on what supplier it is sourced from.
I want to apologize for the picture quality, which is not up to my usual standards... since this was bought as a gift, I no longer have it, and have have to go on a scavenger hunt through my archives for photos, and borrowed a couple, like the first one , which came from a vendor.Some of photos are comparison pictures with other swords, especially the Masahiro Bamboo. Unlike the Bamboo, these are still being produced and are still available.
The Yajuu arrived in a plain brown box, including a cheap, rough bag bearing the Masahiro trademark, and a cleaning kit.
Specifications
Nagasa-------- 27.5 in
Tsuka-----------11 in with fittings
Kissaki----------2 in
motokasane--- 1.2 in
sakikasane----- .9 in
motohaba------ 6.5 mm
sakihaba--------5 mm
Sori--------------- .65 in
Pob--------------- 5 in from tsuba
Weight---------- 2.2 lbs
1060 steel through hardened
Aesthetics; Fit & Finish
This is both a strong point, and a weak point for this katana. Overall, for a budget sword, it is pretty damn attractive.
The sugata is shinogi zukuri, with a 2 inch chu-kissaki that is poorly shaped . The yokote is cosmetic and incorrectly placed , a product of counterpolish that is definitely machine done with a template, and may even be laser.
Also at the mune-kado, the mune at the kissaki, too much material was taken from one side of the mune making the point appear curved , though it is not. Although these are claimed to be hand-made, I feel they are milled not forged, likely with a great deal of mechanization .
The hamon is wire-brushed.
The tsuka is slim. well shaped, and tapers, and is paneled in white samegawa(rayskin) and wrapped in blue cotton ito that does not alternate.
The seppa are stamped.
The menuki are gold colored dragons, and likely plastic.
The fittings are what steal the show. The fuchi and kashira are well polished, and presumably brass, as is the tsuba. The tsuba is VERY attractive, even though it is a rip-off of the Hanwei Shinto.
The saya is black laqured wood with blue shoestring sageo, and a polished brass throat... a nice touch.
Everything is tight, and nothing shifts are moves at all aside from some slight movement in the ito.
Handling
Without a doubt, this is a strong point of this sword. It is light and quick and well balanced.
The tsuka is well shaped, and the sword in general has a nice flow to it.
With this sword in hand, it's easy to forget what it is...
In the photo below , the Dragon is pictured beside several other models. It is the second sword down... I think it shows the overall shaping to good effect.
Cutting
The Yajuu is actually not a bad little cutter. It handles light targets really well, but isn't really balanced for heavier targets.
I did cut heavy targets like bamboo, and the sword suffered no damage... its not a matter of it not being tough enough, it just is a bit light , and you have to force it through the cut , resulting in a lot of scooped cuts.
The Good , The Bad & The Ugly
Lots of all to go around. The sword handles well and cuts pretty decently,aesthetically the sword looks pretty good on the surface level especially the mount... The wrap is a bit bad... the wire brushed hamon is just ugly.
Pros
- decent hardware
- attractive mount
- well shaped tsuka
- handles well
- cuts decently
- nice saya
Cons
- stamped seppa
- wire-brushed hamon
- non-alternating wrap
- machined (probably) blade
- poorly shaped kissaki
Conclusion
This is not a great sword by any stretch of the imagination, not even a good sword, but as low cost katana go, it is a pretty decent one. It definitely shows that Masahiro deserves another look along with Musashi and others instead of being dismissed out of hand.
If you are in the market for thios type of sword, and don't mind the shortcuts that go into it , this is the equal of most out there.
However , if you don't like wire-brushed hamon, etc. , this is not the way to go.
In addition, one must consider price. The price I paid was about $70 for the first one, and about $80 for the second one. At this price the sword is worth buying.
These are availiable from various websites and ebay vendors for prices at around $150 -$160 . At this price I would NOT buy this sword.
These are also availiable from handmadeswords sometimes... sometimes they call them Masahiro, and other times they do not, but occasionally they have them for less than $100. At that price they are worth considering.
Thanks for reading...