Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Jul 1, 2009 17:01:59 GMT -5
Kensei Oni no Tsume
Chisaigatana
Review by Marc Kaden Ridgeway , Atlanta GA USA ------ 1 July 2009
Yeah, I know , I know... I've been saying I was moving away from Japanese swords... I am , I swear , you just can"t tell it. Truth is , I've always had a soft spot for Loren"s designs, so when the new Kensei models came out, it was destined that I would have to check them out. This is the first, I'll sell it, and buy another ... until I have checked them all out. Hey, it's what I do .
It'll be difficult to part with this lil beauty though... its pretty sweet.
This is a chisaigatana , which is basically a sword with all the dimensions of a katana but a shorter nagasa (length). This particular chisai is unokubi zukuri.
Historically, u-no-kubi zukuri is based on cut down pole arms. Usually seen on short swords, naginata were cut down to make wakizashi, and known as naginata naoshi. Today, there is much confusion , even among knowlegable people as to what exactly is naginata naoshi, unokubi , and kanmuri otoshi.
Basically a unokubi is a combination sword. The blade starts off as shinogi zukuri, and about 1/3 of the way transforms into the recessed shinogi ji form that is definitive of shobu zukuri, then, at the mune kado, transforms back into shinogi zukuri.
The slender mune , and swelling at the kissaki give it the name... which mean cormorant's neck, because the sword resembles the shape of that bird.
Specifications
Nagasa-------- 24 in
Tsuka-----------11 in with fittings
Motohaba-------1.25 in
Motokasane-----7mm
POB----------------3,5 in from tsuba
Sori-----------------.3 in
Steel----------------1070 water quenched
Weight ------------ @ 1.8 lbs
Aesthetics
Sugata is u-no-kubi zukuri with no yokote. The shinogi ji are burnished to a mirror polish. Ji are in a working polish and hamon is a unenhanced suguha .
The tsuka is panelled in creamy white same and wrapped in black silk ito. Fuchigashira are blackened brass in a stone textured finish and menuki are blackened dragons. The kashira has golden colored nutsodome.
The tsuba is a sunburst motif is blackened steel.
The saya is espescially attractive IMHO black, and shot through with golden veins in a "tree bark" texture.
Habaki and seppa are nickle-silver.
Construction; Fit & Finish
This is a solidly built sword. Everything is supertight almost as if it is one self-contained unit rather than an assembly.
The fittings are solid, the ito-maki like a rock and the tsuba immovable. Nothing shakes , rattles, rolls , fidgets or farts. Even on the highest end Hanwei , I often experience some lateral movement of the nakago in the tsuka, but this baby is rock solid. In fact its so tight and solid I didn't bother taking it down. So sorry, no nakago pictures... I'm not going to tamper with a rock solid mount just yet... while it is a great idea to inspect swords before use, Ive become pretty confident in my ability to access a katana's fitness from casual inspection. Who knows , I may be wrong, and it might bite me one day, but so far... so good.
Handling Characteristics
I guess this handles about like you'd expect a katana with a 24 inch nagasa to handle. By that I mean quick and responsive.
The tapered tsuka-ho and the tight, tactile , silk ito make for a great interface with the sword. Add to that the POB of just 3.5 inches, and the weight of about 1,8 lbs. and youve got sword that handles like a roller-coaster.
I don't know what else to say about this... so I won't.
Superb handling.
Cutting
Well , I had some trouble cutting. That wasn't the swords fault of course. I have swollen metacarpals in my left hand from an unfortunate and immature fist strike to an immovable obect. The pinky toe on my right foot is broken from an accidental, but just as unfortuate collison with another immovable object. And going for the trifecta , like the gambler I am , I cut my middle finger deeply while cleaning the cosmoline off of this little Demon Claw. Concentration is so d**n vital dealing with swords, no matter how experienced you are , lose concentration for one d**n second and you can be hurt... badly. Luckily it was only my finger , and I have 9 more.
All of this wasnt the reasom I had trouble cutting though... this gimpiness , combined with the 100 degree GA heat is why I didnt harvest bamboo, but I only had trouble cutting because of my experience (or lack thereof ) with this length sword. I kept misjudging distance , and striking the target with the kissaki rather than the monouchi... entirely my fault.
Despite me, the Oni cut well . This is a excellent cutter , and cuts equally well with one hand, or two. Any time I was actually capable of hitting the target , the sword cut it just fine. The bottles you see flying, and falling over are all my fault for just barely catching them with tip. Its embarassing, but in the sprirt of humility , I offer you the uncut version... flubbed cuts , mussed hair and all.
Enjoy.
.
The Good , The Bad & The Ugly
This is my critical section I like to point out the flaws, or whatever I just don't like. I don't even know where to begin. If you noticed on the photo of the tsuka earlier, the fuchi is not quite flush with the ito, its got a bit of a bigger circumference. Ummm I got nothing else to say folks. I guess some folks would prefer the hamon enhanced, and Kensei could do with a bit of variety in the fittings, but as far as this sword goes.. no complaints. I'm kinda attached to it.
Pros
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Cons
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Conclusion
I'm seriously impressed with the Oni no Tsume chisaigatana. Of all the Kensei models I've reviewed thus far ( Dragonfly. Matsu, Jidai) it is my favorite and reminds me most of the Oni Forge predecessors which I loved so well. The tsuka shaping is excellent, something I missed on the Matsu and Dragonfly. The design is first rate... typical of Loren's designs. It'sjust a fun little sword. I'm going to have to do a bit of work to get used to the 24 inch nagasa as I'm used to about 30... but man , it'll worth it... this Kensei is a treat to handle.
So thats it, thanks for reading... stay tuned, I'll sell this one pretty quick and be back with another Kensei model to review.
Cheers.
Chisaigatana
Review by Marc Kaden Ridgeway , Atlanta GA USA ------ 1 July 2009
Yeah, I know , I know... I've been saying I was moving away from Japanese swords... I am , I swear , you just can"t tell it. Truth is , I've always had a soft spot for Loren"s designs, so when the new Kensei models came out, it was destined that I would have to check them out. This is the first, I'll sell it, and buy another ... until I have checked them all out. Hey, it's what I do .
It'll be difficult to part with this lil beauty though... its pretty sweet.
This is a chisaigatana , which is basically a sword with all the dimensions of a katana but a shorter nagasa (length). This particular chisai is unokubi zukuri.
Historically, u-no-kubi zukuri is based on cut down pole arms. Usually seen on short swords, naginata were cut down to make wakizashi, and known as naginata naoshi. Today, there is much confusion , even among knowlegable people as to what exactly is naginata naoshi, unokubi , and kanmuri otoshi.
Basically a unokubi is a combination sword. The blade starts off as shinogi zukuri, and about 1/3 of the way transforms into the recessed shinogi ji form that is definitive of shobu zukuri, then, at the mune kado, transforms back into shinogi zukuri.
The slender mune , and swelling at the kissaki give it the name... which mean cormorant's neck, because the sword resembles the shape of that bird.
Specifications
Nagasa-------- 24 in
Tsuka-----------11 in with fittings
Motohaba-------1.25 in
Motokasane-----7mm
POB----------------3,5 in from tsuba
Sori-----------------.3 in
Steel----------------1070 water quenched
Weight ------------ @ 1.8 lbs
Aesthetics
Sugata is u-no-kubi zukuri with no yokote. The shinogi ji are burnished to a mirror polish. Ji are in a working polish and hamon is a unenhanced suguha .
The tsuka is panelled in creamy white same and wrapped in black silk ito. Fuchigashira are blackened brass in a stone textured finish and menuki are blackened dragons. The kashira has golden colored nutsodome.
The tsuba is a sunburst motif is blackened steel.
The saya is espescially attractive IMHO black, and shot through with golden veins in a "tree bark" texture.
Habaki and seppa are nickle-silver.
Construction; Fit & Finish
This is a solidly built sword. Everything is supertight almost as if it is one self-contained unit rather than an assembly.
The fittings are solid, the ito-maki like a rock and the tsuba immovable. Nothing shakes , rattles, rolls , fidgets or farts. Even on the highest end Hanwei , I often experience some lateral movement of the nakago in the tsuka, but this baby is rock solid. In fact its so tight and solid I didn't bother taking it down. So sorry, no nakago pictures... I'm not going to tamper with a rock solid mount just yet... while it is a great idea to inspect swords before use, Ive become pretty confident in my ability to access a katana's fitness from casual inspection. Who knows , I may be wrong, and it might bite me one day, but so far... so good.
Handling Characteristics
I guess this handles about like you'd expect a katana with a 24 inch nagasa to handle. By that I mean quick and responsive.
The tapered tsuka-ho and the tight, tactile , silk ito make for a great interface with the sword. Add to that the POB of just 3.5 inches, and the weight of about 1,8 lbs. and youve got sword that handles like a roller-coaster.
I don't know what else to say about this... so I won't.
Superb handling.
Cutting
Well , I had some trouble cutting. That wasn't the swords fault of course. I have swollen metacarpals in my left hand from an unfortunate and immature fist strike to an immovable obect. The pinky toe on my right foot is broken from an accidental, but just as unfortuate collison with another immovable object. And going for the trifecta , like the gambler I am , I cut my middle finger deeply while cleaning the cosmoline off of this little Demon Claw. Concentration is so d**n vital dealing with swords, no matter how experienced you are , lose concentration for one d**n second and you can be hurt... badly. Luckily it was only my finger , and I have 9 more.
All of this wasnt the reasom I had trouble cutting though... this gimpiness , combined with the 100 degree GA heat is why I didnt harvest bamboo, but I only had trouble cutting because of my experience (or lack thereof ) with this length sword. I kept misjudging distance , and striking the target with the kissaki rather than the monouchi... entirely my fault.
Despite me, the Oni cut well . This is a excellent cutter , and cuts equally well with one hand, or two. Any time I was actually capable of hitting the target , the sword cut it just fine. The bottles you see flying, and falling over are all my fault for just barely catching them with tip. Its embarassing, but in the sprirt of humility , I offer you the uncut version... flubbed cuts , mussed hair and all.
Enjoy.
.
The Good , The Bad & The Ugly
This is my critical section I like to point out the flaws, or whatever I just don't like. I don't even know where to begin. If you noticed on the photo of the tsuka earlier, the fuchi is not quite flush with the ito, its got a bit of a bigger circumference. Ummm I got nothing else to say folks. I guess some folks would prefer the hamon enhanced, and Kensei could do with a bit of variety in the fittings, but as far as this sword goes.. no complaints. I'm kinda attached to it.
Pros
- Tough heat treat
- Well Built
- Good Cutter
- Superb handling
- Nice geometry
- Unique
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Cons
- Shares same koshirae as several Kensei models
- Understated hamon
- fuchi a bit oversized
[/li][/ul]
Conclusion
I'm seriously impressed with the Oni no Tsume chisaigatana. Of all the Kensei models I've reviewed thus far ( Dragonfly. Matsu, Jidai) it is my favorite and reminds me most of the Oni Forge predecessors which I loved so well. The tsuka shaping is excellent, something I missed on the Matsu and Dragonfly. The design is first rate... typical of Loren's designs. It'sjust a fun little sword. I'm going to have to do a bit of work to get used to the 24 inch nagasa as I'm used to about 30... but man , it'll worth it... this Kensei is a treat to handle.
So thats it, thanks for reading... stay tuned, I'll sell this one pretty quick and be back with another Kensei model to review.
Cheers.