Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Nov 29, 2012 15:48:25 GMT -5
Hung Shing TS 1095 Series Okissaki Katana
Marc Kaden Ridgeway
Atlanta , GA
29 Nov. 2012
The idea for this model I think was first conceived in January of this year when Ricky and his partner Erwin (business not life
) offered an idea to do a limited run for SBG members.
Members designed a sword , and that sword was produced for those that had signed on for he project. Ricky sent me the prototype for testing with bamboo , and critique. To be honest, that design was kind of awkward and clunky... but it was the design that the member's had agreed upon , so there it was. I have a soft spot for Okissaki blades ... and so liked the blade despite the problems with its design. That review can be found here
One thing I do have to say about Ricky is that he has been very good about listening to his customers and then incorporating his ideas about edges and cutting into the desires of his clients.
Since his arrival to SBG with the wide, thin Windglider mat cutters , Ricky has adapted his brand of super sharp cutters to match more traditional geometries and improved mounts.
So , unfettered by the chosen specs of the group buy, Ricky redesigned the Okissaki model to what I consider more reasonable dimensions and considerably refined it. Upon seeing this , I messaged to congratulate him , at which time he asked me to test this new version as well ... and I agreed and here we are.
Specifications
Nagasa : 27.75 in
Tsuka : 10 in w/ fittings
Weight : 2lbs 5 oz
Motohaba : 1.2 in
Sakihaba : .8 in
Motokasane : 7mm
Sakikasane : 4.5mm
Sori : .7 in
POB : 6 in. from tsuba
Aesthetics ; Fit & Finish
Sugata is shinogi zukuri with O-kissaki. The 1095 steel blade is 27.75 in. long and has .7 inch of sori. The blade sports a pretty accurate representation of a choji hamon , which has been brought out by an acid etch. The 2.5 inch kissaki is not super - sharply defined , which can often be the case with O-kissaki . The longer the kissaki the less drastic the geometry shift which causes the yokote. It is likely that this yokote was created by removing material form either side of it, but nevertheless it is tactile and is not a result of counter polish. The feature that I like most about the blade is the crisply defined shinogi.
I am going to preface what I am about to say by acknowledging that this is not a production model. I do not know how much of the production model will be the same , but I do know it will not have this leather ito nor these fittings. With that said , the tsuka and fittings on this sword are prtty cool.... luxurious even.
The fuchigashira are a Japanese tensho set, likely from Yamato and have a silver finish with black relief. The 10 inch tsuka is paneled with black same and wrapped with black leather ito which also a Japanese import. This is no factory done wrap, and the tsukamakishi did an excellent on on it. The tsuba is a nicely shaped black iron Musashi ni-ring. The menuki are silver dragons.
The aesthetic works quite well and the result is a gorgeous mount.
The habaki has been switched out and refinished by Ricky. To compensate for the different habaki an extra seppa was added along with the two copper seppa. This is just a quick fix for the demo , and apparently whatever issue Ricky had with the habaki (purely aesthetic I think) is being solved at the forge level.
The saya fit is very good , and the saya itself is quite attractive.
It has been wrapped in rattan near the throat for about 1/4 of its length and lacquered over in a red-brown color with black accents in an ishime finish. The koiguchi and kojiri are horn, as is the kuragata , presumably. The sageo again, has been imported from Japan.
Handling Characteristics
The leather ito is a tad bit "squishy" which I mean as a good thing ... it is VERY comfortable to grip. At the same time the wrap is tight and rock solid.
The sword itself is light and quick , and moves easily. The handling is a terrific improvement over the group buy incarnation.
Cutting
This is not the sharpest sword I have ever seen , but it is definitely among the sharpest. It esily slices paper without pulling and cuts empty bottles as easy as full ones. As I stated in my DF shobu review, I misplaced an sd card with a bunch of cutting footage and only had a clip of the bamboo cutting. However the weather was decent today , so I was able to make a quick video with some bottles... never mind my poor cutting , the sword cuts VERY well.
It definitely cuts bottles like a demon , and is a lot of fun while doing so. The bamboo cutting, however resulted in about a dozen microchips along the ha in the monouchi.
Conclusion
The new HSTS O-kissaki is definitely an improvement over the older version is every area , except performance on hard targets.
The new blade was much sharper than the old, and the bamboo quite hard as there as been some cold weather.
1095 , when differentially hardened , becomes quite hard , due to its carbon content , and as a consequence brittle.
Ricky is known for extreme and precise profiling resulting in wickedly sharp edges.
It is my opinion that differentially hardened 1095 may be too brittle for the super sharp edges.. however this is not a final conclusion... Ricky is going to reprofile the blad and we wukk test it again to try to draw conclusions as to exactly why the chipping occurred.
Stay tuned.
Marc Kaden Ridgeway
Atlanta , GA
29 Nov. 2012
The idea for this model I think was first conceived in January of this year when Ricky and his partner Erwin (business not life
) offered an idea to do a limited run for SBG members.Members designed a sword , and that sword was produced for those that had signed on for he project. Ricky sent me the prototype for testing with bamboo , and critique. To be honest, that design was kind of awkward and clunky... but it was the design that the member's had agreed upon , so there it was. I have a soft spot for Okissaki blades ... and so liked the blade despite the problems with its design. That review can be found here
One thing I do have to say about Ricky is that he has been very good about listening to his customers and then incorporating his ideas about edges and cutting into the desires of his clients.
Since his arrival to SBG with the wide, thin Windglider mat cutters , Ricky has adapted his brand of super sharp cutters to match more traditional geometries and improved mounts.
So , unfettered by the chosen specs of the group buy, Ricky redesigned the Okissaki model to what I consider more reasonable dimensions and considerably refined it. Upon seeing this , I messaged to congratulate him , at which time he asked me to test this new version as well ... and I agreed and here we are.
Specifications
Nagasa : 27.75 in
Tsuka : 10 in w/ fittings
Weight : 2lbs 5 oz
Motohaba : 1.2 in
Sakihaba : .8 in
Motokasane : 7mm
Sakikasane : 4.5mm
Sori : .7 in
POB : 6 in. from tsuba
Aesthetics ; Fit & Finish
Sugata is shinogi zukuri with O-kissaki. The 1095 steel blade is 27.75 in. long and has .7 inch of sori. The blade sports a pretty accurate representation of a choji hamon , which has been brought out by an acid etch. The 2.5 inch kissaki is not super - sharply defined , which can often be the case with O-kissaki . The longer the kissaki the less drastic the geometry shift which causes the yokote. It is likely that this yokote was created by removing material form either side of it, but nevertheless it is tactile and is not a result of counter polish. The feature that I like most about the blade is the crisply defined shinogi.
I am going to preface what I am about to say by acknowledging that this is not a production model. I do not know how much of the production model will be the same , but I do know it will not have this leather ito nor these fittings. With that said , the tsuka and fittings on this sword are prtty cool.... luxurious even.
The fuchigashira are a Japanese tensho set, likely from Yamato and have a silver finish with black relief. The 10 inch tsuka is paneled with black same and wrapped with black leather ito which also a Japanese import. This is no factory done wrap, and the tsukamakishi did an excellent on on it. The tsuba is a nicely shaped black iron Musashi ni-ring. The menuki are silver dragons.
The aesthetic works quite well and the result is a gorgeous mount.
The habaki has been switched out and refinished by Ricky. To compensate for the different habaki an extra seppa was added along with the two copper seppa. This is just a quick fix for the demo , and apparently whatever issue Ricky had with the habaki (purely aesthetic I think) is being solved at the forge level.
The saya fit is very good , and the saya itself is quite attractive.
It has been wrapped in rattan near the throat for about 1/4 of its length and lacquered over in a red-brown color with black accents in an ishime finish. The koiguchi and kojiri are horn, as is the kuragata , presumably. The sageo again, has been imported from Japan.
Handling Characteristics
The leather ito is a tad bit "squishy" which I mean as a good thing ... it is VERY comfortable to grip. At the same time the wrap is tight and rock solid.
The sword itself is light and quick , and moves easily. The handling is a terrific improvement over the group buy incarnation.
Cutting
This is not the sharpest sword I have ever seen , but it is definitely among the sharpest. It esily slices paper without pulling and cuts empty bottles as easy as full ones. As I stated in my DF shobu review, I misplaced an sd card with a bunch of cutting footage and only had a clip of the bamboo cutting. However the weather was decent today , so I was able to make a quick video with some bottles... never mind my poor cutting , the sword cuts VERY well.
It definitely cuts bottles like a demon , and is a lot of fun while doing so. The bamboo cutting, however resulted in about a dozen microchips along the ha in the monouchi.
Conclusion
The new HSTS O-kissaki is definitely an improvement over the older version is every area , except performance on hard targets.
The new blade was much sharper than the old, and the bamboo quite hard as there as been some cold weather.
1095 , when differentially hardened , becomes quite hard , due to its carbon content , and as a consequence brittle.
Ricky is known for extreme and precise profiling resulting in wickedly sharp edges.
It is my opinion that differentially hardened 1095 may be too brittle for the super sharp edges.. however this is not a final conclusion... Ricky is going to reprofile the blad and we wukk test it again to try to draw conclusions as to exactly why the chipping occurred.
Stay tuned.