Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Apr 5, 2013 11:24:55 GMT -5
Point Gallery Musashi / Ronin Katana Elite Highlander Sword by Daryl Kyle
Marc Kaden Ridgeway
7 March 2013
Atlanta GA
"What got you into swords"
This is a pivotal question that one often reads on sword forums. Often the answer is "Conan," for the older dudes like me or maybe Kill Bill for the kiddos, but for many Gen Xers the answer is "Highlander".
Oh don't get me wrong , it played a huge role in my life as well ... Highlander was the first movie I ever watched with my wife , 20 some odd years ago. We have a son named for the protagonist...
In a way , one could say that Highlander spawned the world of teh internet sword forum as well , because SFI started out as the "Highlander Sword Buyer's Guide" . It also spawned a string of sequels... including the questionable 2nd movie, and the somewhat better third. Also the TV Show.
Highlander, the Series ran from 1992 - 1998 and featured Duncan McCloud, clansman of the movie protagonist Connor.
The sword featured in this review is an official replica of the the sword from the TV series.
This sword was made by Daryl Kyle. co-owner and head designer at Point Gallery . The blade it is based on is a Ronin Katana Elite
This isn't a typical sword, so my review will be a bit atypical as well ... please bear with me.
Specifications
Nagasa : 28 in
Weight : 2lbs. 8 oz
Motohaba : 1.25 in
Sakihaba : .8 in
Motokasane : 8mm
Sakikasane : 5mm
POB : 5 in. from tsuba
Handle: 12 in.
Handle
There is so much going on here on/in the handle(tsuka?) and most of it is so hard to put into words... so I'll resort to mostly pictures.
The handle is cast from resin, with a carbon-Kevlar core. It is not painted , only lightly powder weathered for the aged effect. The relief on the handle is in panels , which seem to tell a story. Impossible to tell exaxctly what the story is, but it seems to deal with a guy hunting and killing a tiger (or some other beast) that is presumably terrorizing a village. The end is , of course , a dragon's head.
The detail in the handle is crisp , the casting immacuately done , and the handle itself strong and solid and the grip tactile.
Tsuba & Habaki
The tsuba is solid bronze in a combination of sukashi and high relief styles. The Point Gallery website says it is a rooster motif, but I don't think so... to me it is a peacock , as evidenced by the long tail feathers . This , of course would be nicely representative of the "Spanish Peacock" who was the original owner of the sword.
The habaki is brass , and is nicely fit. It mimics a 2 piece habaki with its twin horizontal grooves, and its vertical scratch pattern at the base.
Saya
The saya is a bit different from a normal Ronin Elite. It isn't lacquered black... instead the natural wood has been lacqurered with clear gloss. Also there is no kurigata , ergo no sageo... however there are buffalo horn pieces for the koiguchi and kojiri.
Blade
The blade is the heart of any sword , and this one has a damn fine heart . I have gotten some flak from some corners for saying that The Ronin Elites have the best shaping and geometry of any production sword (I know about) on the market. I will have to stand by my statement though.Yet another Elite blade here with crisp geometry and clean lines. When I say this I mean crip shinogi, munekado, mitsukado and koshinogi saki.
This blade is so nice... and the quality so consistant , rather than rewrite this I will quote someone I know well... me!
The swordsmiths in Japan forged their blades from tamahagane, a steel smelted from iron bearing river sand. When tamahagane is smelted , the process results in a bloom of steel that is extremely high carbon in places and low in others. The Japanese folded this to make it uniform.
The ever innovative smiths used differential hardening to make the swords have very hard, sharp edges , but supple spines. Still swords failed and sworsmiths sought ways to minimize this , and make their swords sharper and more resilent.
One way they they did this was by laminating layers of higher and lower carbon steels together , to make soft cores and hard skins... etc. Many different lamination styles were used, including the most complex one, credited to the most legendary of all Japanese smiths, Masamune. That one is the soshu kitae tradition (seven panel steel). This school was developed by the Japanese smith Masamune, and combines panels of hard, medium, and soft
steels. The core of the blade is formed from softer, more malleable steel giving it exceptional flexibility. A layer of
slightly harder steel is bonded to each side of the core to add support. The last layers are a very hard steel bonded to
the top, bottom, and both sides of the core forming the ha (cutting edge) mune (back edge) and shinogi-ji (blade flats).
This form of laminar construction provided for a sword that could be sharpened to a razor edge due to the hardened
steed used for the ha, but was extremely resilient to battle damage due to its softer more flexible core.
This Ronin Dojo Elite is forged in the Soshu Kitae method.
The 28 inch blade is forged and laminated from 1095/1060/1045 steels in the shinogi Zukuri sugata. The blade exhibits nice fumbari. The kissaki is the most crisply defined geometric ko kissaki on any production or custom katana I have ever had in hand. I know there are better , but I haven't personally seen better. In fact look at the the similarities it shares with this sketch of an ideal ko-kissaki. I'll call the hamon toran , but am open to correction.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
The blade is stone polished ,but the hamon not finished with higher stones. The shinogi ji are bright mirror polished while the ji are in a hazy satin. At this level of polish we don't get the whitening of the hamon (its not acid enhanced) instead it shows its hardness by the bright polish . Ronin reports the hardness at 62 on the ha and 40 on the spine. I have no proof of this, but also I have no reasom to doubt it.
On complex laminations like these , special attention has to be paid when heat treating the blade , or it will fail... thus the heat treat is damn good and specially done. I dare say no other production company pays to assure a superior heat treat like Ronin does on these complex laminates.
The lines on this blade are crisp... and makes the geometry really pop.
Handling Characteristics
This is where I was really surprised by this sword. I expected , with the molded handle , that the balance and weight would be thrown off. However , upon first picking up the sword I was quickly disabused of this notion. The handling is pretty much dead-on of any similar katana. In fact the POB is exactly the same as my Ronin Elite however this sword is several ounces lighter.
The grip is sure and tactile , and the sword nimble and fast. One handed cuts are easily accomplished , but the sword shines with two hands. The one caveat is that with extended cutting sessions it can grate the hands a bit. If your hands aren't tough , wear gloves.
Cutting
This sword doesn't belong to me, rather belongs in Chris Scoggins personal collection , so I didnt do any crazy cutting with it. I did cut through a case of water bottles , and although I am no longer even the mediocre cutter I once was , I made some pretty cool cuts.
In the following short vid you will see static cuts , a zero-distance cut , a static zero distance cut... In some circles it is common to hear people say that Ronin Katana blades are dull or beveled or whatever . This is repeated and unfortunately, some people take it as gospel because it may come from what they feel is a reliable source. Folks , noone holds a patent on sharp steel ... this blade is pretty damn sharp.
The thing I liked best about the static cuts... none of them are pulled cuts or wrist flicksas an attempt to achieve a static cut... all were full, powerful strikes..
Conclusion
The Point Gallery Highlander Musashi was a surprising sword to me in a lot of ways. As a movie replica, I didn't really expect it to handler and perform like a real sword. I was happy to be mistaken.
The Ronin Dojo Elite blade does , of course, make an excellent platform for this replica, but also Daryl Kyle's conversion from a bare blade to a carbon Kevlar resin core replica of the Highlander TV series Musashi is excellently done. Not only is the casting clean and vibrant , but the entire mount was obviously designed and completed by someone with an understanding of dynamic handling aspects of swords.
The Ronin Elite blade continues to exceed expectations , as did this Highlander sword. This is truly a real , usable replica , done to exacting standards.
I would highly recommend this Point Gallery Musashi to anyone who was inspired by Highlander the movie, or TV series. Heck, I could highly recommend this to anyone who just wanted a good sword. nevermind the replica bit.
This piece certainly changed my mind as to whether I want a Highlander replica by Daryl Kyle in my collection. The answer is a resounding yes.
Thanks for reading.
Marc Kaden Ridgeway
7 March 2013
Atlanta GA
"What got you into swords"
This is a pivotal question that one often reads on sword forums. Often the answer is "Conan," for the older dudes like me or maybe Kill Bill for the kiddos, but for many Gen Xers the answer is "Highlander".
Oh don't get me wrong , it played a huge role in my life as well ... Highlander was the first movie I ever watched with my wife , 20 some odd years ago. We have a son named for the protagonist...
In a way , one could say that Highlander spawned the world of teh internet sword forum as well , because SFI started out as the "Highlander Sword Buyer's Guide" . It also spawned a string of sequels... including the questionable 2nd movie, and the somewhat better third. Also the TV Show.
Highlander, the Series ran from 1992 - 1998 and featured Duncan McCloud, clansman of the movie protagonist Connor.
The sword featured in this review is an official replica of the the sword from the TV series.
This sword was made by Daryl Kyle. co-owner and head designer at Point Gallery . The blade it is based on is a Ronin Katana Elite
This isn't a typical sword, so my review will be a bit atypical as well ... please bear with me.
Specifications
Nagasa : 28 in
Weight : 2lbs. 8 oz
Motohaba : 1.25 in
Sakihaba : .8 in
Motokasane : 8mm
Sakikasane : 5mm
POB : 5 in. from tsuba
Handle: 12 in.
Handle
There is so much going on here on/in the handle(tsuka?) and most of it is so hard to put into words... so I'll resort to mostly pictures.
The handle is cast from resin, with a carbon-Kevlar core. It is not painted , only lightly powder weathered for the aged effect. The relief on the handle is in panels , which seem to tell a story. Impossible to tell exaxctly what the story is, but it seems to deal with a guy hunting and killing a tiger (or some other beast) that is presumably terrorizing a village. The end is , of course , a dragon's head.
The detail in the handle is crisp , the casting immacuately done , and the handle itself strong and solid and the grip tactile.
Tsuba & Habaki
The tsuba is solid bronze in a combination of sukashi and high relief styles. The Point Gallery website says it is a rooster motif, but I don't think so... to me it is a peacock , as evidenced by the long tail feathers . This , of course would be nicely representative of the "Spanish Peacock" who was the original owner of the sword.
The habaki is brass , and is nicely fit. It mimics a 2 piece habaki with its twin horizontal grooves, and its vertical scratch pattern at the base.
Saya
The saya is a bit different from a normal Ronin Elite. It isn't lacquered black... instead the natural wood has been lacqurered with clear gloss. Also there is no kurigata , ergo no sageo... however there are buffalo horn pieces for the koiguchi and kojiri.
Blade
The blade is the heart of any sword , and this one has a damn fine heart . I have gotten some flak from some corners for saying that The Ronin Elites have the best shaping and geometry of any production sword (I know about) on the market. I will have to stand by my statement though.Yet another Elite blade here with crisp geometry and clean lines. When I say this I mean crip shinogi, munekado, mitsukado and koshinogi saki.
This blade is so nice... and the quality so consistant , rather than rewrite this I will quote someone I know well... me!
The swordsmiths in Japan forged their blades from tamahagane, a steel smelted from iron bearing river sand. When tamahagane is smelted , the process results in a bloom of steel that is extremely high carbon in places and low in others. The Japanese folded this to make it uniform.
The ever innovative smiths used differential hardening to make the swords have very hard, sharp edges , but supple spines. Still swords failed and sworsmiths sought ways to minimize this , and make their swords sharper and more resilent.
One way they they did this was by laminating layers of higher and lower carbon steels together , to make soft cores and hard skins... etc. Many different lamination styles were used, including the most complex one, credited to the most legendary of all Japanese smiths, Masamune. That one is the soshu kitae tradition (seven panel steel). This school was developed by the Japanese smith Masamune, and combines panels of hard, medium, and soft
steels. The core of the blade is formed from softer, more malleable steel giving it exceptional flexibility. A layer of
slightly harder steel is bonded to each side of the core to add support. The last layers are a very hard steel bonded to
the top, bottom, and both sides of the core forming the ha (cutting edge) mune (back edge) and shinogi-ji (blade flats).
This form of laminar construction provided for a sword that could be sharpened to a razor edge due to the hardened
steed used for the ha, but was extremely resilient to battle damage due to its softer more flexible core.
This Ronin Dojo Elite is forged in the Soshu Kitae method.
The 28 inch blade is forged and laminated from 1095/1060/1045 steels in the shinogi Zukuri sugata. The blade exhibits nice fumbari. The kissaki is the most crisply defined geometric ko kissaki on any production or custom katana I have ever had in hand. I know there are better , but I haven't personally seen better. In fact look at the the similarities it shares with this sketch of an ideal ko-kissaki. I'll call the hamon toran , but am open to correction.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
The blade is stone polished ,but the hamon not finished with higher stones. The shinogi ji are bright mirror polished while the ji are in a hazy satin. At this level of polish we don't get the whitening of the hamon (its not acid enhanced) instead it shows its hardness by the bright polish . Ronin reports the hardness at 62 on the ha and 40 on the spine. I have no proof of this, but also I have no reasom to doubt it.
On complex laminations like these , special attention has to be paid when heat treating the blade , or it will fail... thus the heat treat is damn good and specially done. I dare say no other production company pays to assure a superior heat treat like Ronin does on these complex laminates.
The lines on this blade are crisp... and makes the geometry really pop.
Handling Characteristics
This is where I was really surprised by this sword. I expected , with the molded handle , that the balance and weight would be thrown off. However , upon first picking up the sword I was quickly disabused of this notion. The handling is pretty much dead-on of any similar katana. In fact the POB is exactly the same as my Ronin Elite however this sword is several ounces lighter.
The grip is sure and tactile , and the sword nimble and fast. One handed cuts are easily accomplished , but the sword shines with two hands. The one caveat is that with extended cutting sessions it can grate the hands a bit. If your hands aren't tough , wear gloves.
Cutting
This sword doesn't belong to me, rather belongs in Chris Scoggins personal collection , so I didnt do any crazy cutting with it. I did cut through a case of water bottles , and although I am no longer even the mediocre cutter I once was , I made some pretty cool cuts.
In the following short vid you will see static cuts , a zero-distance cut , a static zero distance cut... In some circles it is common to hear people say that Ronin Katana blades are dull or beveled or whatever . This is repeated and unfortunately, some people take it as gospel because it may come from what they feel is a reliable source. Folks , noone holds a patent on sharp steel ... this blade is pretty damn sharp.
The thing I liked best about the static cuts... none of them are pulled cuts or wrist flicksas an attempt to achieve a static cut... all were full, powerful strikes..
Conclusion
The Point Gallery Highlander Musashi was a surprising sword to me in a lot of ways. As a movie replica, I didn't really expect it to handler and perform like a real sword. I was happy to be mistaken.
The Ronin Dojo Elite blade does , of course, make an excellent platform for this replica, but also Daryl Kyle's conversion from a bare blade to a carbon Kevlar resin core replica of the Highlander TV series Musashi is excellently done. Not only is the casting clean and vibrant , but the entire mount was obviously designed and completed by someone with an understanding of dynamic handling aspects of swords.
The Ronin Elite blade continues to exceed expectations , as did this Highlander sword. This is truly a real , usable replica , done to exacting standards.
I would highly recommend this Point Gallery Musashi to anyone who was inspired by Highlander the movie, or TV series. Heck, I could highly recommend this to anyone who just wanted a good sword. nevermind the replica bit.
This piece certainly changed my mind as to whether I want a Highlander replica by Daryl Kyle in my collection. The answer is a resounding yes.
Thanks for reading.
