Toranba Tamahagane Katana Sword

1 review for Toranba Tamahagane Katana Sword

tthreadgill
Rated 4 out of 5
September 27, 2022
The blade arrived in a very nice high quality shirasaya. The copper habaki represents a level of quality and fit I have never seen on a Chinese manufactured katana. The hada (texture) of the steel looks to be Nashiji or Konuka and is also of very high quality, far beyond what I have previously seen in a Chinese katana. The differential forging does represent the Toranba style but I suspect the level of polish is not bringing out the full depth and beauty of the hamon. The shape of the blade is a bit of a disappointment. There is an aesthetic quality that someone who handles and inspects a great deal of authentic Japanese Nihon-to recognizes instantly. It's difficult to describe in words but its a visual balance related to the sori (curve) and fumbari (distal taper) of the blade. Most Chinese manufactured blades I've handled do not have enough fumbari, regardless of the sori. This makes the blades rather tip heavy in the hand. The ji (sides of the cutting edge) also tend to be too flat on Chinese manufactured blades. Properly ground in the traditional manner, the sides of the blade should be slightly convex, a characteristic called niku. This shape supports the ha (edge), preventing chipping when striking a harder target. The lack of fumbari and niku in a modern made sword is likely related to being marketed for tameshigiri, the cutting of soft targets such as rolled tatami omote, but this shape and weight distribution is not the norm in a majority of authentic Nihon-to. I'm betting if requested Z-Sey could provide a blade with proper fumbari and niku making this fantastic representation of a traditional Japanese sword. I give them four stars, and have no doubt that with the addition of more fumbari and niku I would give this blade five stars. At $2200 the sword is already a bargain, and with the suggested improvements, it would be an amazing value. Tobin E. Threadgill / Kaicho Takamura ha Shindo Yoshin ryu 高村派新道楊心流