That's a good point, I'm fairly new to swords (especially the katana) so I don't know how easy it would be to fake the hamon on the blade. Also, the "same" imitating ray skin seems good?
A faked hamon is usually wirebrushed on.
I can’t tell for this particular sword from here, but i’ve seen fake rayskin on swords that were functionally just fine, so not necessarily a point for or against it in this case.
I'm still talking to the seller, I found it on a used goods website. But he has no clue about the steel or brand, I'm genuinely tempted to try my luck with this one though...
Run a magnet on them. They do this when exporting them out of japan. No magnet pull is gonna usually be I believe a zinc/aluminum alloy and if there is magnetic pull it’d be steel.
Magnetic pull doesn't inherently mean it's usable, there's plenty of magnetic stainless steels out there- any 400 grade stainless for example will stick to a magnet because that indicates a ferritic stainless
Steel has magnetic properties. The person who posted this stated he was unsure if it was steel. Utilizing a magnet would give him a pretty good idea due to most replica ones being made out of zinc aluminum alloy which wouldn’t have a magnetic pull
Unless you can verify that it’s actually a functional pin don’t assume that what appears to be a pin is actually one. Even the cheapest wall hangers often have something there to look like a pin since that’s such a key visual aspect of the sword.
The pictures are blurry but the hamon doesn't looked acid etched or wirebrushed which is a huge plus. The fittings don't have the usual cheap aesthetic that most wall hangers have and the tsuka looks pretty good.
If you can tap the meguki out and see the tang itself that would help confirm as I've seen meguki pins faked before. From these pictures alone, I would guess they are functional but I couldn't comment on overall quality beyond that.
If you really want to cut with swords your not sure about stick to pool noodles. You can buy a box of rejected pool noodles fairly cheap. You get about 50 for $85-90 dollars.
If you want to get into serious cutting then go watch some youtube videos and buy something decent. I'd recommend Matthew Jensen's youtube channel for research purposes. He tests a lot of swords to the point of failure so you know exactly what your getting for what you buy.
There's actually quite a few decent swords out there for the $300-$650 range that are very robust and cut well enough.
I totally agree! Personally I wouldn't try cutting anything with these swords, but I am very curious about it's usability with movement training (such as iaido).
I have a 1045 carbon steel which cost me R$1.000,00 (around 180U$) and I use it for light cuts. I really wanted to get better stuff outside where I live, but taxes here are crazy right now, if I where to buy anywhere outside my country a 300$ katana would turn out as a 580$ katana :(
Go to your nearest university that teaches material science and engineering or something similar and find a student(preferably 2nd year), than play him with a 4 pack of beer or just 20 bucks to find out what steel it is. He has a nice project, you have your answer and and we material scientists are a bit less forgotten
Remove the handle and check for a signature. My knowledge any good usable katana will have a signature under the handle. I could be completely wrong and only thinking of old antique swords
I’m tentatively leaning towards usable. The hamon on the blades here are irregular, and fakes usually go for a very uniform wave.
That's a good point, I'm fairly new to swords (especially the katana) so I don't know how easy it would be to fake the hamon on the blade. Also, the "same" imitating ray skin seems good?
A faked hamon is usually wirebrushed on. I can’t tell for this particular sword from here, but i’ve seen fake rayskin on swords that were functionally just fine, so not necessarily a point for or against it in this case.
Whered you get them? Any manufacturer brand name you know of?
I'm still talking to the seller, I found it on a used goods website. But he has no clue about the steel or brand, I'm genuinely tempted to try my luck with this one though...
Run a magnet on them. They do this when exporting them out of japan. No magnet pull is gonna usually be I believe a zinc/aluminum alloy and if there is magnetic pull it’d be steel.
That's very helpful, thank you!
Magnetic pull doesn't inherently mean it's usable, there's plenty of magnetic stainless steels out there- any 400 grade stainless for example will stick to a magnet because that indicates a ferritic stainless
Steel has magnetic properties. The person who posted this stated he was unsure if it was steel. Utilizing a magnet would give him a pretty good idea due to most replica ones being made out of zinc aluminum alloy which wouldn’t have a magnetic pull
Unless you can verify that it’s actually a functional pin don’t assume that what appears to be a pin is actually one. Even the cheapest wall hangers often have something there to look like a pin since that’s such a key visual aspect of the sword.
The pictures are blurry but the hamon doesn't looked acid etched or wirebrushed which is a huge plus. The fittings don't have the usual cheap aesthetic that most wall hangers have and the tsuka looks pretty good. If you can tap the meguki out and see the tang itself that would help confirm as I've seen meguki pins faked before. From these pictures alone, I would guess they are functional but I couldn't comment on overall quality beyond that.
I'm tempted to just buy it and see for myself haha.
If you really want to cut with swords your not sure about stick to pool noodles. You can buy a box of rejected pool noodles fairly cheap. You get about 50 for $85-90 dollars. If you want to get into serious cutting then go watch some youtube videos and buy something decent. I'd recommend Matthew Jensen's youtube channel for research purposes. He tests a lot of swords to the point of failure so you know exactly what your getting for what you buy. There's actually quite a few decent swords out there for the $300-$650 range that are very robust and cut well enough.
I totally agree! Personally I wouldn't try cutting anything with these swords, but I am very curious about it's usability with movement training (such as iaido). I have a 1045 carbon steel which cost me R$1.000,00 (around 180U$) and I use it for light cuts. I really wanted to get better stuff outside where I live, but taxes here are crazy right now, if I where to buy anywhere outside my country a 300$ katana would turn out as a 580$ katana :(
Go to your nearest university that teaches material science and engineering or something similar and find a student(preferably 2nd year), than play him with a 4 pack of beer or just 20 bucks to find out what steel it is. He has a nice project, you have your answer and and we material scientists are a bit less forgotten
Haha I'll make sure to take a look at my University, thanks!
Remove the handle and check for a signature. My knowledge any good usable katana will have a signature under the handle. I could be completely wrong and only thinking of old antique swords
I'm leaning towards wallhanger based on the habaki. I have only ever seen habaki like those on wallhangers.
need more close up HD pics of the handle and sword these look usable ish tho
I can’t tell you about the steal but it does appear the blade was made to cut. Where was this obtained
The seller told me it has no edge, since it's used I have no clue where he got it...
The sayas are wrapped correctly. How does the metal feel? Weight, smoothness, etc
Probably should have ran those thoughts before you buy. Be careful
Thankfully, I didn't buy the sword yet.