First, the blade: Good hand-polishing, shows off the damascus lines very well. The hamon is artificial, obviously sanded/wire-brushed after polishing. Clever how the waves aren't consistent but random. The edge came razor-sharp, cutting through a sheet of paper easily. I touched up the edge with a ceramic rod and I could shave the hairs off my arm. The habaki appears made of brass and was unpolished. I used a blitz cloth to shine it. The tsuba and seppas are tight, no rattles. Bad job installing the mekugis - kinda squashed in with minor damage. The saya doesn't have a metal kojiri, just wood. Same with the other end, the koiguchi is just painted wood. Overall, the saya is good-looking, nice smooth lacquer finish and two beautiful golden fixtures on the kurikata. Shipping - order on 12/27, arrived today 1/08 12 days seems much. However, very well-packed, good padding, very tight taped-up box. Good value overall I didn't expect much for $130, but I was pleasantly surprised. Should have bought a sword stand - I want to show it off!

I picked up two of these puppies during the Christmas Sale, and let me tell you, sharp right out of the box. VERY light weight. When you swing it, you can hear it slice through the air with grace. I don't know if I want to even use them to cut things they are so pretty. They are extremely well built. You can see the layers of steel go from dark to light in this highly detailed piece of sharp metal goodness. This is the Katana you want to add to your Zombie apocalypse collection, sharp toys collection, or just because collection. Totally worth it. Buy one.

I recently ordered 2 of these one for me and the other for my son. My first impression upon opening it was it is a bit blade heavy for my taste. The ito was pretty loose on both swords and the bamboo pegs stuck out a bit too far on my son's. The flat part of my blade had some dips in it when I ran my fingers down it. We did some water bottle cutting with them and they both cut decently but after a few bottles the ito on mine was really loose and out of place. The ito on my son's was in a little better shape but not much. I slightly bent the blade on mine when I had a bad swing and hit the bottle cap. Although it did cut completely through the cap with a horizontal swing it slightly bent the blade (my fault entirely). It held an edge pretty good after cutting through about 20 bottles and the cardboard boxes that they were shipped in. So I give it 3 stars for taking our unskilled abuse but I believe there are better choices in this price range.

I purchased this sword about a month ago and just got around to test cutting. The sword came nicely sharpened and the blade was well oiled out of the box which is always a plus. The blade is very easy to disassemble for maintenance. The ito wrap feels very nice in the hands though it could be me but the tsuka it self seems a bit thicker than my previous sword so handling it took a bit of getting used to. The sword cuts excellently and though i only cut a few targets i could the edge retention is quite good. point of balance is roughly 6'' from the tsuba for those interested. Very nice sword especially for the price range would definitely recommend this.

I just received this sword in the mail and first of all the shopping was fast. It can 2 days early. Everything advertised about this sword was accurate and in my opinion this sword exceeded my expectations. Very satisfied with my purchase

Blown away when it arrived... Sharp as Ever and feels great whist in hands! Very Happy with this purchase.