Ace Martial Arts Supply Handmade Japanese Shirasaya Samurai Katana Sharp Sword-KENSHIN

Long in depth review! I'm a first time katana buyer but I've done a lot of research before buying because beong a responsible sword owner means being proactive and learning what you own. Hope you enjoy my review, thanks for reading!I've had my Shirasaya for about four days now and I can tell you, it is well worth it. The quality and the price is absolutely astounding, I got mine at 45$ but even the base price at 70$ is great too. I'll start by saying it is beautiful, bareblade katanas are my preference, and the color and slickness of this particular one is right up my alley. The finish on the wood looks great in room light, and espcially in the sun. When you take the sword out of the saya, the blade shines and you truly can see it is a robust sword. That being said, when first unboxed it really does need a cleaning. The blade is factory greased and has some gunk on it. I went ahead and bought a katana cleaning kit for 9$ that came with choji oil, rice cleaning cloth, and an uchiko ball. Keeping the blade away from body, I first wiped it down with the cloth, then powdered the blade, then wiped that off, and finally used the oil with the rice cloth to wipe the blade down which is really what maintains the sword. However, I ran out of the rice cloth instantly, a bit disappointed that the kit came with about 5 cloths, but I reaearched that using regualr tissue paper will substitue just fine. After doing this, bam! The blade looks perfect. Now about the blade and its strength! Out of the box, razor sharp and can easily cut paper diagonally. This blade is said to be practical against water bottles or jugs, and fruit. I beg to differ though, as the strength of this blade and sharpness could easily be used to cut rolled bamboo mats, or possibly even bamboo poles. 1045 Carbon Steel is durable, and has a nice denisty, but this blade is flexiable as well which is what it needs anyways. This isn't folded carbon steel, but there is a full tang and that means the blade is secure and very strong. I would not advise hitting tree logs, stumps, bricks, or plywood though. Enjoy the sword and test how strong it is, but do not jeopardize it, or the safety of yourself and others. So yes, this blade is battle ready. Sharp enough to cut clothes and skin, and as home defense weapon, if it came down to it you could rely on this katana. Do not attack someone unless you absolutely have to though, because even in self defense you may have charges pressed on you, if your judgement is bad. As a beginner of sword collecting, it's important to practice before actually picking up the katana and thrashing it around wildly. Bokken is a formidable technique and great to learn for cutting and or slashing with a woden katana, before using the real katana. For those who may question can this blade deflect another blade, I would say hypothetically yes. Using the backside of the katana would be the way to do this, or if you had to the bottom of the actual blade. I would never ever recommend blocking with the blade (ha) but when you cut with the katana you are only using the top 10 or so inches anyways, so if the bottom blunts it would not be the end for the katana. Althogh there is no tsuba which means the blade of your oppoent would clash on your hand if the blade slid down. The ha very may well crack or chip, just as any of the blade can if it the object it contacts is harder than itself.Honestly though, I really have few complaints about this katana. Mostly regarding the interior or the saya, surround the top and depth of it. It's kind of rough and looks splintered, if I was skilled with sanding I may attempt to do so myself but as a buyer, have to do that anyways though. Other than though, no catch to this blade, a great deal for the quality that it is at. I could not be happier, and I would like to expand my collection even more now! Great for any katana or sword collection, can't beat the price, and is actually usuable! Like I said this is sharp, so always be weary of the surrounding area and use safety. This is all my opinion, and based off the product I recieved, and I'm not a professional katana expert, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Really is one of a kind, and a great deal though, Ace Martial Arts has brought you a good one!

Very strong. For swords in this price range, it is extremely well built. Sturdy, no cheap rattle, and excellent finish. Don't believe the other people on here and other places about the lack of Ito-Maki (hand wrapping) and smooth finish making this difficult to get a good grip on. It is pretty well balanced for a sword in this price range, the center weight being about 5 1/2 inches from the base of the blade. It weighs very little, and is very strong. You cannot beat this price, it is sold for around $100 on other sites. I did a bit of messing around with it, hacking up bamboo (~3" thick) and after 10-15 whacks I couldn't see or feel any degradation in the edge at all (good ol' carbon steel). It is gorgeous too, so it looks great as a piece in the living room, keep it oiled!Keep in mind, the "matte" finish along the edge of the blade is machined; this look is *normally* caused by the way it is manufactured by differentially hardening the steel, and is sometimes acid-enhanced. The presence of this doesn't mean its a better sword, the acid-enhancing of it is only done as a sort of decoration, and technically weakens the blade. However, there was no acid involved on this particular blade, the edge was just taken to a grinder after they put the mirror finish on the blade. I think "hand made", for them, really just means their hands touched it while they were machining it; whereas normally "hand made" means it was actually folded steel, which I HIGHLY doubt.If you want a "real" katana made by a master blacksmith, expect to be paying anywhere from 5-15k. Sometimes you can find them as "cheap" as 1-2k, but they are usually "cheap" for a reason. That being said, you wont find a better sword for the price. You can get katana that are manufactured the correct way, although not made of proper Tamahagane, for $300-$1000, that are much more suited for combat. Then again, if I was going to fight someone to the death I would just bring a gun. This katana is a "Hagane Maru", meaning its made of homogeneous hard carbon steel, this type of sword would be used either as decoration, or if in a bind, in combat. However, being made entirely of hard carbon steel, it is more brittle and thus more likely to break if you strike surfaces with it that don't give much under pressure (ie. another sword). So to sum up this paragraph, don't expect to go toe-to-toe with someone of skill with a $1k+ sword and live.Note: Something to buy with this is a sharpening stone, and some mineral oil, especially if you plan on using it at all, or have people come over who can't keep their hands off of anything. The sword does come pre-oiled, which isn't bad, but carbon steel rusts like crazy. So if your friend comes over and rubs their nasty-dirty fingers all over it, be prepared to re-coat it before putting it away, or have a big rusty spot on your otherwise perfect finish.