The Hi Everest Katana prototype #2 arrived today.
My initial impression lifting the shipping box was that it was very light and ratting when gently shaken. Is there really something nice inside? Now my pulse was starting to race....
Getting home, I proceeded to open up the box with my Kumar MiniKobra to find the HIEK II well wrapped up which only took a couple slices with my Harpy to remove.
The scabbard: Very nicely done. Water Buffalo leather hide better than usual. I may think about doing some modification to the frog, but for now it is quite functional. The one quibble I had was that the katana when in the scabbard does move around, most noticeably at the mouth of the scabbard. I likely will do some work in that area to narrow things up and may also consider adding a black cowhide thong or two for scabbard retention purposes.
On to the katana....
Slowly pulling it out of the scabbard... beautiful.... a sigh of contentment....
The handle, as has been seen pictured in other threads, feels just right in my medium large hands. The rimmed buttcap did not seem as obtrusive as I thought it might be and I likely will leave this as is. The soldering of the buttcap was a bit sloppy, but can be cleaned up. The wooden handle is very securely pinned in place with two steel pins as well as having the end of the tang peened down so I do not have to worry about the blade flying through the air while the handle goes in another direction. The brass tsuba is ok, but will need to do some small work with epoxy to seal up a couple small gaps where the blade goes into the handle. Gripping the handle one handed, then two handed left me feeling that the katana was very well balanced for me. As I plan to use this eventually in the future for live blade practice, I will likely use some tennis racket grip tape to ensure a good grip so the katana doesn't fly out of my hands.
The blade: Mirror finish, not quite presentation grade, but still very nice with the hamon showing(thank you, BA for doing this). I would have to agree with Uncle Bill that once Bura and the other kamis involved get more experienced with this, this will be an excellent buy for the katana enthusiast.
Overall, I would agree with Uncle Bill's 95% rating on this. I will be watching to see how workmanship improves and likely will order another one several months down the line. I reiterate my comments in the HI Everest Wakizashi thread, that the Katana definitely begs to have a smaller companion.
Thank you Uncle Bill and convey my thanks and satisfaction to Bura and the other BirGhorka and HI members involved . Thank you, BA for testing this rig. It meets the HI standard for approval by my yardstick.
------------------
Harry
Toujours l'audacite!
[This message has been edited by Kozak (edited 06-05-2000).]
My initial impression lifting the shipping box was that it was very light and ratting when gently shaken. Is there really something nice inside? Now my pulse was starting to race....
Getting home, I proceeded to open up the box with my Kumar MiniKobra to find the HIEK II well wrapped up which only took a couple slices with my Harpy to remove.
The scabbard: Very nicely done. Water Buffalo leather hide better than usual. I may think about doing some modification to the frog, but for now it is quite functional. The one quibble I had was that the katana when in the scabbard does move around, most noticeably at the mouth of the scabbard. I likely will do some work in that area to narrow things up and may also consider adding a black cowhide thong or two for scabbard retention purposes.
On to the katana....
Slowly pulling it out of the scabbard... beautiful.... a sigh of contentment....
The handle, as has been seen pictured in other threads, feels just right in my medium large hands. The rimmed buttcap did not seem as obtrusive as I thought it might be and I likely will leave this as is. The soldering of the buttcap was a bit sloppy, but can be cleaned up. The wooden handle is very securely pinned in place with two steel pins as well as having the end of the tang peened down so I do not have to worry about the blade flying through the air while the handle goes in another direction. The brass tsuba is ok, but will need to do some small work with epoxy to seal up a couple small gaps where the blade goes into the handle. Gripping the handle one handed, then two handed left me feeling that the katana was very well balanced for me. As I plan to use this eventually in the future for live blade practice, I will likely use some tennis racket grip tape to ensure a good grip so the katana doesn't fly out of my hands.
The blade: Mirror finish, not quite presentation grade, but still very nice with the hamon showing(thank you, BA for doing this). I would have to agree with Uncle Bill that once Bura and the other kamis involved get more experienced with this, this will be an excellent buy for the katana enthusiast.
Overall, I would agree with Uncle Bill's 95% rating on this. I will be watching to see how workmanship improves and likely will order another one several months down the line. I reiterate my comments in the HI Everest Wakizashi thread, that the Katana definitely begs to have a smaller companion.
Thank you Uncle Bill and convey my thanks and satisfaction to Bura and the other BirGhorka and HI members involved . Thank you, BA for testing this rig. It meets the HI standard for approval by my yardstick.
------------------
Harry
Toujours l'audacite!
[This message has been edited by Kozak (edited 06-05-2000).]
