How's the standard katana?

Masteroffajitas

Masteroffajitas

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Hey, I'm thinking of putting money in an envelope for awhile to save up for something. Something really nice.

I've been oogling the katana for weeks now...is soo awesome. I don't think I'd ever use it, but damn...it's beautiful. With that tanto edge..

The only tanto katana style sword I've ever held was those $10 gunshow swords. Those fall apart all the time..

Those of you that own it, and use it...how has it held up? No wobble? How's the sheath retention?

And..the mall ninja is coming out of me...

Could it be effective in a sword fight?

Also, you think a lansky puck would be good to sharpen this with?
 
I have had my HI kat for several years now (5, I think?). While I have never cut wood or anything with it, I have used it pretty heavily in what I would consider sword-appropriate exercises. No loosening, no wobble, just a very sharp blade;)

I believe that a few members of the board have tested their HI kats to the extreme, and I don't think any of them failed. I remember someone taking the sword to a cattle spine with very little damage being done to the edge (I mean, beyond what one would expect from trying to sever a cattle spine;)). Another guy took his to an old couch and just beat the living daylights out of both the sword and the couch. I think the most he got was a wobbly guard, and if I remember correctly he was smacking the blade this way and that just to see what the sword could take.

If you treat it like a sword, it'll last forever. As far as sharpening goes, well there are all kinds of theories on that. Personally, I find that a puck is a little too course. I doubt you'll actually dull the sword like you would a knife. Even at that, there have been some very interesting debates in the past, if a bit heated, where the merits of a super-sharp vs dulled edge when it comes to how the sword will hold up in a combat situation.

I have always sharpened mine with a butcher's steel followed up by a hard Arkansas stone. The steel gave the edge a quick "tooth" and the stone just smoothed it out enough to keep the edge flush but left just a bit of that toothy bite. I have cut myself a couple times with it, and it feels like a paper cut from hell.

The HI swords are nice:) From Kobras to Kats to Tarwars to Manjushrees...fine blades well worth scraping some pennies together:thumbup: Just remember that they AREN'T "traditional" kats. They do not float and slice through the breeze like a butterfly. They are a bit heavy and not as balanced, like a big ol' bumblebee. Now ask yourself, the last time either of those landed on your nose...which one scared you more:p:D
 
Can onlly give you what I have heard from others here on the forum since I do not own this particular HI sword. (I do own others by the way) The HI katana is a very sturdy and well put together sword far more than most production swords and any in the same price range...This is not however a Japanese Katana the balance will not be the same, the construction is not the same...as a back yard cutter I don't think you could go wrong just don't expect it to behave in the same way as a traditional kat...As far as in a sword fight, lets just say that anyone who has owned a HI product would trust their life to it with out exception.
 
HARPERSGRACE said:
As far as in a sword fight, lets just say that anyone who has owned a HI product would trust their life to it with out exception.
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Good point, I'm personally more of a parang/bolo type, but I've had some HI khukuris and they are friggin' strong. I would expect all of their products to hold up very well. They tend to be overbuilt in durability :rolleyes::D:thumbup:
 
I wish I knew someone locally who had one of these, If I could get my hands on one I would be able to give you guys a classical perspective. As far as the balance and handling is concerned. Things I would check include that you can naturally place the final fourth of the blade into a man's face stopping it perfectly where you want it, and that the blade forms an imaginary circle with your arm being the radius.

As it stands, they probably have a more durable edge than a traditional katana, though they are also more likely by definition to crack or shatter. (though that is not a problem considering the way HI designs things)

Durability is a common misunderstanding about the japanese sword. People often think that because they are thinner than other long swords they are more easily shattered but this is not true. They have a core of iron which makes them neigh un-shatterable. The fragile part on a katana is the superhard edge.

By comparasson, the HI version will have a slightly softer edge, and a slightly harder spine, making for an easier to maintain, less fragile, but lower performing blade.

My complaint is that the scabbards are not particularly Battojutsu friendly, and so they are technically not katana at all. In fact, If yangdu is reading, I would consider changing the name to HI Tachi. It is a misunderstanding that a tachi is necessarily longer, actually the difference is philosophy, you wear a tachi blade down and a katana blade up, because the katana was optimized to be drawn quickly.

Perhaps the more elaborate scabbards would serve for this purpose, but the regular kukiri style scabbards seem unsuitable.

bottom line:
Unlike a "gun show sword" it is an actual sword
Anything made by HI will cut things up
Anything made by HI would do fine in a fight
You get what you pay for, it is not a 8,000 dollar true katana because that is not its price.

Edit- my untested and unqualified opinion as a swordsman is that with the HI forging process I would prefer to have a tarwar, because it compensates for its inferior polish with superior weight and chop.
 
It's going to be hard to break 'shatter' this 5160 steel. Someone please give it a try.
 
A little bit more from a Guy who, while NOT a Sword Expert, Does love Research, reading, More Research and on and on and on... (Just ask my Long-Suffering, but Uncomplaining Willow, who Married me knowing how I am!).

The 2 Everest Katanas that We own are technically the same item from HI, BUT the one made by Bura is lighter, and swings a bit differently than the Blade by Vim. These ARE most probably my Favorite 2 Kamis, 'tho I (and Willow) have no complaints about ANY of our HI Blades... at the risk of running on too much, as follows: The afore mentioned Everest Katanas one by Bura, and One by Vim, Sirupatis by Sher and Vim, 2 Bura Bowies, The 1st WWII Dragon, Biltons, a Kobra by Sher, A Karda, A Bura Gool, a Baby AK, a Chitlangi special (9inch), I am sure I am missing a few.
Those are the HI Blades... We also have a number of other Sabers and Swords.... mostly Windlass Steelcrafts models of Civil War Era Sabers, as well as Some Blades by Cold Steel.... BUT, the Blades I always seem to pick-up, handle, etc, sometimes just handle it while watching TV.... Well, the HI Everest Kats get the Most handling by Far.

There is just SOMETHING about the Everest Katana..... Willow will tell You that I just about wore her ear out talking about getting an Everest Katana.... not that She complained....She just wanted to get the version that had the Gorgeous scabbard!

To be Honest, I have not cut much with the E Kats other than some cardboard... but I sure enjoy , well, sort of "working out" with them....Exercise in a way!

I Do want to learn an Actual "Form" or type of Exercise with the Blades as I am sure it will be Good Therapy for the multiple spinal fusions I have undergone.

I also own a Kris Cutlery Katana 29 II which is much more "Traditional" looking in the "Katana" sense, but to be very honest, it does NOT have the "Personality" or "life" in the hand that the HI Everest Kats do.
To wrap up this short monologue....I (We) Really Love Our HI Everest Katanas

More as I think of it (IF You all can stand it!!)
Ed
 
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Although I don't have an HI Katana (yet), I think the last thing one would have to worry about is any kind of wobble in any HI blade. These things are as tough as they come.....
 
How I sharpen my Everest Katanas.... I just have used ceramic rods to "finish" the edge that was on them... I think I have Abaniko to Thank for the edge that was on the E Kat by Vim.
On the Kat by Bura that Auntie Yangdu sent.... all it took was some wee time with the Ceramic Rods, and SHARP!!
 
Master,

The HI kat is unconventional (not really a katana), but hell for strong.

If you're mostly looking for a beautiful but strong sword, I would go for a Tibetan, instead.

making for an easier to maintain, less fragile, but lower performing blade.
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I guess that depends on how you define "lower performing". It is of course a myth that Japanese blades outperformed good Western blades. The reason for the Japanese laminate wasn't some super secret hoodoo, it was because they had inferior steel. Fortunately, the HI version doesn't suffer from this traditional Japanese fault. :D

I do certainly agree about the battojutsu. Then again, a traditional Japanese sheath alone would cost more than the HI kat, right?

I wonder how you know you can put 1/4 of your blade into a man's face? Doesn't seem like standard sword practice to me (though the ability to control your blade certainly is).

John
 
Its not that 1/4th is inside the face, its that the strike zone is approximately the last fourth of the blade.

As for the lamination being compensation, it is important to separate the reason for a technology and the development of a technology. It has been shown that a laminated steel outperforms a non laminated one in terms of stability.

On weaponmasters they showed a modern imitation vs a normal katana being shot by 9mm bullets as a way of looking at the blade under shock (because otherwise they would have to mount a camera on the sword) The Laminated blade did not quiver at all whereas the solid steel one shook like hell.

But what do you expect, the core of the thing is IRON, which is much softer than carbon steel EVER CAN BE. This is the same principle behind a laminated steel over iron axe or tomahawk head, which was the preferred method during the nineteenth century.

As far as performance goes, the average japanese sword is polished better and sharper, and because of lamination they are able to temper the edge to a higher temperature.

A japanese sword will therefore cut more cleanly and effectively for these two reasons, but will suffer more edge chipping due to the latter.

For the sake of science it would be better if they eliminated the variable of high polish from the equation by having a steel imitation polished by a japanese master, nevertheless on weaponmasters they showed that a japanese sword could cut through 12+ inches of mat while a full steel imitation could only cut through 11.5 or so.

In general, European swordplay does not assume a ridiculously sharp blade as the japanese style does, the European sword is often tempered multiple times to produce a blade that is extremely flexible both in its core and in its edge.

Note that in japanese sword fighting strikes are always central so that if you cross swords the blades will glance off each other rather than meeting tip to tip. This is because the edge is too brittle for the complex (and in my opinion unnecessary) system of blocking in western sword styles.

The HI katana, or any well made western imitation can be seen as sort of a compromise, it has the same basic idea as a japanese sword, a hardened edge and a soft spine, however it's lack of lamination means that the spine is not as soft and the edge is not as hard.

I would define lower performing in terms of likelihood of passing through a human being, and I believe that it would be, however the difference is negligible.

Conclusion:
Laminated shakes less, though that isn't necessarily important.
Even with a lower performing blade, the chances of killing someone when you hit them with it properly is almost 100%
There is no such thing as a superior sword, they all have different capabilities. As far as koryu swordsmanship is concerned, a japanese blade would be more appropriate (surprise surprise, the culture of the training matches the culture of the weapon olol)
 
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Since this thread is about the HI Katana, not swordsmanship I wont get into the whole Euro vs. Jap. thing but just a couple of points, I dont know what styles of western swordplay you have studied but except in fencing blade to blade contact is not common. "Iron" is NOT used in Japanese sword making just steel (tamahagane) that have different carbon contents and that are tempered to different hardnesses and actually the core is the harder steel while the jacket is softer, laminated blades are not exclusive to Japan, and finally using Weaponmasters as a source does little to justify your statements.
 
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