Looking for comparison between HI Katana and a similar "good" katana.

arty said:
I don't own the Hi version, and I am not an expert on swords.
What little I know tells me that with Hi - you are getting a Nepal interpretation of a Katana. A Cold Steel is not a traditional katana.
Neither are the cheaper Katanas (<250) from most makers.

A traditional katana has a blade that is differentially tempered by coating it in clay and dipping it in water during the treatment process. The more expensive ones have folded steel blades.

The edge is likely to be very hard, and I would not try to chop poles with it. Some less expensive katanas are through hardened, i.e. spring tempered. This varies by brand.

The handle of a traditional model can be removed and is shaped differently. It is attached in place by bamboo pegs.

In terms of functionality, I would expect that weight and balance would be different, because of the handle on the Hi sword.

The Hi swords are very tough and strong from reports on the forum, and good values.
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cold steel khurkis are to HI and other khukris, as cold steel (bussee, and criswell comes to find; and anyone else that does stock reduction) are to traditional japanese blades. they're not. my OPINION is that an HI katana is not a japanese style katana either; it's inspired from. that said, they seem to be fantastic users, i imagine they handle differently, and require entirely different subtle skill to use. some of the cutting techniques applied to japanese katanas probably won't work as well - i imagine HI's are a bit tip heavy). i'm guessing HI's are also differentially tempered which is good.

i'd be intrquied to see this discussion applied to the HI type zen/tai-chi styled swords. those are of particular interest to me.

bladite
 
I posted a review in the review forum a while back.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269172&highlight=katana

Whoops. Actually it was in this forum back before the rule change.

The HI katana is well balanced and a good cutter. They tend to be a little short compared to other American katanas, but they are very nice swords, especially for the price. When they show up as deals, they are an incredible bargain. At normal price they are still a steal.
 
I have a video around here somewhere from a year or two ago where I chopped up some wood with an HI katana. I'll be damned if I can find it now.

I can do things with the HI that I'd never, ever attempt with a more "traditional" rendition. 'Nuff said. It might not cut as cleanly as a thinner blade optimized for soft targets, but it doesn't seem to be enough of a difference for the target to notice.
 
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