Musashi Silver Collection Shirakawa Series - Hand Forged Katana. Bamboo 竹 Design 1060 Carbon Steel Blade Samurai Sword

Long story short, the Musashi katana is the best sword for $115 you can buy and you'll probably think you have bought yourself a $500 sword. The blade is superb and traditional but not heavy duty so keep targets light if possible. It's a great starter for the serious martial artist and/or backyard slicer. It comes highly sharp and well constructed. For this price range, you can't beat it. Read on for the long review.I used to be a martial arts practitioner over ten years ago mainly through the Bujinkan tradition but this is my first real katana. I found the weight to be a bit light for my liking since I was used to katana being heavier, but the fuller doesn't make it too light. My first impression was that this katana has soul, unlike the Eroton I quickly returned before trying Musashi due to a terrible blade geometry among other issues, but as if this katana literally has some kind of spirit. This Musashi was cheaper than the Eroton but I would assume it to be three times the value over the other katana because of the quality. I began to notice just how well the construction was. The factory edge is wildly sharp with a tip that will press into things with little force. The walnut handle is robust and features real ray skin and a tight wrap grip which is also placed on using some resin, perhaps traditional ito adhesive. There are no paper wedges under the wrap but I found it to be completely comfortable without them, although I bought some washi paper to make my own for when I changed the wrap color. The brass koshirae are all very nice. The saya felt well built. The hibaki fit snug in the saya. So right out of the box, this katana felt unbelievably well made for such a low price. My price range was set at a maximum of $200, although my coloring project has pushed over that limit now.I've looked deeply into blade construction, quality, and cutting tests. Based on what I saw and read, this 1060 steel might be an average of 1060. It's more on the soft side than brittle. I had a foam block that I accidentally hammered through during the mallet and handle, and nearly died inside to see the tip bent, but the malleable steel was easy to hammer back straight and resharpen. It was actually so amazing to see how easy it was to make the blade like new that it was as if the sword was nearly self-healing. So compared to bushcraft and kitchen knives, sword steel is surprisingly easy to work with. Sharpening the katana with whetstones like normal feels tricky at first but it's not difficult. Since then, I just hold the blade with my fingers clamped to keep the tip floating.Back to the steel though, Musashi was the only brand I could find that offers the use of different steel hardness to create the traditional mixed steel method at this price range, which in my opinion, is what makes a katana a real katana because monosteel is more of a saber than a katana. The clay hamon is also necessary to a real katana, perhaps more important than differential steel grades. So for anyone new to katanas, know that the blades made by Musashi are more of a classic style blade. I personally don't think they are as good as some historical blades in terms of strength and edge retention, but I'm not an expert here and can only speculate. Historical katana of value from the sengoku jidai years from what I understand are around 1070 differential harden but their clay hamon gives them a high HRC. Musashi blades from their Shirakawa series are suited for light to medium targets as suggested, not for heavy targets like armor and I would avoid sword to sword contact if you can. I've seen T10 and 1095 chip on bone, so heat treatment is everything really and I would only try out 1060 on bone if I had the money to replace a blade. Clay particles in cardboard are hard on blades after much cutting but I've tested on cardboard boxes so far and the blade slices cleanly through them. I've read Musashi's newer blades are made better but I'm still worried about the idea of testing on something like fresh bamboo. At least the Shirakawa soft steel can be worked back easy if rolled. I like edge retention but I like even more to not have a chipped edge, so this Musashi can be well suited for fun cutting (be careful though as this blade is no joke and will certainly slice into anyone around you). I've read bamboo is too much for the edge if you don't slice with correct alignment. When I oil the blade, I feel like the blade ripples under my finger as though it was hammered instead of machine grind, so it may be fully handmade.That said, the steel seems quite phenomenal for the price, but just understand its limitations. It is a budget light cutter so avoid hard targets to be on the safe side. If anyone here has used this katana to beat hard targets then be sure to write a review because I'm curious to hear more. Tons of people own this sword yet I hear very little about it. I'm assuming most just obtain it for martial arts practice instead of actual use. It absolutely feels ready if you had to use it for self defense but don't expect it to be suited for feudal battlefields, it's simply not made for that, it's made for being minimally usable on a budget.As my pictures show, I've spent much time over the past few months recoloring my katana and thought I would share some things I've learned.1. If using Birchwood Casey Perma Blue on your blade, use a puffy automotive towel to quickly spread the chemical in one big stroke as the swabs are too small to apply the chemicals large enough in time as it works immediately. My pictures also show metallic marker on the steel before I coated the blade in oil. I hang dry the blade to let the oil dry into a seal for a week, wipe it down, and then oil again.2. Spray paints are awful and I suggest brushing on natural chemicals like varnish. Also get a paint respirator.3. Epoxy resins are probably a better option than clear coats but note that they may yellow.4. Paints add lots of thickness so I actually had to remove a seppa to get everything fitted which I'll just use as a menuki so it stays with the katana. I've had to scratch away the inside of the saya a bit to get the hibaki to fit. So look into chemical staining this is for you.5. If you need spray paint, hard enamels are more ideal as I used lacquers and later read this was a mistake due to the way they never truly cure so I can only hope the epoxy resin doesn't go wrong years later.6. If painting the koshirae, don't bother sanding and leave on the oxidation. Primer doesn't cling so strong to brass.7. Make sure you are really good with spray paints and live in a cold dry climate.8. Super glue melts paint.9. Create stands for painting such as a saya rod and something like cut and glued cardboard stands for the koshirae.10. "The slower you go, the farther you will be." - Russian Proverb that sums up paintingAbout my katana design: I looked for washi paper just to cut into wedges but I liked it so much that I created cut outs for the saya. The tessellations are a traditional Japanese pattern but I got the idea from the Tenchu Kurenai options menu screen. My overall design is supposed to be of a Finland theme, which is why I've got a blue and white snowy theme with arctic wolves. After seeing I had seven blue wolves, it gave me the idea to create a Pleiades pattern as well, with one side showing them from Earth and the other side as seen from Sirius. I created something of an unobstructive obi hook as well using wolf rib after seeing them on historical saya called kaeshizuno, and I called it a kagegurikata or shadow kurikata due to the placement and ramp shape, so the idea is to have a back up belt hook if needed. This was made more just out of curiosity than anything. The reason hooks are not seen on saya is because the saya is more used now without armor and adopted more styles of draws where you need to slide the saya around, so that's my belt knob is so far back. The emblem was taken from a cheap pewter necklace that I broke the loop off and sanded. Then I added some fur into the handle while smoking incense over everything among other magical things, plus soaked the wrap and bag with colloidal gold and silver. Ritual enhancement is important for me to ensure good luck to the sword but most people don't care for such things, especially outside of Japan.I've looked around for cheap tatami but they are a bit out of my price liking so I have no test videos to provide but I may upload a review video later on with something, maybe talking about the blade instead. I'll also have to put up some pictures for when I epoxy resin the saya and finish the wrap.So in the end, it's a fantastic light budget katana that is more true to the katana construction methods.The reason I chose the Bamboo Musashi is just because I liked the simplicity of the bamboo design. I like nature, parks, and wilderness, so the bamboo theme was just right for me.

Its ok. Sword is slightly bent to the right and the sheath is loose. But overall for the price not bad

Sword feels solid and is sharp. I may have to return it because it appears to have a slight bend to the blade. Did not have time to check it fully because it is a Xmas gift and did not want to ruin the surprise. I'll recheck today and update review

This sword came as described 1060 carbon steel,with real ray skin wrapped handle,double pegged,fulltang ,clay tempered,real hamon or how ever you spell it sorry. It's all very well made and sturdy no rattle. A nd came sooooo sharp, but it came in 2 days late which I didn't like. Buts other than that it's a great sword and I would buy another one anytime for this great price. On musashi page it's over 120$ but on amazon it's only 100$

THE BEST COMPANY FOR KATANAS ON AMAZON.EVERYTHING SOLID, FULL TANG SMITH NAME, CERTIFICATION BUT THATS NOT ALL.THE STAFF ARE VERY VERY RESPONSIBLE, RESPECTFUL, RELIABLE, I HAVE PURCHASED 6 SWORDS OVER A YEAR FOR TRAINING AND CUTTING THEY GAVE ME 2 FOR FREE !!! WHO DOES THAT!!!!!

The sword is everything it says it is and I am very pleased with it. The sheath on the other hand is junk, it will not stay on the sword, it just keeps falling of. would love to know how to fix this problem.

Quality seems to be very good

Beautiful katana for the price. Saya was just a tad loose. Very nice, sharp, blade _1060. Steel. Very well packaged, & quick shipping. This is the 4th Mushashi sword I have bought from this seller & very pleased with their service.