I am not sure if it is my fault but I cut for the first time today with the Albion Reeve and experienced a problem with cutting. I had ordered some tameshigiri from Nihonzashi and when it arrived I prepared a mat by soaking it for 24 hrs. It was green when it arrived so it was very fresh and unlike the tatami omote I had used in the past.

My first cut went 2/3 of the way thru and faltered. It was at a shallow angle. I tried to finish it off but it was so tough that the Reeve didn't cut through it. I next tried a second cut and the same thing happened. When I went to finish cutting that peice off it happened as before.

I brought out my Shamshir from Cold Steel and it also failed to cut all the way through as well but did finish cutting the dangling piece with the second cut. Another cut at a much steeper angle did cut all the way thru smoothly cutting off the entire piece as it should. The next two cut cuts with the Shamshir did the same thing.

I am wondering if the Reeve was not sharp enough though it seems plenty sharp for the cut to me or if the tamishigiri was just a little too green?

Anyone like to speculate on this?

Regards,

Harry

Are you sure that the edge alignment was correct?

My advice is to steepen the angle of the cut you're delivering with the Reeve. I have found that when targetting thicker cutter mediums that a really steep angle is needed for a diagonally descending cut. If you imagine a right-angle superimposed on your cutting target, you'll want your cut to descend at roughly 75 degrees or greater. Also, as Aleksei says, try playing around with your edge alignment.

Aleksei, Craig:

Thanks for the advice. I prepared another tameshigiri and cut today using your advice and the cutting was great.. I paid att ention to the blade alignment and took a steeper cut angle. the first cut went all the way except for the last sheet. The next four cuts I applied more power and cut cleanly thru. This was as well as I expected in the first place with the historic edge on this blade. I had to use more power than I would have with a katana and admittedly am not used to single handed medieval swords in cutting which is new to me.

Regards,

Harry