[Tom Carson]

Greetings!

I hope you are doing well. I recently received my Dynasty Forge Daimyo forge folded, tri-steel 29” Katana, with Bo-hi, and Cherry Blossom theme I shall do my best to review this Sword for those who are interested. I know that various reviews assisted me in choosing this sword, so I shall share my thoughts on this sword.

This part of the review will be from Kashira to Tsuba. I just started seriously learning about Japanese swords this year, although I have admired them for years, and this is my first Katana. So, please feel free to offer corrections, suggestions, and questions.

My thanks to Shawn at Mantis Swords for his superb customer service during every phase of this transaction. His e-mail responses to questions were almost instantaneous, and he shipped it immediately in the manner I requested. I would definitely do business with him again, and he has my recommendations. The box arrived undamaged, and it was well packed. The sword was in a blue with white lined sword bag, and a nice cleaning kit.

FIRST IMPRESSION: BEAUTIFUL!!!

TUSKA - The Tsuka is very nice. It has black silk Ito covering white Same panels, black & gold Menuki & Kashira, blackened Tsuba & Fuchi, and gold Seppa. The Kashira, Fushi, and Tsuba are done in a very nice Cherry Blossom theme. The Tsuka is held to the Nakago by one bamboo Mekugi. I was hesitant regarding the Cherry Blossom theme, but customization is an option which I can pursue later. I do like the looks so I am in no hurry. I kind of like Dragons.

KASHIRA - The Kashira is nice except that it is loose, and wiggles freely. Not a lot, but its enough. This is the only thing that is loose. Other than that the sword has no rattles, everything snug. Don’t worry. I have contacted Dynasty Forge and they will re-wrap the Tsuka at my convenience, and I can also choose what color I prefer. It is really nice to have folks out there who stand by their product. Thanks Dynasty Forge!!! If you look closely you can see where the bottom gold detail fitting is not seated completely into the Kashira. I will mention this to Dynasty Forge and see if they will fix this also during the re-wrap. It’s just little attention to detail items like this that need to be fixed during QA .Other than that it is very nice.

MENUKI - The Menuki are black and gold Mt. Fuji theme, and look nice.

TSUBA, FUCHI, SEPPA, AND HABAKI - The Tsuba & Fuchi are very nicely done in black and gold Cherry Blossom Theme. I am not sure if the Seppa are brass, or bronze, but everything is tight.

SAYA - The Saya is black lacquered with the upper one third covered in Same, and the Kurikata has nice gold accents with a black Sageo. I did find that the Sageo snagged on some bumps or edges inside the gold accents of the Kurikata. Once again, little attention to detail items which need to be caught. There is a noticeable line where the Same meets the wood. This should be invisible, completely sanded out and smooth. Other than that the Saya is like a mirror, and the Same wrapping makes it unique. Very nice.

The next part will be the beautiful blade. Overall, I really like this sword, and look forward to learning more about Japanese Swords and swordsmanship. I hope you have enjoyed this part of my review. Have a great day!

Take care,
Tom

[Addison C. de Lisle]

Do you have any pictures of the blade?

Looks pretty nice

[Tom Carson]

THE BLADE

Ah yes, the blade. I have read some really nice things about Dynasty’s blades, such as this;

“But the impressive thing is the level of finish. The Daimyo line has perfectly flat blades, not a trace of a ripple or grinding dip in any part of the surface. The downside is they tend to have aesthetic or weak Yokote.”

From what I observe this statement is true. The blade is BEAUTIFUL!!! It is like a mirror, and cuts paper like a hot knife through butter. I could see myself taking pic’s of the blade. I will agree that the Yokote is weak, but I am here to tell ya that the photos I’ve seen, and taken, don’t do this blade justice. The Hada is very subtle, and the contrast where the Hamon meets the Ji is very nice. Due to Dynasty’s forge folded tri-steel each blade will be unique with an average of approximately 9216 layers. As the blade moves in the light the Hada flows, and changes beautifully. Thus it is a very impressive blade which really doesn’t cost much extra if this style of forging happens to be your interest. Approximately $100.00 more than the 1095 blade option in the Daimyo line. I appreciate seeing the blade smith’s talent and labor in this blade.

CONCLUSION

Overall, I really love this sword , I and look forward to learning more about Japanese Swords and swordsmanship. For the price range I am very pleased with the Sword, Mantis Swords, and Dynasty Forge. Currently I will give this sword a 9. I hope that Dynasty Forge will improve their attention to detail on the fittings. Then I would give it a 10. I hope you have enjoyed this review. Have a great day!

Take care,
Tom