Despite the fact that I am admittedly one of the least informed people I know, I could not help but notice the attention being paid to the US presidential pre-election posturing taking place back in the United States. To be honest, I try not to pay attention to it, as it tends to remind me how far gone we are. I just made a note of it here so that I might recall it later. Even if I were to express my opinions about individual candidates here, I feel that it would be of little profit to anyone, since in the end it will probably all be the same.
To step off into a completely unrelated subject, I have decided to review a practice weapon that I have found most useful and that might be worth considering for any of the young readers who are interested in edged arms of appreciable practical quality which might offer an excellent value for the budget-minded initiate.
The tool to which I am referring is the Practical Katana from Hanwei, which can be obtained through any number of online retailers (Google it) for about $150-$175 usd. Note that this is roughly a tenth of what the price at which 'real deal' martial arts grade weapons often sell. The matching Wakizashi is also available with the same synthetic fittings, to make a 'Practical Daisho' should the reader be so inclined. I bought one years ago, when the brass habaki was a new feature and have used it extensively since its initial purchase. It was my first shinken (in so much as swords made outside of Japan might be considered shinken') and holds its own among mass-produced functional swords due to the quality of the steel and the presence of a visible hamon along the length of the edge. The tip also bears the definitive coloration of clay tempering, which provides ample evidence of meticulous construction. The sori (curvature) of the blade is rather shallow and the original version that I had did not have the bohi, although that might now be available.
Now, to those who might think of this as a weapon like a machete, be aware that the edge of this sword is honed in the traditional manner, which is more polishing than grinding. this gives the blade a very smooth taper from the midline to the cutting surface. It is not a blade to be resharpened by a grinder or a belt of any kind, though with proper use, edge retention should not be a problem for several dozen cuts. I recommend buying Hanwei's sword maintenance kit and doing some diligent study, since the use of the sword is not just a matter of proper drawing and cutting - maintenance is also a part of the art.
My original Practical Katana is not a model that is easily dissassembled, as the tsuka is bound to the nakago (the tapered handle end of the blade) with epoxy and a metal pin and cannot be slid off as with traditional furniture. I have heard that the ito can be removed and the wooden halves of the tsuka cam be chiseled off the nakago, but since this is a practice sword designed for training purposes, such effort seems like a destructive waste. The logic behind the epoxy is clear, since it both seals the steel of the nakago from the elements and prevents vibration damage that can result in a rattling tsuba and tsuka if the sword is used harshly or poorly maintained. The designers undoubtedly anticipated that novices might continue to use a weapon whose grips had grown loose without realizing the need to re-wrap it or replace the pins.
*The reader may well note that traditional fittings tend to use a single bamboo pin to hold the tsuka assembly against the lower seppa of the guard, while stability is maintained by the pressure of the wood against the nakago as imposed by the tightness of the tsuka ito when fully wrapped. If heavy hits losten the hold of the ito, the centrifugal force of a sword swing and the shock of contact with a target will put enormous pressure on the pin. The pin at that point, while probably not liable to break, will grow ever more loose in its position and may eventually work its way out, or give way to tsuka slippage, which has been known to result in a rattling effect upon the performance of the cut.
With that in mind, one might imagine why such a moderately priced production piece would have such an overbuilt tsuka assembly - the average sword enthusiast does not take the same precautions as a serious swordsman, therefore swords cheap enough for the former to buy should be build to withstand some extra abuse for the sake of the company's reputation, if not the safety of the user.
In my experience, this fact does not detract from the authenticity of the sword's proportions, as the modern overbuilding does little to effect the weight or balance, the center of which lies just ahead of the habaki. As far as weight is concerned, the weapon is a bit heavily built and straighter than older style swords, lending itself to an ease of drawing and a forgiving cutting response. Overall, while deadly dangerous if handled irresponsibly, it is a tool that is obviously designed for beginners who would like to extend their experience to actual tameshigiri.
The saya of this piece came in black back in the day and i believe that this is still the color of choice, since it matches well with the blackened steel tsuba and black synthetic tsuka-ito.
One question that might still remain would be that of what makes this item so inexpensive when similar weapons are up to ten times more expensive. This has a double answer. The first reason is because the furniture of the handle is entirely synthetic and assembled using modern methods and materials (synthetic rayskin, plastic menuki, etc.). The second reason is that the blade was hand forged from fine grade steel, but was not folded. This forging process creates a highly resilient blade, but lacks the tolerance and the reputation of the folded variety. As a rule, forged production blades are designed for regular, controlled use, but are not of the caliber one would expect to survive and actual duel (hypothetically), which makes them less desirable among collectors and therefore cheaper. Forged blades are, of course, not to be confused with the blades of SLO's, which are stamped out of stock metal - they are still of extremely high quality and quite strong - just lacking the toughness and mystique of their legendary folded counterparts.
In closing, I could sum the PK up as an inexpensive alternative to custom blades or antiques that offers fine cutting performance for the price, which retains a benchmark position among martial artists as the entry level of 'real' katanas on the modern market. From what I have seen, the children and grandchildren of this pioneer model offer even greater quality and benefits to suit a large variety of users. I look forward to eventually trying one of these models as well.
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