The Most Expensive Sword I've Ever Reviewed!

Special thanks to Kult of Athena and Battle Blades for lending me the Sōdai Tamahagane katana!

Where to find it:

Making Tamahagane is a laborious traditional method of extracting iron sand from silt and smelting it in a clay tub furnace. It's difficult and time consuming but yields no practical advantage (other than the ability to make steel from limited resources). That in itself of course has some value, especially in today's world of quick 'n dirty mass production.

The blade has a straight Suguha-hamon and is remarkably precisely shaped, with crisp lines and even surfaces. The tsuba and fittings are made of blackened copper with 24K gold plated decorations, which make for a beautiful contrast. Fit & finish are excellent, and it's visually impressive.

In terms of handling it's different from what I'm used to, lightweight but balanced more toward the tip. Cutting with it wasn't as easy as you might think, but it did well during the tests. Very well in fact, just not as much of a jump in performance as I imagined compared to a sword that costs about a third of the price (which isn't going to be as fancy looking, of course).

Definitely an interesting experience, I appreciate having had a chance to test this katana, which would normally be way outside of what I can justify spending.

By the way, because a number of people have asked about what this microphone is that was able to brave the coastal storm:

*** Credits ***

“Dark Winds” by Zefz
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Outro:
"Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records
Used with artist's permission

*** Merch ***

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*** Social media ***

#skallagrim #katana #review

[Skallagrim]

Someone pointed out what looks like a delamination near the tip (visible at 6:21). I noticed it and was wondering if that's what it was, but I didn't want to criticize something I wasn't absolutely sure about. Depending on the light it's hard to see and identify, but if this is indeed a delamination that would be unacceptable for this price. Again, I don't know for sure, but perhaps other bladesmiths who have worked with pattern welded steel can give us some input?

[Paul_Sergeyev]

The little microphone lived up to the faith put in it so well!

[epiphanygunworks]

Sir; I've practiced Kenjutsu for almost twenty years. My teacher was Masayuki Shimabukuru. I have never seen tatami cuts that were so effortless. I dont know if it was the blade, the slow-mo camera or that you are just really skilled at cutting tatami (or using a katana in general) but I would like to applaud you for giving me twenty minutes worth of watching cuts and going back to watch them again. Very well done.

[outsideiskrrtinsideihurt]

10:40

What many don’t know about the katana is that the typical design that most are familiar with did not come out of natural evolution. During the early Edo period, the shogunate passed laws that limited the legal lengths of swords. This is why katana have gained this perception of being very homogenous in look and having a “standard” design. Evidence of this mass shortening can be seen on the tangs as many have an unshapened [ends] as well as secondary mekugi holes.

Prior to these laws, katana were much longer and would’ve been more palatable to modern western swordsmen as they would’ve commonly been longsword length.

[TheSteam]

What's scary is that even in Japan, $3500 is considered to be part of the "low end" of swords. Buying a genuine shinken from Japan pretty much requires a mortgage.

[eva]

3:46 Skall looks really worried...probably because the sword blade is being held way too close to his face.

[maxjenkinson]

Your microphone is INCREDIBLE... the audio from inside what looked like a hurricane sounded just as good as audio from a a still day in your garden... amazing

[outsideiskrrtinsideihurt]

8:38

As a rule of thumb, the shinier the piece of steel is out of the bloom, the higher the carbon content. Japanese smiths test this buy flattening out the pieces and then quenching them. Once hardened they break the flat pieces and analyze the cleanness of the break:
Clean break = higher carbon
Rough break = lower carbon

These flat, broken pieces are then stacked to make the billet

[gordyrroy]

I don't mind it getting blurry. I don't know many YouTubers having these cool backgrounds behind them while doing reviews. :p

[marcinwilk]

@Skallagrim, few things from Nihonto collector. First, I agree, a Chinese Hanwei Katana for 1k$ (or less) will cut as good as Nihonto. Having a Nihonto is always about the origin. You can have also a peace of art made outside of Japan, including Koshirae (fittings). However, as you mentioned, it won't be genuine Nihonto as per Japanese standards.
Second, about Tsuka-maki. You said "is it as it suppose to be" when reviewing this specific type of wrappings. Please note that there are different ways and Tsuka-maki (wrapping) types. It was pretty common in Tachi to have no Tsuka-ito (cotton/silk/leather) on handle at all.
Third, I agree about Tamahagane or clay-hardening not giving much of advantage vs mono-steel blades if it comes to cutting. I personally use mono-steel (no Hamon or clay hardening, modern spring steel) Katana for Temeshigiri. It simply forgives more (cutting mistakes or rust). Again, its all about the 'art' to have hamon/hada on the blade.
Fourth, I wonder if Kissaki (tip) was properly done. You mentioned about rolling/bend on it. It should have same hardness as the rest of cutting edge = rather chip then roll.
Sixth, thank you for all your work. Thank you very, very much. I watch your channel for years now and I love all the content. I wish you a good health and all the best!

Ps. I apologize for any language mistakes.

[jonwesick]

I wandered into a sword shop in Shikoku and found the blades there selling from $20k to $100k.

[jalcomics]

Awesome video. You put a lot of work into everything you do, and it shows.

[Luke-knpi]

I'm more of a European sword guy, but this is one katana I would own

[Dionaea_floridensis]

Exporting genuine katana from Japan can be quite difficult, especially if they're antiques.

[lukeshannahan]

Love the illustrations of the forging process

[boram]

I'd just add one word about the value aspect. Spending that much money on something as unique as this also goes a long way in supporting the craft of making stuff like this. Part of the price really does go into preserving this more laborious
way of creating steel and making this sword.

[outsideiskrrtinsideihurt]

4:32

From what I know, the practice of putting the menuki on the finger side (for right handed people) began in the peaceful Edo period and carried through until today and is still done on authentic katana handles

[thehomiejw]

The reason why an authentic nihonto being so expensive is because they aren't considered a weapon but a piece of art.

[bare_bear_hands]

Sand Iron? Primitive Technology has taught us how to get that and cook it with charcoal.

[giulyanoviniciussanssilva]

I'm not going to lie, the wind provided a great atmosphere for this analysis.