Tmack
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- Oct 13, 2013
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Hey guys. Little out of the blue, but I thought I'd do a little review of my new toys. I've been training with the katana since I was 12, and the martial arts since 4. I have always collected the weapons in had training with. Second to the vintage cold steel tanto knife I recently acquired , I've had few opportunities to own such pieces of art, and felt the urge to share their beauty.
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Top Ronin - white saya
Bottom Cold Steel - Black saya
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Spot the JUNK! In the middle of beauty and quality, is a reproduction flea market special. While it's treated me well in training, and still will, this is hardly the katana to take into battle. Doesn't look half bad, but the blade is ridiculously light (great for kata) and I would hardly trust it to cut a single mat, much less the triple mats the other two are capable of. While it looks OK, and is sharp, it's not worthy of being called a katana.
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The tips are quite different too. The hardened portion of the tip is slot larger on the cold steel. Here you can see the Ronin blade is more designed for agility, and the Cold steel for power.
The big bruiser Cold Steel Warrior on the bottom . The Ronin "Hagakure" on the top . You can see the more pronounced natural bend in the Ronin. (which actually naturally happens during the tempering process) the cold steel is 1055 monotempered carbon steel, it's longer, heavier, and has a 6" balance point, making it blade heavy for maximum cutting force. It has a bo-hi (blood groove) to try to remove some weight, but it's still by far the heavy duty cutter. The Ronin smaller, lighter, more curved blade with a 5" balance point, makes it extremely responsive, and agile. It has no bo-hi to keep weight into the smaller more narrow blade, making it exceptionally forceful for the size of the blade. "HAGAKURE * is a piece of Japanese literature explaining the life of the samurai as a falling leaf. The blossom on the iron guard and saya ornaments is to represent the falling leaf, or" hagakure "
The Ronin "Hagakure"
Traditional iron fittings, (which easily rival the cold steel fittings ) the saya (scabbard) is ornamented in Buffalo horn. Manta ray skin wrapped in silk for the hand. The attention to detail is some of the best I've seen in modern forged katana, and according to "sword buyer's guide" and many other sources, it's unanimous that Ronin katana has the most traditionally crafted katana on the market in its class ( modern forged shinken) 1060 monotempered carbon blade has been torture tested to prove this is the most resilient blade a katana has ever had. The steel is even more durable, and is a more ideal blade than the traditional steel/iron folded blades of the past. I know it was an art, and alot of mythology surrounds the construction of the katana, but the reason for folding was to mix the types of steel to get a more uniform blend of metals. They also only had the high carbon steel in the cutting edge, so the sword would be flexible, yet hold an edge. This problem is now solved by spring steel, which can both hold an edge and flex extremely well. While old katana would chip, or bend under stress, these new blades have been tested to hack through 2x4, bent into a horse shoe , just to spring back to dead straight, and still have a shaving sharp edge. If that was done by a traditional katana, it would damage the cutting edge and actually hold the bend you put in it. So while the traditional method produces a beautiful Damascus steel, it was nowhere as strong as the modern forging process. ( I still want traditional forged sword  who wouldn't) the wave line you see on old traditional katana is called the hamon line. Made by covering the back of the blade with clay and quenching in water. This made the cutting edge cool rapidly, to make a strong hard edge And the back cool slowly to retain the flexibility. The modern swords with hamon lines are often faked with acid, and many still think it's from sharpening. Since monotempered modern swords do not need two different types of metal, they have no hamon line. Unless the sword is traditionally folded and tempered it should not have a hamon.
It's the best of both worlds.
The hardest most durable tempered steel, with the elegance of traditional aesthetics, make this a battle ready piece of art. completely feels alive in your hands, making the cold steel feel like a bat. (although that "bat" will make its way through thicker targets than its little sister) The weight balance and shape are exactly the same as hundreds of years ago, whereas the cold steel is more of a brute, who's design has been modernized even in the blade shape to be a tad less curved. Both still cut like razors and are shaving sharp right out of the saya. The cold steel will easily sail trough thick heavy targets, while the Ronin is better handing making it better suited for multiple strikes and slashes. Both are highly recommended in the martial arts community and would serve well in training and battle.
Top Ronin - white saya
Bottom Cold Steel - Black saya
.
..
..
.
Spot the JUNK! In the middle of beauty and quality, is a reproduction flea market special. While it's treated me well in training, and still will, this is hardly the katana to take into battle. Doesn't look half bad, but the blade is ridiculously light (great for kata) and I would hardly trust it to cut a single mat, much less the triple mats the other two are capable of. While it looks OK, and is sharp, it's not worthy of being called a katana.
.
.
The tips are quite different too. The hardened portion of the tip is slot larger on the cold steel. Here you can see the Ronin blade is more designed for agility, and the Cold steel for power.
The big bruiser Cold Steel Warrior on the bottom . The Ronin "Hagakure" on the top . You can see the more pronounced natural bend in the Ronin. (which actually naturally happens during the tempering process) the cold steel is 1055 monotempered carbon steel, it's longer, heavier, and has a 6" balance point, making it blade heavy for maximum cutting force. It has a bo-hi (blood groove) to try to remove some weight, but it's still by far the heavy duty cutter. The Ronin smaller, lighter, more curved blade with a 5" balance point, makes it extremely responsive, and agile. It has no bo-hi to keep weight into the smaller more narrow blade, making it exceptionally forceful for the size of the blade. "HAGAKURE * is a piece of Japanese literature explaining the life of the samurai as a falling leaf. The blossom on the iron guard and saya ornaments is to represent the falling leaf, or" hagakure "
The Ronin "Hagakure"
Traditional iron fittings, (which easily rival the cold steel fittings ) the saya (scabbard) is ornamented in Buffalo horn. Manta ray skin wrapped in silk for the hand. The attention to detail is some of the best I've seen in modern forged katana, and according to "sword buyer's guide" and many other sources, it's unanimous that Ronin katana has the most traditionally crafted katana on the market in its class ( modern forged shinken) 1060 monotempered carbon blade has been torture tested to prove this is the most resilient blade a katana has ever had. The steel is even more durable, and is a more ideal blade than the traditional steel/iron folded blades of the past. I know it was an art, and alot of mythology surrounds the construction of the katana, but the reason for folding was to mix the types of steel to get a more uniform blend of metals. They also only had the high carbon steel in the cutting edge, so the sword would be flexible, yet hold an edge. This problem is now solved by spring steel, which can both hold an edge and flex extremely well. While old katana would chip, or bend under stress, these new blades have been tested to hack through 2x4, bent into a horse shoe , just to spring back to dead straight, and still have a shaving sharp edge. If that was done by a traditional katana, it would damage the cutting edge and actually hold the bend you put in it. So while the traditional method produces a beautiful Damascus steel, it was nowhere as strong as the modern forging process. ( I still want traditional forged sword  who wouldn't) the wave line you see on old traditional katana is called the hamon line. Made by covering the back of the blade with clay and quenching in water. This made the cutting edge cool rapidly, to make a strong hard edge And the back cool slowly to retain the flexibility. The modern swords with hamon lines are often faked with acid, and many still think it's from sharpening. Since monotempered modern swords do not need two different types of metal, they have no hamon line. Unless the sword is traditionally folded and tempered it should not have a hamon.
It's the best of both worlds.
The hardest most durable tempered steel, with the elegance of traditional aesthetics, make this a battle ready piece of art. completely feels alive in your hands, making the cold steel feel like a bat. (although that "bat" will make its way through thicker targets than its little sister) The weight balance and shape are exactly the same as hundreds of years ago, whereas the cold steel is more of a brute, who's design has been modernized even in the blade shape to be a tad less curved. Both still cut like razors and are shaving sharp right out of the saya. The cold steel will easily sail trough thick heavy targets, while the Ronin is better handing making it better suited for multiple strikes and slashes. Both are highly recommended in the martial arts community and would serve well in training and battle.
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