In the early 80's, my friend and I were Iai Do students. He bought two antique katanas at a flea market. Our teacher asked an expert to examine them. One was 150 yrs old, the other was 450 yrs old. We didn't tell them that we had been practicing choreographed attack and defense with them, and they make musical tones when struck together.
i have the white shadow katana, with almost the exact same dimensions, it came razor sharp and gave me 8 stitches because i didn't make sure it was all the way in the scabbard and i flipped it and it dropped out so i naturally caught it and it cut my fingers to the bone i got 3 stitches on my index finger 3 on my middle and 2 on my ring finger
Happens to the best of us. I once saw an old timer who had been collecting for 50 years or more, and should have known better, do the same thing. So far I've been lucky (cross my fingers)
6:23 I don’t mean to come off as some sort of elitist (though I likely will) but I do believe there is a “correct” way the menuki should be placed on the tsuka. Matt points out that on historical examples, we find both palm and finger placements present but that doesn’t say too much. This type is tsuka construction is hundreds of years old and there’s no doubt it changed over time. To start, it’s know that the overwhelming majority of samurai held their swords right handed even if they weren’t naturally right handed (I have heard of schools that would teach their students to be both right and left handed swordsmen but I couldn’t find anything on that). Looking at period art it seems as though the tachi, contrary to popular belief, remained in wide use all the way up to the end of the 16th century. Sometimes katana were worn edge down, but regardless, in close up paintings of figures we always see the menuki placed on the palm side. It also seem to be placed slightly further down so it isn’t just directly below the fuchi. This is likely due to the majority of schools using the handshake grip very often. During the edo period, samurai born (into the) time of peace both idolized the samurai of old and often valued aesthetics over functionality. I don’t think it is too far of a stretch to think that the edo samurai saw, through paintings, the menuki placed near the fuchi facing outward. To emulate that look they would place the menuki closest to the fuchi facing outwards but because their katana was facing edge up, the fuchi would land on the finger side. This seemed to catch on and it then became the norm and eventually become traditional as many things of the edo period do. Koshirae often don’t survive more than 3 centuries but the ones that do exist seem to all have the palm menuki. Just looking at the many reviews made by sword RUclipsrs, they seem to unanimously agree that the finger menuki is uncomfortable and I myself have swords with either one or the other. Personally it is night and day in comfortability and the palm placement acts as a successful palm swell when using the handshake grip. So while yes we see both done in history and the finger placement still done today, I firmly believe the palm placement is “correct” by period standards. Then again…who fucking cares? I don’t. Do what you want.
I agree. Whenevr I get a sword re-wrapped, I request reversed menuki. This is one reason that my Gunto is my favorite sword, as the Gunto is based on the older Tachi style with the menuki under the palms.
Menuki are indeed generally placed to raise the bindings under the fingers for grip. But, this is a battle-wrap. This patteren is associated with a longer grip where that more space between the hands. In this case, menuki are more likely to be placed in this space.
@@1965anthony that is just the modern justification for them being on the finger-side. For the majority of history they were on the palm side and acted as palm swells. If you’ve ever compared the two styles side-by-side, you’ll see that the palm placement is far more practical. I also don’t see how the finger placement would help much in gripping the sword. Having tight ito knots and decent training with bokken works just fine. We must acknowledge that the only reason the finger placement (among other practices) is done today is because it has become traditional
It's been a while since I've seen a katana design that caught my interest. I definitely like the tiger theme, it's specifications, and the way it's put together,
When designing a mid-price blade, it's always best to do as they do here and put most of that money into getting a good blade, and cut down as needed on the fittings. I can always upgrade the fittings, as one if I have a plan or piecemeal if I'm on a budget, but the only way to get a better sword blade is to get a better sword.
They also offer a shirasaya katana, wich is just plain wood tsuka and saya. Could make for a great blade if you have a project to customize your own fittings.
Thank god you guys put reviews up this helps making a right purchase. Bought a crap katana back in 05 for 350 bucks blade bent on an elks spine. Didn’t have reviews back then like now. If it can’t kill I don’t want it. The quality of these blades have come a long way.
The biggest flaw that jumped out at me as soon as I saw it is that the handle is straight instead of following the sweep of the blade like original period examples are.
You mentioned once about certain cultures holding sticks at the end of the stick, and others holding sticks a hand length or two up from the end of the stick. Is there a video out there on it?
Beautiful blade despite what you noticed matt, it can be bettered with your advices but in comparison with other swords its better than ok, good week mr easton 😊
Hey weird question. But iv never seen anyone trying to stab through mail with a katana. The Japanese had there own mail but I'm wondering with the blade profile if it would be able to brake the rings. Intuitively my perdition is no it's point of trusting is to thick. This is using videos like skallagrim but I also saw a speer stab into the plate of the do ( chest plate) of the armor from than thrand
Honest answer - I am not sure, as it would need to be tested with good replica katana and good replica Japanese mail armour. My instinct is that the katana would not be very effective due to the tip shape. But a yari should do well, as that is more or less what it is designed for.
@@scholagladiatoria I agree with the results but I also find it strange how many cutting weapons they have in there catalog. And I say the katana but both there's spears and knives are built close to one another. And well they had the one spear (I'm assuming more on top of that but I'm not educated on them) but they didn't always have them. And chose others arms than the thrusting spear too.
Long story short in the earlier part when the military powers were smaller and better armed why hinder yourself with a tools that stop you. For later in Japan it makes sense if you have a large lighter armed men that may not be equipped with it. But if the Lord for example payed for the gear that doesn't sound like something I'd risk. This isn't to say there thrusting spear wasn't commen. I'm wondering about the people who would use other tools of there time.
They would be fine at it, katanas in older times are not the same as today case in point the tips would have been better for piercing. However mail never played much of a main Defense role for most of History in japan, a more common armor was kikko( basically Japanese Jack-of-plates), something on Japanese mail by the way. "Kusari Gusoku (鎖具足) - Japanese Mail Armor" on Gunbai.
Suggestion: It would be nice if you could repeat your data on sword length, weight and stuff in the metric system as well (or put it in as subtitles/annotations).
Great review Matt I learned a bunch from that video. That's pretty awesome for the price range it's in if I had the money that would be close to the top of the list since I'm missing a katana in my collection. I like the blade and that it's traditionally forged with a real hamon and everything for accuracy and collecting, but am I the only one that gets nervous by the differential hardening? I just don't trust a sword to never bend during use even if it is stiffer than most European designed swords.
The Chinese (or iIndian in this case) katana companies seem to have the mass blade forging down, but definitely need to improve their fit and finish on all the koshirae.
The hamon nuances and signature proportions are key, and since updating their website quite recently, Jkoo has released a few similar (with minor alterations) versions of the same swords.
@@yotomuramasa ah, that makes sense. Must've had the b squad working that day. Lol. I've seen close to perfect work from them and terrible work as well. They need to work on their consistency it seems. More stringent QC would be much appreciated.
@@erichusayn it has actually been getting worse since the pandemic imho. They didn't make any mistakes on the tamahagane ones I ordered from them, but they did screw up a few things on some of the other ones I've ordered from them recently.
I'm only going by the size of the suits of armour form the period and even 16thC. Also if we're looking at the earlier periods the whole caste thing wasn't so rigid so, the peasant / samurai I believe was less distinct, but I'm no expert.
I’m in the uk and wondering where the best place to buy a katana from as I’m sceptical about ordering online and local shops don’t have a lot of choice
Just fyi the ito “Battle Wrap” around the handle is artificial silk, not genuine, according to Kult of Athena website. Genuine sounded a bit too good to be true so I checked it out. The description on the site also mentions rayskin panels, I am guessing that means it's not a full wrap? Probably a good idea to make sure you know those kinds of things about a product you are reviewing.
Deepeeka offers a very cheap but very nice mace under the name Indo-Persian or Turkish Mace,it would be nice to look at it,as a segway to talk about mace use and effectiveness.
Hey Matt i have a question. If the world was ending or something and you had to leave your house immediately, whats the one bladed weapon from your collection you take with you?
What a lovely sword for the money, regarding the size, and I've said this before, if you were the height of an average Japanese man in the say the Gempei war period the tachi was a big sword.
@@williamarthur4801 but don’t you think their access to both good food and proper training would make them quite a bit taller than the average person of the time?
Agree with the 1 peg statement..higher quality katanas harmonically vibrate more as one piece because of the tightness of the fitment and the tang file marks actually bit into the tsuka.
What I don't understand is why it's called 'Byakko'. Byakko just means white tiger and if you look at it in the Chinese origin of Baihu that's exactly what it is. The Baihu (white tigers are real animals) is thought to be a celestial being along with the guardian beasts of the other three directions. Baihu or Byakko as the guardian beast of the west is associated with the west exactly because of it's white colour. The colour white in China is associated with the west and also corresponds to the whiteish soil in the western part of China (it's due to salt). Given that they chose the colour yellow, the name 'Kirin' would have been more appropriate. Kirin is the japanese version of the 'Qilin' which is the fifth Guardian beast of the center that also represents imperial power (hence emperors wearing yellow garments). So yeah. I'm confused what this blade has to do with the Byakko other than maybe the Baihu being the beast associated with the metal element?
When I first hear/saw the name "Byakko", I immediately thought it was based on the Byakkōtai ("White Tiger Corps"), a unit of teenage samurai who fought for the Tokugawa shogunate in the Bōshin War and themselves took their name from the mythical Byakkō but, looking at the manufacturer's description, it seems they skipped that historical connection and went straight for the mythical origin.
Even on a sword like this with subdued colors and understated fittings, one can still tell it was made in China. Except for the very high end, the Chinese just can't seem to capture the feeling and composition of a real Nihonto. But it looks like they are getting better.
@@ambulocetusnatans yeah, I must admit, just from the naming alone I wouldn't buy this blade. Other than the colour scheme and decoration just not fitting my aesthetics. Japanese blades meant for display/status (i.e. high quality blades as in not mass produced trash) are all pieces of art. There is a certain reverence towards the blade that I very much admire in Nihontō. Though not always the case this is often expressed in a kind of subdued elegance and even the naming of a sword will often have a specific poetic meaning attached to it. It is a shame that they didn't seem to have put much thought into this aspect of the work. Or I just don't get it.
@@Salted_Fysh Don't get me wrong; this looks like a decent value, and if I was in the market, i would consider it for a practice weapon. But I think the Long Quan forges could do better. They should copy some antique pieces, like the way L K Chen does with the ancient Chinese swords. Of course that would probably raise the price point.
Subscribed today. Saw your countrywoman Lucy Worsley, Curator of Royal Palaces, discussing Beheading Swords the other day in her series Antiques Uncovered Ep01. Beheading Swords. Beheading Swords. Just a thought.
Considering the one I used to train with ages ago was held together with duct tape, electrical tape and spot welds..anything is better than what I owned. Much to the dismay of my sensei, the budget blade failed by... Cracking. Hilt drew just fine. Blade stayed inside. RIP $50 sword.
Just like six guns the length only affects the speed of the draw and that is everything in a typical one move fight. Also why they usually used the wakasashi
I'm honestly having such a strange experience right now with seeing things about "Japanese militaria" online. In the past I've become aware of the weeb smokescreen, got a bit jaded, and didn't fancy wading into that and trying to find the grounded truth, but recently I've been tentatively learning a bit more; and I've got to say, it feels like a bit of war out there lol. Unlike in the past, there's clearly been a widespread identification of how overhyped all things Japanese have become; but it's also apparently gone 180 for a lot of people lol. I've seen some places online that are almost caricatures of weebs (while being genuinely serious) that have grown audiences of people just saying how bad Katanas are lol. I know pendulum's swing and this is very predictable, but it's still pretty funny, and kind of sad to see; especially because extremes just continue the pendulum swings. The weeb supremacists need a slap on the wrist for their dumb shit, but that doesn't mean you should fuel their next future pendulum swing with your own biased bs. We can learn to enjoy all kinds of things lol
Can’t agree more. The weeb stuff is annoying, but so are the people who overly hate Japanese weapons. In all honesty the later is worse than the former on the internet.
@@gabem3251 Eh idk if I can the play the "which is better/which is worse" games at all, no matter the context. I would just say that love is directly connected to hate lol. The love of things leads to supremacism, and the other side of that coin, the hate, leads to bigotry against things
What I’ve noticed now is that weebs are a dying, if not endangered breed lol. But people hellbent on hating Japanese things justify it by *swearing* weebs are still everywhere.
@@outsideiskrrtinsideihurt699 Tbf I guess it depends on exactly how broad your definition of weeb is lol. I believe anyone that has a general adoration of all things Japan (disproportionate to adoration of other things) counts as a weeb, and while I do agree that's tempering down to be a bit more balanced, there's still a lot of them; even if they're not the rampant supremacist kinds of weeb ^^ There's also still a lot of mainstream fetishism of Japan baked into western culture from like the 70's or 80's, or whenever it started. Like a lot of average westerners will, if you show them a variety of swords from around the world, think there's something particularly good about a Japanese sword without knowing why
incredibly ironic to see the same people who complain about these nonexistent weebs, saying things like “a longsword would shatter a katana” “a longsword could pierce through armor” “knights are walking tanks, everything would bounce off of them” almost all direct parallels to the things these supposed “weebs” attribute to samurai. Truly the pot calling the kettle black
Blade geometry is nice and you can tell that the kissaki is done correctly. Fake kissaki and yokote are so unappealing. Glad to see them put in the extra effort.
@@AveragePicker oh there we go sweet, it's a fancy katana. I've only had the privilege of one T10 blade. But the tsuka on that one is damn fantastic. I like the saya too it's good for practical usage.
Fencers can own foils and sabres and kenjustu practitioners can own katana perfectly legally in the UK. And such swords can also be owned for the making of films, reenactment, or if they are traditionally made by hand. Here is the word of the law for you: “Restricted offensive weapons may also be imported: • for the production of films Swords with a curved blade of 50cm or more may be imported where the weapon: • was made before 1954 • was made by traditional hand sword making methods • is only available for the purposes of use in religious ceremonies or for martial arts • is for use in a historical re-enactments or sporting activity for example a martial arts demonstration for which public liability insurance is held”
The price coming down on a bunch of quality products has been notable . One of these days the Mid range market will price me in. (It will likely subsequently result in a spiral of impulse buys, buy I'm excited nonetheless. )
You'd think that a sword named White Tiger would actually include the colors of the white tiger. Such a missed opportunity. You could have white shark skin handle, black diamond shapes on it and an etched tiger on the blade. itself.
Is it a rabbit or a hare or is it too hard to tell? I could imagine hares being cooler than bunnies but I don't know what the Japanese view is on the subject.
Modern Katana should be longer without being O-katana. Historical Katana were made for men that just above 5 feet or so. Just like Historical longswords were made for smaller human yet today ALOT of longswords are way larger than Historical longswords. However a longsword needs to be wearable and having anything above 120 is difficult.
The “historical katana” we’re familiar with is usually the edo period katana and they were short due to law at the time, not because of their height. Tachi of pre-edo japan could’ve been around 3 shaku give or take
The katana is a bling/comfort weapon, so pay the most attention to the handle wrap - this one is good, a lot of budget ones have silly uncomfortable large manuki under your hands. (Yes they're traditional but come on) Also I don't really trust Kult after buying their vaguely kopis-shaped hunk of metal. Unergonomic, ugly, blunt, and somehow heavier than a full sized sword. You'd be better off with a hatchet than that thing. So, buyer beware. This looks a lot better at least.
Oh no, he's going to pronounce it Baiakko the whole time... (Y is always a consonant in Japanese, if "bya" is hard to pronounce, try "beeyakko" and just minimize the "ee")
No point in trying to explain Japanese pronunciation really, even though it's extremely straightforward (the complicated thing being pitch accents). Mr. Easton just needs to hear the word once and he'll most likely never do the mistake again.
I don't want to be that guy, but it's "byah" not "ba-yah" at the beginning there. "White Tiger". Probably in reference to the sad story of the teenagers of the White Tiger Force in the Boshin War (1868ish).
I don't know how many people, on a daily basis, call Matt cute, but the way his pronunciation of japanese names has gotten worse over the years is cute, cute!
Hold on, this is going to get interesting. I just won’t take a chance on purchasing anything from the cult of Athena. My experience was bad. Lack of QC and overall poor workmanship for the price. If they sent it to you it means that they actually took the time to ensure that you got something good looking enough for you to review.
I apologise in advance for this ranting comment, but every time any Japanese item is featured we have to deal with this nonsense. Also, I love this channel to bits, and I've learned more about weapons, armours and warfare from our wonderful Matt Easton than any other source in my life, so I have loads of respect for both the channel and its host. Still, I do have to say that this Japanese terminology rubbish is really off-putting. It pointlessly makes the whole thing hard to follow and requires several clarifications to be repeated throughout. I mean, we know we're talking about a katana, so it would seem obvious that if one says "guard" nobody's going to think about a basket hilt. Also, those are the appropriate Japanese terms, which undoubtedly is what they were called there back then, but aren't technical terms in English, they're just foreign words. I mean, if you're dealing with a Spanish guitar, do you have to mention its “cuerdas” and “clavijas”? Or talk about the “sterzo” and “cambio” of an Italian car? What about a German pistol’s “Hahn” and “Auslöser”? How do you from those plurals? Do you care for word gender? Again, I'm sorry, but It just doesn't make sense.
Are those of us poor misbegotten folks living in Tory Engand even able to purchase this item. My credit card wants for you to say no. I want you to say yes!. lol.
The "Katana club" people are really such pretentious snobs with their nitpicking every damn thing, either with the sword or the person who's reviewing it etc...If you want a 100% traditional, period, style correct sword, then go buy a 25k$ one made 2 to 500 years ago from steel so soft today's 1045 would probably fold it in half. Im by no means a Katana expert, I studied martial arts for over 25 years, including Bo, Katana, and Sai, nobody ever was as picky as what I see in comments here
@@bigredone1030 no, I'm just realistic..I never cheap out on anything I'm buying to actually USE..so go play with the 150$ prop toy hanging in your moms basement
"Buy Yako Katana", huh? It's Pronounced (Bee-Yak-ko), and at 1:57 did he say Suraj? I think he means O-Suriage お磨上げ (pronounced -O-Su-Ree-Ah-Geh) Somebody should teach Matt a lesson or two in basic Japanese pronunciation. It really wouldn't take long. And then his videos would have another layer of authenticity to them. IDK what it is with guys from the U.K. They always seem to butcher Asian languages worse than everybody else. On second thought, no. They're right on par with certain Americans. So I guess I am just being nitpicky over a small matter. Never mind. 🤦
Doesn't look too bad for the price, but since a Byakko is a white tiger, black and white would have been a nicer color palette choice
Funny it’s marketed to white people 🤣😂 maybe that’s the purpose of the name. It describes the user not the sword 😉
@@andrewsock1608 The Nathan Algren model
@@paulconrad6220 I’m not sure what you mean ?
@@paulconrad6220 Kairo Seijuro might be more accurate 🤣
@@shinobi-no-bueno Beverley hills ninja 🤣
In the early 80's, my friend and I were Iai Do students. He bought two antique katanas at a flea market. Our teacher asked an expert to examine them. One was 150 yrs old, the other was 450 yrs old. We didn't tell them that we had been practicing choreographed attack and defense with them, and they make musical tones when struck together.
That is remakable! Wow just wow!
@@allanfoster6965 My local flea markets don’t even have good unscratched vinyl albums saying nothing about 450 year old items of any kind.
Are these spoils of war? I wonder if the Honshu masmanue still around there unknown by the owner
@@aka99 If in the US, they were probably stolen, yeah. To be clear, that was frowned upon even at the time, and the military condemned it at well.
i have the white shadow katana, with almost the exact same dimensions, it came razor sharp and gave me 8 stitches because i didn't make sure it was all the way in the scabbard and i flipped it and it dropped out so i naturally caught it and it cut my fingers to the bone i got 3 stitches on my index finger 3 on my middle and 2 on my ring finger
Ouch
Damn our natural impulses
This happens when you study the blade...
Happens to the best of us. I once saw an old timer who had been collecting for 50 years or more, and should have known better, do the same thing. So far I've been lucky (cross my fingers)
I call this interval of time the Ohnosecond - exactly enough time for you to think 'oh no' but not enough to actually stop what you are doing.
I like kult of athena, I've gone there for several sword purchases. Usually good prices, selection and the people have been good to do business with.
6:23
I don’t mean to come off as some sort of elitist (though I likely will) but I do believe there is a “correct” way the menuki should be placed on the tsuka.
Matt points out that on historical examples, we find both palm and finger placements present but that doesn’t say too much. This type is tsuka construction is hundreds of years old and there’s no doubt it changed over time.
To start, it’s know that the overwhelming majority of samurai held their swords right handed even if they weren’t naturally right handed (I have heard of schools that would teach their students to be both right and left handed swordsmen but I couldn’t find anything on that).
Looking at period art it seems as though the tachi, contrary to popular belief, remained in wide use all the way up to the end of the 16th century. Sometimes katana were worn edge down, but regardless, in close up paintings of figures we always see the menuki placed on the palm side. It also seem to be placed slightly further down so it isn’t just directly below the fuchi. This is likely due to the majority of schools using the handshake grip very often.
During the edo period, samurai born (into the) time of peace both idolized the samurai of old and often valued aesthetics over functionality. I don’t think it is too far of a stretch to think that the edo samurai saw, through paintings, the menuki placed near the fuchi facing outward. To emulate that look they would place the menuki closest to the fuchi facing outwards but because their katana was facing edge up, the fuchi would land on the finger side. This seemed to catch on and it then became the norm and eventually become traditional as many things of the edo period do. Koshirae often don’t survive more than 3 centuries but the ones that do exist seem to all have the palm menuki.
Just looking at the many reviews made by sword RUclipsrs, they seem to unanimously agree that the finger menuki is uncomfortable and I myself have swords with either one or the other. Personally it is night and day in comfortability and the palm placement acts as a successful palm swell when using the handshake grip.
So while yes we see both done in history and the finger placement still done today, I firmly believe the palm placement is “correct” by period standards.
Then again…who fucking cares? I don’t.
Do what you want.
I agree. Whenevr I get a sword re-wrapped, I request reversed menuki. This is one reason that my Gunto is my favorite sword, as the Gunto is based on the older Tachi style with the menuki under the palms.
Menuki are indeed generally placed to raise the bindings under the fingers for grip.
But, this is a battle-wrap. This patteren is associated with a longer grip where that more space between the hands. In this case, menuki are more likely to be placed in this space.
@@1965anthony that is just the modern justification for them being on the finger-side. For the majority of history they were on the palm side and acted as palm swells. If you’ve ever compared the two styles side-by-side, you’ll see that the palm placement is far more practical.
I also don’t see how the finger placement would help much in gripping the sword. Having tight ito knots and decent training with bokken works just fine.
We must acknowledge that the only reason the finger placement (among other practices) is done today is because it has become traditional
It would be cool to see this series of swords expanded to include Suzaku (vermillion bird), Genbu (black tortoise), and Seiryu (azure dragon).
Now I have the Fushigi Yuugi theme playing in my head. Thanks :)
It's been a while since I've seen a katana design that caught my interest. I definitely like the tiger theme, it's specifications, and the way it's put together,
When designing a mid-price blade, it's always best to do as they do here and put most of that money into getting a good blade, and cut down as needed on the fittings. I can always upgrade the fittings, as one if I have a plan or piecemeal if I'm on a budget, but the only way to get a better sword blade is to get a better sword.
They also offer a shirasaya katana, wich is just plain wood tsuka and saya. Could make for a great blade if you have a project to customize your own fittings.
Thank god you guys put reviews up this helps making a right purchase. Bought a crap katana back in 05 for 350 bucks blade bent on an elks spine. Didn’t have reviews back then like now. If it can’t kill I don’t want it. The quality of these blades have come a long way.
Not a huge Katana fan but for the price, that looks like a good deal. Thanks for sharing this with us Matt.
I have several nihonto and beside the handle assembly, this looks pretty good.
Are you talking about the 2 makoogi pins??
I was expecting a price of about 150% of what it actually is. Neat.
Thanks!
The biggest flaw that jumped out at me as soon as I saw it is that the handle is straight instead of following the sweep of the blade like original period examples are.
Definitely would love some more Balour Arms reviews!
Oh, and FIRST! WOOHOO!
About the Tiger-theme: I think the colors of the saya reflect it as well: Black and orange, just like a tiger's colours.
I think it translates to “White tiger”
"Who doesn't love having a couple of extra inches when you need them?" 🤣
You mentioned once about certain cultures holding sticks at the end of the stick, and others holding sticks a hand length or two up from the end of the stick. Is there a video out there on it?
Wait, what's wrong with the term distal taper? What other term would you have?
Beautiful blade despite what you noticed matt, it can be bettered with your advices but in comparison with other swords its better than ok, good week mr easton 😊
Hey weird question. But iv never seen anyone trying to stab through mail with a katana. The Japanese had there own mail but I'm wondering with the blade profile if it would be able to brake the rings. Intuitively my perdition is no it's point of trusting is to thick. This is using videos like skallagrim but I also saw a speer stab into the plate of the do ( chest plate) of the armor from than thrand
Honest answer - I am not sure, as it would need to be tested with good replica katana and good replica Japanese mail armour. My instinct is that the katana would not be very effective due to the tip shape. But a yari should do well, as that is more or less what it is designed for.
@@scholagladiatoria I agree with the results but I also find it strange how many cutting weapons they have in there catalog. And I say the katana but both there's spears and knives are built close to one another. And well they had the one spear (I'm assuming more on top of that but I'm not educated on them) but they didn't always have them. And chose others arms than the thrusting spear too.
Long story short in the earlier part when the military powers were smaller and better armed why hinder yourself with a tools that stop you. For later in Japan it makes sense if you have a large lighter armed men that may not be equipped with it. But if the Lord for example payed for the gear that doesn't sound like something I'd risk. This isn't to say there thrusting spear wasn't commen. I'm wondering about the people who would use other tools of there time.
They would be fine at it, katanas in older times are not the same as today case in point the tips would have been better for piercing.
However mail never played much of a main Defense role for most of History in japan, a more common armor was kikko( basically Japanese Jack-of-plates), something on Japanese mail by the way.
"Kusari Gusoku (鎖具足) - Japanese Mail Armor" on Gunbai.
Byakko means: "White Tiger"
Does it come in a set with a fedora, trench coat and fingerless gloves?
Suggestion: It would be nice if you could repeat your data on sword length, weight and stuff in the metric system as well (or put it in as subtitles/annotations).
Great review Matt I learned a bunch from that video. That's pretty awesome for the price range it's in if I had the money that would be close to the top of the list since I'm missing a katana in my collection. I like the blade and that it's traditionally forged with a real hamon and everything for accuracy and collecting, but am I the only one that gets nervous by the differential hardening? I just don't trust a sword to never bend during use even if it is stiffer than most European designed swords.
The Chinese (or iIndian in this case) katana companies seem to have the mass blade forging down, but definitely need to improve their fit and finish on all the koshirae.
These Japanese ones from balaur are produce by Jkoo.
The hamon nuances and signature proportions are key, and since updating their website quite recently, Jkoo has released a few similar (with minor alterations) versions of the same swords.
@@yotomuramasa ah, that makes sense. Must've had the b squad working that day. Lol. I've seen close to perfect work from them and terrible work as well. They need to work on their consistency it seems. More stringent QC would be much appreciated.
@@erichusayn it has actually been getting worse since the pandemic imho. They didn't make any mistakes on the tamahagane ones I ordered from them, but they did screw up a few things on some of the other ones I've ordered from them recently.
@@yotomuramasa thats terrible. Sure they lost a few employees and are cutting corners left and right
I'm only going by the size of the suits of armour form the period and even 16thC. Also if we're looking at the earlier periods the whole caste thing wasn't so rigid so, the peasant / samurai I believe was less distinct, but I'm no expert.
I’m in the uk and wondering where the best place to buy a katana from as I’m sceptical about ordering online and local shops don’t have a lot of choice
Just fyi the ito “Battle Wrap” around the handle is artificial silk, not genuine, according to Kult of Athena website. Genuine sounded a bit too good to be true so I checked it out. The description on the site also mentions rayskin panels, I am guessing that means it's not a full wrap? Probably a good idea to make sure you know those kinds of things about a product you are reviewing.
I do like Hanwei
But I find it frustrating that they seem to be the only make of Katana I can get in the uk
Deepeeka offers a very cheap but very nice mace under the name Indo-Persian or Turkish Mace,it would be nice to look at it,as a segway to talk about mace use and effectiveness.
Just FYI, it’s “segue.” A “Segway” is a brand of stand up transport.
Hey Matt i have a question. If the world was ending or something and you had to leave your house immediately, whats the one bladed weapon from your collection you take with you?
He'd probably take a sabre, or a longsword. Those are what he seems to favor. His wife would probably take a basket hilted broad sword
@ 13:01 Matt, you pronounced it correctly the first time! It's pronounced as bee-ahk-ko, not bai-ahk-ko
I know this is a late reply, but it should be two syllables rather than three; "byah-ko."
@@Daniel_Lancelin haha we skip the details with gaijins. Just don't butcher the words like how they always do with "Ryu".
@@Krishnaeternal "Rye-ooh" lmao
What a lovely sword for the money, regarding the size, and I've said this before, if you were the height of an average Japanese man in the say the Gempei war period the tachi was a big sword.
During the Genpei war, armies were comprised of mostly samurai and while they ranged in rank/wealth they weren’t exactly “average” Japanese men.
@@outsideiskrrtinsideihurt699 I did say height.
@@williamarthur4801 but don’t you think their access to both good food and proper training would make them quite a bit taller than the average person of the time?
Nice, thorough review!
Good vid, nice meeting you at fight camp 👌🙏
Agree with the 1 peg statement..higher quality katanas harmonically vibrate more as one piece because of the tightness of the fitment and the tang file marks actually bit into the tsuka.
What I don't understand is why it's called 'Byakko'. Byakko just means white tiger and if you look at it in the Chinese origin of Baihu that's exactly what it is. The Baihu (white tigers are real animals) is thought to be a celestial being along with the guardian beasts of the other three directions. Baihu or Byakko as the guardian beast of the west is associated with the west exactly because of it's white colour. The colour white in China is associated with the west and also corresponds to the whiteish soil in the western part of China (it's due to salt).
Given that they chose the colour yellow, the name 'Kirin' would have been more appropriate. Kirin is the japanese version of the 'Qilin' which is the fifth Guardian beast of the center that also represents imperial power (hence emperors wearing yellow garments).
So yeah. I'm confused what this blade has to do with the Byakko other than maybe the Baihu being the beast associated with the metal element?
When I first hear/saw the name "Byakko", I immediately thought it was based on the Byakkōtai ("White Tiger Corps"), a unit of teenage samurai who fought for the Tokugawa shogunate in the Bōshin War and themselves took their name from the mythical Byakkō but, looking at the manufacturer's description, it seems they skipped that historical connection and went straight for the mythical origin.
Even on a sword like this with subdued colors and understated fittings, one can still tell it was made in China. Except for the very high end, the Chinese just can't seem to capture the feeling and composition of a real Nihonto. But it looks like they are getting better.
@@ambulocetusnatans yeah, I must admit, just from the naming alone I wouldn't buy this blade. Other than the colour scheme and decoration just not fitting my aesthetics.
Japanese blades meant for display/status (i.e. high quality blades as in not mass produced trash) are all pieces of art. There is a certain reverence towards the blade that I very much admire in Nihontō. Though not always the case this is often expressed in a kind of subdued elegance and even the naming of a sword will often have a specific poetic meaning attached to it.
It is a shame that they didn't seem to have put much thought into this aspect of the work. Or I just don't get it.
@@Salted_Fysh Don't get me wrong; this looks like a decent value, and if I was in the market, i would consider it for a practice weapon. But I think the Long Quan forges could do better. They should copy some antique pieces, like the way L K Chen does with the ancient Chinese swords. Of course that would probably raise the price point.
wishlisted immediately! love it
katanas are historically diverse in sizes and designs
Why would some people hate the term distal taper?
Is the tsuka fully wrapped in samegawa or does it only have panels?
Subscribed today. Saw your countrywoman Lucy Worsley, Curator of Royal Palaces, discussing Beheading Swords the other day in her series Antiques Uncovered Ep01.
Beheading Swords. Beheading Swords. Just a thought.
Considering the one I used to train with ages ago was held together with duct tape, electrical tape and spot welds..anything is better than what I owned. Much to the dismay of my sensei, the budget blade failed by... Cracking. Hilt drew just fine. Blade stayed inside. RIP $50 sword.
LOL, that could have ended a lot worse. My Sensei was very picky about that. I had to re-do my sword 3 times before he would let me use it in class.
Make lightsaber noises?
That is 2.4-2.45 shaku so a normal katana and not an o-katana if measuring to the top of the habaki. Most iaito lengths go to 2.45 shaku/29.5" inches.
Ah, yes. The Byakko, named after one of the Bwarner Brothers (and their sister Bdot.)
Thanks Bchaos Bomega. 👍🏻
😁
Just like six guns the length only affects the speed of the draw and that is everything in a typical one move fight. Also why they usually used the wakasashi
@@shinobi-no-bueno ya but that don’t matter at a range of three feet where most fights are fought😉
I'm honestly having such a strange experience right now with seeing things about "Japanese militaria" online. In the past I've become aware of the weeb smokescreen, got a bit jaded, and didn't fancy wading into that and trying to find the grounded truth, but recently I've been tentatively learning a bit more; and I've got to say, it feels like a bit of war out there lol. Unlike in the past, there's clearly been a widespread identification of how overhyped all things Japanese have become; but it's also apparently gone 180 for a lot of people lol. I've seen some places online that are almost caricatures of weebs (while being genuinely serious) that have grown audiences of people just saying how bad Katanas are lol. I know pendulum's swing and this is very predictable, but it's still pretty funny, and kind of sad to see; especially because extremes just continue the pendulum swings. The weeb supremacists need a slap on the wrist for their dumb shit, but that doesn't mean you should fuel their next future pendulum swing with your own biased bs. We can learn to enjoy all kinds of things lol
Can’t agree more. The weeb stuff is annoying, but so are the people who overly hate Japanese weapons. In all honesty the later is worse than the former on the internet.
@@gabem3251 Eh idk if I can the play the "which is better/which is worse" games at all, no matter the context. I would just say that love is directly connected to hate lol. The love of things leads to supremacism, and the other side of that coin, the hate, leads to bigotry against things
What I’ve noticed now is that weebs are a dying, if not endangered breed lol. But people hellbent on hating Japanese things justify it by *swearing* weebs are still everywhere.
@@outsideiskrrtinsideihurt699 Tbf I guess it depends on exactly how broad your definition of weeb is lol. I believe anyone that has a general adoration of all things Japan (disproportionate to adoration of other things) counts as a weeb, and while I do agree that's tempering down to be a bit more balanced, there's still a lot of them; even if they're not the rampant supremacist kinds of weeb ^^ There's also still a lot of mainstream fetishism of Japan baked into western culture from like the 70's or 80's, or whenever it started. Like a lot of average westerners will, if you show them a variety of swords from around the world, think there's something particularly good about a Japanese sword without knowing why
incredibly ironic to see the same people who complain about these nonexistent weebs, saying things like
“a longsword would shatter a katana”
“a longsword could pierce through armor”
“knights are walking tanks, everything would bounce off of them”
almost all direct parallels to the things these supposed “weebs” attribute to samurai. Truly the pot calling the kettle black
Does anyone know where to get a wide blade katana?
Blade geometry is nice and you can tell that the kissaki is done correctly. Fake kissaki and yokote are so unappealing. Glad to see them put in the extra effort.
Why has Ray Skin been so popular over so many periods and from so many different regions for sword hilts?
For some sabers, they give good grip but it can also be stiff so that’s why the Japanese use it to hold the wood handle together
Looks good for the price point !
I'd thought a curved hilt was more or less usual with those.
I absolutely love the look.. 100 percent...
Is this made in such a way that it is legal to own in the UK? edit: nevermind, you answered this later in the video :D
How can I get that exact sword, or another with the 30" blade. I couldn't find any swords over 28" on that sight.
It's literally the first link in the description.
Overall Length 41 5/8"
Blade Length 30 1/8"
Weight 2 lbs 10 oz
@@AveragePicker oh there we go sweet, it's a fancy katana. I've only had the privilege of one T10 blade. But the tsuka on that one is damn fantastic. I like the saya too it's good for practical usage.
is this legal in the uk ? i thought that all katana and curved bladed swords need to be antiques to be legal ?
Given that Matt lives in the UK and is reviewing, I'd venture to say that it is legal in the UK.
Fencers can own foils and sabres and kenjustu practitioners can own katana perfectly legally in the UK. And such swords can also be owned for the making of films, reenactment, or if they are traditionally made by hand. Here is the word of the law for you:
“Restricted offensive weapons may also be imported:
• for the production of films
Swords with a curved blade of 50cm or more may be imported where the weapon:
• was made before 1954
• was made by traditional hand sword making methods
• is only available for the purposes of use in religious ceremonies or for martial arts
• is for use in a historical re-enactments or sporting activity for example a martial arts demonstration for which public liability insurance is held”
After seven weeks I’ve just got my swords back from the police, two WW2 Japanese officers swords (with ancestral blades) & a Paul Chen Kami katana.
@@scholagladiatoria nice clarification ! thanks , the law is confusing if taken at the headlines , no wonder the police dont even know whats what
The price coming down on a bunch of quality products has been notable .
One of these days the Mid range market will price me in. (It will likely subsequently result in a spiral of impulse buys, buy I'm excited nonetheless. )
For 375 I expect to not have end caps protruding nor funky ledges under my guard. Perhaps I'm just old and remember what my money is worth though. 😌
Did the Japanese use their katana during ww2 for fights. Or were they just used for the executions or ceremonial
Officers would fight with them and they were most effective in trenches and charges I think
is it legal in the uk?
no
I'm getting me one T10 super steel ,
yeah boi 👍
16:57 Momentum!!
Thanks for the video
And here i was thinking that a battle wrap was a conviently packaged bite to eat during a lul in the fighting.
Hard to beat for the price.
You'd think that a sword named White Tiger would actually include the colors of the white tiger. Such a missed opportunity.
You could have white shark skin handle, black diamond shapes on it and an etched tiger on the blade. itself.
You mispronounced the name. Byakko is two syllables pronounced as 'Byak-koh.'
Is it a rabbit or a hare or is it too hard to tell? I could imagine hares being cooler than bunnies but I don't know what the Japanese view is on the subject.
Why would people hate the term "distal taper"? That's the correct term.
Modern Katana should be longer without being O-katana. Historical Katana were made for men that just above 5 feet or so. Just like Historical longswords were made for smaller human yet today ALOT of longswords are way larger than Historical longswords.
However a longsword needs to be wearable and having anything above 120 is difficult.
The “historical katana” we’re familiar with is usually the edo period katana and they were short due to law at the time, not because of their height. Tachi of pre-edo japan could’ve been around 3 shaku give or take
if a katana blade this size was mounted on a hand and a half sword hilt with a bit more hand protection than it will make a versatile militia side arm
You've more or less just described a messer
awesome!
It's beautiful. 🤩
For that price if you say it's q good price then it gonna be a good price
The katana is a bling/comfort weapon, so pay the most attention to the handle wrap - this one is good, a lot of budget ones have silly uncomfortable large manuki under your hands. (Yes they're traditional but come on)
Also I don't really trust Kult after buying their vaguely kopis-shaped hunk of metal. Unergonomic, ugly, blunt, and somehow heavier than a full sized sword. You'd be better off with a hatchet than that thing. So, buyer beware. This looks a lot better at least.
Which Kopis? They sell several and aren't the producers of them.
Oh no, he's going to pronounce it Baiakko the whole time...
(Y is always a consonant in Japanese, if "bya" is hard to pronounce, try "beeyakko" and just minimize the "ee")
Honestly I love Matt's content, but I've just accepted that his japanese pronunciation is always gonna be iffy.
Bee yah koh, may be a simpler way to phonetically say it.
It’s better than his pronunciation of “Cailliou-gunto”
No point in trying to explain Japanese pronunciation really, even though it's extremely straightforward (the complicated thing being pitch accents). Mr. Easton just needs to hear the word once and he'll most likely never do the mistake again.
@@shiyotso1 Ehh, you don't seperate the B and the ya, though. It's Bya, not bee yay or bai yah.
Who doesn't love a couple of extra inches?
Is T10 Steel more appropriate than Springsteel for that kind of sword ?
I don't want to be that guy, but it's "byah" not "ba-yah" at the beginning there. "White Tiger". Probably in reference to the sad story of the teenagers of the White Tiger Force in the Boshin War (1868ish).
I don't know how many people, on a daily basis, call Matt cute, but the way his pronunciation of japanese names has gotten worse over the years is cute, cute!
good stuff
Hold on, this is going to get interesting. I just won’t take a chance on purchasing anything from the cult of Athena. My experience was bad. Lack of QC and overall poor workmanship for the price. If they sent it to you it means that they actually took the time to ensure that you got something good looking enough for you to review.
KoA isn't the one that makes most of what they sell
Balaur?😁. So Dragon Arms???
Balaur is a brand name, and different models in that brand are made by different manufacturers. I am not sure who the maker of this specific sword is.
@@scholagladiatoria They are produced by Jkoo / Sino swords. Also, Jkoo recently released a few similar models on their site with minor changes.
@@scholagladiatoria
Thank you! In romanian, balaur is a type of dragon. 😅
I like sword
These blades are fantastic utensils. However, I find that the peanut butter tarnishes the blade and they do not fit in my dishwasher.
I'd like to see this reviewed by our friendly big katana guy.. lol
I apologise in advance for this ranting comment, but every time any Japanese item is featured we have to deal with this nonsense. Also, I love this channel to bits, and I've learned more about weapons, armours and warfare from our wonderful Matt Easton than any other source in my life, so I have loads of respect for both the channel and its host. Still, I do have to say that this Japanese terminology rubbish is really off-putting. It pointlessly makes the whole thing hard to follow and requires several clarifications to be repeated throughout. I mean, we know we're talking about a katana, so it would seem obvious that if one says "guard" nobody's going to think about a basket hilt. Also, those are the appropriate Japanese terms, which undoubtedly is what they were called there back then, but aren't technical terms in English, they're just foreign words. I mean, if you're dealing with a Spanish guitar, do you have to mention its “cuerdas” and “clavijas”? Or talk about the “sterzo” and “cambio” of an Italian car? What about a German pistol’s “Hahn” and “Auslöser”? How do you from those plurals? Do you care for word gender? Again, I'm sorry, but It just doesn't make sense.
I really dislike the leopard pattern habaki.
First, at least!
Just for pronunciation sake, Byakko is pronounced bʲa̠k̚ko̞ (IPA). More or less “be-akko”
Sounds like a blade designed to attack off the draw.
Technically it's pronounced Be-Yah-Ko but other then that great review Matt. You honor our ancestors
You should do sharpe sir
That is my least favorite style/design of "modern" habaki.
Every time I look at it it just feels cheap idk how to describe it
@@outsideiskrrtinsideihurt699 ugly! Thats how you describe it
@@outsideiskrrtinsideihurt699 wholeheartedly agree.
Are those of us poor misbegotten folks living in Tory Engand even able to purchase this item. My credit card wants for you to say no. I want you to say yes!. lol.
The "Katana club" people are really such pretentious snobs with their nitpicking every damn thing, either with the sword or the person who's reviewing it etc...If you want a 100% traditional, period, style correct sword, then go buy a 25k$ one made 2 to 500 years ago from steel so soft today's 1045 would probably fold it in half. Im by no means a Katana expert, I studied martial arts for over 25 years, including Bo, Katana, and Sai, nobody ever was as picky as what I see in comments here
we get it you like to cheap out… just come out and say it
@@bigredone1030 no, I'm just realistic..I never cheap out on anything I'm buying to actually USE..so go play with the 150$ prop toy hanging in your moms basement
...and it's a curved blade so if you live in the UK you can't have one. :P
Sheeple under the thumb of the elites
Pretty useless review since the majority of it is just talking about the aesthetic and less than half is about the function
"Buy Yako Katana", huh? It's Pronounced (Bee-Yak-ko), and at 1:57 did he say Suraj? I think he means O-Suriage お磨上げ (pronounced -O-Su-Ree-Ah-Geh) Somebody should teach Matt a lesson or two in basic Japanese pronunciation. It really wouldn't take long. And then his videos would have another layer of authenticity to them. IDK what it is with guys from the U.K. They always seem to butcher Asian languages worse than everybody else.
On second thought, no. They're right on par with certain Americans. So I guess I am just being nitpicky over a small matter. Never mind. 🤦