Samurai Sword Clay Tempered Katana Model #15

I bought this sword over a year ago on sale for $99. When I received it, the tsuba was off axis by a noticeable amount (maybe ten to fifteen degrees). I emailed support after business hours and got a reply from Chris the next morning. The exchange process was absolutely painless and the customer support was excellent. 10/10 The replacement katana was exactly as advertised. It may be an entry level sword but it's actually quite beautiful. The zinc alloy fuchi/kashira/tsuba aren't fancy but the simple leaf and bamboo aesthetic suits them well. The kashira seems to have a little sun or moon behind clouds above some leaves. The patterns don't protrude or snag at all. The ito is simple cotton but is soft on the hands even after long practice sessions. It's wrapped tightly enough and hasn't come loose in my year of swinging it a few days every week. The blade itself is very elegant looking. I believe I read that the hamon isn't "authentic" but it still looks great, and the polish of the blade really sets it off. I have not been able to truly cut with it yet. I sliced paper exactly one time and it had no trouble making a smooth cut all the way through, but I can't really comment on its sharpness for something like tameshigiri. The saya is simple but pretty enough. Nothing to protect the habaki and the fit isn't perfect, so the habaki ends up a little marred and there is a fair bit of rattle when the katana is sheathed. However, I can hold it by the saya upside down without the katana falling out. I think it just barely holds the weight, but any more force would have it falling out. A tiny bit tighter would be perfect in my opinion, but it's not bad at all in that regard. Aside from the marred habaki, the biggest problem I have with this katana is that the kurigata is located almost two inches farther from the mouth of the saya than it should be. This means the saya can't be pushed all the way into the belt. This affects both bato (drawing) and noto (sheathing). It's actually not bad as a training tool. It has made me develop my sayabiki (pulling the saya backward during noto), but beginners unaware of this issue may struggle with drawing and sheathing and not understand why. I have long arms which helps a lot with my bato, but noto is still tricky sometimes even for me. Someone with shorter arms would likely struggle even more. OVERALL This is a fantastic beginner's sword. I got it at a great price, but even at $130 you're getting a wonderful training tool with the added benefit of being able to cut when you're ready. And then, when you're ready to move on to something a little more pricy, it should still make a fine display/conversation piece and/or practice sword. The only rattle mine has is when it's sheathed. The sword itself is solid as a rock even after countless hours of kata and who knows how many times being drawn and sheathed. If they could improve the saya (the kurigata position and the rattle) without raising the price too much it would be a 5/5 from me. If you are curious about iaido/kenjutsu but don't want to dump a bunch of money into something you're not sure about, this might be your best option.

It’s an okay sword for the price I guess. I wish I would have saved a little more and bought a higher quality sword. This is not the sword Mathew Jensen reviewed. This sword won’t even cut through a water bottle. The scabbard feels like it belongs on a toy. Maybe I got a lemon idk.

An above average starter sword. The price for what you get was superb. Well fit, sharp, straight, and solid. At the 99.00 that it was on sale for it is unbeatable. Very pleased with my purchase.

Arrived promptly and very well packaged. The sword is very nice

I’m very impressed for the price point. Shipped for $167 Canadian. It came razor sharp. Looks beautiful. I did do some work on the Tsuba it had sharp edges. I bought this sword because of the review Matthew Jensen did on a model #13. Thx for the quick shipping.

This really is the best bang for your buck katana! Feels light but very strong on swings, arrived in perfect condition, Fantastic sword!

This is my first katana. It is put together well, everything is tight. Ito has decent diamond patten. The knot holding the Kashira is firm and ends hidden well. Blade is perfect and of good sharpness. It has a slight casting or machining blemish on inner circle on the right side of guard. It is not enough to worry about. I would not hesitate to recommend or buy from Ronin Katana again

Best sword I've ever owned. Excellent care and detail went into this. That along with the extremely affordable price.... unbeatable.

Very well put together, looks absolutely beautiful. Even took it out and chopped some weeds with it and it cut very nicely. The weeds I was cutting were soft and had a consistentcy of cucumber and built up a residue on the blade. When I began cleaning it shortly after I found a chip in the blade, I inspected where I had cut and could not find anything nearby that could have cause this and it didn't effect the cutting ability at any point but for sure is an issue. Overall I would still say it's worth the money for the decoration but practicing with anything besides a pool noodle is likely out of the question.