Scratch and Dent RK Entry Level Samurai Sword #4

Had heard good things about Ronin Katana over the years but had never bought one. I trained many years in western styles of swordsmanship but a couple years ago all my swords and armour was destroyed in a flood. Due to this and some medical issues I haven’t been able to afford any new swords so I finally decided to try out Ronin with a scratch and dent version and it’s well beyond $100 worth even with the small roll on the blade. Will definitely be buying from Ronin again.

This katana was an impulse purchase. I've never dealt with Ronin katana before but I've heard about them throughout the years of being a decent brand/company. The katana arrived well packed and came with an extra sword bag. When I pulled the blade from the saya I noticed there was lots, I mean lots of wax packed into it. That was a bit of a surprise since I've never dealt with anything like that before. Not a deal breaker, just very annoying having clumps of wax coming out everytime the blade was drawn. There was also some serious saya rattle. I was able to fix that with cotton balls and Vaseline. Again, not a deal breaker for a $95 katana. The fittings are surprisingly of decent quality. The tsuba, fuchi, and kashira are really detailed (you can see all the tiny scales on the dragons) and the samegawa is surprisingly good with some large nodes here and there. The ito it wrapped well with even diamonds but unfortunately the wrap does not alternate. The blade itself had a couple issues. The kissaki had a small edge roll on the tip and appeared to have taken a fall. Luckily, I was able to strop it out. The hamon is very very faint. I think I will have to etch it out with vinegar. I did however hit the entire blade with Mother's Mag polish and now it looks so much better. Overall a very decent backyard beater. Pros: Decent fittings Awesome tsuka (very comfortable, perfect size) Very sharp blade out of the box Good point of balance Cons: Saya is of poor quality The wrap on the ito does not alternate minor damage on kissaki Bo-hi could be a bit deeper for better tachi-kaze Final score - 7.5/10

This is an entry sword in ronin katana's line up and I got it on sale from the scratch and dent sale. For the price I am surprised at how good this katana is. Sure there are some messed up polishing,and few scratches and not the best grind, but for 89 bucks this is a steal. The edge came very sharp and the fitting is Rock solid. You will not be disappointed. The only con I can write is that the tsuba cane at a slightly bent angle but still 80 bucks.