MAKOTO Handmade Sharp Katana Black Samurai Sword 40"

This Minamoto katana is my first actual Makoto sword - the Geisha katana was made by Ryujin, but sold as a Makoto product. Overall I'm not (AT ALL) disappointed with this katana, considering the budget value category that it represents. This price range often is an inventory liquidation, but Makoto not only survives at this price - they are thriving.Makoto appears to have mastered the delicate balance between quality and value, at the budget end of this spectrum.Unfortunately there's a lot of (outrageously priced) DECORATIVE GARBAGE to wade through, and katana buyers have to sift through this pile to find a respectable deal.Makoto acknowledges it isn't as battle ready as a Musashi with their "Decoration Only" warning label on the box, but they do bring much more to the table than those crappy katana-shaped trinkets..One Youtuber (Gargoyles Blade) keeps a Makoto katana (Warlord) as an Iado practice tool (instead of a much higher priced ACTUAL Iado), and remarks that it serves respectably well in that function - because the weight, shape and balance are very similar.I did get a Warlord katana after watching Gargoyles video, and I am quite pleased with it too - more on that below.This Minamoto sword arrived straight, sharpened and blemish free, which seems to be a bit of a challenge at this price range. Initially, everything fits pretty snug and appears to be put together fairly well, without any rattle or wobble.This 28.5" Bohi blade has more of a distal taper than the Geisha katana has. The Sori angle is the same optimal 3/4" as the Geisha.The weight of the Minamoto katana without a Saya is 2lb & 5oz, which is on the lighter end of the katana spectrum.2 mekugi pegs are used to secure the Tsuka handle to the tang. The Itomaki wrap isn't horribly loose or sloppy, but it could have been done better. A tight wrap of hockey stick tape improves the grip and keeps the diamonds from moving out of shape.The Tsuba and hardware do not attract a magnet (as expected), but the tang does until the last 3 inches of the 10.8" Tsuka handle.The Seppa washer is marked CHINA on the Warlord and Minamoto - I am perfectly fine with this (prefer it, actually), but I have seen comments from people that claim this is a deal breaker..The Saya does have a matte surface that hides finger smudges extremely well. The Habaki fit is decent enough, and CONCEPTUALLY this metal koiguchi collar makes a lot of really good sense, but it is not traditional and will require some time getting used to.The WARLORD katana doesn't have the same (significant), distal taper that the MINAMOTO katana has, and weighs in at 2lb & 8oz (mid-weight) without the Saya.Warlord and Geisha are both a bit blade-heavy in the hand, with a point of balance about 6" forward of the Tsuba, whereas the Minamoto has a better balance overall, due to a respectable distal taper.Warlord does have the same balance and heft as the Geisha katana, and it has the same 3/4" Sori curve angle that the Minamoto and Geisha both have.Also, there's no wire-brushed Hamon or Kisaki on the Warlord sword, which is a refreshing change from the rest of the Makoto line of katanas.Each of these Makoto katanas arrived inside of an inexpensive sword bag, secured by a few pieces of broken/smashed Styrofoam within the Makoto box - minimalist and barely adequate.Wipe the shipping oil off the blade and replace it immediately with some Corrosion-X (or CLP or petroleum jelly). Keep it wet with your preferred oil, and you shouldn't have any corrosion issues.Bare carbon steel requires this kind of care, even if you keep it indoors.I guess you could use a traditional Choji oil instead, but I don't..

This is NOT a Musha.Musashi - For some reason, this sword was displayed at the top of the results when searching "Musashi Katana" and I ordered it without worrying too much about it, as it's under $50 anyway and just assumed Makoto was the distributor. Again, the brand is Makoto NOT Musha!That being said, I'm very satisfied with this sword. It came pre-oiled and looked a bit nasty, but simply wiping the blade with a very soft cloth made it shine beautifully and kept enough oil on the blade to not require re-oiling before display.Full Tang, very sturdy, nothing loose, sharp blade - though not razor sharp, this blade could still EASILY end an intruder's life, much better for home defense than a baseball bat (though I still suggest a firearm over a sword).I'm using mine mostly for display, so I can't say how it holds up against actual use, but I highly doubt the blade will easily bend and if cared for correctly won't rust (just clean it well after use)It arrived inside of a sword-bag and the entire sword was held in place by Styrofoam. Not the best packaging, but unless something severe were to happen, I believe the packaging is good enough to protect the product in most cases.Overall, for $45, it seems to be a very great sword.

First of all, this is my first overall katana of more than just a display quality of slightly lower cost. Though it's still a lower end, budget katana, I'm still impressed with it, for the most part, getting it primarily for display, but to also admire it's feel and taking it out of the saya here and there, holding it in hand. Feels nice and sharp edge. The hamon has a nice wave to it, the saya has a nice matte black look to it, and the tsuka is a nice look, well wrapped and looks to be a very standard/typical, good quality I expected. Also, the blade slides in nice and locks in solid into the saya with the habaki feeling to be a great sturdy fit.However, the tsuba and metal on the end of the saya with the koiguchi look weathered, not antique or slightly worn look that makes it more authentic/aged, but looks to be on the verge of rusted, I guess. There is a discoloration (see photos) that definitely does not look like the images of the product page. It looks borderline bad, but not to the point where I am going to seriously drop stars for it. For the total price of $50.00 as a katana, I'm impressed, but would think it wouldn't be difficult for the manufacturer to have made sure the tsuba and other decorative piece of the koiguchi end with a nicer basic look as are pictured (I wouldn't have thought they could look weathered/rusted looking as they do). I may try to paint them a matte black that I have already at home, but that may take them to the other spectrum of looking too "one-colored" solid colored, and not that slightly worn look that, again, I was expecting as product picture.One other thing is on the side of the koiguchi decorative metal piece leading to the rest of the saya, there is some glue showing coming out of the edge. Looks a little bit sloppy, but it's also not too obvious unless being analyzed up close, not something someone would notice while its hanging on the wall mount.Would I still recommend this sword? Mostly, but not certainly. I found some other katanas out there with great look and with hundreds of review as high if not higher review stars, but started looking into those after having originally decided on this Makoto katana, getting it and seeing the mentioned defects. There are a lot of options out there, but this is a nice looking katana that is great for display, but not so much for up close observation.