Jonathan Goetz
Mar 29, 2023
I tend to be a bit long-winded by nature so there is a summation(a TL;DR, if you will) at the bottom. Anyway, I needed an affordable iaito for this spring to potentially leave at my main dojo for a few months as I commute to and from the nearby city. Furthermore, in my home dojo I just started using a Nihonto a few weeks ago, looking to keep up a similar feeling I wanted this iaito to be steel. Lastly, I find black katana sleek, clean, and elegant...but also kind of boring. Seeing as this sword would spend a lot of time out of my hands, I wanted it to be on the plainer side when it came to fittings in general. I also wanted a leather ito, as it would bring something different to the table of my current iaito/shinken/Nihonto selection as well as liking the material when I tried out my sensei's Nihonto with leather ito.
So, where are you going to find a quality, steel iaito, with a leather grip, for an affordable price?
Subjective nature of "affordable" aside, this is basically your only option. But it is a great option. At least it seems to be, full disclosure - tomorrow will actually be my first full class with it as the last classes I could have tried it out in I had to miss due to a vacation. I have only done minor work with it to get a feel for it so far. Also, YnH staff was very good about double checking with me to see I was getting what I wanted, and the sword was shipped promptly and arrived quickly in great condition.
Aesthetically, the sword is flawless. It's as sleek, clean, and elegant as your typical black katana tend to be, but the damascus blade does an amazing job at bringing some genuinely lovely character to it. It's balanced immaculately, to the point at which it would probably surprise most people to find out it weighs similarly to a nihonto. The fittings, while understated and basic, are adorned with lovely patterns and textures carved into the metal - I find myself liking them quite a lot. The handle is grippy and mostly very well done - there is a spot over one side of the menuki where the ito is a little looser than I would like but I think it'll be fine overall. If my time working in a shoe store has taught me anything: that is indeed some Italian leather - all good there.
My only actual complaint is that the fit into the saya gets a little too tight about 6 inches or so from when the koiguchi and seppa meet during noto. That said however, it seems to be loosening up a bit so I'm confident it'll be fine after some time.
TL;DR: I'm incredibly impressed and relieved that my expectations were met, even exceeded, in a lot of aspects of this sword. I don't really think you're going to get a better steel iaito, ESPECIALLY with leather ito, for this price anywhere else. It's an amazing option and has left me with a very positive opinion on YnH overall.
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DANIELE ALIANO
Jun 19, 2020
molto soddisfatto, ho acquistato un jo personalizzato con rifinitura ottagonale, spedizione in anticipo e qualità davvero alta. grazie a tutto il team di YARINOHANZO
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nikollaq sotira
Feb 26, 2016
E stato un acquisto piu che valido,bilanciatura perfetta,alta qualità dei materiali,correttezza dei tempi previsti,aggiungendo la serietà e professionalità del personale di YariNoHanzo...5 stelle e più che valido.
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