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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MARCO TURATI
Mar 19, 2018
iaito di buona fattura , estetica molto accattivante.
qualità prezzo sempre eccellente.
molto soddisfatto .
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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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Antonio Rubino
Feb 26, 2016
Saito katana & Nodachi,belle entrambe
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Samuele Fortelli
Jan 15, 2016
This customer purchased the item at our site.
Vi ringrazio è perfetta.
Molto gentile il personale nelle richieste scritte, immediate le risposte.
Consegna molto veloce.
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Danilo La Palomenta
Dec 28, 2015
This customer purchased the item at our site.
Ottima fattura e cura dei dettagli, la spedizione molto molto veloce, nonostante il periodo natalizio. La katana si presenta ottimamente bilanciata anche se il peso si sente po'
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Raffaele
Nov 9, 2015
Cercavo una katana diversa dalle altre e con uno stile tutto suo... la Saito con la lama ripiegata stile damascato e con l'hamon visibile, lo tsukagawa di pelle nera ed i dettagli in rame rosso le conferiscono un carattere davvero unico!
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CESARE FALSINI
Nov 6, 2015
Katana molto bella ben rifinta e bilanciata la damascatura della lama e lo tsuka ito in pelle a mio parere aggiungono un certo fascino
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Davide
Sep 13, 2015
Ottima per la pratica. Prodotto fantastico. Rapidissima la consegna.
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michael merklein
Jan 24, 2015
Nice Katana very high-quality processing
Beautiful blade,could have been a little bit sharper in my opinion but thats the only negative.
Nice and friendly contact - every time again!
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Danilo
Jan 23, 2015
Bella davvero...dal vivo rende più l'idea. bilanciatura ok.
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Sergio
Jan 18, 2015
La lama è di eccezionale bellezza con curvatura perfetta anche se la damascatura non è propria delle lame giapponesi. lo tsuka in pelle è una vera chicca.
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Roberto Lonzar
Nov 7, 2014
Per gli amanti di questo settore,il sito Web è molto ben curato,buono il rapporto qualità/prezzo.Gli "articoli" sono molto belli e ben rifiniti,gli acciai sono interessanti. Non da meno la gentilezza del personale che interloquisce e propone valide ed alternative soluzioni,per l'acquisto.
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Francesco Bonturi
Elegante ed estremamente maneggevole.
Ottimo lo Tsuka Ito in pelle!
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Guest
La Saito, è ben bilanciata e veramente maneggevole; la trama della damascatura dovuta alla ripiegatura, ne danno un tocco originale, che insieme ai suoi particolari in rame ed lo Tsuka in pelle,
rendono questo prodotto veramente di pregio.
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