Cheness Sword Reviews: Specialized Goza Cutter (SGC)
I’ve had the pleasure of compiling several Cheness sword reviews. But the Specialized Goza Cutter (hereafter referred to as the SGC) promised to be one of the most interesting... Here is a Katana specifically designed for heavy duty cutting of ‘Goza’ (another name for Tatami Omote, or the covers of Tatami mats – the most popular test cutting medium of Japanese Tameshigiri) – based of a $5,000 custom made sword designed for a high ranking kenjutsu Sensei... With a much wider and heavier blade than that usually found on a standard Katana, it is made feasible by the revolutionary use of Cheness Cutleries own special recipe for 9260 Spring Steel – an amazingly durable steel that has been the focus of my most popular Cheness Sword reviews here at SBG. The BIG question that everyone has been asking about this sword is – can a blade so thin and wide still be as durable and roll resistant as the other 9260 Katana? And the answer is, there was only one way to find out – put it through some of the rigorous tests I have done in my other Cheness sword reviews!
While there are two swords in the SGC Series, the Yamakami and the Tsukikage, the blades are identical – with the only difference being the appearance of the fittings.
So in this case, I went with my own personal preference – and chose the Tsukikage (Moon Shadow) – pictured below.
Now I am going to take a slightly different approach to describing this sword than previous Cheness Sword Reviews, partially for a bit of extra flavor – and partly because a couple of guys from the SBG Sword Forum beat me to it… ;-)
In their Cheness Sword reviews, one reviews the Yamakami and the other, the Tsukikage respectively.
So since I’ll be putting the Tsukikage through its paces, let’s take a quick look at the Yamakami (Mountain Guardian) through the eyes of SBG Forumite ‘Handforgedkatanas’:
”I got my yamakami a couple of weeks ago and as soon as i picked up the cardboard box i knew that there was something special inside, it immediately felt heavier...
The exclamation “Oh my god what a beast” is the most common feedback I hear on these swords. Followed by surprise at how well it handles...
Indeed, in the second of the Cheness Sword reviews on the forum – this one of the Tsukikage by ‘Sword Guardian’ he comments: I take the sword out and to my surprise it felt pretty light considering it's wide blade. I swung it around a little bit to see how it handles and it handled quite well. You can read these Cheness sword reviews in full on the forum here for the Yamakami and here for the Tsukikage (links will open in a new window so you can keep reading the main review here).
Anyway, moving on – I am not going to spend too much time describing the fittings and appearance of the sword as the overall appearance of the fittings are covered in detail in other Cheness sword reviews on SBG. So I’ll pretty much let the pictures do the talking, and then move on to the fun stuff – the CUTTING TESTS!
Probably the most interesting feature of the Tsukikage, other than its massive size summed up in the SBG Sword Forum Cheness sword reviews, is its tsuba.
It has a very unique spirit to it, feeling almost like it is telling a story – with two rabbits near a bamboo grove looking up at the crescent moon (Japanese folk lore suggests that if you look at the full moon the right way, you’ll see an image of a Rabbit! Have a look next time to see if you can spot it!).
The tsuka is one of the two main types Cheness uses, in this case the black steel alloy one – nothing fancy, just practical -and as you will see from the tests - very sturdy.
Naturally, after a quick inspection and finding everything in order and very tightly assembled with a flawless blade, it was time to find out just how well this sword performs...
PUTTING THE SGC TO THE TEST!
As anyone who has read any other Cheness sword reviews will know, their 9260 Spring Steel is amazingly durable stuff – perfectly suited to frequent heavy duty dojo applications.
But the big question mark on the SGC line was – would a blade so thin and wide be able to stand up to impacts without rolling...?
Well, before I potentially ruined the blade – some basic cutting tests were in order.
As this was the ‘Specialized Goza Cutter’ it was only appropriate that my first target be – Goza. So taking two full high quality Mugen Dachi Tatami mats, prepared and soaked in the traditional manner, I prepared to see just how well it lived up to its name...
”The target looked quite intimidating...”
And with two Mugen Dachi Mats rolled tightly like this – the amount of resistance would be equivalent to cutting right through a human neck...
Not sure how I would go, I gave it a good swing – and was rewarded by the top of the mat falling neatly to the ground...
Two more cuts followed suit – each one as easy as the first. Since these mats are fairly expensive – I decided to save the rest of the target for a few other (non-Cheness) swords. But none of them could cut the target anything like the SGC...
So far so good. But how about a lighter target? After all, this sword was heavy but the angle of entry was quite narrow, so as long as it was balanced well enough to achieve maximum velocity, light targets should be no problem...
Accordingly, I set up a few water filled buddy bottles and hung them from the clothes line. The first cut was pretty much spot on perfect. The second one went through a little further than I intended, spraying water everywhere and skimming the bottom of the third bottle and slicing it open so that the water started to flow out.
And in an attempt to hit it before it was empty, I struck a little too fast – and covered myself and my friend who was filming in water! (the video is one youtube if you search for it – but I am too embarrassed to link it directly. LOL).
Anyway, I had determined that the sword could not only easily fulfil its intended purpose, but could also cut at the lighter end of the spectrum like the Cheness sword reviews I have done previously.
Now it was time to up the ante and test its durability...
DURABILITY TESTING
Borrowing a target that I had used in some previous Cheness sword reviews (of the 9260 Bujinkan Oniyuri “Ninja” Katana ) – I took a solid piece of pine wood that is typically used to contruct a house with (ok, I ‘liberated’ it from a waste bin across the road from a building site – but it was an off cut I swear!) and clamped it to my cutting stand.
If the edge was going to fail, the impact of hitting this very solid piece of wood would do it...
The first cut sunk in much deeper than the width of the blade on the right side. A quick inspection revealed no damage to the blade whatsoever, indeed NOT EVEN A SCRATCH!
I struck again, this time on the other side, with the same result.
This time I really used some force, striking the right side again – and the blade went almost through to the middle of the wood, causing a good 3” thick wedge to drop out to the ground. But an examination of the blade showed no damage. Still not even a scratch!
I was impressed...
So far, despite its thin profile, it had proved itself to be as roll resistant and tough as the 9260 Steel demonstrated in previous Cheness sword reviews.
Now the branches of this tree are thick and when you count the rings of the cross section, each one is around 17+ years old. “This ain’t no sapling...”
As you can see by the pics and the video below, the branch never stood a chance against the SGC. Each cut went right through with a very satisfying chopping sound. And now, much as I was expecting, the blade showed no signs of rolling, chipping or fatigue.
If it wasn’t for all the cars going by, well – I probably would have kept going all day (and indeed, I had visions of starting a company ‘SGC Gardening Services’ – though I wasn’t sure how well it would be received)...
All in all, by the end of this tests, I was in love: this sword was a lean, mean cutting machine - and one of my most enjoyable Cheness sword reviews to date!
The SGC met and exceeded my expectations, allowing me to confidently say that this beast was as tough as all the other blades in my Cheness sword reviews. And an amazing cutter in its own right!
CONCLUSION
It is heavier than the usual Katana. And it certainly is quite contemporary in its design. But the SGC is a real winner for the cutting enthusiast.
These tests left the blade as keen and as ready to cut as when it first came out of the box. And I have no doubt that out of all the Cheness sword reviews I have done, this was one of the most satisfying...
I still love the 9260 Tenchi Katana, simply because it is closer to a traditional Katana – yet so amazingly strong. But the SGC is cutting champion...
So much so that I accidently find myself calling it the SBG cutter... ;-)
Amazing stuff that 9260 Spring Steel. Knowing what it can do from previous Cheness sword reviews, I have no intention to test it to destruction.
The Tsukikage is a keeper...
WHERE TO BUY
The SGC Series Katana are available at Cheness Cutlery for US$299.99.
But you can pick it up right here for the guaranteed best deal on the internet at just US$279.99 in the 'Cheness 9260' section of my SBG Sword Store - plus you also get FREE SHIPPING in the US, a FREE Sword Stand, Display box and sword bag too!
I hope this Cheness Sword Reviews been helpful. To return to A Beginners Guide to Authentic Japanese Swords from Cheness Sword Reviews: Specialized Goza Cutter (SGC), click here
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So for my final test, I decided to continue to test its durability and cutting power against a doomed pine tree in the front garden (doomed not so much because of its proximity to a sword loving maniac, but more so because it had been deciding to continually reach its roots into the sewer system and was requiring expensive call outs to unblock it every few months...)
