88BKW Japanese Samarai Sword Review

You might ask, what is a Japanese Samarai sword? I mean ‘Samurai’ sword, right?

Well, yes and no...

Call it an idiosyncrasy, but I tend to lump in the uber modern Cold Steel Katana in a different category than the traditional blades and the ebay cheapies.

These swords are very different from a traditional Katana. They are thicker, stronger and handle quite differently.

"And they don’t even bother with a fake hamon, and have a different sori (curvature)..."

But at the end of the day - they are – essentially, extremely functional no-nonsense cutters designed for good old fashioned backyard mayhem. Hence, the alternative spelling... ;-)

In this review of Cold Steels coolest and least expensive Japanese Samarai sword, the Warrior Series 88BKW, sword enthusiast John K puts the Warrior through its paces with a bargain model he found as a clearout in one of my favourite recommended online vendors.

So without any more ado, let’s check it out!

Cold Steel 88BKW Warrior Katana

Everything besides that is perfect. Nice and secure.

What caught my eye with this sword was the cheap price and I know cold steel have sharp and durable swords.

Specifications:

Weight: 46.5 oz.
Blade Thick: 9/32"
Blade Length: 29 3/8"
Handle: 11 3/8" Samé (Ray Skin). black braid cord with brass Menuki
Steel: 1050 Spring Temper High Carbon
Overall Length: 40 3/4"
Sheath: Black Lacquered Wood Scabbard

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

It came in a normal cardboard box but it was wrapped in bubble wrap. It came with a blue cotton sword bag. I loved the look of the sword at first. When I first picked it up it felt like one solid piece. I ordered this sword Monday at about 3 and it came Wednesday, Trueswords has great shipping.

The Tsuka Ito is nice and tight and I cant figure out the Mekugi is, some kind of dragon. The tsuka is very sturdy.

The Tsuba is nice and tight fitting with a pretty cool dragon on it.

The Kissaki is untraditional and a bit rough, but doesn’t look too bad.

The Blade The blade is very nice and extremely sharp floats through paper like warm butter. The only issue is the sword is a bit heavy but remember its COLD STEEL they are very sharp and durable but they are kinda beefy so the swinging isn’t too graceful but it is one solid cutter let me tell you!

I don’t know why there isn’t a hamon...and also on a pretty dumb move I hit my wood stand really hard (not on purpose of course) but it caused no damage what-so-ever.

TEST CUTTING VID

Now on to the best part where this sword really shines...

VIDEO: Promotional Video While the video is a promotional one made by Cold Steel, and therefore to be taken with a little salt on the side, it's all still quite real...

Sure they muscle their cuts, but there can be little doubt that this is a strong cutter that may not suit everyone, but will suit someone perfectly if you know what I mean...

PROS

• Extremely strong and durable 1050 carbon steel monocutter

• Sharp edge capable of devestating cuts

• Not really balanced like a Katana should be - more of a 'Samarai sword'...

WHERE TO BUY

Like all Cold Steel swords, prices on this Japanese Samarai sword vary quite dramatically. The official MSRP price to buy it direct at Cold Steel is a whopping US$549.99, which at this price – I wouldn’t even look at it twice.

However, thankfully it is available for several hundred dollars less. John bought it at here at Trueswords.com , where they sell it for the lowest price at just US$299.99 – plus their customer service is among the best in the business. Definitely worth looking at, and they do sell some clearly marked factory seconds from time to time (unlike at ebay, where many of the factory seconds are sold at full price – but that is an entirely different story again...)