The Last Samurai Sword Reviewed

You’ve seen the movie, eaten the popcorn, now buy the last samurai sword! That’s the marketing spin being churned out by dozens of online sword merchants.

Unlike the movie, which I really enjoyed (especially the standout performance of Ken Watanabe and the Japanese cast) there really is nothing special about the vast majority of these wall hanger display swords…

Much like the Kill Bill Sword – on the whole replicas of the Last Samurai sword are cheaply made stainless steel jobs with a rat-tail tang and plastic fittings. While the dark black engraving on the blade looks impressive enough, it is the only thing that sets it apart from all the other cheaply made Japanese style display swords.

Online, these swords are available from most sword sellers for a maximum of US$99 to as low as US$19 here at Trueswords.com which I guess is a reasonable price to pay for a for a display sword like this (bearing in mind that the places that sell them for $99 are selling the exact same sword!).

However (and here is where it gets really interesting) you'll also find for literally a few dollars more it is POSSIBLE to get a fully functional high carbon steel replica of the last samurai sword...

The 'Hand Made Musashi Last Samurai Sword' is a fairly recent development and by all accounts is definitely not a bad piece for the money...

Made by Musashi Swords, the same people who created the famous $59 Rosewood Katana in Shirasaya reviewed on SBG, despite a few minor imperfections (which are largely to be expected for a fully mounted $59 sword!) this sword is a much better choice for display and light cutting duties... (after all, when asked the question "so is it real?", most people lose interest when you say "Umm, no - just a display piece").

Made from 1045 carbon steel (the minumum acceptable steel for a functional sword) the etched engravings are very crisply executed as you can see below.

VIDEO: Cutting with the Musashi Last Samurai Sword While it is not suitable for heavy cutting, the Musashi Last Samurai Sword is good clean cutting fun for water filled bottles and the like

DEFINITELY well worth the additional $40 from the stainless steel ones, the price on this functional last samurai sword varies from $59 at Trueswords to around $99 elsewhere.