Masahiro Bamboo Katana Reviewed

The so called 'Masahiro Bamboo' Katana has been a favorite of budget conscious sword lovers ever since it was unofficially named as such and favorably reviewed by M.K. Ridgeway on Sword Forum International (you can read his 'one year later' review here on the SBG Sword Forum)...

However, despite its reputation as an excellent value for money bare bones Katana, some detective work revealed that the Masahiro Bamboo isn't even made by Masahiro at all - but rather was shipped by one of the ebay sellers who stock it in a Masahiro shipping tube! (For those of you interested to know, the Bamboo is made by Zhejiang Jinlong Cutlery & Sword Company Ltd and is known to them as the JL-815!).

Anyway, regardless of who actually makes it - let's check out Mike Mahaffeys review so that you can see for yourself if it is the bargain it first appears to be...

Masahiro's Bamboo Katana
Review by Michael Mahaffey, Michigan, USA

Nearly a year after the purchase of my Paul Chen Practical Katana (PK), I received my second functional sword: the Masahiro Bamboo Katana.

It is well known among my friends and fellow Michigan State University Karate Club members that I am a sword enthusiast.

So when our head instructor started asking me what I thought about the Masahiro line of katana that he had recently discovered on eBay, I had some opinions for him based on what I had read on the Internet.

I told him that I had read (on Sword Forum International) that although quality control can sometimes be shoddy, the Masahiro Bamboo model seemed an all around solid sword, and for the price, people were more often than not pleased with its performance.

As it turns out, he was planning on purchasing some to give as gifts for his senior instructors as thanks for our many years of service to the club. He asked me directly which model I would prefer, and I answered “Bamboo, please!” :-) After a few days of eBay bidding, he arrived at practice one night with my Bamboo Katana in tow.

First Impressions

The Bamboo Katana came packaged in a beautiful decorative shipping tube. The tube looks like a scroll, and sports a large painting of a samurai in battle and the Masahiro logo on the top end. The sword, inside its black cotton sword bag, was held firmly in the tube by two discs of Styrofoam on either end. Although I was eager to examine the sword, I also wanted to get a closer look at this great looking shipping tube.

To be honest, I have kept the tube since I received the sword two months ago – it makes an interesting conversation piece in the corner of my living room, and my 18-month-old son loves to play with it to boot!

Upon gingerly removing the sword from its tube and bag, I drew it and swung it around the dojo for a bit. I was surprised at how light and fast it felt – much more so than my PK. This seemed a more elegant weapon than the PK: it had a light blade with bo-hi (groove meant to reduce blade weight) and a longer tsuka (handle) that gave it better balance. I couldn’t wait to examine it further, but I had a karate class to teach. I reluctantly put the sword back in its tube and let my new toy wait until I got home that evening.

Fit and Finish: Fittings – 4

Although the Bamboo is an inexpensive sword, the fittings are much nicer than anything else in my collection thus far – not flashy, but understated and serene looking.

The menuki (tsuka ornaments) are bronze dragons. The habaki (blade collar) is simple unadorned brass.

The tsuka appears to have a full same (rayskin) wrap, and is friction fit in the traditional manner to the nakago (tang), and held in place with one bamboo mekugi (peg).

In fact, given that this was the first katana I owned that could be fully disassembled, I originally had plans (prior to actually receiving the sword) of removing the tsuka and trying to give it a custom wrap myself. But once I handled my gift, I decided against that immediately. The black cotton tsuka-ito (handle wrap) is the tightest and most evenly wrapped I have seen. The ito is immovable: I have tried twisting, pushing, pulling, and all to no avail. The diamonds the ito creates are small, even, and attractive.

It would seem a shame to me to unwrap something this well done so a novice like myself could try my hand at ito-maki (handle wrapping) and do an inferior job. My Bamboo tsuka is safe from my meddling until the ito wears out.

Fit and Finish: Blade – 2

Unfortunately, the blade of my Bamboo was not as pretty out of the box as its fittings. The polish is nice, and brings the blade to a near mirror finish. The hamon (temper line) is merely cosmetic, and appears to be acid etched. Aesthetically, I prefer a real hamon, but this one is not bad. The polish on the kissaki (tip) is obviously rougher than that of the rest of the blade, leaving the kissaki looking unfinished.

I noticed all of these things in the dojo upon my first examination of the sword. I did not notice the real problem with the blade until I was at home getting it ready for display later that evening: there was some serious rust spots on the mune (spine) of the blade about ten inches from the kissaki. The pitting polished out with Metal Glo after about half an hour of work, but it irritated me to clean rust off of a new sword. This was an example of the chance you take with Masahiro’s poor quality control.

Handling – 5

The Masahiro Bamboo is fast. Lightning fast. This sword has a light blade with bo-hi and a 12-inch tsuka, which makes it feel less like a three-foot piece of steel and more like a lightsaber. The blade accelerates and changes direction with no effort, and feels alive and ready for action. A great handling sword, and the best I have handled by far.

Structural Integrity and Cutting Ability – 3

With its light, thin blade, I am cautious about what the Bamboo can handle. All of the fittings are tight and without any rattle. The blade is very sharp, but it is thin, and of unknown construction.

The eBay seller that sold mine advertises the Bamboo as being “Iron Wrap #65 (1065 Steel)”. As far as I can tell, this implies softer, impact-absorbent steel in the mune of the blade wrapped around a more brittle cutting edge. I am no metallurgist, but from what I have read this would make a decently durable blade. I have no way to prove this seller’s claim, however.

Although at least one of my esteemed fellow collectors from Sword Forum International states that his Bamboo has a beefy blade that can cut all sorts of hard targets (see his review here, I am not quite as confident of mine. There seem to be some quality control issues with Masahiro, as not all Bamboo katana are made equal.

Granted, my Bamboo has handled it fair share of pool noodles, water bottles and beach mats just as easily as any other sword I have cut with, but I would not cut anything harder with this sword, just given how thin and light it feels.

Value for Money – (Would I recommend this sword?) – 4

As far as how much sword you can get for your dollar, it is hard to beat the Masahiro Bamboo. This sword can be found all over eBay, sometimes for as little as around $75USD. The only thing keeping the Bamboo from getting a “5” in this category is the poor quality control and lack of information about Masahiro in general.

THE VERDICT Historical Accuracy: 2/5 Fit and Finish: 3/5 Handling: 5/5 Structural Integrity: 3/5 Value for Money: 4/5 OVERALL: 4/5 (Excellent)

This could potentially lead to problems should you need customer support – there is no number to call, no website to visit. If you get a lemon, you may be stuck with it. However, if you get a sword like mine, then you will feel like you found something really special that many others would overlook just because of brand name and the low price point.

Thanks for reading, and happy sword shopping!

Michael Mahaffey

Editors Note

Unfortunately, by early 2007 the infamous Masahiro Bamboo Katana, which was a limited run to begin with, has now been entirely discontinued and is simply no longer in production...

While the ebay sellers who sold them now stock a 'second generation Furubushidoo' sword (pictured below) with the same fittings, folk who have bought it report that it doesn't even come close to the original...

So while it is sad to see it go, it would appear that the Masahiro Bamboo Katana has faded into modern production sword history... And if you managed to snap one up when they were still around, you might want to hold on to it! Who knows, they may be worth something one day...