Ryumon Dragon Katana Review
I must admit, I’ve been guilty of not taking Ryumon Katana very seriously in the past. When these swords first hit the market sometime in 2005 (which was really the start of the whole entry level Chinese made Katana craze), I unconsciously bought into the whole ‘Ryumon swords are crap’ vibe that was popular on certain Sword Forums at the time, and as new manufacturers started literally churning out swords by the truckload – somehow I kind of ended up putting them to the bottom of the list... But as is often the case, no one who commented on them had actually bought one – it was all based on assumption, and in retrospect, was really more of a case of sword snobbery rather than actual investigation... In retrospect, I wish I had taken a good look at Ryumon sooner, because they were VERY underrepresented – with few stores stocking them. And as it turns out (especially considering their age), they may well have been an undiscovered ‘jewel in the junk’ that, several years later, is worth a much closer look...
The first thing that struck me when my Ryumon order came in was the size of the box. Considering that it’s a Katana, the first cardboard box made me think that there were at least 2-3 swords in there! After removing the cardboard box and polystyrene packing, I was confronted with a solid, and very heavy and wide solid pine sword case with a prominent Ryumon symbol.
Being quite thick, strong and padded internally, the box was an excellent means of protection during transit. I gingerly lifted the lid straight off and tried to figure out why this box was so wide. The main reason was that the generic cleaning kit in there was positioned sideways at one end. But inside, I found several interesting components, including of course the item that I had actually ordered, the Katana wrapped up in a plain maroon sword bag...
Now aside from the sword and cleaning kit, there were several things that I had not seen before. One was a rather mysterious looking scroll (which I will come to later, I didn’t unfurl it yet – I was in photo snapping mode) and the other, a Reference Guide. The introduction saying “Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of the finest hand crafted sword in the world!” nearly made me grab the nearest barf bag, but after I recovered from that, I actually found that this 25 page, and nicely presented booklet contained the kind of information that EVERY beginner needs to know.
Inside was information on sheathing and unsheathing the sword, complete instructions on how to use the cleaning kit, storage information, a glossary of Japanese sword terminology, how to disassemble the sword – and more! Definitely a low cost, and yet very useful touch. Ignoring the magic scroll for now, especially as I had got so distracted by the booklet, it was time to check out this Ryumon Katana itself. While I actually assessed in reasonably quickly, I’ll break it down component by component so you have some idea as to what to expect...
The first thing I noticed, other than the iron tsuba – which was a tastefully done rendition of a Dragon partially obscured by clouds (hence the name) – was the ito wrap. The tsukamaki (wrapping) was extremely tight and even, with perfectly shaped diamonds. I am confident to say that even if you used this sword every day for a year, I doubt very much that it would be significantly looser than the day it came...
Underneath the ito, was a wrapping of white same ray skin, and while the nodules were tiny – they were extremely consistent, though a little rough where the two securely fixed mekugi pins inserted into the handle for additional security. The two long menuki (ornaments) under the wrap were (and still are) indistinct, and I can’t move to ito enough to figure out what the heck they are supposed to be. But never mind, they looked ok, and so far I was pretty impressed. One thing that is important to note – in some of the early posts on the various Sword Fora when this sword first came out – and the main reason that I did not look at them seriously, was because they said that the tsuka core of Ryumon swords was made of lightweight and useless plastic, relegating it to display purposes only.. However a cursory inspection reveals that it is indeed wooden, and that these ‘observations’ are quite baseless...
Now as I mentioned, the tsuba looked great – and the Fuchi (collar under the tsuba) was equally impressive, matching the whole Dragon theme. And the Kashira (pommel) at the back of the sword also had the same theme, but looked– how should I put it – er, a little mouldy... I’d soon find out why... The saya was pretty typical, very glossy and very plain, but the fit at the koiguchi was perfect. The blade came out without any fuss, covered in a slightly odd colored layer of oil... I noticed straight away a decent looking natural hamon, but before I could continue my inspection I was interrupted... But not for long.
Now, when I returned to the sword, I was very curious about why the oil seemed to suggest that the differentially hardened 1060 carbon steel blade (with an edge of HRC58 and spine of HRC45) had an unusual almost bronzy sheen to it. I powdered it with the uchiko ball in the cleaning kit, wiped it away and sprayed it with some WD40 before wiping that clear to see what was going on... ”And I must admit, I was a little bit shocked...” While the steel itself looked to be of excellent quality (very even looking surface with an excellent finish), it was obvious to me that it had been sitting in that saya for a looong time... Here and there, the blade was discoloured, and certain pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. There was some rust on the staples in the book, a little mould on the Kashira, and now it was clear that much of the oil had almost completely dried up, leaving behind an odd bronzy sheen and a few unsightly surface discolorations here and there...
While the majority of the blade was in great condition, the few flaws were definitely quite noticeable on close inspection. It was about this time that I remembered that in another review of this Ryumon sword here on my own forum that the person who bought it (from a different supplier) noted that his blade also had some discolorations, but that after he gave it a good once over with some Metal Glo polish, it restored it back to as good as new...
Time to unveil the ‘magic scroll’, which I knew would answer all my questions.. Because the scroll, which contained the details of the sword, revealed that it was made in FEB 2006 – so it had been sitting idle on the shelves of the distributors warehouse for nearly 2 and ½ years..! “I actually felt really sorry for Ryumon at this point.” Ryumon released what so far seemed to be a very good product, packaged with care and thoughtfulness, and because of some bad forum press, only a handful of distributors even bothered to stock them and they missed the wave as a whole plethora of Chinese made Katana hit the US like a tsunami... I wouldn’t have cared if the product had been substandard. But in actuality, it was way ahead of its time... First of all, looking past the discolorations of neglect, the hamon itself, in a Sughata style, was actually quite clear and reminded me a lot of the Cheness Kaze Katana, though the clay had not been as evenly applied to both sides of the blade as it is with the Kaze, with one side quite thick and the other about half as narrow – though it did cover the entire length of the blade.
But secondly, it had a really nice kissaski (tip) with yokote (clear line between blade and tip) and boshi (hamon line in the kissaski), both of which I have not seen in any production swords under the US$300 price point, and this sword was dating back nearly 3 years ago! However, what REALLY struck me about this piece – and made me wish I had looked at it years ago - was the handling...
Pick this sword up in your hands and it feels almost weightless. At 2lbs 4oz with a Point of Balance at around 5”, this blade feels very much like the way a classic Nihonto is supposed to... “If you like your swords fast and sharp, this Ryumon is a must have!” Lightened by a bo-hi (fuller), it really does feel like a natural extension of your arms. It handles like a motorcycle, changing direction mid cut without a seconds hesitation, flowing effortlessly from one movement to another. And yet, it doesn’t feel wimpy or without some presence – the weight and balance of this sword is pretty much PERFECT and handles like swords several times the price. The Tachi Kaze (sword wind sound) of this Ryumon sword is also particularly impressive. Even the shortest cut delivers a very satisfying and very clear whooshing sound as it slices the air. But it gets even better. Because when you combine this swords weight and balance with the blades keen edge (still super sharp after 2 and ½ years sitting idle in its box) – you get some VERY impressive results.
After 2 and ½ years in the box, I almost got a feeling that this sword was kind of happy to finally be facing some targets... And the results of my first few cuts certainly suggested that it had been waiting a while to impress me! For my first cuts, I took the Ryumon to a couple of water filled buddy bottles. Now as you know, these targets are tough – the skin surface of the PET plastic is very tight and quite a hard barrier. And if you’ve ever hit one with a sword that isn’t sharp enough, you’ll know that the impact is seriously jarring. But the Ryumon Dragon loved them.
The first cut, I somehow glanced the first target and sliced the other one cleanly, before finishing off the first one. Each time, I was rewarded by what I would have to say is the CLEANEST cut I have been able to perform on a buddy bottle target, as you can see from the pictures below.
For a bit of a change of pace, I tested the Dragon on a pool noodle. The results did not surprise me, with such a well balanced and clearly sharp blade, each slice went through very smoothly with zero resistance. So far so good, but now it was time to test it on the real deal – some Mugen Dachi Tatami Mats. I started off on a half mat, the best indication for the swords cutting velocity. Slowly starting to learn that I don’t need to apply so much power – but rather let the blade do all the work – I simply brought the Katana down on the mat in an arc. And with a bare minimum of effort, the top of the mat was lopped off. Several more cuts followed, from different angles and directions, and within a few seconds there was nothing left of it... Now was the time to try it on a full mat – a target which I have been told is approximately the same resistance as a human arm. Resisting the urge to power through it (which indeed, actually causes it to be harder to cut, as the tightening of the muscles are effectively putting the brakes on the action) – I just let the blade do all the work, and was pleasantly surprised to see the top of the mat slide down slightly before just falling away to the ground.
The cuts that followed were equally effortless, just bringing the blade around and down – finishing with a horizontal cut, one of the hardest to achieve, that sliced right through without disturbing the bottom of the mat. You can check out the video of all these tests below.
To say I was impressed with how this sword handled and performs barely begins to scratch the surface of my feelings for it.
CONCLUSION The Ryumon Dragon is a true ‘diamond in the rough’.
Since all of them have been sitting with the US Ryumon distrubutors (Master Cutlery) for so long collecting dust, the finish of the blade has suffered a bit. But the swords themselves have been waiting to be discovered and go to a loving home where, with just a little bit of metal polish of TLC, they become what I would say is one of the most rewarding purchases I have made to date... I really do regret not checking them out as soon as they first came out. Due to some bad forum press from the ‘sword snob’ crowd timed with the flood of Chinese made Katana promoted by manufacturers with a bigger advertising budget – these fine swords sat dormant, silently and patiently waiting for a new master that never showed up... And this is going to sound a little bit strange, but somehow – there is something very special about the character of these swords because of all this that is very hard to describe. I wouldn’t go so far as saying that, like a Nihonto, they have a ‘soul’. But whatever it is, there is definitely something of a wistful feeling about these blades that I have not encountered on a sub US$300 production sword to date...
As mentioned that there are few places that stocked the Ryumon Dragon Katana. Those that do, tend not to be sellers with a particularly good reputation in the sword community (listing thousands of swords but not having any of them actually in stock) and typically offer it for US$299.99 – which is still a good price for a blade that performs like this one, but rather inflated when you can pick them up from one of our recommended vendors for US$209.99 HERE at Trueswords.com (which is where I personally bought this one from)...
I hope this review of the Ryumon Dragon Katana has been helpful. To return to A Beginners Guide to Authentic Japanese Swords from Ryumon Dragon Katana Review, click here
|
