Valiant Armouries Samurai Swords: The Ko Buke Katana Reviewed

There are quite a few functional Samurai swords on the market these days available for under $300.

Most are through hardened monosteel Katana – tough, heavy duty things designed for the rigours of test cutting. But when it comes to traditionally made, differentially hardened blades – I can count the number of half decent Katana with a real hamon on one hand...

So it was with a great deal of pleasure that I saw Sonny Suttles from Valiant Armoury introduce a new sub US$300 differentially hardened Katana with a natural, un-etched hamon to the market. And naturally, I had to take a close look at one to see what it was like...

Valiant Armoury Ko-Buke Katana
Review by Paul Southren (Ed), Adelaide, AUSTRALIA

While Valiant Armoury have made several Samurai swords in this series, the primary difference is only the choice in fittings – so this review actually takes into account several blades in one go. I’m sure there will be subtle differences, but I’m quite confident that this particular piece will be quite representative as to what to expect.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

When I first received the sword in a plain cardboard box, the first thing that I was greeted with was a rather nice looking bright red synthetic silk sword bag.

Definitely a nice touch, the photos do not do it justice.

Unwrapping the bright red cord, I took the sword out and spent a few moments taking it all in. The deep and rich blood red red saya certainly looked very bold and eye catching.

The Sageo (cord around the saya) is a nice surprise, the same kind of thick functional stuff Cheness uses instead of the ‘just for show’ shoelace rubbish you normally see.

I’ll get to the blade in a moment, but let’s continue the review with the fittings of the hilt.

HILT COMPONENTS

There is nothing particularly fancy about this Samurai swords hilt. Double pegged, the same panel (ray skin) is real and of average quality – nothing to write home about but nothing to complain about either, and at least it isn’t plastic.

The ito is quite tight – the same kind of synthetic cord stuff used by Musashi swords. It could be a little tighter, but I don’t imagine it would come loose anytime soon.

While on the whole this Samurai swords fittings are tightly assembled, the Kashira (pommel cap) is extremely loose and can be lifted up off the tsuka core. Underneath, it is apparent it was glued or otherwise epoxied in place, but this definitely needs some attention and was a bit of a disappointment.

While some play in the kashira is quite normal at the sub US$300 price point, being able to lift it right off like that is not...

THE TSUBA

Nothing to write home about here: the Tsuba features an old Chinese warrior on the handle side and bamboo and water theme on the side of the blade (pictured below).

The Seppa are decent – and better quality than the more commonly used ‘wheel cog’ things. But the most important thing is that the assembly is tight – and this is indeed the case.

Personally, for the sake of better aesthetics, I would probably brush the embossed parts of the tsuba with some abrasive paper to further bring out the details of the pattern as it looks a little flat, but that is just me...

THE BLADE

Now, this is make or break time...

Made of 1095 carbon steel and differentially hardened, the blade offers a great deal of promise.

With just about all Samurai swords at this price point either having an awful wire brushed fake hamon, it is refreshing to look for – and find without too much difficultly - a subtle hamon line, that really is quite beautiful to behold!

Notice the attractive double hamon – I do not know if this was done purposefully or not, but it looks absolutely stunning.

Now I must admit, the hamon doesn’t just jump out at you, and is rather hard and elusive to photograph. Compared side by side with the Cheness Kaze, which I have also previously described as having a rather subtle hamon – the Kaze Hamon tends to be visible from all angles and is around 3-5 times more defined than the Ko-Buke - as you can see by the pics below where I have tried to capture them side by side.

However, while the Ko Buke’s hamon it is subtle - I think with a decent hybrid polish – it would be possible to REALLY bring it to life, and it makes it a fantastic project blade.

Speaking of polish, the blade itself is was a little rough in places, nothing too bad and acceptable at this price point, but far from a flawless finish (though the kissaski tip is a lot cleaner and nicer looking than other swords at this price point).

”However the thing that worried me a little was the blade didn’t seem particularly sharp. ..”

Certainly far from paper cutting sharp. And even though many swords with a similar hira niku (appleseed) profile may not feel all that sharp to the causal touch, this one just felt a little less sharp than that - and I had a feeling that it’s cutting straight out of the box wasn’t going to be all that impressive...

Now so far, it would seem that these Samurai swords are not really jumping out as the shining star I was hoping for...

The fittings are for the most part acceptable – though uninspiring. The blade itself had a very nice hamon, but seemed to be lacking in sharpness.

But it redeems itself quite nicely from here on out – especially with regards to its handling.

HANDLING

As soon as I picked it up, it was apparent that these Samurai swords are designed to be used. Even though it weighs 3lbs, with a balance point of 4” - and a bo-hi, it feels extremely alive in the hand.

This is a little unusual, as historically most Samurai swords tended to fall within a balance point of between 5 to 7” from the guard and weight on average around 2.5lbs (ranging from 2 to 3lbs). But despite it being somewhat strange, at the upper end of the weight category, yet lower than the usual point of balance – it comes together quite well. In other words, it may be a little strange – but it works, and is great for those who like their swords fast and nimble, yet not lacking in ‘punch’.

Swinging it through the air is rewarded with a very clear and very crisp whooshing Tachi Kaze (sword wind sound). And its recovery time is instantaneous. One slice rapidly turns into another – and it was this handling, and the speed and balance it was capable of, that made me wonder if it really did need to be all that sharp for what was to come...

CUTTING TESTS

Well made Samurai swords do not really need to be all that sharp. You would be surprised what blade geometry, speed and balance can achieve with only a moderately sharp blade.

Now as I said, I had my doubts. As I set up a variety of targets designed to really test its raw out of the box cutting ability, I really thought that I was going to have some serious trouble. I thought that it may well struggle on a water filled bottle. I was pretty certain that it wouldn’t make it through a flimsy pool noodle – which are notorious for flip flopping out of the way if the blade can’t get up to speed and doesn’t have enough of an edge to bite when it needs to bite.

And as far as Tatami Omote mats go, to be honest I had no idea how well or how badly the sword would perform.

But as you can see from the videos, I needn’t have worried...

All the tests as usual were performed with the sword right out of the box. And even though I initially had my doubts about the Keenness of this Samurai swords edge, it cleaned up every target without too much trouble at all – even cutting a full Mugen Dachi Mat clean in twain with a single slice...

CONCLUSION

It’s not easy to provide a summary for these Samurai swords...

On the one hand, they have several things going against them. The fittings are quite boring, the blade is somewhat dull and there is that looseness of the Kashira.

But on the other side, the Ko-Buke it handles like a dream, the hamon – while very subtle – is really extremely attractive, and for just over $200 – it is definitely good value for money.

Personally, I think it would be a fantastic candidate for some customisation – a good hybrid polish to bring out the hamon and touch up the edge, and maybe a more attractive tsuba swap out and tsuka upgrade.

But even out of the box, while not perfect – I was overall left with a good impression.

These Samurai swords are real ‘diamonds in the rough’, and I feel that with a few minor improvements to the peripherals, they could be an extremely serious contender... But as is, while they wouldn’t be my first choice, you could do a whole lot worse...

WHERE TO BUY

The Ko Buke and the other Valiant Armoury Samurai swords do not as yet have a very wide distribution network.

While the normal recommended retail price is $259.99 they are available at the maximum discount of 20% off the retail price here at Swords of Might along with the other 1095 blades in this line up.