Kawashima swords??

by Xian
(Canada)

QUESTION: Swords of might has a new line of swords from kawashima swords, can u tell me anything about the brand? Right now my favorite brands are musashi swords and cheness cutlery. I have 2 musashi swords and am planning to buy a third from the 150's series, as for cheness... i cant afford one yet lol, im planning to buy from ur site within the year hoping that i can catch one when its in stock. Just asking if kawashima is a good brand or if you have reviews in your site about them.

P.S. the musashi's i own are all thanks to you and your site!!

ANSWER: Hi Xian,

There is a lot of hype around Kawashima Swords, including some claim that they are made in Japan, are the best value for money out there, yada, yada, yada...

However, I believe that Jason at SoM has pointed out that they are made by one of the forges that produces Masahiro - and if you look at the fittings, etc - they are pretty much generic low end Katana...

However, there are better choices out there - there will soon be a review on the main site done by a SBG member that shows that they have a lot of plastic parts in their construction that, in his review, broke during light cutting tests (tatami and waterbottles) and the fake wire brushed hamon looks pretty horrific...

At first I was as keen as everyone else to see what, if anything, the fuss was about.. But I'm sorry to say, there isn't much there at all...

- Paul

Comments for Kawashima swords??

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Appeal to common sense
by: Caleb

This is my humble opinion: if you are a company that makes swords, there are a few possibilities:

a) Your stuff is good quality and your claims about it is true
b) Your stuff is good quality and your claims about it is false (claiming it better than it is)
c) Your stuff is crap and your claims are true
d) Your stuff is crap and your claims are false

Which is why--for crying out loud!--$120 USD for a "made in Japan" sounds automatically to me to be a LIE. When the heck is anything made in Japan that cheap? Give me an example! No, from my experience, even the miniture plastic molded "samurai sword model" are not cheap; in general, a lot of GENUINE Japanese SOUVENIR is not cheap, let alone functional swords.

When your stuff is crap, you DON'T want to tell the truth. Why would anyone want to buy crap? That is why companies would lie. "Kawashima"--if that is its real name--did just that, and did it WAY over the top IMHO.

Please, go with Hanwai, Chenness, or even Masahiro. Hanwai has been long enough to have its lies revealed so they more-or-less tell the truth now; Chenness is rigorously tested here at SBG (a lot of Chenness posts are in Sword Forum Internation too), and Masahiro is in the same price range as Kawashima only it, like the other two, have quite a bit of information accessible to you.

Rave reviews
by: Anonymous

I have actually heard more good reviews then bad on these katanas. Apparently they come shaving sharp and are very solid from what I get at the SOM forum and other various places. I have the hayari coming from Swords of the East soon......i'll give you all my opinion once it gets here.

kawashima
by: Anonymous

experiance first hand the kawashimas kats are brilliant, give them a chance there new.

they cutt great , look great , so far the one i have has had not cosmetic problem at all . Give it a year and this brand will be doing great.

everyone was bitchin them when they first came out.

KAWASHIMA SWORDS
by: Y.B

WHERE CAN I FIND SOME ? I HAD A SITE BUT THEY REMOVED ALL OF THERE KAWASHIMA STOCK AND THEY SAY THEY WONT HAVE ANYMORE? just when i wanted too buy them!!!!

kawashima hayari katana
by: roger williams

i just bought a hayari katana. The menuki appear to be plastic, all the other hardware is copper or brass. Its thick heavy and a good cutter. If you're looking for a good practice sword with the heft of an authentic nihonto and the ability to cut medium to hard targets this is a good buy.I have a masahiro and i consider it a beater.

Kawashima Katana
by: Anonymous

I own a Kawashima that I have used in several competitions and have found them to be VERY satisfactory...as for being made in Japan...who cares??? If the steel does what it claims to, geography doesn't matter. I also believe they sell different levels of steel as well...1045, 1065, and 1095...the one I have is 1095 and suited for heavy cutting...as for the acid brushed hamon...mine is genuine, and if you have one with an etched hamon, chances are, it's a counterfeit. It is my experience that even bad steel is better than no steel at all, and if it has an edge...even better. I guess what folks should be asking, is why they are buying a sword in the first place...if your buying a blade for competition cutting...these are good for the money...if your buying a katana thats going to sit on your wall or a shelf somewhere...who cares whether it can cut or not if it looks good...and if you're looking for a blade that will slice bullets and chop cement like it's butter......they dont exist.

weird
by: Anonymous

suppsoed made in japan blades with chinese hardware...i dont believe it.some1 prove me wrong

same
by: Anonymous

these are both produced by Zhejiang Zhengs Sword Co., Ltd

Corrections
by: Anonymous

Where did you see a kawashima for 150 that said made in Japan, they are in the 800 to 1000 range.

As others have said the blade is made in Japan the rest in china, simple as that, there are docs to prove that, if someone goes so far to forge all that then they are wasting the same amount of money and time it would take for it to be legit.

I never seen anything Kawashima listed at 150 I think you are just speaking out on something you didn't research or are greatly mistaken and maybe you're referring to a different brand like Ryumon or something.

As for cutting, like the gentleman said earlier, the 1095 cuts awesome.

I guess you could complain about the Chinese parts, not because it's made in China but if anything that is what might be lacking a bit on some of them.

thanks
by: Jhon

Your right, I have many Kawashima swords on my site http://takumiwarrior.com

And they ALL say made in Japan, highest quality, etc...

Thanks for the info, maybe I will stop carrying so many of them.

The other thing is that these swords are NOT cheap at all!

I'm kind of surprised to hear that they aren't as "high quality" as they claim to be.

Thanks for the heads up!

made in china
by: Anonymous

Kawashima Swords are fully made by Zhejiang Zhengs Sword Co., Ltd. located in Zhejiang, China Mainland.
I guess they chose the Brand name "Kawashima" after the famous japanese/chinese female Spy Aisin Gioro Xianyu (japanese name was Kawashima Yoshiko)

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