"Part of a new 1060 high carbon series from Musashi, the focus of this production was to forge the best blade possible for under $100. With the result being well within that goal, this blade is nothing short of an excellent value.

Handmade, the blade is thick and comes extremely sharp. Like the more expensive models this blade can even be bent 45 degrees. To keep costs low the tsuba on this model is made with a machine process instead of using a handmade tsuba (as seen on the Elite series). The tsuba and other fittings look very good and are well suited for this model. This sword is well balanced and the tight handle wrap feels great. Comes complete with a black cotton storage bag and Musashi retail box.

• Traditional hand forge Muku-kitae method.
  
• 1060 High Carbon Steel.
  
• 55 HRC blade hardness.
  
• Hamon and hardness created with temper process.
  
• Real hamon, not wire brushed or printed.
  
• Real ray skin wrapped grip with black cotton cord wrap.
  
• Extremely sharp hand honed edge.
  
• Steel Tsuba, fuchi, and kashira; Brass habaki.
  
• Can be disassembled for care or display.
  
• Dual bamboo mekugi (peg), hardwood handle.
  
• Hardwood scabbard with high quality piano paint finish.
  
• 39 3/4 in. overall, 27 1/2 in. blade, 10 3/4 in. handle.
  
• Includes black cotton sword storage/carry bag." - www.trueswords.com
  

I ordered this sword from Trueswords.com a few weeks ago. This was my 6th order from them and they have never let me down once. The order was placed Thursday at around 9:00am and arrived at my door the very next Friday at around noon. The reason I chose this sword was due to the extraordinarily low cost, the plainer looking Tsuba, and the fact that I owned cheaper Musashi swords that were impressive in their own right.
I could tell this was a great sword just by taking it out of the box. The first features I began to notice was the nicely wrapped handle and Tsuba (hand guard). They both felt very high in quality and most importantly, in place. I opted for this particular Tsuba because of personal taste. TS.com happens to carry other styles of this exact same blade with different Tsuba's and Saya's (the Scabbard). Pulling the sword from the Saya the first time was a delight because you notice that difference between a handmade sword like this one over anything else immediately. This Saya was made for this Katana. It almost feels like it's held in place by magnets. Overall, this sword was better than I expected. It came in perfect condition and I couldn't wait to start testing it out.




The next test was similar to the first but I added a bigger bottle. This time I used an empty protein powder container from GNC and filled it with water as well. Taking extra care to hit it at the right angle and with the right speed paid off as my blade parted the protein container like butter. This was the first time I used this type of container but after the first test I wasn't too suprised with the outcome.

Finally, on to some real tests. This time, I've opted for a more traditional method of testing by using Tatami mats rolled up. This is supposed to have the same amount of "give" that human skin has. Traditionally, you would add a bamboo stick in the middle, which would add the density of bone, but I could only find the mats. After testing this out, I am confident in saying that this Katana would not be a BAD choice in a zombie outbreak. It cut right through it with such ease that I can imagine rotting flesh would be dominated.

As for it's long time structural integrity, I cannot say. Not because it has given me any indication that it would fail, I simply have only done minor testing with it. The description says it can be bent to 45 degrees and would return back to it's original structure but I don't have the tools to try this. I can say that if a zombie, or anyone for that matter, was attacking me, this is one of the first weapons I would grab from MY arsenal. And my list includes a Cold Steel. Another bonus of this sword was that it comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.


I am giving this fine Katana a rating of 4 out of 5 zombie heads(Excellent) It is going to take an exceptional weapon for me to rate 5/5. This was a great weapon for a great price but but not extraordinary exceptional. For the price, I think this is going to be a hard Katana to beat.