Enjoyed the first rendition, even better with an actual ending..lol...this is a perfect reference video, well done....again...Matthew

Thank you for reposting and adding more content. We wondered what happened with the previous video.

Interesting. I had the conversation of samegawa panels just being placed in the tsuka core without channels chiseled in for them with Joe and I was under the impression that even the cheaper katana had channels for the samegawa but weren't done all that well and that's why you would see the Ridge line. So it looks like Joe was correct in that there were more companies than I thought that just lay them on the tsuka core. And although Jkoo/Sinosword has alot of issues with their swords I find that they provide some of the best tsuka wraps for production sword companies out of China. Nice and tight with the diamonds being quite symmetrical. The diamonds tend to be a bit on the smaller size for my liking but pretty damn tight and symmetrical none the less

Great video! There were a few points I would likely have missed. Thanks!

Good video again. I really like the added strength of a full wrap and the aesthetic of no panel lines. Not that expensive now for the skin, maybe $40-$60 depending on the quality of the samegawa. Pelgio brand even included the tail section with a wild cool spine of spikes on the tiger skin type. The only thing is when you're sanding it, man it smells like the dust of a rotten ocean.

I think patina being worn can be part of the charm if it looks natural giving the sword some history. Having only done tsuka maki a few times I'm surprised at how sloppy some of that ito is. I'm rewrapping my Cheness Tenchi Ko Kat a second time and it helped to hear my own concerns repeated. While wanting a fresh look, the panel lines in this case are not horrible, but IMO subpar. So I'll be full wrapping the samegawa. This will take some work on the core to get the transitions to the ito to be smooth but worth it.

Well, looks like ITF didn't fix that panel issue.

I am 1 out of 2 of the sword friends that noticed your old video got cut off 😂

This video was great and very informative. I have two cuestions though What do you think about buying replacement tsukas from internet? I got one for a sword on the budget side, gave the tang shape and measurements to the seller and when it arrived, I just had to drill the mekugi holes in place. Took some work to get the blade in, but it fitted nicely and I practice a lot with it. Maybe I got lucky. Secondly, whats your opinion on tsukas with no ito? Would it be a safety hazard? Becouse I think some look so good.

Hi Matt. I recently purchased a Hanwei Tori Elite from KoA. The tsuka was reasonably tight with good transitions. Diamonds were not too bad and pretty straight. The suede ito Hineri maki wrap appears to be all the same direction- non alternating at crossover - which I found odd, but not a deal breaker. Weird though, for a 1k plus item. Other than a couple of blade scratches from handling at the factory it is in solid shape for iai and batto. Thoughts?

Oh wow.. when you show that shit of them all laying out flat.. and seeing the handle end... Whatever the one that was like a copper brown.. or burned brown.. That one looked the absolute best to me. It's the one next to the white one... And if the white one was nice and tight... Omg.. I would love it so much

When you talk about hishigami o swords at the $500 or less price point not really mattering if it's there, do you think that it's because it's not done well and therefore those tsuka/ito feel no different then the ones without it?

Who is making cores at a decent price?

Personally, I prefer leather Tsuka ;)

The key to any weaponry is reliability. Katana are not reliable unless you spend over 2000 in most cases. That is why I don't own one. I'm not gonna gamble 1000us to maybe get quality

It’s a real crap shoot with the cheep swords. You sometimes get a real nice tight wrap on a $50-100. There are production lines making handles and it just depends on who wrapped the one you get. 25 women wrapping handles and only 1 or 2 do it well. So for every 100 swords there is 4-8 well done examples. Luck of the draw with the cheeper options. Sad thing is it’s reversed in the higher price swords where 1-2 of every 25 is crap and lose.

In the last month HANBON FORGE has made some significant changes to their tsuka offerings. They now offer the following for the listed additional fees: (1) Starting the week of June 6th going forward all the same'gawa panels on their tsukas will be in inlaid in channels as standard. Prior to that they were just glued on the surface of the core. (2) Full same'gawa wrap $45. (3) Hishigami ito wrap $20. Here is a video of one of their people doing the Hishigami... kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jdiaqJCXvd-ZkoU.html

This is something I just do not understand about people in this hobby. There is this constant talk about "...for a sword in this price category [flaw X] is acceptable". No. No it isn't. There are no excuses whatsoever for these shitty "China-to koshirae" with the ever same flaws ranging from wrong dimensions (usually too bulky) over using the cheapest shit materials they can find to applying pseudo-craftsmanship that ultimately shows in these lackluster results. The very first sword I ever owned, was one of these typical ~300$ China-to, because I didn't know better, and it was only when I started Iaido and bought my Japanese-made Iaito from Tozando that completely opened my eyes to how these swords should really be crafted and fitted. The difference was like day and night and I never looked back. The only acceptable thing about these Chinese or foreign in general "Katana" are probably the blades. They will get the job done and most people in this hobby are just mall ninjas cutting plastic bottles while pretending to be some battousai anyways. But the fittings? I have yet to see a China-to that doesn't disappoint in that aspect. Long story short, I do not mean to be an elitist saying "only buy Japanese made katana", but I am basically saying exactly that because the quality of non-Japanese swords is just abysmal. I understand the desire to own a real blade and how out-of-bounds a shinsakuto/shinken is due to price alone, but personally, I'd rather not have one or save up for one than throw any money at these terrible (mostly) Chinese mass producers who don't give a shit about the culture and tradition behind these weapons anyways and can't even wrap a fucking hilt reliably in most cases!