MAKOTOHandmade Sharp Katana Black Samurai Sword 40"

I like this katana, the full tang blade and handle align well, the Two Gold Leaf Tsuba is nicely done with good detail. The blade is fairly sharp and a little touch up with a fine Arkansas Stone made it good. The weight is about right although a few ounces heavier than my WW ll katana It is worth the money and I have ordered 2 more for presents.

This is NOT a Musha.Musashi - For some reason, this sword was displayed at the top of the results when searching "Musashi Katana" and I ordered it without worrying too much about it, as it's under $50 anyway and just assumed Makoto was the distributor. Again, the brand is Makoto NOT Musha!That being said, I'm very satisfied with this sword. It came pre-oiled and looked a bit nasty, but simply wiping the blade with a very soft cloth made it shine beautifully and kept enough oil on the blade to not require re-oiling before display.Full Tang, very sturdy, nothing loose, sharp blade - though not razor sharp, this blade could still EASILY end an intruder's life, much better for home defense than a baseball bat (though I still suggest a firearm over a sword).I'm using mine mostly for display, so I can't say how it holds up against actual use, but I highly doubt the blade will easily bend and if cared for correctly won't rust (just clean it well after use)It arrived inside of a sword-bag and the entire sword was held in place by Styrofoam. Not the best packaging, but unless something severe were to happen, I believe the packaging is good enough to protect the product in most cases.Overall, for $45, it seems to be a very great sword.

First of all, this is my first overall katana of more than just a display quality of slightly lower cost. Though it's still a lower end, budget katana, I'm still impressed with it, for the most part, getting it primarily for display, but to also admire it's feel and taking it out of the saya here and there, holding it in hand. Feels nice and sharp edge. The hamon has a nice wave to it, the saya has a nice matte black look to it, and the tsuka is a nice look, well wrapped and looks to be a very standard/typical, good quality I expected. Also, the blade slides in nice and locks in solid into the saya with the habaki feeling to be a great sturdy fit.However, the tsuba and metal on the end of the saya with the koiguchi look weathered, not antique or slightly worn look that makes it more authentic/aged, but looks to be on the verge of rusted, I guess. There is a discoloration (see photos) that definitely does not look like the images of the product page. It looks borderline bad, but not to the point where I am going to seriously drop stars for it. For the total price of $50.00 as a katana, I'm impressed, but would think it wouldn't be difficult for the manufacturer to have made sure the tsuba and other decorative piece of the koiguchi end with a nicer basic look as are pictured (I wouldn't have thought they could look weathered/rusted looking as they do). I may try to paint them a matte black that I have already at home, but that may take them to the other spectrum of looking too "one-colored" solid colored, and not that slightly worn look that, again, I was expecting as product picture.One other thing is on the side of the koiguchi decorative metal piece leading to the rest of the saya, there is some glue showing coming out of the edge. Looks a little bit sloppy, but it's also not too obvious unless being analyzed up close, not something someone would notice while its hanging on the wall mount.Would I still recommend this sword? Mostly, but not certainly. I found some other katanas out there with great look and with hundreds of review as high if not higher review stars, but started looking into those after having originally decided on this Makoto katana, getting it and seeing the mentioned defects. There are a lot of options out there, but this is a nice looking katana that is great for display, but not so much for up close observation.

I should start by mentioning that I have no expertise with swords. Considering I'm reviewing a budget katana, you probably already knew that.This purchase was a gift for a friend. However, after opening the box and inspecting the item prior to gifting it, I have to say I wanted to keep it for myself. I found the sword rather hefty (but not overly so) and seemingly well put together. The sword seemed solid and, judging by the two bamboo pegs holding the handle together, I'm assuming it is full tang as claimed. The blade was straight and well polished with a fairly sharp edge (sharp but not razor sharp). The hamon was wire brushed on but what do you expect for a $50 sword? The sheath was made of a lacquered wood which did not appear to have any flaws or cracks and fit the sword well when inserted. When I inverted the entire thing, the sword did not fall out.I have no doubt this sword is nowhere near the quality of higher priced katanas, but it's not meant to be. It's an ornamental decoration that could probably be used to finally achieve your dream of becoming a real life fruit ninja.. However, for its price, it is much more refined and well built than it should be. Needless to say, my friend was pleased with his gift.