Samurai Tanto Sword, 1045 Carbon Steel, Hand Forged, Full Tang

The wave tsuba tanto... Beautiful. I can only speak as a novice, as this large tanto is my first sword, but the more I look it over and research online and compare and learn, the more I'm impressed and believe I chose well for my first. The fittings are nice and tight and feel like nice sturdy quality, and has what I believe is called a hamidashi tsuba (a small sized oval guard more traditional to a tanto if/when they have one). The only thing I noticed missing, and I don't know if it was a fluke on mine or a change in the manufacturing, is that the gold-tone pieces at the holes on either side of the kashira (buttcap) are missing. But it's minor and don't mind that they aren't there. I gladly trade those for something else I found that I'll get to... (And without them I could peek into the holes and see that the handle is indeed wooden and the kashira sits over it, not just against the end of it.) The cotton ito (wrapping on the handle) is also very tight and feels sturdy and I'm pleased to see that it also properly alternates direction in the crossovers. (Many lower priced swords do not.) Likewise, the sageo cord on the saya (scabbard) came tied well and is decent quality for this price range. The ray skin by my research seems to be indeed real. Is it high end, no, the nodules are small, but for the price it's decent. The fit of it with the peg is slightly messy, but for what I paid I consider it minor. The tanto feels pretty good in hand, too. Has a good weight, I believe pretty good balance, and I love the large size of it. I don't intend on doing much cutting of things and have not so I can't accurately state on opinion of the edge, but touching it very carefully and lightly prior to cleaning and re-oiling (it arrived pretty messy, as it should to protect the carbon steel), it indeed feels like it is no doubt razor sharp. I wasn't overly sure about the "piano lacquered" saya at first, as I wasn't sure what to expect in that regard... The feel of it could be mistaken for plastic, though I noticed the underside of the knob on the saya (that the sageo ties to) appears only painted black, missing the lacquer, and is clearly wood. Mine also fits very snug together with the sword, as it should. (Enough so that my left hand thumb can't even separate it and have to use the right then switch hands.) That all said, one thing that surprised me and I'd hoped for but did not expect given that there is no hint of it in the example images (and is the thing I said I'd get to) was finding the hamon/temper line on it! Now... I believe it is likely only cosmetic, not real, as it appears to my eye that the same line is on both sides, but reversed from each other, nor see any boshi (hamon on the curved end) instead stopping at the dividing line (yokote); HOWEVER, if it is a fake hamon it is a really well done fake. I've looked at many fakes online and seen what they tend to look like... and at this point I still can't figure out how they created this one if it isn't real. (And would love to know.) To my understanding, fakes supposedly tend to be obvious and seen from any angle; they don't generally need to be viewed under the right lighting at the right angle. If this one is a fake...it behaves like it's real and it looks like some of the real ones I've seen online sans polishing or other enhancements to make them white. In the right light and angle this one clearly pops out. (I will include a couple of photos of mine.) Again, given the cost, if the hamon is fake I'm alright with that... The process that adds a real one as a byproduct can add a lot more time to the making of a sword, and therefor likely have a higher price tag than this, but I love that it's at least well done. (Though I'd be thrilled if it was real.) The sword bag it comes in is simply black with white on the inside; nothing fancy but still nicely made. (I'm guessing it's cotton?) The packaging was excellent. The sword came in a tough round tube, supported and padded inside by a few rings and circles of Styrofoam so it can't move, then the tube was placed inside a snug box that was then inside a larger shipping box. I doubt that the sword certificate is anything special or individually made, though I've had fun trying to decipher it online.

Hello, First off, I got this as a good quality show piece, don't plant to cut anyone, but if need be, this will do the job very well. This is an awesome, fantastic, <insert more praise> piece. It really does look good. Handle is a bit longer then you expect. The blade is a bit thinner then at the end then in the beginning. It feels very solid, very well put together. It fits great/snug into the (very good looking) black sheath (there's a proper Japanese name for it, but I don't remember it). if you're looking for something pretty to put on the mental, look no further, it's about as real as it gets ... ... which is a nice segway into: it's a real weapon. Do be careful, tip is sharp, the blade is sharp. Dulls a bit quickly though. It comes a bit too oiled frankly. But it's not a for-show "knife", it's a proper combat tanto, it won't slice through as well as some thinner knifes, but it will cut as well or better then you'd expect if you use it as one uses a tanto. Recommended if you are looking for quality show piece or non-standard looking combat weapon. (or a showpiece that you can use as self defense if need be).

I had purchased the sharpened 1045 carbon steel version of this tanto before getting this fully sharpened 1080 version but decided I would rather have a sharper one, so I returned the 1045 version to buy this one. This 1080 version is much sharper, so I'm glad I made the change. However, both versions are very good. For the price difference though, I believe it is worth it to get this one. I also have a 1095 carbon steel Katana made by Handmade Sword as well as an unsharpened stainless steel Katana from them as well. All of these are excellent! The 1095 Katana looks identical to the stainless steel unsharpened version, but when someone wants to hold a sword, I hand them the stainless steel version for safety. All three of these Handmade Swords are very good, especially for the money. Very hard to beat the look and the quality of these swords. Highly recommended!

I ordered this sword after disappointing previuos purchase of Ryumon sword. This is a high quality product. Looks great, feels solid and came sharpened. Pure pleasure to hold and practice. The only downside is it does not fit tight in saya and tends to fall out if you not careful. Stay focus this thing - it may hurt you bad. Overall it is an impressive blade. Highly recommended.

This is a surprisingly nice tanto for the money. Build is solid and on the heavy/large side, with a secure fit between the tsuka and the blade. May be too big to be practical if you are an iaido practitioner, but is quite lovely looking. Fittings are nice and the wave theme is attractive without being gaudy. Koiguchi is not horn, but wood is well fitted and there is an appropriately firm fit with the habaki.

This turned out to be an incredible buy for the price! Well made, well put together and very sharp out of the box! Wish they made a matching katana!

I was amazed at the quality of the tanto! For the price I was expecting a iron blade and paracord wrapping but the blade is good, the fittings are tight. The edge is sharp out the box but needs some fine tuning. Overall I am very happy with this weapon. I will purchase again from this company.

Lots of quality materials and workmanship for the price but overall quality is only ok. Handle is overly long, lacquer on scabbard is covered by fine scratches,cotton wrap is snug but not tight,gold plated menuki is tacky and unattractive, worst of all saya fit is far too loose allowing the blade to easily fall out. Pros: Polish is pretty good,edge is reasonably sharp,genuine ray skin,wood tsuka and saya, steel tsuba-very strong,cotton ito. An interesting and confusing Tanto. My grade for it would be a C- . Packed for shiping very well in both a box and heavy duty tube with foam inserts.

Beautiful looking sword. Great quality for asking price. Arrived well within time allotted. Very well constructed and nicely sharp blade. I am very pleased to have this sword as part of my collection

It is very nice . Well made . There was one very small scratch on the blade and a very little one on the syha. What did bother me is that it is not that sharp . I may take it in to be sharpened. Still it looks and feels the part .

Vraiment bien fait, mais faite attention car il est tranchant vraiment tranchant je ne peux pas croire que nous sommes en mesure d'avoir des items qui sont à ce point tranchant sur Amazon c'est la raison que je donne 2 étoiles. J'ai tranché une feuille de papier comme si je serais dans du beurre