Product Review: Hand Forged Ninja Sword

Some people say that the straight bladed ninja sword never existed in feudal Japan. That ALL swords were curved, and that the whole straight blade and square tsuba look was created for the Sho Kosugi ninja movies during the 1980’s. However, there was such a weapon used by the Ashigaru. The Ashigaru were foot-soldiers throughout feudal japan. They were not of Samurai class, but rather the paramilitaries of their day. They specialized in guerrilla warfare. Some became mercenaries.  Assassins to the highest bidder. Doe’s this sound familiar?

Asigaru Wielding Straight Bladed Swords.

Asigaru Wielding Straight Bladed Swords.

Samurai Wielding a Naginata.

The Ashigaru had the skills and the intelligence to fashion their own crude sword-like weapons from pole-arms such as the naginata. Crude as they were – they were effective weapons.

If you check out the graphic (below) you may be able to spot the similarities between the naginata (pole-arm) and the chokuto (straight, single edged sword). This supports the theory that the Ashigaru may have produced their own improvised weapons.

Japanese Swords

Here is the latest addition to my collection. The Hand Forged Ninja Sword that I purchased from the Blades UK Clearance Facebook page. This item was reduced in price to only £26 – due to some small dents on the saya, but you can hardly see them at all. It’s hand forged with carbon steel. It has a real ray skin tsuka, and it’s ultra sharp. The blade itself is unblemished. Immaculate. It is NOT the exact same size as the commercial ninjato that are available over the internet. It’s blade length and handle length is the same as a standard katana. If anything its more Ashigaru than it is ninja! A more appropriate name for this sword would be the chokutō instead of the ninjato.

Hanwei ninja swords can cost anything from £240 – £448. They do have shorter straight blades and a square tsuba – just like the movie ninja sword. It may be made of a higher grade carbon steel than some other brands of ninjato. If you are looking for a bargain I can recommend a visit to the Blades UK Clearance Facebook page and don’t forget to click the like and follow buttons.

I don’t buy cheap swords – I buy swords cheap!
Please practice responsibly, and enjoy your budo.
Chris.

Product Review: Shinobigatna / Shinobi Katana

The Shinobigatana / Shinobi Katana is “allegedly” a sword carried by the ninja of Feudal Japan. It is fashioned with the intention to deceive the opponent into thinking that the ninja – or shinobi were caring standard sized katana, or a similar blade. However, the blade length was allegedly much shorter than that of a katana – thus, allowing the swowd-man to execute a faster draw than his opponent. The shorter blade makes the sword much easier to use than the standard katana in tightly confined spaces. Say a small corridor -for example…

My Custom Made Shinobigatana

Mine is NOT the official Bujinkan one. It’s not made to the exact same sizes and specifications, but I consider it a damn good near match. This bad boy was custom made by an EBay seller (Samurai X) – who was selling hand a forged wakizashi. The seller was offering to customize the sword for no extra cost. You could chose your own color of saya, rayskin, type of hand-guard, and so on… So I asked the seller if he could remove the standard sized handle (tsuka) and add a larger nodachi sized handle. Also I asked if they I could change to a katana sized saya. …and I’m more than satisfied with the result.

Below, is a link to the sellers eBay page. I can recommend this service/product 100%.
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/381646938989

Size Comparison:
Top = Nagamaki. Center = Shinobigatana. Bottom = Ninjato.

If you wish to purchase the official “Cheness Oniyuri Katana” from oriental-weaponry.co.uk this item will cost you the pricey sum of £332.30 / €448.61. …and some of them don’t even have the bo-hi (blood groove)! …Anyone who knows their swords – knows that a blade with a blood-groove is far more effective for stabbing applications. I guess the purple haired punk-rocking pensioner Masaaki Hatsumi must have had a “senior moment” or a “brain fart” when he designed the original model.

If you wish to go for something more affordable (and effective) – I recommend that you visit the eBay link and contact the seller. I found the seller would always reply to my messages within 24 hours. He asked me to “please wait patiently while he assembled the sword”, and I received it in the post in just over one week from the date of purchase. It cost me ONLY £83 in total. This sword is excellent value for money. It looks deadly awesome, and feels great to handle and maneuver.

Martial Arts should be affordable in my opinion.
Please practice responsibly, and enjoy your budo.
Chris.