By Russell McCartney, August 14, 2000. 

When Last Legend told me they had a blade they wanted me to test specifically made for test cutting, I wondered how it might stack up to the likes of say a 'gunto' (WWII neo army sword); especially when they told me it had a projected cost of under $800.00. Now, after I have tested the blade, an old adage comes to mind, "how do you build a better mouse trap?" Well, the first thing you do is find the best example you can find, work within the limits of your projected cost, budget, and materials; and be as innovative as possible. This is exactly what Last Legend has done. After the long wait the first prototype of the Spirit of the Shogun Series katana arrived at the IYR Honbu dojo here in Seattle for testing. The following results are what we discovered over the past two weeks. 

The Finish and Appearance:

The katana, kake, and maintenance kit all come in nice black Japanese type lacquer. The unique matching stand also has an attractive shelf for the maintenance kit. They all carry a nicely done gold MON crest and the entire package is an excellent compliment to any den, study, or family room. The color scheme on the sword and the felt accent pads on the stand for the sword and kit holder all match as they should, and are not shade contrasting. Though the lacquer on the saya, stand, and maintenance kit are not premium Japanese quality (nothing else is) it looks very good and only on very close inspection do some minor irregularities appear. 

The Fittings: 

From the lacquer to the gold mon logo, the matching scheme tsuba, the mon fuchi and shogun kashira end caps, and the shogun on horseback menuki, it is clear there was a lot of thought into this sword as a theme piece. Last Legend requested cotton ito for practicality and to also keep the cost down, and it provides a stable grip. The wrapping on the handle is very tight and the diamonds are consistent in shape. The habaki collar is smooth polished brass and the seppa are of file type design and are highly polished brass as well. The shitodome' loop eyelet saver on the kurikata tab for the sageo, and at the kashira for the ito on the handle, are slightly darker than the high polished brass of the habaki, but for the price of this unit it is a forgivable inconsistency. The entire color scheme of the rest of the metal furniture parts are very even and the metal appears to be a high quality steel with a nice ring to it when lightly struck with a fingernail. 

The figures on the tsuba, fuchi, kashira, and menuki, all are cast with good clarity. The tsuba has a scene on each side. One side has a likeness of Oda Nobunaga holding a gold accent katana unceremoniously on his shoulder with his right hand, and an Uri water gourd in his left hand, no doubt tired from his war exploits. The other side, my favorite scene, is two attackers with yari spears against one samurai with a katana, all three in armor. This side is more subdued and subtle in design. I would like to see more of this style in the furniture design in future furniture castings. 

The handle is also double pinned, a standard for all good test cutting blades. This makes the cut happen with a very solid feel, with no feeling of separation for the cutter (more on that later). The tsuka is at eleven and one-eighth inches in length. This will fit everyone comfortably without unnecessary excessive length. The handle is shaped very well and even my favorite handle wrapper was impressed with the quality. The entire package works very well and performed beyond my expectations. The entire handle fits tight just as it should. 

The Blade: 

The shape of the blade has light sori, just one half an inch. The nearest comparison is to the Golden Oriole, and this isn't really worth mentioning. This blade is stout yet far from feeling clumsy. This was the most pleasant surprise of all. On old high quality swords one finds the balance as though it takes you to the target or swing. This is certainly the case here. This blade just wants to go to the cut. Don't mistake this for tip heaviness. That is something quite different. This is primarily because of the very well-shaped width, length, and depth of the nakago (tang). It only took a few swings to really understand this blade which is made for target test cutting. The blade comes in a satin finish below the shinogi line to the edge, and the hamon temperline is a nice undulating wave design at a sound 58-59 RC that sharpens easier and takes a better edge than any of the previous Chen blades. The area above the shinogi line is mirror polished and Last Legend tells me the mune ridge is at 42 RC. This would explain how there is virtually no rumble back through the blade to the handle when test cutting. The soft ridge area absorbs virtually any and all shock from the cutting impact. 

The Performance:

Though it was sharp enough to cut full goza when we got it, we did decide to put a tournament edge on to really see what it would be capable of under more tournament like test cutting conditions. The blade performed very well, actually exceeding my expectations. From a simple approach the blade had a solid feel through the cut and the handle felt solid at the stop, as would a sword at four times the price. The Shogun then went on to cut gaishi cuts (quick diagonals), first down then up, in rapid succession. This takes a well balanced blade to maintain its line through the exercise. Near the end of the first round I eventually added horizontal yokogiri cuts where the sword maintained the same rock-solid performance as the first cut on the fresh edge. This is a sword to be used, but as in any test cutting, one must always pay very close attention to technique. Particularly with beginners who may think this sword will do everything for them, NOT SO! Beginners typically lean toward too much power which changes the cutting line. Moreover, the sword does have some weight to it and an overzealous swing will send the tip into the floor if the essentials of braking are not in place. 

After my initial test cuts it was the student's turn. Curtis, who won the Tameshigiri division last year at the tournament here, was the next up for the Shogun. He is not the senior student of the blackbelts, but he does have a Golden Oriole as his regular blade which was his award from his first place finish in 1999 novice division, and I was very curious to hear his comments. He cut very well with the Shogun and the smile on his face after was all I needed to tell me what he thought. His first comment was "How much$?", and his second was "I think I have to have one of these." We compared his Golden Oriole and the Shogun side by side and the difference was profound. The Golden Oriole is an excellent cutting blade, but it actually looks small and weak compared to the Shogun. Not that it really is, but it is mostly because the Shogun is so much more shaped as a true working test cutting blade should be. It is deep through the shinogi ji yet not so much so that it looks too wide. The line has been maintained in such a way that it could be used for real combat. Here I must qualify my statement. Live combat dosen't really exist, nor should it really exist in our society at large. Yet the idea of having a blade which structurally would hold up to that sort of encounter and activity means it is strongly built with a proper shinogi blocking line. This means it will hold up to that sort of activity and not dramatically fail in the process. This is the principle of construction sought after by Japanese smiths for hundreds of years. The weight and handle of the Shogun are far more appealing to most practitioners than the overt handle length of the Golden Oriole. We have custom shortening services available at Stonehouse Supplies for those long handles. Curtis had this done to his Golden Oriole, and even then, he still felt that the Shogun was far superior in every way. He thought it was faster in cutting and transition from cut to cut making it easier to handle due to the weight and balance superiority. (At the writing of this report Curtis has ordered his Takeda Shingen Shogun for this tournament season with the Golden Oriole to be shelved for this 2000 season.) About ten students later in the process, the second place finisher at last year¹s tournament got his chance at the Shogun. Brian is one of the most technically sound members of the blackbelts here, and is only a shodan, for now. He really is someone to watch for future tournament activity. As a student in a masters program at the U of W, he is on scholarship here at IYR. He cut extremely well with his usual quiet composure. When asked what he thought, with a wide grin he said "I love It!" Brian hasn't been able to afford a blade, as a nearly starving student, so he gets to cut with any of the five dojo blades for the mudansha students here. These dojo blades range from Japan gunto and Showato, to Korean blades of three different blade metal varieties as well as the Nosyu blades from China. Next to me, he has the most experience cutting with different blades of anyone in the dojo. Though heavier than four of five of the dojo blades, he handled the Shogun with his usual clarity.

The sword had cut about sixty times by our blackbelts and it was once again my turn. I proceeded to cut two goza and then three targets together. The blade flew through the targets with no resistance. We had gone through all the targets for the time being and the Shogun had smiles on everyone¹s faces. I was intrigued enough at this sword that I really thought it could do more than what we had put it through. Now it was time to give it the big test of upper level tournament round test cutting. Several more cuts later at the following night's training session led to speed work for the Shogun. Mizu gaeshi, the water cut, is performed by cutting the upward diagonal then cutting the cut piece before it falls. Due to being just unfamiliar enough with the blade I missed the first cut but moved right on to the the next target and nailed the cut. Its balance again worked just the way it should by offsetting the extra weight of the blade. The biggest test was next as I moved to the multiple target stand of four 'goza' lined up vertically, side by side. I approached the targets and literally blazed through with a kesa the downward diagonal. I was amazed! There was almost no perceivable resistance. And to top it all, the edge had not been touched since the initial sharpening, now at 140 cuts into this test since we began. And this is a sword that will probably be selling in the $600-$700 range! Far and away, this is the most sword for the money anywhere. 

Summary:

The fittings, handle wrap, lacquer, and the entire package speak of a sword at two to three times the price. Though through testing some poor cuts happened when the blade was stressed to the point where many other blades would have bent, it maintained its integrity. I highly recommend this blade for anyone who wants to target test cut in dojo, and particularly tournament settings. Far and away as Last Legend stresses in their ad copy, dollar for dollar, it is the best package for overall looks and performance on the market today. Last Legend and their retailers could have easily charged much more for this sword.