Topic: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later (Read 5,210 times)
Marc Ridgeway Senior Moderator Review Team Shortlist Candidate member is offline
"The best cost less when you buy it the first time." - Papabear
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 3,094 Location: Atlanta,Georgia Karma: 312
Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Thread Started on Jan 27, 2007, 2:09pm »
Hello again folks. It was one year ago this week that I recieved my first Masahiro "Bamboo".
My initial overly enthusiastic review on SFI , and my subsequent eBay buying guide created a lot of buzz for these swords. One year later I can say that these are perhaps the most sought after low end katana out there.
My enthusiastic praise was met with some resistance on SFI, many proclaiming the sword would last a month or less. I fervantly agreed to let the SFI community know as soon as the Bamboo failed in any way...One year later I am happy to say there is still nothing to report.
Here are the stats on the Bamboo, some are approximate:
The Bamboo are hand forged, and as such there are some variances in the stats...
I have owned several, some have a nagasa as much as .75 inches longer, these also have thinner sakikasane and narrower sakihaba.
Aesthetics
In looking at the Masahiro Bamboo, one must consider it's pricepoint. This is a sub $100 sword.
When viewed in this light, the Masahiro Bamboo is the best looking sword anywhere near it's price.
The fittings are bronze, and cast, but subtle and not overly gaudy like most in the price range.
The ito is black, and is what most of us know as the"fluffy" ito that comes on so many cheaper katana. However it is tight and even.
The same comes in panels , and is real.. a rarity in budget swords.
The hamon is etched...an improvement over the wirebrushed hamon many have...and a bit of a mystery.
One assumes swords at this price are through hardened, but several owners have reported polishing to find some wild activity.
The bohi just tapers off rather than terminates, like most economy swords.
The polish is well done...a near mirror finish every where except the hamon
The kissaki is a ko-kissaki , and counter polished.
Handling Charteristics
The Bamboo handles like a dream.
With a balance point of just 5 inches from the tsuka , this sword is lightning fast.
It seems to weigh nothing when put through kata, and one can swing it for hours without tiring.
Changing directions is effortless, as is starting or stopping momentum.
Cutting
Here is an area where the Bamboo really excells. It came sharp as a razor, and is still that way.
I have cut everything with it, and everything was cut.
It has cut thousnds of plastic bottles, dozens of bamboo stalks, rolled newspaper, mats, aluminum cans, saplings, and inadvertantly, a hard plastic planter and lumber.
From the soft targets to the hard, the Masahiro Bamboo has yet to have any trouble.
I'd be remiss here if I didn't say something about the durability. This sword has been abused really, and has showed very little effect.
The blade is still almost pristine, and everything is tight , with no wiggles. It should be noted there was a little play in the tsuba when I got it, I replaced one of the seppa with a thicker Lohman seppa, and it's been rock solid ever since , even thousands of cuts later.
In the following pictures you will see bamboo that was cut with the Bamboo, the hard plastic planter that the bamboo is on was also cut by this sword.
You will see a picture of my cutting stand ,, and the splits and cuts on it from the bamboo.
Conclusion
Everyone that likes swords should have one of these. This is a functional, durable , well made economical sword that anyone can afford.
These swords cost $49.99 on eBay, plus $25 shipping.At this price these are the best value bar none that this reviewer has ever seen.
On eBay look for it at the links I provide in my buying guide
There was a little bird who would not sing. Nobunaga said, "Little bird, if you will not sing,I'll kill you" Hideyoshi said, "Little bird, if you will not sing I'll make you sing" Tokugawa said "Little bird if you will not sing I'll wait" This is Zen
kriegschwert Swordmaster Review Team Member member is offline
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 2,766 Location: Land of Copper & Cacti, USA Karma: 102
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #1 on Jan 28, 2007, 12:04am »
Thanks for the review, Marc. I always like these one-year-later type reviews. Looks like the naysayers were wrong. It sounds like the Bamboo might be the ultimate deal in a Japanese style sword (especially for someone like me who's interest is mainly in Euro swords, but who also likes Japanese swords). I see I'm not the only one to view the Coke can as a target. I've chopped a few in my time, too.
"Few civilizations were as good at stabbing people as the Romans. I mean, Romans stabbed EVERYBODY. Legionnaires stabbed with pilums (spears) and swords. Gladiators stabbed with swords, spears and tridents. Heck even politicians got involved; practically the entire senate stabbed Julius Caesar."
-Strongblade
"I don't need a "Battle Ready" sword. "Bottle Ready" is good enough for me."
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #2 on Jan 28, 2007, 2:00pm »
Nice follow-up Marc. Good resource for Japanese style sword collectors just as your first review was. As far as being overly enthusiastic, it didn't seem that way to me.
The seppa on the blade end appears different than the one at the handle. Is it? Is that the way the sword came? Have you purchased one since they are double pegged?
Marc Ridgeway Senior Moderator Review Team Shortlist Candidate member is offline
"The best cost less when you buy it the first time." - Papabear
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 3,094 Location: Atlanta,Georgia Karma: 312
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #3 on Jan 28, 2007, 2:29pm »
Quote:
Nice follow-up Marc. Good resource for Japanese style sword collectors just as your first review was. As far as being overly enthusiastic, it didn't seem that way to me.
The seppa on the blade end appears different than the one at the handle. Is it? Is that the way the sword came? Have you purchased one since they are double pegged?
Yes, it is a Lohman seppa. It is a tad thicker, and the sword needed that mm to take out a little wiggle of the tsuba after the first hundred cuts or so.
Mine is single pegged, as were the first four I got...the newer ones have two...I suspect the forge found out it is a lot more work fitting a tsuka with one mekugi.
There was a little bird who would not sing. Nobunaga said, "Little bird, if you will not sing,I'll kill you" Hideyoshi said, "Little bird, if you will not sing I'll make you sing" Tokugawa said "Little bird if you will not sing I'll wait" This is Zen
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 1,376 Location: Australia Karma: 168
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #4 on Jan 28, 2007, 6:10pm »
Nice work there Marc - there's a Reliks gift voucher on its way to you through the ether for your efforts!
The only real issue I've heard with these swords is the consistency of the thickness of the blade - out of the four you have owned, did you pick up any major differences in this area or were they all pretty much within reasonable tolerances?
I'm also curious as to what the average price these tend to be going for on ebay one year later too...
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems.
There's an old saying about those who forget history. I don't remember it, but it's good.
Marc Ridgeway Senior Moderator Review Team Shortlist Candidate member is offline
"The best cost less when you buy it the first time." - Papabear
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 3,094 Location: Atlanta,Georgia Karma: 312
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #5 on Jan 28, 2007, 6:25pm »
Quote:
Nice work there Marc - there's a Reliks gift voucher on its way to you through the ether for your efforts!
The only real issue I've heard with these swords is the consistency of the thickness of the blade - out of the four you have owned, did you pick up any major differences in this area or were they all pretty much within reasonable tolerances?
I'm also curious as to what the average price these tend to be going for on ebay one year later too...
Hi Paul,
I kind of addressed this in the review , but should have been clearer.
The swords all looked like they were forged from the same sized billets...
However some were drawn out a little longer than others...
Since the same amount of mass is there, the ones that were .5 inches to 1 inch longer, were a bit thinner at the saki kasane...that is the thickness at the yokote.The moto kasane (thickness at mune machi) was always 7.5 mm
The first one...the one I still have, is the shortest at 27 inches, and thus the thickest....
The thinnest one I had was 28 inches long, so considerably thinner...though still at least as thick as the PK standard
A year ago the opening bid on these was $.99 , and they usually closed out at $60- $100 , though persistance could get them in the $25-$40 range....
Now the opening bid is $49.99 , so there are less bidders, and you pretty much are guranteed one for the opening bid.
BTW...thanks for the voucher...
I thought I'd do a review on the PK standard , and how to customize the PK and have a unique sword for under $300 , if there is any interest
« Last Edit: Jan 28, 2007, 6:26pm by Marc Ridgeway »
There was a little bird who would not sing. Nobunaga said, "Little bird, if you will not sing,I'll kill you" Hideyoshi said, "Little bird, if you will not sing I'll make you sing" Tokugawa said "Little bird if you will not sing I'll wait" This is Zen
"Few civilizations were as good at stabbing people as the Romans. I mean, Romans stabbed EVERYBODY. Legionnaires stabbed with pilums (spears) and swords. Gladiators stabbed with swords, spears and tridents. Heck even politicians got involved; practically the entire senate stabbed Julius Caesar."
-Strongblade
"I don't need a "Battle Ready" sword. "Bottle Ready" is good enough for me."
-Me
Marc Ridgeway Senior Moderator Review Team Shortlist Candidate member is offline
"The best cost less when you buy it the first time." - Papabear
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 3,094 Location: Atlanta,Georgia Karma: 312
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #8 on Jan 29, 2007, 4:32pm »
Quote:
Quote:
[ Now the opening bid is $49.99 , so there are less bidders, and you pretty much are guranteed one for the opening bid.
If you can find one, that is. I've searched eBay and only come up with other models of Masahiro, but not a single Bamboo.
There is no official name 'bamboo' I made that one up.
Razorsharpkatana now uses it in their auctions.
Follow the three links for them I give out in my ebay guide.
There was a little bird who would not sing. Nobunaga said, "Little bird, if you will not sing,I'll kill you" Hideyoshi said, "Little bird, if you will not sing I'll make you sing" Tokugawa said "Little bird if you will not sing I'll wait" This is Zen
kriegschwert Swordmaster Review Team Member member is offline
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 2,766 Location: Land of Copper & Cacti, USA Karma: 102
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #9 on Jan 29, 2007, 4:58pm »
"Few civilizations were as good at stabbing people as the Romans. I mean, Romans stabbed EVERYBODY. Legionnaires stabbed with pilums (spears) and swords. Gladiators stabbed with swords, spears and tridents. Heck even politicians got involved; practically the entire senate stabbed Julius Caesar."
-Strongblade
"I don't need a "Battle Ready" sword. "Bottle Ready" is good enough for me."
-Me
kriegschwert Swordmaster Review Team Member member is offline
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 2,766 Location: Land of Copper & Cacti, USA Karma: 102
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #10 on Jan 30, 2007, 12:18am »
So, the newest ones are double pegged? The ones I finally found on eBay (thanks again, Marc ) still show a single mekugi in the pics. Are these just old pics?
« Last Edit: Jan 30, 2007, 12:18am by kriegschwert »
"Few civilizations were as good at stabbing people as the Romans. I mean, Romans stabbed EVERYBODY. Legionnaires stabbed with pilums (spears) and swords. Gladiators stabbed with swords, spears and tridents. Heck even politicians got involved; practically the entire senate stabbed Julius Caesar."
-Strongblade
"I don't need a "Battle Ready" sword. "Bottle Ready" is good enough for me."
-Me
Marc Ridgeway Senior Moderator Review Team Shortlist Candidate member is offline
"The best cost less when you buy it the first time." - Papabear
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 3,094 Location: Atlanta,Georgia Karma: 312
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #11 on Jan 30, 2007, 12:19pm »
Quote:
So, the newest ones are double pegged? The ones I finally found on eBay (thanks again, Marc ) still show a single mekugi in the pics. Are these just old pics?
There was a little bird who would not sing. Nobunaga said, "Little bird, if you will not sing,I'll kill you" Hideyoshi said, "Little bird, if you will not sing I'll make you sing" Tokugawa said "Little bird if you will not sing I'll wait" This is Zen
kriegschwert Swordmaster Review Team Member member is offline
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 2,766 Location: Land of Copper & Cacti, USA Karma: 102
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #12 on Jan 30, 2007, 1:19pm »
Holy smokes, Marc! I was reading Michael Mahaffey's review on SBG and clicked on the link he provided to your original thread at SFI. You sure know how to stir up a contoversy! I salute you, sir. Seeing how people reacted in that thread makes the fact that your Bamboo has held up so well all the sweeter.
"Few civilizations were as good at stabbing people as the Romans. I mean, Romans stabbed EVERYBODY. Legionnaires stabbed with pilums (spears) and swords. Gladiators stabbed with swords, spears and tridents. Heck even politicians got involved; practically the entire senate stabbed Julius Caesar."
-Strongblade
"I don't need a "Battle Ready" sword. "Bottle Ready" is good enough for me."
-Me
Marc Ridgeway Senior Moderator Review Team Shortlist Candidate member is offline
"The best cost less when you buy it the first time." - Papabear
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 3,094 Location: Atlanta,Georgia Karma: 312
Re: Masahiro "Bamboo" : One Year Later « Reply #13 on Jan 30, 2007, 2:26pm »
Yeah, that's nothing...there were several threads after that that were nastier. I was even threatened in a PM.
Thanks for karma...you know what they say about karma...goes around comes around, so ...one back at ya
There was a little bird who would not sing. Nobunaga said, "Little bird, if you will not sing,I'll kill you" Hideyoshi said, "Little bird, if you will not sing I'll make you sing" Tokugawa said "Little bird if you will not sing I'll wait" This is Zen
Please note: All reviews submitted here may be edited and brought across to Sword Buyers Guide as a featured review there. Such editing will be limited to minor textual changes (such as the insertion of keywords specific to the review so that it may be found in search engines), spelling corrections and possibly a clearly seperate recommendation by the editor as to where to buy.
Support the forum, and get yourself a great deal, by shopping at:
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the members of this forum are solely those of the commenting forum members. The Sword Buyers Guide (SBG) does not necessarily support the statements made by forum members, and administrators reserve the right to edit or delete offensive or offending statements. Staff of the SBG are committed to responsible sword ownership and use, and under no circumstances condone the use of a sword on another living being or any unsafe practices with live blades. The destructive tests shown on the SBG main page are done under controlled conditions and should never be replicated. The SBG is not responsible for any illegal use, unsafe practice, or use causing bodily harm performed by forum members or guests involving swords.
![[Home]](http://s2.images.proboards.com/menu/home.gif "[Home]")
![[Help]](http://s2.images.proboards.com/menu/help.gif "[Help]")
![[Search]](http://s2.images.proboards.com/menu/search.gif "[Search]")
![[Login]](http://s2.images.proboards.com/menu/login.gif "[Login]")
![[Register]](http://s2.images.proboards.com/menu/register.gif "[Register]")
![[Search This Thread]](http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss99/SBG-Paul/search.gif "[Search This Thread]")
![[Send Topic To Friend]](http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss99/SBG-Paul/sendtopic.gif "[Send Topic To Friend]")
![[Print]](http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss99/SBG-Paul/print.gif "[Print]")
Author
![[avatar]](http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/1286/0517091151a.jpg "[avatar]")
![[homepage]](http://s2.images.proboards.com/buttons/www_sm.gif "[homepage]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/1364/img0144mediumnt0.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/5928/img0153mediumjy0.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4538/img0163mediumse4.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/1663/img0147mediumhy9.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/3177/img0149mediumzv4.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/3149/img0150mediumgp5.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/2039/attachmentoz5.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4757/img0168mediumjn4.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6603/img0169mediumuy7.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/7930/img0148mediumhd0.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/2954/img0145mediumlq8.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/1539/img0152mediumzs8.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3949/img0165mediumzh9.jpg "[image]")
Logged
![[avatar]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/GSH70/sbgf2-1.jpg "[avatar]")
I've chopped a few in my time, too. 
![[avatar]](http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/images/avatar.gif "[avatar]"){kind=avatar}
![[image]](http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/imgs/logo.jpg "[image]"){kind=logo}
You sure know how to stir up a contoversy!