Last Legend Taketoshi Nohara Grade 2

Well, after seven months of waiting, I received my Taketoshi katana from Last Legend. I ordered it through White Heron Dojo, run by Kevin Cecil. This is the second-lowest grade of this model available- 1090 monosteel with differential heat treat and simple fittings. Seven months is waaaaay too long to wait for a production sword, but when it arrived it was very securely packaged in double boxes with spacers and bubble wrap, in an attractive dark blue cotton sword bag. It did NOT, however, come with the advertised free cleaning kit. This sword is supposedly based on naginata naoshi-type swords, in which naginata blades are modified and made into katanas. The blade geometry is described as U no kubi zukuri, because the tip of the blade is shaped like a cormorant's neck. It actually swells in thickness, which looks awesome. This is a pretty beefy blade, especially since I got it with no bohi, and it's more authoritative than the Masahiro (which, by comparison, is junk I'm afraid). I like the businesslike look of the katate maki, and it's a good thing I got it, because what ito diamonds there are are not at all well done, unfortunately. The same is a nice neutral cream color rather than the common gaudy, bleached white. The other fittings are very nice for a user blade, all tight and very comfortable. The cotton is high quality, and the tsuka feels great in the hands. The tsuba is nice and simple, and not too thick. Seppa and habaki are unblemished. The blade is the main feature, of course. It's very thick, and fits into the saya perfectly. The hamon is pleasantly faint- no acid-etched insecurities. The low polish is typical of LL's swords, since they're made to be used. The long kissaki has no yokote (cosmetic or otherwise), and curves gracefully into the swollen 'cormorant's neck' tip. This sword is SHARP! Sailed through the box it came in with no effort at all, although its weight means that it's not so easy against smaller sections of the box, which just tend to go flying, only halfway cut through. Overall, this is a very good sword for the price, and worth the wait. In the hands of a trained JSA student (not me, obviously), it might do well against bamboo.

I have not had a chance to measure them myself, but specs can be found at the retailer's website. The light today was REALLY crappy, so I'll probably replace most of these pictures soon, but here are a few:

---

April 2007: Well, it was bound to happen eventually. They say a blade's not really yours until it bites you, so this one's definitely mine. I was switching hands and feet simultaneously while handling, and carelessly touched the blade. It took me an hour to stop the bleeding. It was a shocking sensation. Not so much the intensity of the pain, but more how sharply focused it was. It's as close as anyone in this universe can come to experiencing one-dimensionality I think- a perfect line, in the mathematical sense, slicing into my flesh. I think it was deeper than I originally thought, cause when I changed the bandage after almost a week, there were still little pinhead drops of fresh blood on the gauze. The loss of dexterity is very irritating. I hope it closes up soon. It cannot be said often enough: BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR SWORDS!!! I was lucky- a moment of carelessness only ruined my week. It could have been much worse.


Home