I joined BladeForums just to answer this, because I looked all over for someone else to have taken the risk on this sword and leave a review, and I didn't see any.
So I took the risk. Here's my review.
Major points up front:
1) Very loose in the scabbard--much scabbard rattle, and falls right out. You have to be careful pulling it out of the sword bag, or while handling it while it's in the sword bag. UPDATE: Recently this has fitted better in the throat of the scabbard, although it is still winter and the humidity hasn't changed--or is perhaps even drier than it was when it arrived. Still rattles.
2) Front heavy. I know this is subjective, but it feels slow with two hands, and really unmanageable with just one hand, whether the left or the right. "Throwing" a shot with the left hand, near the pommel, is really out of the question. I'm 6'5" with big hands and chop down trees with axes, and this sword is tiny to me, but it still feels sluggish. Some people like more "forward presence," though.
3) Generic-feeling furniture (koshirae). This feels like the typical, rough-cut "alloy" that they use on most mall katanas, and is rough on the hands. This is juxtaposed against what otherwise seems like really nice furniture--it is as eye-catching as their very excellent product photography implies.
They were a bit difficult to order from in the US (they're based in Finland), and they wanted a wire transfer, which my bank threw up all the red flags for. The owner--or agent I exchanged emails with--was very nice. It felt risky ordering from them, though, and I was quite relieved when the sword finally arrived.
...until I handled it.
By comparison, I have a Cheness--which almost everyone says is a very low-quality forge, now defunct, btw--which is almost exactly the same size and, curiously, almost exactly the same point of balance (PoB), but the Cheness handles quite adroitly, feels swift and easy to control, but with enough presence to follow through a cut. The Battling Blades feels so clumsy and cumbersome. I suspect it suffers from a handle that's too small in diameter, and would like to try to put a bigger handle on it (report on that experiment to come). A katana is a two-handed weapon that can be wielded with one hand--and this is not that.
After shipping and conversion from euro-->USD, it was about $900. It isn't as nice as many $300 ones out there, and I'd return it if I could. (A lot of you call us risk takers fools for blazing trails for you--you're welcome, anyway.)
It still looks nice and has a certain élan. I think the market for Japanese swords--let's be totally honest here--is driven by their art value more than their performance. So when I call this ornamental, don't dismiss it as meaning cheap--I actually think wall hangers are what's driving up the price of swords. For admiring as part of your beautiful collection, if that's your thing, this probably still passes. For serious practice, or as a fighting sword it was a near miss.
I'd like them to try again, but I don't think I'm the buyer who's going to influence their production. A few small things would make this a better sword: tighter scabbard fit, less felt heaviness, smooth out the hardware that touches the hand. If it had those things, it would be well worth it.
Did you wind up buying this?
