Its crazy how Ryan Sword back in the day had one of the worse reputations, but over the years they consistently made some really good blades for the money. I still have one from like 10 years ago that held up well (it's got a few mitsudomes on it too lol). Great review as always Matt!
@@Intrepid_Explorer That is a valid criticism and I remember exactly when that happened. I was scared mine was faked too back then so I haphazardly "repolished" my damascus katana to make sure it was real 😂 I will say that they are most certainly not the only well known manufacturer with that reputation out of Lonquan, so I would do my research on all of them tbh.
I'm actually impressed with this one. It's beautifully executed & it has a nice even hamon whuch decreases stress on the blade. Really active hamon are pretty but the steep peaks & valleys can create stress.
Thanks for the review. I received a custom Ryan katana and wakisashi last year from my wife and students for my 75th birthday. I agree totally with your review. The katana is extremely well balanced and allows me to practice iaido for hours with no fatigue. The blade construction is solid and beautiful. The handle is like a rock - nothing moves and it is very comfortable. All in all its amazing what Ryan Swords provides for $500.
Great review Matt. When you have a vision as unique as this I think it often be a crap shoot if a manufacturer gets even close to executing it. My experience with Ryan is that they do take that quite seriously and it sounds like they did a pretty good job on the execution. I’m glad it worked out!
Those demons making out and sharing a forbidden love was a little much. What steel is it? That saya looked pretty unique to me, and it’s too bad there weren’t swirly mitsudomes engraved on either side of the nagasa. RVA carries Ryansword now, so John might be able to get you some interesting creations. Ryansword also makes a Conan’s “Fathers sword” speaking of interesting. Great review Matt!
I was skeptical about Ryansword at first when I found out the Kill Bill Bride katana from Swords of Northshire for $350 is made by Ryansword and was only $150 if I ordered directly from RS. I ordered it and was so happy and impressed with how well it was made and stayed sharp cut after cut. Since then I have purchased 5 swords from RS and the custom work is always done really well without extra fees or waiting.
Looks like they did a fair job. Sucks about the ding from the bottle, but I guess that's the weakness of the thin, flat profile. Little bit more hira-niku would probably fix the problem without any serious loss of performance.
Very cool, I usually do reviews on and get swords that are usually a little bit more affordable like 300 ish or less.. I recently got an r o m white demon katana and it seems like a pretty decent sword for the price for the one complaint I have is that there wasn't enough demons on it. Even though I prefer to buy less expensive swords and cater to doing reviews for people with less disposable income I got to admit $500 isn't it bad for a fully custom sword I know that r o m also has custom swords you can have made but Ryan sword and may or may not have more options I would assume so for the difference in price
No Hishigami? I seem to recall you're indifferent to having them or not? The saya is gorgeous. Like magical wood. "It feels like a sword" that seems like a low bar. lol
I get that this sword and other swords are designed specifically for cutting tatami but I'd be a pretty ticked off if I went to cut a plastic water bottle and it damaged the blade... But that's just me but I personally don't buy sword specifically for just cutting tatami I kind of feel like if a sword can't handle cutting water bottles etc and that's not good... Unless you're buying an extremely inexpensive very soft steel plate and sword that's somewhere in between decorative and functional then I could see that happening but to me for $500 it better be pretty tough.. but I get it different tools for different jobs.
I might try reversing that tsuba to see if it gets the oni's horn spike out of the way, as well as see if it fixes the Mt. Rushmore-ness of the two faces next to each other. Maybe see if that habaki can be upgraded too, since most production habaki tend to be more or less the same size. Overall I like the Oni face theme though! Even if it's not all black on blacky-black :)
Ironically, I ordered a custom sword from them a day ago with the exact same Tsuba/kashira/Fuchi set. I went with a silver Habaki and Black Ito/rayskin. 1095 folded. It will be interesting to compare notes.
Interesting review; somewhat jealous though as we don't have much choice of shinken or iaito here in England. The 'horns' proud of the tsuba would give some issues though, kata-wise, for me I think..
Nice video! I like your reviews and channel. I'm getting back into swords, i have a couple katanas i got years ago. I'd like to get a custom sword but not sure where to go through. There seems to be quite a few. What would you recommend between swords of northsire, hanbon, ryan swords, yari no hanzo, shadow dancer, samurai sword store, and jkoo? These are the ones I've been looking at and building from their sites. In your opion, which forge produces the best quality swords overall? Edit - actually the top 3, if you wouldn't mind. Just in case shadow dancer is number 1, I'm not sure yet if i want to spend the amount of money that keeps coming up when i build a sword on their site. Thanks
Just to add to the mix: There are also ‘Swordier’ and the newly established ‘Swordis’. ☺️ I have very good experiences with Ryan Sword, for custom projects. They have improved their quality (including QC) significantly in recent years.
$500 is not nothing. There was a time in my life that it seemed unachievable to have so much that I could spend that much on something like a sword. I appreciate you sharing your situation and I am sorry to hear you are disappointed. What was it about yours that did not meet expectations?
横手筋が無い。 For some reason, many imitation swords from overseas do not have horizontal lines. I don't think it has any functionality, but I think it's a reflection of the Japanese aesthetic sense.
Have yet chekt on dremswords yet ?🙌 i def wish to send you a blade one day to review👊 lett me know ive you ever got interesse 🙏💪 greeting Kris Folkerts
Not an expert!? Well that is it. I'm withdrawing my membership and unsubscribing. 😄 Just kidding. It's like I tell my Haitian friends; "Mattou ist de mon, mon." 😎
I find it's the opposite. It's a lot easier now to get a quality Longquan blade than it was 15 years ago, and at a lower price. Channels like Matt's have likely some influence there, particularly in fit and finish.
@@KF1 For me it is. There are a lot of sword houses in China that closes down that I ordered in the past which offer higher grade steel and quality hand polish at a cheaper price than today. Also, it is more expensive today because of inflation and shipping cost depends on your country. Maybe it depends on the manufacturer if they sell cheaper because mass production machinery.
I think there are more and more sword houses being introduced and slowly but surely even better quality control for them respectively. I will say a lot of Chinese make katana do have very similar furnishings but for some of them at reasonable price points you can't really complain. Also some of the companies like ROM have some very outlandish looking sores not just katana but Chinese swords they're still fully functional and look pretty cool. I know a lot of people would cringe at me saying this but it's kind of nice for me to see anime swords that are usable not just wall hangers at a very low price but that's just me.
Matt, I Want to Sell You A Car Or Truck. Because you Won't Ask Me What Knd If Engine Or How Many Miles It Has On It.. Just from you review swords And Don't Talk About What Type Steel Is Made From...Is Ridiculous..
It is a bit. Until I can substantiate what it is or is not there is not much to say. Unless the sword is featured as a special steel, I feel like it is a waste to chat about. Better I show you what it can do. Valid point though.
@@Matthew_Jensen Your my Favorite Sword Guy Matt., because you are honest, normal type guy, mature, attention to detail, (Which when you dont mention steel type is so not your style to me) and present well..Shad second, he tends to drone on and ADHD his videos into hour long before he gets to the point. He has channel now where he cut his old videos down..lol.. Skall is an OG good sword guy. When Skall first started he was using a lame fake accent..lol.. His fake accent would slip in and out. Was very obvious, it fooled younger people some. Other Skall things are odd, I like hom though, great presenter like yourself..Alientube guy is okay, lower end of seord guys. He doesnt test weapons well, not even close to your good tests..plus he also doesn't mention steel type.. I mentioned that to him. He came back with some lame, " Seen My Previous Comment" I laughed thinking, im supposed to search out some other video or whatever? I replied No you need to refer to this and other videos where you dont know or feel it isnt important, both of which is odd to me..Car reviewer, telling people the Engine and mileage type are not important..His arrogance amd that he is bad presenter is why his channel is low..Matt on the other hand is a hidden gem, that I want people to know about...thanks for the reply Matt, sorry text was so long..
I think there is less doubt about the consistency behind most modern engines than there is the steel type and heat treatment of swords. It is not that it does not matter but it is less important than some of the other stuff. How much of a factor is the steel type for you in a buying decision? If I were to make statements about the steel type would you wonder if the steel was as advertised?
As a side note, I appreciate the kind words and that you enjoy the videos. I would note that the other Sword Tubers out there are not my competition, they are my friends. It brings me a lot of joy to see more people making sword related content and I welcome all of it. You are welcome to your preferences but I would encourage you to go easy on the good people out there sharing their passion.
Its crazy how Ryan Sword back in the day had one of the worse reputations, but over the years they consistently made some really good blades for the money. I still have one from like 10 years ago that held up well (it's got a few mitsudomes on it too lol). Great review as always Matt!
Their fake sanmai didn't exactly give them the best of reputations, so they've had more ground to make up for then other companies.
@@Intrepid_Explorer That is a valid criticism and I remember exactly when that happened. I was scared mine was faked too back then so I haphazardly "repolished" my damascus katana to make sure it was real 😂
I will say that they are most certainly not the only well known manufacturer with that reputation out of Lonquan, so I would do my research on all of them tbh.
I'm actually impressed with this one. It's beautifully executed & it has a nice even hamon whuch decreases stress on the blade. Really active hamon are pretty but the steep peaks & valleys can create stress.
Thanks for the review. I received a custom Ryan katana and wakisashi last year from my wife and students for my 75th birthday. I agree totally with your review. The katana is extremely well balanced and allows me to practice iaido for hours with no fatigue. The blade construction is solid and beautiful. The handle is like a rock - nothing moves and it is very comfortable. All in all its amazing what Ryan Swords provides for $500.
You’ve been on a roll lately Matt, been wanting to see what a higher end sword from ryansword is like, great video.
Thanks. Glad you liked it.
Great review Matt. When you have a vision as unique as this I think it often be a crap shoot if a manufacturer gets even close to executing it. My experience with Ryan is that they do take that quite seriously and it sounds like they did a pretty good job on the execution. I’m glad it worked out!
I agree - and I also think that Ryan Sword has come a long way in later years. 🙂
My Yarinohanzo has seen the last of its days.. This looks solid for around $500 Thank you Matthew
I’m glad you do these videos it helps me learn a lot and not waste my money
That is the goal. Glad to hear the videos are helpful.
@@Matthew_Jensen do you have any training videos on katakana
Nope. I am not qualified to do that.
@@Matthew_Jensen how did you get more knowledge about katana swords what could be helpful for more info thanks
Those demons making out and sharing a forbidden love was a little much. What steel is it? That saya looked pretty unique to me, and it’s too bad there weren’t swirly mitsudomes engraved on either side of the nagasa. RVA carries Ryansword now, so John might be able to get you some interesting creations. Ryansword also makes a Conan’s “Fathers sword” speaking of interesting.
Great review Matt!
I haven't seen your vids in a while. You look like you've been getting back in shape, Matt. Good to see 👍
I was skeptical about Ryansword at first when I found out the Kill Bill Bride katana from Swords of Northshire for $350 is made by Ryansword and was only $150 if I ordered directly from RS. I ordered it and was so happy and impressed with how well it was made and stayed sharp cut after cut. Since then I have purchased 5 swords from RS and the custom work is always done really well without extra fees or waiting.
Looks like they did a fair job. Sucks about the ding from the bottle, but I guess that's the weakness of the thin, flat profile. Little bit more hira-niku would probably fix the problem without any serious loss of performance.
Very cool, I usually do reviews on and get swords that are usually a little bit more affordable like 300 ish or less.. I recently got an r o m white demon katana and it seems like a pretty decent sword for the price for the one complaint I have is that there wasn't enough demons on it. Even though I prefer to buy less expensive swords and cater to doing reviews for people with less disposable income I got to admit $500 isn't it bad for a fully custom sword I know that r o m also has custom swords you can have made but Ryan sword and may or may not have more options I would assume so for the difference in price
This video cemented my decision to finally give RyanSword a try. Let's hope my 300$ are well spent!
That scabbard is awesome
I have a Ryan sword as well. I don’t think they’re that bad.
As a tall person who prefers shorter swords like Wakizashi, custom sizing sounds tempting.
Thanks bro for your review👊🏻⛩️⚔️
Very awesome looking
I wonder if they could do a katana with a 50's pin-ups theme.
No Hishigami? I seem to recall you're indifferent to having them or not? The saya is gorgeous. Like magical wood. "It feels like a sword" that seems like a low bar. lol
Might seem like a low bar but it is not.
I get that this sword and other swords are designed specifically for cutting tatami but I'd be a pretty ticked off if I went to cut a plastic water bottle and it damaged the blade... But that's just me but I personally don't buy sword specifically for just cutting tatami I kind of feel like if a sword can't handle cutting water bottles etc and that's not good... Unless you're buying an extremely inexpensive very soft steel plate and sword that's somewhere in between decorative and functional then I could see that happening but to me for $500 it better be pretty tough.. but I get it different tools for different jobs.
Dude you are Jacked !
Have you ever tried making a habaki?
That came out nice considering how hard they are to make.
I might try reversing that tsuba to see if it gets the oni's horn spike out of the way, as well as see if it fixes the Mt. Rushmore-ness of the two faces next to each other. Maybe see if that habaki can be upgraded too, since most production habaki tend to be more or less the same size. Overall I like the Oni face theme though! Even if it's not all black on blacky-black :)
Ironically, I ordered a custom sword from them a day ago with the exact same Tsuba/kashira/Fuchi set. I went with a silver Habaki and Black Ito/rayskin. 1095 folded. It will be interesting to compare notes.
Interesting review; somewhat jealous though as we don't have much choice of shinken or iaito here in England.
The 'horns' proud of the tsuba would give some issues though, kata-wise, for me I think..
Could you please do a review on a HMS Amazon sword. The other reviews ive seen of them say they are good but im not so sure.
Do you have links to the Ryan swords site. Your sword is very beautiful and the colors you picked are very unique especially the saya. Great sword .
In the description I have the options.
Nice video! I like your reviews and channel. I'm getting back into swords, i have a couple katanas i got years ago. I'd like to get a custom sword but not sure where to go through. There seems to be quite a few. What would you recommend between swords of northsire, hanbon, ryan swords, yari no hanzo, shadow dancer, samurai sword store, and jkoo? These are the ones I've been looking at and building from their sites. In your opion, which forge produces the best quality swords overall?
Edit - actually the top 3, if you wouldn't mind. Just in case shadow dancer is number 1, I'm not sure yet if i want to spend the amount of money that keeps coming up when i build a sword on their site. Thanks
Just to add to the mix: There are also ‘Swordier’ and the newly established ‘Swordis’. ☺️
I have very good experiences with Ryan Sword, for custom projects. They have improved their quality (including QC) significantly in recent years.
@@peterchristiansen9695 thanks, I'll give them a look as well
Now im curious about the Rainbow Pony Katana again.
Well I am happy you like yours. 500 may not be much for some it took me 7months to save for a 540$ from ryansword only to be disappointed 😞
$500 is not nothing. There was a time in my life that it seemed unachievable to have so much that I could spend that much on something like a sword. I appreciate you sharing your situation and I am sorry to hear you are disappointed. What was it about yours that did not meet expectations?
I like it. But blacked out
black on black with some black and more black is a good look.
@@Matthew_JensenNow things are getting a little “dark”… 😁
Nerden alabilirim 😊😊😊
looks badass❤
横手筋が無い。
For some reason, many imitation swords from overseas do not have horizontal lines. I don't think it has any functionality, but I think it's a reflection of the Japanese aesthetic sense.
Have yet chekt on dremswords yet ?🙌 i def wish to send you a blade one day to review👊 lett me know ive you ever got interesse 🙏💪 greeting Kris Folkerts
That would be fun. What did you have in mind?
All the hanwei ones are imitations of old Japanese ones...
Not an expert!? Well that is it. I'm withdrawing my membership and unsubscribing.
😄 Just kidding. It's like I tell my Haitian friends; "Mattou ist de mon, mon." 😎
Already grew tired of chinese made sword, they all look the same since 8 years ago. Good sword makers are getting fewer and fewer now a days.
So go make your own
I find it's the opposite. It's a lot easier now to get a quality Longquan blade than it was 15 years ago, and at a lower price. Channels like Matt's have likely some influence there, particularly in fit and finish.
@@KF1 For me it is. There are a lot of sword houses in China that closes down that I ordered in the past which offer higher grade steel and quality hand polish at a cheaper price than today. Also, it is more expensive today because of inflation and shipping cost depends on your country. Maybe it depends on the manufacturer if they sell cheaper because mass production machinery.
@@snowhite1qazse4 I'm not sure I understand. Do you have any that you really like? Which are your most and least favourite that you've had?
I think there are more and more sword houses being introduced and slowly but surely even better quality control for them respectively. I will say a lot of Chinese make katana do have very similar furnishings but for some of them at reasonable price points you can't really complain. Also some of the companies like ROM have some very outlandish looking sores not just katana but Chinese swords they're still fully functional and look pretty cool. I know a lot of people would cringe at me saying this but it's kind of nice for me to see anime swords that are usable not just wall hangers at a very low price but that's just me.
Matt, I Want to Sell You A Car Or Truck. Because you Won't Ask Me What Knd If Engine Or How Many Miles It Has On It.. Just from you review swords And Don't Talk About What Type Steel Is Made From...Is Ridiculous..
It is a bit. Until I can substantiate what it is or is not there is not much to say. Unless the sword is featured as a special steel, I feel like it is a waste to chat about. Better I show you what it can do. Valid point though.
@@Matthew_Jensen Your my Favorite Sword Guy Matt., because you are honest, normal type guy, mature, attention to detail, (Which when you dont mention steel type is so not your style to me) and present well..Shad second, he tends to drone on and ADHD his videos into hour long before he gets to the point. He has channel now where he cut his old videos down..lol.. Skall is an OG good sword guy. When Skall first started he was using a lame fake accent..lol.. His fake accent would slip in and out. Was very obvious, it fooled younger people some. Other Skall things are odd, I like hom though, great presenter like yourself..Alientube guy is okay, lower end of seord guys. He doesnt test weapons well, not even close to your good tests..plus he also doesn't mention steel type.. I mentioned that to him. He came back with some lame, " Seen My Previous Comment" I laughed thinking, im supposed to search out some other video or whatever? I replied No you need to refer to this and other videos where you dont know or feel it isnt important, both of which is odd to me..Car reviewer, telling people the Engine and mileage type are not important..His arrogance amd that he is bad presenter is why his channel is low..Matt on the other hand is a hidden gem, that I want people to know about...thanks for the reply Matt, sorry text was so long..
I think there is less doubt about the consistency behind most modern engines than there is the steel type and heat treatment of swords. It is not that it does not matter but it is less important than some of the other stuff. How much of a factor is the steel type for you in a buying decision? If I were to make statements about the steel type would you wonder if the steel was as advertised?
As a side note, I appreciate the kind words and that you enjoy the videos. I would note that the other Sword Tubers out there are not my competition, they are my friends. It brings me a lot of joy to see more people making sword related content and I welcome all of it. You are welcome to your preferences but I would encourage you to go easy on the good people out there sharing their passion.
Candy must be fun at parties 🙄