3 Ultra-Curved Cloudhammer Katanas Review - Deep Sori Japanese Swords Made of Japanese Super Steel

[@JoeSteel1]

Very much like a deep Sori....good job on the video

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Thank you kindly, Joe!

[@masaruchannelsstudio4558]

Kane, thank you for posting the video. I feel again that Japanese swords are still beautiful. Thank you very much.👏

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Indeed. Very unique designs with a rich history. Thanks for viewing.

[@jazon9]

Deep sori tachi looks so nice

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Yeah, I absolutely love its deep curve.

[@TheHazmate]

They all look nice!

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

@@TheHazmate I agree. Cloudhammer Steelworks is definitely capable of outputting nice looking swords.

[@jazon9]

​@@FortuneFavoursTheBoldMe too, especially with straight handle. Curved handle don't look at that nice to mee.

[@sinisterswordsman25]

Cool swords 🤘💀 cloud hammer definitely has some cool stuff. I happen to like em' curvy lol the Dragon Tachi is really sweet. If you want a mono katana for durability, why not spring for a practically indestructible S7? Brother King Fisher has an awesome channel, he's a hell of a cutter and absolutely deserves the shout out! Thanks Kane

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Thank you, brother! I like these two katana with deep sori a lot and find the more uniformly curved one to be the better among the two for handling but the differentially curved sword to be more representative of the classic nihonto image. Indeed, S5/S7 is the ideal choice for mono-tempered katana blades, and I do recommend getting it for anyone interested in Cloudhammer's work.

[@kyledelsan7024]

Damn those katanas are insanely sexy

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Indeed they are!

[@thelevinlance6566]

An awesome trio. The durability test on the stump of doom is what separates the levels of the game. Legends say that Brother Kane-san beheaded an Oni AND a Kappa on that very stump.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Cheers, brother! Legends always have truth behind them. I did behead some namekuji (nasty creatures) on that block, and managed to break off the tip of a blade although it was reforged in fire and all enhanced afterwards 😉

[@KF1]

Also, thanks for the mention. Appreciate being able to contribute and was surprised to see my footage used. Thanks and right on

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Gladly. You have shared with me a lot of information about these swords but swords usage in general. I appreciate that!

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

Im glad to see swords with deeper sori (sp?) on the market. Ive not cut with any Japanese swords with deep sori but hace cut with some very curved single hand blades. They certainly handle differently than what im more accustomed to but if you get used to them they can very well.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Indeed. They incorporates slicing motions naturally.

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

@@FortuneFavoursTheBold exactly. It's unusual feeling at first moving them around as the off center mass behaves different to straighter blades but once one adjusts they feel great cutting.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Yeah, for me it almost adjusted itself right away. Only the curve grip needs getting used to.

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

@@FortuneFavoursTheBold interesting. I can't recall how much cutting it took for me to adjust but I think I was trying to force the sword to move like I was used to. After a bit of time it dawned on me yo listen to the sword & move it as it wanted to be moved.

[@FrostMocha]

Yet another thoroughly detailed review. Thank you! Cloudhammer is rising to the top these days.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Many thanks, and it's totally right that Cloudhammer is riding the wave right now.

[@TONEDEAFSOUND]

great video super informative and helpful i have a very deep sori tachi that rva sells and this was a great discussion and gave me some inspiration for how to use it

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Glad to be of help. Thank you for watching!

[@economicroyalist2586]

The one with the S7 blade is the better deal, if it lasts 3 times as long. When it gets damaged, there's much bigger chance it will still be salvageable, so you don't end up with the broken blade and having to buy a replacement.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

If everlastingness is the primary focus, yes. The S7 steel one is the better deal in the long run. Otherwise SX105V would already suffice for regular cutting practices.

[@FiliiMartis]

I saw @rvakatana debunking some of the nonsensical videos generated by AI about the wakizashi and the katana. I like the guy. For someone like me, that doesn't look at katanas so much, it's quite interesting to see the variation in the curvature of the blade. Shown separately, it would have been hard for me to identify the types. It was a good choice to showcase them all together like that. 👍 Btw, do you know if this S5 and S7 type steels would be good for trainers? It's supposed to be an impact resistant steel, so I'm assuming it's a type that would work well for trainer blades that get smashed together all the time. Since trainers are not sharpened, the edge retention and re-sharpening difficulty shouldn't be a factor. Maybe all the Chinese manufactures of HEMA trainers that have a bad reputation with snapping blades should switch to this type of steel.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

We are almost completely aligned over nihonto and nihonto-related content. I only become interested in them the more makers and sellers send them to me for review purposes. I have learnt a lot about their history, usage, geometries and handling because of these samples. On the other hand, S5 (when heat treated by someone knows what they are doing, such as Cloudhammer Steelworks here) would be the dream material for training blades, especially feders and sparring longswords. They are 2-3 times more resistant than regular spring steels (when well heat-treated) as Matthew Jensen's tests reveal. I think a training longsword/feder designed by a master like Angus Trim (who knows a lot about structural integrity, and swords), manufactured by Cloudhammer using S5 would be the ultimate training longsword.

[@FiliiMartis]

@@FortuneFavoursTheBold "I think a training longsword/feder designed by a master like Angus Trim (who knows a lot about structural integrity, and swords), manufactured by Cloudhammer using S5 would be the ultimate training longsword." Oh yea! I would like to see that. And add a Malleus Martialis or Danelli Armouries consultation for style. ✌ I'm not that more knowledgeable on steel than other sword enthusiasts, but I know that Kvetun states that they are using 60C2A steel, which is a structural and industrial steel used for pressure vessels (all these names change from region to region anyway). I know that people like that one, and so do I. The main thing to take from this is that using tool steel for blades that need to suffer a lot of impact is not the worst idea (hardened and tempered properly, naturally, or there's no point in having this discussion). And use more traditional blade steels for when one wants to stick to tradition. There's room for both approaches. Circling back to katanas, since a lot of people have this idea of indestructible katanas, maybe it's not the worst idea to make them from a stronger tool steel (since the blade geometry is simple enough; I understand that these steels are not that good to shape in complex ways). I went back to your tier list video, and I saw you like Cloudhammer. They need to improve the style for their European swords, but I'm going to keep an eye out for them. Cloudhammer looks like a company that just needs to talk to historical sword enthusiasts or sword designers moving forward. There are a lot of sword types that they can tackle, while still staying in their comfort area.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Indeed, using well heat-treated spring steel or tool steel is an excellent idea for sparring swords that are supposed to endure even more stress over the years than even live-edged swords. Indeed using S5/S7 may increase the cost by perhaps 50%, but if it lasts 2 or 3 times as much as 6150, or 60C2A or 51CrV4, then it would definitely be worth it. Based on Matthew Jensen's destructive tests, there's evidence suggesting S5/S7 blades by Cloudhammer really is that durable.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

About nihonto, I don't know how and why it's got the reputation of being indestructible. If anything, they easily take chips and become bent--the traditionally made ones anyway. But they might be more durable than they are given credit for. I've seen tamahagane steel blades made by modern Japanese smith going through a complete destructive test (without surface polish and going through hilt-mounting of course). Although they take a set easily than blades made of spring steel. Breaking it in two requires a lot of abuse. You can always fix a minor bend with relatively little effort. About Cloudhammer's European longsword, there's upcoming review by me and my pals at Unsheathed Sword Reviews. So stay tuned!

[@FiliiMartis]

@@FortuneFavoursTheBold I am becoming more curious about to see what Cloudhammer has to offer, so I'll definitely watch that video. Btw, when you mentioned S5/S7 being more expensive, and maybe not as much as a material but the cost of working with it, that explained to me why it is not as popular with manufacturers.

[@raphlvlogs271]

that straight Tang dynasty sword gives off European vibes to me. probably due to central Asian steppe influences of the time

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Straight dao was originally influenced by Steppes peoples’ swords as Chinese swords were originally double-edged. However later period Turko-Mongolian swords became curved, which influenced Chinese dao designs again.

[@michaelklein672]

Very good introduction of these swords of older styles. Traditions are not well represented in the katana making industry.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Indeed katana with differentially distributed sori are grossly under-represented.

[@ТУМАН78]

Nice

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Thank you!

[@FrostMocha]

They have curve swords! Sorry I can’t resist! 😂

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

I understand your urge.

[@nightcitysamurai]

I would like to try out Cloudhammer's katana, but the ones in stock on their website are never what fits my palate the best.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Well, what suits your palate?

[@nightcitysamurai]

@@FortuneFavoursTheBold One with a longer cutting edge, maybe 30 inches, with a sori of at least 3 mm, double bo-hi, and O-kisaki. I have not seen any sword on their website close to that.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

@@nightcitysamurai There you go, that's your custom commission. You can head to their Facebook page linked in the description and contact them with custom requirements.

[@nightcitysamurai]

@@FortuneFavoursTheBold They take custom orders?

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

@nightcitysamurai like I said at the end of the video, yes.

[@KF1]

John has been a great friend, but nobody ever sold me so many defects as he has. Will not buy from them again. Also, I had these exact swords on my rack for a while, and all the tsukas were cracked inside. Could not get along with the thickness of the handles. In fact, pulled my shoulder, back and forearm while using them. The tsuka thickness has a cascade effect to other muscle groups, making them almost impossible to use effectively. Great showing, but damn I hated these swords.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Thank you for the additional context. I didn’t know their tsuka cores were all cracked though I did get some ideas that somewhere along the hilt assembly something wrong happened, because the tsubas especially the musashi ring were loose. They didn’t get any looser during my harsh testing though. The tsuka circumference is always a problem for Cloudhammer even on their European longsword. It does alter the way the user commands the muscle group, and although I didn’t personally find it very annoying during handling, it certainly did not help me in any way. Sorry to hear about the shoulder injury. My shoulders were plagued by injuries some year ago and it took a long time to fully heal. Now that they are fine, I just had a terrible lower back injury that almost completely crippled me. After a month, there’s still 50% range of the motion not recovered.

[@KF1]

@@FortuneFavoursTheBold Man I know what that's like. Hope your shoulders continue to improve and your back gets better. Dude at the park came up and thanked me for the Tai Chi demonstration. Would recommend Yang Style / Chen Style combination for any physio.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

@@KF1 tai chi is indeed an option. Starting from unarmed practices then progress to routines with swords. What it does is increasing your range of motion particularly that pertains to sword usage. Think of going through the motions in 0.25X slo-mo.

[@apocalypticswordsman768]

Bless their hearts, gotta give it to the Japanese when they know what they are doing. Curved swords? Best for zombie apocalypse? What you know they are capable of with super steel blades?

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

I mean, they sure know what they are doing, alright.