Bugei Trading Co. Custom 1086 Katana

This is an interesting piece of history in the modern sword market.
You can find it on ebay here - www.ebay.com/i...
You can see it listed on SBG here - sbg-sword-foru...
Some years ago Bugei Trading Co. offered a service to make a custom sword. Howard Clark was one of the smiths that made those custom swords. The swords took time to finish and I don’t know how long the service was offered but it was not an option that was offered the entirety of Bugei’s time in business.
This sword is a 1086 blade. Mr. Clark made 1086 and L6 blades. While his work in L6 is more famous, the blades he makes in 1086 are nothing to scoff at. L6 blades are supposed to be more resilient to shock but dull more quickly. 1086 blades are the reverse. The edge retention is quite good but they will not absorb the same amount of sock. The blades are still very durable and I would argue that show a little more artistry. The hamon often has a little more character than the L6 blades. 1086 is also a unique steel to use. Many American smiths use 1075 or 1095. 1086 being somewhere in the middle it should offer some better edge retention than 1075 while being less brittle than 1095. I am not a metallurgist so take what I say with a grain of salt. What I can say as a user, 1086 has been great.
Apart from the blade being made by Howard Clark, the mount is a mystery. I do not know who did the work but I suspect it was Ted Tenold. The fittings are also a mystery, they are a bamboo and tighter theme. They appear to be cast pieces of a decent quality. The menuki look antique but I cannot say for sure. They are a higher detail and better quality than the other fittings.
I reached out to Howard Clark about the sword and asked if he remembered making it. As it is a longer blade, I thought it might stand out among the rest. Mr. Clard did not recall but was 80% sure it was his work. The nakago is not signed and that is odd though not impossible. In my personal opinion, Howard Clark looks to be the smith. Too many characteristics point to him and the likelihood of it being an early work explains some of the other oddities.
I also reached out to Ted Tenold and he did not recall the blade either. Though being many years back and only looking at the photo, it was not enough to say one way or the other.
The condition of the sword would be best described as unused but aged. There are some minor signs of handling on the ito. The koiguchi has a crack in it but it does not look to have been used. I would imagine the crack is from age/expansion ect.. The saya has some minor blemishes and dings. The blade has some scuffs that look like saya rub but no signs of use on cutting. Minor scuffs on the polish don’t come out in photos easily but they are present. Additionally there is some tsuba wiggle. I would guess it could be tightened up though. I personally think the condition is quite good overall.
Handle/Tsuka Length: 15.375”
Blade/Nagasa Length: 31.5” (without habaki)
Sori: .11”
Moto-haba: 1.24”
Saki-haba: .885”
Motokasane: .285”
Sakikasane: .23”
Weight: 3lb 1.4oz
POB: 6.75” from tsuba
MSRP: Around $4500 from Bugei (back in the day)
In terms of handling this sword moves pretty well for its size and stature. It is a big sword with a long handle but the weight is pretty low for its size. It feels controllable in the cut or thrust. The sori is closer to koshi sori but it is so small that the blade is very close to straight. It draws well and noto is not a problem if you are comfortable with a blade this size.
Mass 1400.466442375
Hilt Extremity 0
Grip Reference 39.0525
Blade Extremity 121.92
Center of Gravity 56.515
Lever Reference 1.27
Hilt Node 31.115
Blade Node 93.35
Action Point 34.8
Pivot Point 100.33
Action Point 17.8
Pivot point 76.5
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[@SuperiorAutocraft]

Thanks for the review. I've always lusted after the old Bugei blades since I bought my first wall hanger so many years ago. Memories.

[@MrMrbrianbechtel]

Love the old Bugei catalogs. I bought a Bugei Samurai when I was 18 when I first started working full time

[@ronin6016]

Great video, excellent information, Bugei lists the Fuchi, Kashira, Menuki, Tsuba as Tiger in Bamboo, a very beautiful piece, thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@r1pbuck]

Hi Matthew -- Very interesting video. I too have a Bugei Custom katana...one of Howard Clark's San-Mai blades, polished and mounted by Ted Tenold, and some interesting koshirae too. It took years for the project to be done...Ted was going through a bunch of life changes and the bare blade sat in a closet at Bugei for a long time before he got to it. Beautiful job though. Unfortunately I kind of fell out of love with the whole deal...the wanting was better than the having, as it turned out, and anyway I bonded more with my Bugei Crane katana which I used in Iai for a number of years. I'm working my way toward selling the SanMai actually...but that's another story. I just found your channel and It's fun to see your enthusiasm for swords, esp. katana. Thanks...

[@Matthew_Jensen]

That sounds like an interesting sword. Howards L6 blades get all the attention but his pieces in 1086, San Mai, and damascus are also very cool. From what I can gather, sanmai and folded blades are much less common. You may have something very special on your hands. Good luck with the sale!

[@DawahTrucker2024]

Now that is a truly beautiful blade, I like the Smokey grey on the blade as you displayed it and the saya is so lackered and glossy also the metal end it's beautifully lackered, however the sword is loose once it enters the saya. Wow those swords are costly I'm quite sure the are more costly swords on that catalog.

[@MountaineerSamurai]

Awesome review Matthew, thank you🙏🏼🤙😎

[@slingshott7155]

I like this one ... the fitting could be better but the tsuka and (blade) nagasa are lovely

[@exanimaknight2252]

Beautiful and unique katana!

[@erichusayn]

Nice one dude! Happy fathers day!

[@erichusayn]

Excellent form at the end. Well done sir!

[@erichusayn]

Word on the street is theyre back in biz...

[@erichusayn]

@-246800753124688413679633 - That's what I've heard. James Williams was at some blade show at a bugei booth recently from what I gathered. Saw it in a post on facebook.

[@MountaineerSamurai]

Backyard Samurai for the confirmation👊 8/7/19🤙😎

[@firstname7780]

i remember that catalog and I still have it. I waited several years to feel these sums as small, but then they stopper offering these custom makes and went to Paul Chen.

[@LCO213]

I wish I bought one of these when I had the chance. I still have my old Bugei Wave katana though. I bought it back in 2001, and it’s been an excellent sword. The leather ito is still tight.

[@Apathesis0]

How does the leather feel?

[@katanamaru1]

I still have one of their catalogs too!

[@ミスタードーナツ-k6o]

Nice review, always wanted to check out a Bugei sword.....15" tsuka....that's long, lol! Not exaxtly my cup of tea, but looks like it's well done.

[@dichonelawson5218]

HOLD UP WAIT A MINUTE!!! -- I think I need to look something up for myself...somewhere in the middle of the description for this video, I saw where you said that L6 katanas are better at shock absorption, but they dull faster....and so with the fact that L6 steel is known for superior shock absorption, I figured that would contribute to a keener edge for a longer period of time, especially with that steel being as difficult to work with as people say that it is...

[@gendragongfly]

I do not mean to discourage you from doing your own research. But I hope this information can help you in your search for the right steel: differentially hardened 1086 can be harder than L6 (which usually ends up at 54-51 hrc). This makes it dull a little quicker than something that is say 64-58 hrc (as 1086 may be), but both are far superior to troughhardened blades when it comes to edge retention. The reduction in hardness is what results in the increased shock resistance of L6. It's simply impossible to have one without the other, hard steel is brittle steel.

[@dichonelawson5218]

@@gendragongfly my knowledge of steel is pretty limited, so I honestly do not know what hrc means...

[@gendragongfly]

@@dichonelawson5218 Hardness on the Rockwell scale 🙂

[@anthonyoosterlaag7531]

Love your reviews Matt! I bought myself a bamboo mat katana from Hanwei because you were so positive about it. Is it still one of your favorite out of the box production swords after a few years and testing a whole lot more of katanas? I would love a regular review on it since i dont think you've ever done a proper long one on all the details? keep it up! :)

[@Max_Flashheart]

Successful Test Cutting by yourself would increase the value in my opinion.

[@anthonysullivan7871]

@Nick Mc why do you give a fuck?? Fucking noob

[@wooddawg4868]

I wish I would pay 4 to 5k for any sword. I have a T10 katana from Budk and it only cost me $300 bucks. It cuts through everything and had it resharpened once for 25 dollars.

[@zenhydra]

Didn't Bugei get completely out of the sword market? It may have gone completely out of business, because its website doesn't seem to be in good shape.

[@pickens1207]

Why were do you suggest to try to sell sword like a Hanwei Custom Pro Elite with some blade scratches ?

[@Matthew_Jensen]

ebay, sbg, facebook

[@anthonyconnors5503]

Did you sell your sword?

[@TerraRyzer]

Anyone know if Ted Tenold is still taking orders these days? Just commissioned an L6 blade I want to send to him.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

I believe he still does polishing work.

[@TopLob]

09:19 I have that exact same menuki. My pair is different, but the one that appears at this timestamp is the exact same. I got mine from Fred Lohman, and the casting quality is very nice. I recognize the other menuki as well. Usually it's paired together with another tiger eating bamboo, but I know Fred Lohman has a pair that uses one of each. If you look at his site #010. www.japanese-swords.com/menuki-gallery/pages/010-tigers-bamboo.htm It makes sense, as many Bugei customers get their work done through Fred Lohman. The pictures on his website looks shittier than they do irl, btw.

[@TopLob]

Quick update: I found the tsuba and fuchi-kashira as well. www.japanese-swords.com/pages/tiger.htm He also sells those seppa www.japanese-swords.com/pages/seppa.htm. Imo the entire koshirae is likely made by Fred.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

It is entirely possible. Though many of the pieces I have seen from Lohman have a stamp on them that show they are from Lohman. Some of the lohman menuki are very detailed, this could be one.

[@TopLob]

@@Matthew_Jensen Yeah, mine looks really good. No signs of the casting process. I can't remember having seen any stamps on my fittings when I took it apart, but it's the sort of stuff I'd forget, so it's very possible they have them.

[@soykanmuri7277]

I don't get why you always flop the sword in your hand as if your meaning to be paying special attention to the weight of the sword. And non chalautly at that in a sense that your sword has more meaning because u can notice how much it weighs, typically using your hands and arms as scales sir.

[@OnPointFirearms]

Shit. At $4500 i might have to only buy two of them. shame.

[@santanajackson6160]

4500 is a ripoff . I dont care who makes it . a 4500 dollar better be indestructable

[@luckydawg7176]

When I got my masters degree in Biomedical sciences in 2007 the dean taught me one principle that holds true today “ you get what you pay for… if you want the Lexus … you have Better pay the Lexus money … you pay cheap … you will get cheap results, it’s that simple “ Sure there are overpriced items out there that I would not spend a dime for . But there are katanas in Japanese museums that are worth $500,000 made by blacksmiths from 14th century feudal Japan . They are expensive because it takes an average 18-24 months to make a sword of superior quality . I bought a $2000 Mac book pro in 2007 and it lasted until 2019. I didn’t have to buy another computer for 12 years . Get the picture

[@ЕленаСпельт]

give me that sword

[@F-4E-58-MC]

first view and first like!:)

[@michaelcooke-z4s]

very very nice but 4500$ no thanks

[@justinetre9328]

If I'm spending 5000$ on a sword I want it to be without problems an look good you can buy a gun with that maybe a few guns my AR Cost 2000$ and I have had it for some time and who do you think would win meh or your sword I have put 1000s down rang and not have one problem with my AR15