Dragon King Sea Wave Katana Review

[@Ella_Iberia]

Matthew, thank you for the review! I work in marketing and sales for CAS and I recently bought the Sea Wave Katana that we had in defects for a minor scratch. I got a really great deal and I was actually able to get the scratch out, so it is like-new. I have been looking at this sword for 2 years, so I was glad to finally pull the trigger. I don't have the same problem with the loose saya, so I hate that you're having that issue. I am happy that you didn't destroy the sword! I am so glad that Patrick finally made contact with you, as I have been following your channel for a few years now. It helps to follow reviewers to bring up potential production issues. Keep up the great work.

[@Zanshin-blades]

Just purchased the winter Sun katana from dragon king, for my dojo's upcoming tameshigiri seminar. Hearing your optimistic reviews on this range is awesome for those seeking "under the hood" information on what's out there. Appreciated and thank you.

[@EloyBushida]

The reason I love Dragon King swords is because they are beautiful pieces of art but also very functional. Also the fact that they are worth their full retail price, but can often be found for 2/3 of that price, and sometimes even HALF their price brand new with no defects. Its a fantastic brand, I love everything I have from them.

[@SpaceGhost182]

Dragon king makes excellent quality blades for a reasonable price. Completely agree with everything you said here. Original fittings go a long way and dragon king consistently pulls them off well. Also came sharper than any production blade I've had, needed no real edge work on arrival. Cut extremely well out of the box

[@HamuelTheGrey]

Do you think they do T10 steel well? I feel anyone can say it's T10, but do you think they really heat treat it correct and everything?

[@Kirk1957]

I have the Dragon King Taikyu Katana SD35480. Excellent mat cutter.

[@MegaGregor44]

Thank you for helping me decide on this one. I was ready to order this last year but could not forget a small negative comment from a different review. I have a few of their swords and just purchased their Ogami Itto katana inspired by Lone Wolf and Cub films and TV series and I really like it. Now Im ready to order the Sea Wave so dont break it. Great review Mathew

[@MegaGregor44]

I just purchased one for $500 on ebay. The seller said if he had not untied the sageo knot he woud have go much more money. I did not say anything but was happy to get the blade at that price and after some Mothers Mag I retied the cord using the chopstick method. Its stunning to look at and feels good.

[@TopLob]

"I'm doing this in the business of words, and I'm not wordsing very well here." Now that's a quote to remember. Lol.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

First? First time being first. Hi Matthew. Love your presentations. BTW, your video and sound work has improved so very much since I first discovered you several months ago. Best wishes. Cheers!

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

@CobraKaiNoMercy Are you enjoying your sense of smug satisfaction?

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

@CobraKaiNoMercy Which is something VERY COMMON for people to do. Have you never seen that? it is not me who made the scene; it is you and your need to diminish others. How is that working for you? You could have just STFU and let in ride but, no, you have to let everyone know that YOU made the first comment. Who then is the true egoist? I hope you are still enjoying that feeling of smug self-satisfaction in winning a competition that did not exist.

[@vicnighthorse]

I never enjoy seeing a nice sword damaged much less destroyed. Thanks for the review.

[@Kratos_God_of_50_BMG]

I have gotten the Dragon King Winter Sun, Autumn Leaf, snd Summer Lotus. All three were surprisingly good considering the price point, and they were *really* well put together from the Kashira to the Kissaki. As for busting up yours, it may serve you a purpose for another day.

[@tengu190]

Winter sun is the only 2.55 shaku on the market worth getting right now. The Bugei offerings the tsuka are 14”.

[@SI96k]

​@@tengu190what about the hanwei raptor nanbokucho?

[@tengu190]

@@SI96k that’s a 2.50 shaku/30.0” nagasa.

[@SI96k]

​@@tengu190Oh I see, thanks for the correction. Do you think the winter sun is better than the hanwei nanbokucho (other than the size difference) in terms of fittings and overall blade quality? It's going to be my first katana and I wanted one that was big enough since I'm 6' 2". Thanks.

[@tengu190]

@@SI96k I focus on 29-33.5” nagasa. I can say hands down the tsuka on the Winter Sun is much much better feeling than the Nanbokucho. The Nanbokucho is an axe handle. Also with you height the Winter Sun being slightly longer will work better especially if you do iai. I would also recommend checking out the Ronin Dojo Pro #31 (rewrap necessary for long term use) and the Ryansword 1336 (Special order via RVA Katana, I just got four in from them and they will be posting a video). For 2.50 shaku Skyjiro is who to go to, I have four shinken and an iaito from them. Ryujin O-katana is alright but it’s a 32” nagasa not 33” (they measure to the tsuba) and the 14” tsuka is long.

[@FortuneFavoursTheBold]

Seems to be an excellent offering by Dragon King. I always like their themes, which are almost never generic. The great wave theme is seen on other companies’ work but DK’s take is quite unique and well executed. The blade dynamics don’t seem to be too bad, either. Really looking forward to your review of the DSA Olbrecht. That ought to be a fun video😅.

[@michaelrs8010]

As I write this 2 days after Thanksgiving '23 this item is currently on sale at the SBG Sword Store for $870 PLUS a 10% discount.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

That is a solid deal.

[@CountOrlok22]

Had my eye on this due to the sharp linework and details.

[@patrickofcasiberia]

Great review. Fair and objective.

[@tengu190]

You need to review a Bugei Armorer’s 29” nagasa.

[@freestatefellow]

Huh, this brand wasn’t really on my radar. This one’s a bit out of my price point but the Autumn Leaf looks like a nice piece.

[@dufkers]

17:49 “Lack of profound zazzyness” would be a good band name.

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

At that price point its about what i would expect. The places it came apart is where most all tend to fail.

[@whiteCDN]

Awesome video! How would you compare this to the Dynasty Forge Bushi Silver Wave? It seems like the Dynasty Forge offers the same quality for a much lower price, albeit you're missing out on some of the intricacies and details as seen on the Dragon King.

[@UnkleDavo]

Another great video

[@jamieadams7550]

Do I have this correct dragon king changed the name to shadow damcer

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Dragon KING was started by someone with a very long history working for or with Hanwei. The pros and cons of Hanwei and Dragon KING are similar, though Dragon KING has been coming out with some newer designs. Dragon SWORD changed there name to Shadow Dancer. I heard the reason was to show up better in searches given the number of things that showed up when you search for "Dragon Sword" online.

[@lewisw7916]

Really suprised to hear you find it heavier than expected/ medium weight. I find mine to be super light and dainty. I wonder if they changed the dimensions as mine also has much nicer blue and white patterned sageo.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Interesting.

[@warrennass24]

Hi Matthew, I was wondering that the way you described it's usage in doing kata if it felt like like the Hanwei Ronin. Because the way you described it it sounds like my experience with my Ronin.

[@veritasaequitas9252]

Matt, what would be the best battle ready Katana's in $1,200.00-3,000.00 range? I was looking at T10 spring steel options. What would you suggest? Your advice is greatly appreciated!

[@MountaineerSamurai]

Savior and Shi, two awesome Dragon King Bananas 🍌 🗡️

[@Matthew_Jensen]

The Shi is a good one. That looks nice.

[@medievilassassin]

I do love the wave them and the silver a nice sword , but expensive

[@Monkey-d2p]

The curve on the blade looks nice and I don't like curved blades much

[@EinnyenJM]

Did you upgrade your camera? The close ups were really well done. I don't think any destructive testing is necessary since this seems more geared toward cutting than end of days survival.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

There was a little change.

[@domenic9817]

Hey Matthew, at 3:28 ive noticed some space between the seppa and the habaki. Was it delivered like this ? Or did your testings result in this ? im interested in this katana, but if it looks like this after some cuts, i'll think about it. I'd be glad if i get an answer. Greets from Germany

[@PanVladyslav]

its look awesome!

[@patriotsedge6730]

I’ve been studying Yamaguchiha Toyama Ryu for a few years now. Curious as to what lineage of Toyama Ryu you study. It’s interesting seeing the same Kata but with some variations to what I’ve learned.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

The school is ZNTIR. Under Hataya Sensei

[@michaelrs8010]

I vote YES on destruction testing. Also what is it about the construction of the sword that has it at the price point it is at? = 1,100 at KoA and 1,260 at CAS. I looked on both those sites and I didn't see what the metal was in the tsuba or fittings or blade steel.

[@MegaGregor44]

On KOA select specifications ,the blade is listed as folded 9260 and T-10 steel. 2 lbs 3 oz

[@michaelrs8010]

@@MegaGregor44 So are they saying it's a kobuse blade? If so, for the spine to be the softer 9260 with the visible hada from the folding, it would have to be *Gyaku-Kobuse. Or are they saying that the steels are blended? Which, as little as I know about metallurgy, doesn't make any really practical sense to me. *For those that don't know, regular two steel kobuse blades are made like a hot dog in a bun. Then when smashed flat, so to speak, the bun is the harder sudes and edge and the hot dog is the softer shock absorbing core and spine. Gyaku blades are the reverse of that. Where instead of putting the hot dog in the bun the bun is put over the hot dog. So then when it's smashed flat the hot dog is a hard inner core and edge and the bun is the softer outer sides and spine to absorb shock.

[@michaelrs8010]

Hey Matt - is that sword a Gyaku-Kobuse blade? Another commenter pointed out that on the KOA site it's listed as the blade being 9260 folded steel with T10 steel. So it seems to me that would be the sides and spine whereas the T10 would be the core and edge. But it seems to me that folding the 9260 to get the hada would remove some of its springiness. Although I guess not it's softness relative to the T10

[@Matthew_Jensen]

I don't think so but I don't know. It did not look folded but I suppose I would find out if I cracked it in half.

[@michaelrs8010]

@@Matthew_Jensen Well pending something like that, I've I shot an email off to Cas Iberia, so maybe they know

[@LifeWithaTy]

$1’300 so high 😢 but love it

[@KF1]

Respectfully, I disagree about the habaki. The tsuba and fuchi are very busy. Would not want a busy habaki as well. Plain habaki is like a woman who has no tattoos. Way more attractive to be clean. I know you don't like them, maybe out of boredom, but in this case extra embellishment would only cheapen the look imo.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Interesting comparison. I appreciate the feedback here. I think vendors read the comments and it is good to know there are people that would prefer the clean look.

[@KF1]

@@Matthew_Jensen Thanks for the response. In this case I doubt Dragon King would give a F what I think. On the converse, they care what you think. Take it easy on those clean habakis. Sometimes they're just right. L. ove your vids, swordbro, just gripin', personal pref.

[@lassiturbo2554]

hello discord friend, when can we have a beer?

[@diveactive]

why does anybody want to break a sword? Aren’t they built to be respected?

[@Matthew_Jensen]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIrJZqWPr51jfaM

[@outlawsamurai47]

your the athority on breaking a sword you can that much

[@Didamina101]

Bamboo mat forever!!!! Lmaooo but seriously great review.

[@wedge45hotmailcom]

Thanks for the review! It convinced me to get this as my first really expensive sword I didn't buy from you:)

[@2zen777]

I Was always a fan of the aesthetics of this sword but the price didnt warrent me buying it just for its aesthetics. Otherwise it surprised me to hear that its heavier than it looks, my impression of it was also that its probably a dainty sword haha

[@MegaGregor44]

Your technique is always getting better. I like this sword but my favorite video is the Highlander one with the Queen song playing and your funny intro saying there can be only one,download.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

maybe someday I will be funny again.

[@sayonvertigo]

Nice design 🖤

[@ryldauril2228]

not sold. sorry..

[@Matthew_Jensen]

What does not do it for you?

[@ryldauril2228]

it broke at base @@Matthew_Jensen

[@michaelrs8010]

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out overall what puts it over $1,100.

[@Jaedeok82]

The polish level and fittings are nicer than their War Horse, but I really don't think they're $700 nicer.

[@BT-su1yf]

I find it odd they would send a saya that’s flawed. Wouldn’t they want to give you their best, for the review?