Cloudhammer Steelworks $450 Katana

This is a katana from Cloudhammer Steelworks and sent for evaluation by RVA katana.
If you are interested in buying one you can find more about their offerings here -
cloudhammerfor...
Steel: Sup12
Fittings: Floral theme with gold and silver detailing
Ito: Black Leather
Say: Ishime finish without horn parts
Handle/Tsuka Length: 10.5”
Blade/Nagasa Length: 27.5” (without habaki)
Sori: .575”
Moto-haba: 1.205”
Motokasane: .265”
Saki-haba: .931”
Sakikasane: .198”
Weight: 2lb 4.4oz
POB: 5.25” from tsuba
MSRP: $450
Sword Stand by Enso Workshop - www.etsy.com/s...
Music provided by - Kevin MacLeod incompetech.com
Link to the Facebook spot - / matthewjensenswordreview
Link to the Twitch spot - / sword_friend_matt
Link to the Patreon spot - / krunan
Link to the TicTock spot - / matthewjensenswordguy
Link to the Instagram spot - / matthewjensenswordguy
Link to the KZbin Membership spot - / @matthew_jensen
Link to my eBay sales page - www.ebay.com/us...

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Edit here- This is a $450 Katana, not $400, oops!

[@Kirk1957]

You are correct about the saya. Even fake bull horn would look better. Note if you have a problem with a CloudHammer and need a replacement part, you will never see it. These are the main resons why I never bought another one.

[@MoyBoy365]

Great video! I own the same exact katana and I can say all the points you went through are 100% on point. I agree with you on the handle, it was one of the components that impressed me out of the box. The ishime texture on the saya on my copy started to peel a bit, revealing underneath a blue wooden saya. Personally I do like the aesthetics of the katana, but I totally understand where you are coming from on it. In my opinion, I do recommend the katana. The entire feel and construction of the katana felt like I got my money's worth. Also, Cloudhammer does offer similar swords in different styles and at similar prices. Once again, thank you for the amazing review and keep up the hard work!

[@robertfaucher3750]

This looks like a cherry blossom themed one on the site for $450

[@samuraibyrd]

Classic!! I laughed when you stuck the sword in the base of the stand while you fixed cardboard target,lol. It reminded me of the old cowboy movies when the sheriff used his priceless Colt 45 as a hammer to put up wanted posters,lol. On another note,John at RVA Katana is awesome!

[@Jaedeok82]

If anything ever happens to my Cloudhammer, It'll be the tsuka I miss the most. That ito is so comfortable and tight its crazy.

[@CIAG4PNP]

I am a leather smith. Building a leather protective skin for the saya would be not too difficult with some cool custom designs and make it nicely reinforced! I was thinking of getting one of their dragon themed katanas and doing some custom saya leather skin work🤔. Thank you for the review.

[@shawnclifford362]

Good to know. Thanks. God bless ☘️

[@GodsOfGaming]

Hey Matt, great video. Just wanted to draw your attention to the cloudhammer typo in the title and in the bio. Cya in the one

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Thanks for that!

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

Another great review. Thank you.

[@mr.j1381]

my cat is chasing a chicken she is torn between chase and watching your presentation must be doing something right.

[@ahsverkoshkin]

I got my own $500 SKS3 Whirlwind and I could see thin samegawa panel's edge below the kashira, and could see the wood there, which is not acceptable for a $500 sword. Kashira also wiggled a bit. The cord that was going through the middle of it -- was way to the side, and revealed a large gaping hole, where I could see the wooden core. RV Katana refunded me for "minor issues" $25. . I think such issues with tsukamaki are not MINOR. They are major. And the sword itself is as good as its handle. As one wise person said, it's the interface the swordsman has, and poor interface significantly impedes the abilities of the sworsdman and the blade they wield. I didn't like that kind of philosophy on RV/Cloudhammer's end and cancelled the pre-order for one of their S5 swords. . And, supposedly, my sample was best out of the three left in stock in Virginia. I am quite disappointed with the quality. They advised that they sent out better tsuka to their previous customers with issues. But that's not a way to repair a katana-shinken. Each tsuka needs to be individually fitted, even on a production sword. LK Chen without being asked replace swords with issues, and don't send out parts or issue laughable refunds, or downplay their issues. Appears RV sent their best as samples, and the rest should be in the "dent & scratch" price territory at the very least. I am not buying another RV/Cloudhammer katana/shinken until I hear that they are doing better with tsukamaki and Customer Service. I fixed my sword by filling the last diamond, where the wood was showing, with black nail polish, that matched the black leather cord. I used viscous super glue to secure kashira. Then I sprayed thin layers of PU clear lacquer over tsuka over three days. I used a cardboard with a hole carved in the middle, to avoid sprays on fuchi ring and tsuba. Now it's drying and looking quite good. I wouldn't mind keeping this fixed sword, but no one should be putting this much time and resources after buying a $500 sword. A $300 Dojo Pro is a whole level better when it comes to tsukamaki. A $200 sword from Romance of Men had Much better tsukamaki. . . I would rather take a 'T10' sword with good tsukamaki than a sword with Japanese SKS3 (good analogue of T10) with poor tsukamaki. But then, again, I am not using swords for display...

[@addictedtoblades2]

Great job brother, very well done ❤

[@metingurbuz750]

@Matthew_Jensen what steel is this one?

[@ValenNightblade]

Sup12 spring steel

[@christopher7398]

Maybe it’s just me but I don’t really see where the $450 comes from with this blade. I can think of blades that do more for cheaper.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Can you name some examples and why you think they do more?

[@christopher7398]

The first thing that comes to mind is something like a dojo pro from Ronin. You can get custom swords from Jkoo as well that have differentially hardened blades for less. The only thing I see this doing differently is having a nice tight ito. That being said you’re definitely more experienced than me. It’s just that to me, this feels like a $300-$350 sword.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

The dojo pro is a good value for a durable sword. Sometimes the ito can be a little on the loose side but many folks say theirs is quite tight. Seems like tight leather is one thing coludhammer is doing well. The other use of exotic steels. Not sure how durable this one is but it was more durable. It also has a mirror polish vs a satin polish on the ronin. The fittings are not my style but are a bit more expensive as well. There are a number of upgrades if they are of value to you.

[@KF1]

Nice cuts on the cardboard tube. I would argue that 2.5lbs is actually med-heavy for a katana, but either way nice sword and good showing. * just personal metric, I consider ~1000g to be light, ~1100g as medium, and ~1200g as heavy. At 1134g, I guess that's not so bad of a weight.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

2lb 8oz is somewhere in the middle for me. Under 2lb is light, 1lb 8 oz is very light. 3lb stats the heavy/medium heavy. 4lb is very heavy.

[@KF1]

@@Matthew_Jensen fair enough, I can see how the scales would be different for a guy your size

[@KF1]

@@Matthew_Jensen I've never had a nihonto, tho I wonder about them as a baseline for how much a katana is supposed to weigh. Do you have many from Japan, and if so, what do they weigh?

[@Tygrus]

@@Matthew_Jensen i've never even heard of 4 unless it's some kind of no dachi. Hanwei W&T used to be 3+ and was the beast. Some really thick 29-32 i suppose could get that heavy

[@beepboop204]

[@Book-bz8ns]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and also new to iado and tamashigiri. Would someone with experience recommend a decent sword in the beginner's range, say $200, please? Thank you for your help.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

If you have a teacher, it would be best to check with them. They may have some direction or some specifics that are required.

[@MacTX]

6:15 I guess my expectations are higher, I expect $200 swords to have tight Ito wraps. I've been spoiled by a $170 Siwode sword with a tight Ito wrap. If something of that price can have a tight wrap, there's really no excuse for a $400 sword.

[@johnhaaff5930]

Who did you by a sub 200$ with a tight Ito? Everything I have found sub 300 is “usable” at best.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

It seems like there is not a standard.. Some venders seem to miss all the time, others miss it sometimes, and very few nail it consistently. Its not really a question of price either. That said, there are a lot of companies in the $500ish range and many of them seem to be more miss than hit.

[@MacTX]

@@johnhaaff5930 I've had a $350 Shinken of Sword katana and a $170 Siwode katana both come with tight Ito. Almost no movement when trying to push the bundle, really had to put a lot of effort to move. My $200 Murasame wasn't as tight as either. I have a $400 Murasame coming in soon and I'm curious to see how the Ito on that one is. On the Siwode tight Ito was a problem because the peg was partially under the Ito. My Siwode also came with a more obscure wrap that I've been told is Jabara ito maki.

[@MacTX]

@@Matthew_Jensen $500 katana being hit or miss for a tight Ito is a strange concept to me. The most expensive katana I've bought was $350 and it felt tight and the odd thing was my $170 katana felt tighter.

[@hammerfist8763]

No bohi and unfolded tends to make for a more durable sword.

[@robertjensen1438]

Just a comment for the algorithm

[@fettmaneiii4439]

Hi Matt! I have noticed something consistent over the years watching your content, and if I may (with the utmost respect) criticize your system of review briefly, in the spirit of minimizing your impact on those around you and potentially also alleviating certain stressors that may result in this practice: In this video you state right at the beginning that this sword is another man's dojo sword. Directly after that, you then say that you have had the sword for the better part of a year. Herein lies my criticism, as this seems to be a common thing for you to do. So, I will break the criticism down into 3 parts to keep it truly constructive: Observation, Impact, and then recommendation. 1) Observation: You keep review swords that belong to other men far too long in your possession. I would consider it a clear disrespect and overreach on your part. Highly valuing your own experience with the piece, while necessarily devaluing the man who owns the piece's experience with his property. Telling the donors that it will take you a very long time to review is not an excuse for your ignorance. 2) Impact: By keeping pieces owned by others for an inappropriate amount of time, you inadvertently cause tension between parties, and likely bring a negative impact on those who are helping you by volunteering their person weapons to be showcased on your channel, even if this negative impact goes unspoken- no man wants to be without his weapon for a year. 3) Recommendation: You need to have a higher level of respect for men who provide their personal weapons for you to showcase and review on your channel. If you feel that you are simply overwhelmed with the amount of swords you have, it is your responsibility to appropriately decline donors if you feel that you simply cannot have an appropriate and respect-filled honorable turnaround time on donor weapons. I recommend setting yourself a hardline standard and operating procedure on future donor weapons, for example you may employ a system of communication like: "Hello sir, I accept your weapon to be reviewed on my channel and I thank you for providing it to me, for the benefit of myself and all who view my channel. To maintain honor and good relationships, I use a 1 month turnaround time on all temporarily donated pieces. If I cannot in good faith review the sword and send it back within 1 month of receiving it, I would decline the offer, with respect for you and my own time."

[@GodsOfGaming]

1. this was clearly not sent by just a collector, but a seller (RVA Katana) who wanted an evaluation. 2. Sending one's own dojo sword is one's choice, it's not your place to tell others what to send. For Matt's part, if he started to preference some and deny others for the sake of the story behind it then I feel like the content would suffer and it could lead to others abusing the system. 3. Telling someone it'll take a while and then taking a while isn't 'ignorance', it's honesty (even though he repeatedly apologises anyway.) Remember, this is essentially an advertisement for RVA Katana within what is a small community on youtube payed for with Matt getting to have fun. No one is forced into sending anything, and everyone has a shared understanding of general dos and don'ts. Most everyone involved in this community are grown adult men, no one is coerced into sending.a sword. Personally, I feel like actually getting to know every sword makes for much better and more informed reviews. I came here for a hobbyist who loves katanas and is knowledgeable and unbiased source, and if this is the process to do so just that then I'm in.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

I really appreciate the detail you provided here and it strikes a chord with me as keeping things for so long makes me feel bad. You are also correct in that it is my responsibility to decline things I cannot turn around promptly enough. Believe it or not, I do. Where I disagree is in disclosing this upfront and letting the the lending party make the decision. I feel like I know that it is going to take me about three months on average with a sword. An additional three months for ever additional sword sent. It can take a little more or less depending. For vendors, I prefer to get three to five samples knowing it will take that long to get done. Mostly because it gives me perspective beyond a single example that I can bring to the video. I would further note that one month is simply not enough time for me to do much. Not because the process takes that long but because I don't have the ability to guarantee that the free time I have will coincide with cooperative weather, cooperative physical heath, or that I will be in the mood to do it. So why not work through them one at a time? I did that in the past but it creates a lot of dead air without things to work on. It is helpful to have a bunch of things to work with around at one time. The skys may part and I will have a day to get a lot of footage from cutting or close up stuff. I may have a quite moment to record some audio. Doing things in batches really helps with the pacing. Generally this is the priority private sword friend property>vendor samples>my stuff. For private folks lending me or donating swords, I try to put those at the top of the pile. When one sword friend sends a number of the same kind of sword, that plan goes to out the window but generally I am good at it. Vendor samples get the next spot. I feel a little less bad about spacing out the reviews here because it is generally good for the vendor and me. In this case RVA katana was very patient and I don't feel great about taking so long. I am not sure if I told them how long it would take me to get through when I first got the group of five swords but lesson learned. While I would like to commit to short turns and I can see respect in that, I just can't work that way. I can at least be clear about the time commitment though. That much is on me. Thank you again for the feedback.

[@rvakatana]

@@Matthew_Jensen Don't worry about the length of time, I know you have a lot of swords to go through!

[@Matthew_Jensen]

@rvakatana7724 Much appreciated sir. Out of curiosity from a vendor perspective is it better to hold things and release them slowly (obviously if that is noted upfront) or a bunch of content at once?

[@rvakatana]

@@Matthew_Jensen the sooner, the better, but we understand you're a busy man with lots of swords to break . I mean, test.

[@rebelsouljaz]

The fittings are never too your liking....

[@Matthew_Jensen]

Not never but it is a rarity. I get the impression Cloudhammer can do some very cool fittings.