Romance of Men Custom T10DH Choji Hamon Shinogi Zukuri Katana Review: Is Custom Always Better?

[@TONEDEAFSOUND]

nice work on the review! i like the choices you made for the sword my experience with rom has been great so far

[@StudioGDT]

@@TONEDEAFSOUND they are pretty great to work with

[@JiyuKishiParn]

I recently got in a custom work from RoM that actually turned out better aesthetically than I had initially imagined it, a blue pattern steel water themed katana. The idea came to me after I had put in that custom order from Ryan Sword I mentioned before, which I still need to make a quick video to show you but I've been pretty occupied. I might just put them both in to show at the same time. lol I was actually a bit surprised it was thicker and wider than a pattern steel production design I had previously gotten from them.

[@StudioGDT]

@@JiyuKishiParn the blade I received was very beefy as well!

[@jamieadams7550]

@@JiyuKishiParn wow just got screwed from rom they took my money and ran like helll

[@jamieadams7550]

Just that fire did burn then down

[@JiyuKishiParn]

@@jamieadams7550 They did have a fire the day after I put in another custom order with them. They offered me a refund but I decided to wait it out for things to get back in working order again and now it's about to be sent my way. I can't comment on what may have happened on your end, but I've never had a problem working things out with them.

[@jamieadams7550]

@@JiyuKishiParn they stated I had no order with then cut me off

[@SpaceGhost182]

Love the way the custom came out. RoM makes really great blades for the price. Great review brother

[@StudioGDT]

@@SpaceGhost182 thank you and I do agree along with some very unique options

[@jaydavis2679]

Nice sword, ROM seems to have very affordable offerings. As someone whose sensibility is more interested in functionality and affordability over the fine details of aesthetics, I'll have to try out their products in the future.

[@StudioGDT]

I was they had a bit more in the way of subtle koshirae but there is bound to be something for everyone

[@Katana-Karl]

Another outstanding review!

[@StudioGDT]

Thank you brother, I am glad to see you are still watching!

[@samuraibyrd]

Great video. Nice custom build

[@StudioGDT]

Thanks!

[@samuraibyrd]

@@StudioGDT did you message me yesterday? What’s up?

[@tyleralderliesten2489]

The more i look into katanas, the more I fall in love with the choji style hamons. As you say, this one is more of a fire style, although basically no reproduction katanas ive seen have a correct choji hamon, and the few that do are always ko-choji, which is probably my least favorite of the choji hamons. I still think it looks really good, although the polish leaves a bit to be desired, as you said. Everything looks pretty good, or at least average for a drop down custom manufacturer. Personally i did not think very highly of rom (although that may be partly because of the name, and the pictures in their custom builder look terrible) but it seems they at least do well for a longquan sword. Also, do you plan on doing any more lives?

[@StudioGDT]

@@tyleralderliesten2489 I almost want to coin it “Longquan Choji” you know what i mean? I’m still searching for that perfect choji just like perfect rikko. But the Longquan Choji still is attractive. I wasn’t certain about the lives but probably will. I just might plan it out more and maybe set a specific time or subject.

[@tyleralderliesten2489]

@@StudioGDT “longquan choji”, I like that. The closest I’ve seen for choji out of china is zsey, but is that really a surprise? They sell a “longquan choji” sword, but also have a good juka choji and I’ve seen a few customs with different types as well. Still not up to nihontos but probably as close as we’re gonna get. Sounds good on the lives, keep us posted I’ll definitely stop by when I can

[@JoeSteel1]

Yeah agreed the Surudoi has been reviewed a great deal, warranted its a great sword...good choice in the custom, ROM is a legit honorable, quality company, well done on a surface review

[@StudioGDT]

Thanks brother. I enjoyed working with them and would definitely like to try something different in the future.

[@KF1]

Nice style of hamon. I really like these ones. Would be cool if they would send you some tatami to use in your reviews.

[@StudioGDT]

That would be helpful. This is why I have to space out my reviews into phases. Tatami is not inexpensive and at this point in time, it will be at my own expense. I’m working on it though!

[@KF1]

@@StudioGDT Yeah that's why I want them to send some to you for free. Wouldn't hurt to ask and would add a lot of body to the reviews. Keep up the good work, you got a great review style.

[@StudioGDT]

@@KF1​​⁠that is VERY much appreciated…I’m not sure I feel I have the gravitas yet to ask for anything other than a sword lol.

[@KF1]

@@StudioGDT In that case, maybe do a livestream collab with Matthew Jensen. I'm sure tons of people would subscribe if you had higher visibility. Plus, it could be fun. Just throwing ideas out, I need cutting footage!

[@StudioGDT]

@@KF1I’d be willing to join anyone for discussion. Asking for it though feels desperate lol. I guess that’s the pride in me. There will be cutting, comped mats or not, of that I assure you.

[@Tapirrr]

How does it cut?

[@Jaedeok82]

Great talking point for the video. Shame about a few of the aesthetics on it. With how blocky that tsuka looked I'd be interested to see if they actually full wrapped it, and if they did, why the hishigami pushed the ito out so far like that. It's possible that they use some kind of cardboard hishi for ease of use vs the usual paper, and that's why you're seeing it upraised like that. Did you take the tsuka off at any point? You'd be able to easily verify if they full wrapped it or not by taking the fuchi off. Not digging at you or the company here, just thinking out loud.

[@StudioGDT]

Not taken as a dig at all! It is indeed a full same wrap that was verified when I removed the Tsuka. The hishigami method appears…interesting…I can see white triangles, but it almost appears as if there are two layers of them which is something I’ve never seen before. I imagine some of the bulging along the spine of the Tsuka could be these two layers being pulled too taught that the rippled on each other. Not certain of course, and I don’t have plans to tear it apart just yet but I can say it was not a “traditional” hishigami installation with confidence.

[@GrandmasterHobbyist]

are they still down from the fire or are they back in business?

[@StudioGDT]

I personally have not had any contact with them since confirmation of the fire-to be clear I hadn’t a reason for them to contact me so it’s not like I’m a customer waiting on something…very long winded way of saying “I don’t know” lol

[@lornemcneil]

What's the sharpest company that their merit

[@StudioGDT]

I’m not sure i understand the question fully

[@lornemcneil]

@@StudioGDTapologies y spoke of 1 company usually have 1 thing they are proficient in ,my ?was the best sharpest sword company 👌

[@StudioGDT]

@@lornemcneil​​⁠I can’t say I have the answer to that my friend! Sharp is relative as well…the sharpest out of the box may not be the sharpest over time-it’s a balancing act of cutting ability and edge retention. Unfortunately at this time I cannot say I have the answer 😂

[@lornemcneil]

@@StudioGDT I know sir ,its relative to 1ns requirements

[@lornemcneil]

@@StudioGDT I have a tamahangane from swordier, I'm on 8000 grit stone, I'm find the sharper the more relevant respect to the blade increases,lol

[@jamieadams7550]

Just took my money ran guess the fire in the shop was worse than we thought

[@potato2248]

wut?

[@StudioGDT]

When was the last communication you received?

[@jamieadams7550]

@@StudioGDT never have

[@jamieadams7550]

@@StudioGDT they just stopped all communication.so I just wrote them off

[@jamieadams7550]

Just got contacted by rom they are shut down right now do to a fire in there shop so any orders are goingtobe delayed 😊

[@StudioGDT]

@@jamieadams7550 what?! That’s terrible!

[@jamieadams7550]

@@StudioGDT yes indeed hope they get back up and get going again

[@jamieadams7550]

Rom has offered full refund on anyone order😊😊

[@jamieadams7550]

Well rom took my money and ran like he,lol get that fire really burned them down

[@AgouraSteve]

Nice review. Too bad about the rusting on the Katana. Mothers mag will fix it up. ✌️🫠

[@StudioGDT]

Thank you! They were more than willing to make sure I was happy but it didn’t bother me that much in the grand scheme of things