What is the difference between a $150 and $500 Katana?

Ryansword provided these examples. If you are interested in getting either one, please look here.
$150 -
www.ryansword.com/T10-Steel-C...
$500 -
www.ryansword.com/katana-T10-...
Quick Highlights -
Things that are Similar:
Fitment (transitions, alignment, lines ect.)
Ito tightness
Handle build quality
Sageo Material
Blade Material
Sharpness
Things that are Different:
Saya koiguchi, kojiri, krukata (one is horn)
Fuchi/kashira/menuki/tsuba (one is more expensive)
Polish (miles of difference)
Ito Material (one is a real silk)
Rayskin nodule size and wrap (one is a nice skin with a full wrap)
Please note, that there are lots of features a person can get on a katana. This video only covers a few of them. Folding, lamination, different shapes, polishes, materials, and a many other things can affect the price. Hopefully this video gives you some idea of where money is spent on these examples and others like them.
Sword Stand by Enso Workshop - www.etsy.com/shop/EnsoWorkshop
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Link to my eBay sales page - www.ebay.com/usr/krunangree

[@katana24]

i know the answer, 350 $. i'll close the door on my way out.

[@CJLiveFromTheOutdoors]

Excellent breakdown. I have wondered, for years, what the difference is between these levels of swords. Thank you for taking the time to explain it.

[@michaelrs8010]

Yeah, assuming the blades are equal in the process they use to make them, it's simply the upgrade in the materials they use for the fittings and the time they had to put in from a special polish. On the HBF site on the custom order page it keeps a running total at the top of the page does you tick off the things you would like from the drop-down menus. But if you check out their fittings page ahead of time you can see what the different prices are for different quality of fittings

[@amanhasnoname71]

I'll go for two at the price of one...ya got two hands, might as well have two.

[@hachimanjiro]

Another great video Matt, best wishes for the new year from Scotland

[@Pablo668]

Great review as always.

[@outlandersystems552]

Really like the tsuba on the $150 sword.

[@martialman12]

Awesome info!

[@shogunspalace]

Great video!

[@weepingmidwinter]

Love the honesty! I'm frankensteining one and repairing another, so I sometimes I feel a bit nuts about the balance between cost and functionality. I'm hoping to visit your dojo soon. One day you can judge my decisions, eh?

[@jacobharris3208]

Very informative video. I've been looking for a good blade with a hamon at a reasonable price. I think when the time comes I'll be getting the 150 version. Thank you Matt sword friend 👍🏻

[@jacobharris3208]

"Weapons should be durable, and hardy, instead of decorative" Miyamoto Musashi

[@vicholm1000]

So glad i seen this.. saved me money bro

[@Kratos_God_of_50_BMG]

I bought a Ronin O-Katana and instead of buying a regular old Dojo Pro, I bought a Ronin Elite for the same reason that you said about the $500 katana. The best part was that it was a S&D sale, so I paid half price and there were no visible scratches *or* dents.

[@vaclav8343]

Hey 👋🏻 how does the o katana feel in the hand ? I have heard that it is way too heavy

[@user-tp9gy8kt2q]

"Hello Swordfriends.." That has to be the best intro delivery I have ever heard - simple and right to the effing point.. I am relatively new to swordsmanship, but I have watched a few of your videos, so I believe that I know a little more about sword work than I probably do.. This video was very informative and insightful, and I thank you for providing this kind of content, I really enjoy it. Question - what would be the comparison of current carbon content to eras in sword manufacturing? 1045, 1055, 1060 and 1095 - what century would the level of craftsmanship have to offer at the different time periods? Would swords that were forged in 900AD have even met the modern day standards for 1045? Or were the impurities and lack of forging knowledge so limited that even 1045 steel would have been superior? Would this have been a different scale for medieval Europe as it was in medieval Japan? Thanks again for your most excellent content and your impressive delivery.

[@IAMBabylonTheGreat]

Not a fan of the new microphone. Just saying. Sorry. Still love the channel. Thank you for the content.

[@imperfectlump6070]

We can hear your breathing quite clearly.

[@alexwilmes9496]

Dragon King’s ito is extremely tight at all their price points, from my experience.

[@Hunterjensen7450]

Definitely looks like they have made improvements on the polish. looks like Similar fit and finish of others in the price point however the polish is a nice bonus.

[@michaelrs8010]

See my comment below related to that

[@RockModeNick]

The full wrap of skin is a huge value item. I'll always pay extra for that since handling a sword with it. It should be a much more popular option. I also think it's really annoying the rayskin panels are almost never recessed. I get that recessing the panels makes it a bit easier for the ito to slip, but it's so ugly when you can clearly see the panel edges under the wraps.

[@cosminvladconstantin]

Hi Matthew. Nice comparison, thank you. Short question - does either of the two blades have a yokote? Or the kissaki is purely cosmetical?

[@Matthew_Jensen]

The less expensive variety has a more gematric transition. The more expensive piece is more cosmetic. There is a transition but not a hard line in the same way.

[@Book-bz8ns]

I might look into what I can get in the wholesale market

[@jordanclymer995]

Sir, if you did an APOC katana review, I cannot find it. If you have done this, can you or someone else link me to it? I would be grateful. You do fantastic work here and I hope your notoriety grows to match.

[@TopLob]

I gotta say, the elaborate fittings on a cheap sword just makes it look even cheaper. Tosogu shouldn't be elaborate unless they are able to make them look good and clean. A simple design looks really tasteful, even if the casting is a bit shit. Simply because it won't be as visible that it's not good. Elaborate designs only look good if the casting is good. Less elaborate fittings of low casting quality actually look like higher quality than elaborate ones of the same low casting quality. It's only when they can get the details crisp and clean that they'll actually start looking good.

[@GGolden219]

The $500 sword would be really nice with better fittings and tsukamaki. It's a nice looking blade for $500.

[@panoctic]

some brands do improve the tsukamaki with use of hishigami, some of the hanwei ones (my great wave has lol) same with z-sey provide one. i think what people get from the 150 is a good starter blade to make mistakes and learn how to handle the thing. in my opinion an true harden blades are better starters, hamon is nice but will get scratched and you will feel annoy lol.

[@TONEDEAFSOUND]

i’m ngl the $150 is way more my style too whole thing just feels more pro

[@timmcclain2519]

Let’s go!

[@joemaggio6806]

I just sent back a $150 sword to buy a $500 Hanwei lol perfect timing

[@michaelrs8010]

On the 500 it looks like they put a Hazuya polish on it with a mirror polish above. I don't know what Ryan Sword charges for that, but that will cost somebody $80 from HBF. I had them do it on the last sword I received from them. Below is a video of the blade before assembly. After that is some insight to the technique as to why for labor it cost more to do that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpW1ipuilM-dZqssi=VuCIxc9wT8DUYETA kzbin.infoSdMj7zIgVUc?si=3rgMlo5qW3xH7nuT kzbin.infoTwSWz3e2aXQ?si=ARFRws1cbAf7oVyc

[@crimedog7576]

@6:12 ~ you mentioned it's hard to get good tsukamaki at the 500$ price. I disagree, as jkoo/sinosword have some of the tightest wrapped ito's i've ever seen, and one was on a 99$ 1050 through steel iaito. (cotton ito.) A second was a real silk ito on about a 500$~ custom. Both are used, the iaito daily, and they are still tight as the day they came years ago. I can honestly say I have never gotten a Katana from them that was remotely loose. I've had much less luck with some others I won't name, because it's irrelevant and i'm not trying to start a pissing contest. I would even say it's a selling point, having done my own tsukamaki with homemade hishigami twice now. Not easy, even with a hobby vice and hand clamp. Go on and make your own hishigami with rice paper, and wrap that tsuka yourself. You'll decide it's a selling point all on your own.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

It is absolutely a selling point but I have not had the same experience with JKOO. Some examples have been very good, others have been closer to average. I have not gotten anything from them that is bad but not many examples of very tight either. The one that stands out as the best was the 9260 sword they sent me. It was very tight ito, maybe it was something to do with the cotton material. It seemed to hold better than the silk handles they have sent. I am not trying to discount your experience here. If you have had great luck with JKOO, then I am happy to hear it. I is helpful to know. That said, my experiences with them (all up in public review) has been different. They are still making good swords, not trying to say otherwise. However, the ito tightness might verry a bit.

[@crimedog7576]

@@Matthew_Jensen fair, and I agree, it is my anecdotal experience, and not some empirical fact. I just haven't had a bad ito from them. I have *other* gripes about that particular shinken, which lends to your point, i believe; as with anything in life, your mileage may vary. On a side note, I've had exceptional cotton ito luck, admittedly, but I believe cotton Ito are quite underrated. They wear well, can start to feel a little thin after many years of daily kata, but Cotton has an interesting tactile feel, is wicking, stays cool, *won't slip if wet*, and can be pulled extremely tight. Basically everything you want except luxury. I enjoy your videos, Matt! Thanks for putting them out!

[@KF1]

Would complain to the seller about the quality of their mic. You sound way better than this. About the sword, can a buyer really expect emperor node full wrap and quality polish, or did they send you unicorns for marketing purposes? Probably not feasible, but would appreciate a blind test where the maker does Not know the vids would act as a sales pitch, but send their standard instead. Have had poor experiences that do not match the public yt reviewers' sentiments, and wonder how many samples are cherry picked, in both the higher and lower cost brackets. Jkoo, for instance, will send a better sword if you declare outright it for the purposes of Yt review. That would be my advice to get the best value. Tell them it's going up for video, and you have much better chances of unicorns per dollar.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

tried to edit out the fan noise.. going to have ot figure something else out in the future.

[@MrTryAnotherOne]

All materiasl on the 150 sword look thinner.

[@TesGon]

Both 100 or 500$ swords are basically trash. Something interesting can be found after 1000$+. And I'm NOT even talking about original Japan made nihontos. They will cost you 5000+ $.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

What makes them trash? They are not perfect but seem to be decent tools for training, decorations, or fun for backyard ninjas.

[@violentinstincts]

something's really wrong with your microphone .. sounds like you have a ton of compression on.

[@Matthew_Jensen]

It picks up a huge amount of fan noise. I struggled to get it to a point that was not distracting. Any recomendations?

[@edword3457]

​@@Matthew_Jensen Earthworks Microphones are fantastic, the Icon Pro USB model will plug right into the computer and give you pro quality sound every time

[@notanotherswordreviewchann4901]

So for all the noobs, so much of the price of chinatanas are cosmetic. How everything fits and looks...that's what you pay for! Id suggest learning to do the custom work oneself. Save a ton of money and get what you really want with some effort and teaches a skill....