balance of sword

[jezah81]

Hi all,
I just checked to see where the balance of my shinken is, and its about 7 to 8 inches from the tsuba. Would that mean my sword is top heavy or not, seeing that the whole length of the sword is 39.7 inches, 10.5 being the tsuka?
Kind Regards,
Jeremy Hagop

[Bleda]

Traditional pre-tokugawa period swords had the balance farther out as it allows for heavier cutting. 7-8 inches is pretty standard for a cutting so i wouldn't worry about it.