Kurin Stainless Steel Iaito from Nine Circles?

[koondrad]

Hi,


I was wondering if anyone had seen or used one of these iaito? I've been struggling to find opinions of them so what do you guys think?





Thanks in advance,


koondrad.

[rottunpunk]

the nine circles iaito tend to be good quality
one of our club members has a very nice one from there
i will find out whether it is the same model as yours for you
welcome to the boards by the way
what style of iai do you practice?

[Dave Humm]

One of my iai students bought one because he's seriously on a buget.

The toshin looks like an iaito and has either an etched or brushed hamon, I can't tell to be honest.

The fittings and saya are the same quality as the shoden range of shinken (which are very good for the price), weight, sori and "feel" very nice for a buget 'steel' blade. I was suitably impressed for the money.

[koondrad]

the nine circles iaito tend to be good quality
one of our club members has a very nice one from there
i will find out whether it is the same model as yours for you
welcome to the boards by the way
what style of iai do you practice?

Thanks, I would appreciate that.


Oh and I practice MJER.



Thanks,

koondrad.

[koondrad]

One of my iai students bought one because he's seriously on a buget.

The toshin looks like an iaito and has either an etched or brushed hamon, I can't tell to be honest.

The fittings and saya are the same quality as the shoden range of shinken (which are very good for the price), weight, sori and "feel" very nice for a buget 'steel' blade. I was suitably impressed for the money.

Oh there's a five minute post editing limit on these boards.

Thanks Humm-san, that's encouraging to hear, especially after the price has been dropped again.


Thanks,
koondrad

[chidokan]

Northern Ireland eh? Are you in John Donaldson's club then? If so send congrats for him conning me into letting him have a yondan... If you want to really wind him up tell him Neil wasn't going to pass him...untrue, but he'll bite....

[rottunpunk]

apparently...
''Its a custom Tokuja - 2.45 skaku with the lightweight blade option (longest
light blade)''
so not much help to you im afraid
but atleast mr dave could give you advice

if you are at irish johns club you will have seen the pretty saya on his pretty shinken
its mine you know
i just let him buy it and use it for now

[koondrad]

Northern Ireland eh? Are you in John Donaldson's club then? If so send congrats for him conning me into letting him have a yondan... If you want to really wind him up tell him Neil wasn't going to pass him...untrue, but he'll bite....

Aye that's the one. Will do.

[MadCow Master]

Is there anyone who ownes already a kurin iaito and is willing to place some pictures of it online?

i'm considering to buy one, but i'd like to see some pictures of them first (not just all the pieces separated on their site...)

thx

[torashin]

Hi the blade looks nice but expensive. Remember Nine circles adds VAT afterwards

I would seriously consider having a look at one of these:

http://www.piecesofhistory.co.uk/pro....asp?id=SH5009

The balance is excellent and the price is also good.

At the end of the day, the choice of an Iaito is a personal thing. I don't mind training with one of the Paul Chen blades. I use the Nami for Iai and the Tsunami for Tameshigiri. Both work fine for me

I would offer to sell you one but my site is U/S at the moment.

Cheers

[Usagi_Yojimbo]

My sword was purchased from that range from 9 circles, and I'm 100% happy with it. Couldn't be any more pleased.

[MadCow Master]

yeah, I know they calculate VAT afterwards (ordered already some stuff there )

my sensei isn't to fond of Paul Chen (quite an understatement I believe )

and I promised myself a steel iaito after reaching shodan that's why I'm asking pictures...

[satsumaruma]

My advice is to always try before you buy where possible and this is especially true of something quite personal like a sword.

What one person thinks of as really good someone else may disagree. Generally speaking Nine Circles tend to sell decent swords at reasonable prices; the fittings, saya, blade finish etc all tend to be good ( although I felt the stock they brought to this years summer seminar wasn't as good as their usual standard). The after sales service is excellent - I have never heard anyone have a bad word for them.

But really you do need to hold the sword you wish to buy in your hand. You need to be sure that the tsuka feels comfortable in your grip - that it is not too long or too short or too thin or too fat. You need to be happy with its weight and balance. You need it to feel suited to the way you cut and that it would help you improve your Iai rather than hinder it. I think you also need to like the way it looks - these things cost a fair amount of money so you need to be happy with spending your hard earned cash on something that looks good to you. You also need to know that it has been put together well with no 'rattles' or movement.

If you know anyone who has one of their swords (especially this particular range) it would be good to try. It would be even better if you could get to a seminar where they show case some of their stock or even ask if you could visit their premises.

Just some thoughts.

Lee

[Mr. T.]

I actually have a 9c kurin. I really like it. I picked the lightest 2.55 blade they had. I wrote a small post about it, here it is:
http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/sho...2&postcount=19

[MadCow Master]

no one who has taken pictures of it allready ?
though it's possible I'll order one tommorow after training