This is a wall hanger, right?

[jjcruiser]

http://www.e-mudo.com/Nami_Katana_p/namikatana2.htm

I'm not an iaidoka, really out of my element here.

[Durandal]

looks like a blade made for cutters than people practicing plain iaido.

[Halcyon]

http://www.e-mudo.com/Nami_Katana_p/namikatana2.htm

I'm not an iaidoka, really out of my element here.

Why do you ask?

[pgsmith]

It looks like another of the inexpensive katana that have flooded the market in recent years from China and Indonesia. These are generally built well enough for occassional use, but the quality control tends to be pretty haphazard. I've seen inexpensive Chinese made swords that were really well done, and others of the same make and model that were total crap. In general, they tend to not be terribly well balanced, and most of them that I've looked at have had problems with the alignment of the blade to the oval of the tsuka.
Unfortunately, with swords you tend to get what you pay for.

[jjcruiser]

Why do you ask?

I'd like an iaito someday, preferably one sturdy enough for kendo kata and not a sharpened katana obviously, but I got an advertisement in my inbox and was curious.

[Halcyon]

I'd like an iaito someday, preferably one sturdy enough for kendo kata and not a sharpened katana obviously, but I got an advertisement in my inbox and was curious.

I see. This is definitely NOT what you want then. Also, the mogito used for kendo-no-kata are actually different from iaito.

[sirius1906]

I see. This is definitely NOT what you want then. Also, the mogito used for kendo-no-kata are actually different from iaito.

What's the difference? stainless vs aluminum?

[Halcyon]

What's the difference? stainless vs aluminum?

Don't know what the specific materials are, but the mogito used for kendo-no-kata are designed to take a bit of impact. Alloy iaito are not.

[Jonathan]

Yeah, siding against the 'wall hanger' label. Doesn't appear to be a super piece, leaning towards low possibly mid tier production. It seems they are using the SPS steel, so I'm not sure about their write up about removing impurities... it sounds good on a web page though.

They include the terms "shitaji and shiage process" - if the photo is any indication then either the light is funky, or that togishi saw them coming.

[Wraith]

These should do the trick:

http://www.kendo-bogu.com/product_p/070-ktl999.htm

[jjcruiser]

These should do the trick:

http://www.kendo-bogu.com/product_p/070-ktl999.htm

Thanks. Spendy. But you get what you pay for, I know.

Maybe next year.

[dillon]

Don't know what the specific materials are, but the mogito used for kendo-no-kata are designed to take a bit of impact. Alloy iaito are not.

From what I've seen iai mogito and kendo-kata-yo mogito differ in thickness and whether there is a groove or not. Kendo-kata-yo will be thicker and won't have a groove in order to take the abuse. Also of course, iaito have different lengths whereas kendo-kata-yo generally only has the standard 2.4shaku length.

Generally there are two alloys for mogito and the choice doesn't seem to have any relation to whether it's for iai or kendo-kata. It just seems to be down to whatever the manufacturer decides to use. The alloys are zinc-alumin(i)um and beryllium-alumin(i)um. The former seems to be more common. I've heard beryllium-alumin(i)um will feel stiffer (less vibration when making contact) but tends to be more brittle.

I have both a zinc-alumin(i)um iaito and a beryllium-aluminium kendo-kata-yo daisho. I have yet to actually use the kendo-kata-yo for contact kata so can't confirm about the stiffness but it would be hard to compare unless I got a kendo-kata-yo which is exactly the same except for the alloy.

[Kendoka]

Some kata-yo (kendo kata practice swords) are indeed alloy, but are thicker and designed for kata. I have used such at seminars in Japan as well. If kendo kata is performed properly, there is not much impact at all. But there is harai like contact of the two swords shinogi in kata #4 to 10.

[Halcyon]

If kendo kata is performed properly, there is not much impact at all. But there is harai like contact of the two swords shinogi in kata #4 to 10.

The operative word here being "properly."

There's also some suriage-like contact in No. 3 as uchidachi retreats. And let's not forget the initial strike from hasso vs. waki in No. 4 before coming down into chudan. In No. 5, men-suriage-men. In No. 6, kote-suriage-kote. In kodachi No. 1 and 2, men-ukenagashi-men. (I dunno about others, but I've had some pretty hard contact during these moves while using bokken.)

[Neil Gendzwill]

The worst is if you get the angles wrong and you end up with edge to edge contact. The old mogito we use for demos look more like sawblades than swords these days...