As I wrote in my review of the Hanwei Practical Katana, I am not primarily a practicioner of the Japanese sword arts.  I do appreciate a fine sword, however, and I believe I possess enough mechanics to use such a blade for expedient self-defense.  Apart from this, there is always a certain pleasure that comes with examining a finely made weapon, particularly one with a sense of style.  When I first took delivery of a Cold Steel katana for evaluation in another publication, I was pleased with the weapon.

The following is my account of the sword at that time, before the first issue of The Martialist.

Cold Steel’s website states that their katana is hand forged. Individually heat-treated, tempered, and polished, the 29-3/8 inch blade is of 1050 spring steel. A deep fuller runs for most of its length. Weighing in at just under 40 ounces (without its heavily lacquered wooden sheath), the sword is 40-3/4 inches overall. The katana also comes with a very nice, heavy cloth bag.

These statistics don’t do the sword justice, however. When I took the sword out of its box, I stared at it for a good five minutes, just holding it in my hand. Now, keep in mind that this is, essentially, a production sword – a “using” sword with a suggested retail price of a little more than $800 USD at the time of this writing. It will not match more traditional blades with price tags of twice that much – and there are, arguably, swords that are as nice that cost less. As a production sword attainable by a wide audience of would-be swashbucklers, however, this is a nice piece, particularly where the attention to detail is concerned.

The black iron guard and pommel are nicely wrought and visually quite appealing. My sample does show some rough spots from the production process, but nothing too unusual. The pommel and collar are textured.

The rayskin covering the hilt is deeply pebbled and immediately distinguishable from the plastic imitations one sees on some blades. The handle wrap is nicely done and provides a very comfortable grip. I think it could, perhaps, be tighter, but that’s speculation on my part. The pegs securing the handle are of wood, not plastic as found on lesser swords. The black metal and brass furniture beneath the wrap is very attractive.

The hand-made blade collar is polished brass. It fits snugly in the very nice, smoothly finished sheath. (The lacquer on the sheath is so thick that I at first thought it might be aluminum before I looked inside.) An information sheet included with the sword cautions the owner not to slam the sword into and out of the sheath, as this will loosen the fit.

One of my martial arts instructors, who examined the sword with me, mentioned that it flexed too much for his tastes. I think this is a matter of preference. I own a shorter, straight-bladed custom sword that does not flex as much, but I think the Cold Steel katana shows a healthy amount of spring in keeping with its function. It returns to its original shape each time.  My instructor and another student also commented that the sword seemed a bit heavy for them.  I did not find it so, but I am large and not exactly a... subtle... person, so heavier blades do not trouble me.

The sword handles well. It cuts the air with an audible “zing!” This took me by surprise the firs time, as I wasn’t trying to cut with real speed when I tried it out. This sensation quickly becomes addictive. Furniture and low ceilings tend to suffer as a result.

The katana’s point of balance is about seven inches above the guard. Given its length, it is quite obviously designed for someone around six feet tall. It was a comfortable length for me, for example, but too long for my instructor. No sword can fit all people of all sizes, so be mindful of this when you shop for one.

While the Cold Steel website states that the katana can sever 7 inch thick bamboo with a single stroke, I tested it on much less demanding material. Digging into my supply of helpless cardboard boxes, I slashed at one of them again and again. The katana’s properly sharpened, concave edge carved arc after arc out of the material.

The challenge before Cold Steel will be to manufacture sword after sword to the same standards of quality – no easy task where blades of this kind are concerned. If you have the opportunity to examine a Cold Steel katana and hope to explore the art of the Japanese sword, I suggest you take the time to do so.

Since the first version of this article, Cold Steel has introduced a line of functional swords with less expensive furniture intended to compete with other no-frills "using" swords on the market.  Any of these might be suitable for the interested martialist, but there's something about the look and feel of this particular katana that made me sad about giving it up when testing was complete.