u/KoreanJesusUwU

Since I had trouble visualizing parts when picking out options for my iaito I thought I would share cus 1. It turned out well and it's cool! :) and 2. I hope this will help others choose what they like in the future cus I def had a very hard time when choosing mine, since I kinda got second thoughts about mixing gold and silver together but it turned out great in the end haha. Also at the time I ordered mine there were not that many examples to see online.

Specs:

• Blade Type: Habahiro - Heavyweight Blade
• Blade Length.: 2.60 Shaku (78.8cm)
• Hamon: Suishinshi Masahide
• Bohi: Single Groove
• Hisaki: Standard
• Tome: Standard
• Bonji: No Bonji
• Tsuba: Kasuga Karakusa - Iron ~161g (T-021-4IR3)
• Habaki: Shonai - Silver-Plated - Antique Finish HB-8
• Seppa: Gold Finish SPP-3
• Tsuka Length: 9 Sun (27.3cm)
• Tsuka Shape: Hyojun – Standard TF-1
• Tsuka Material: Leather TI-3
• Leather Tsuka Ito: Tetsukon (Tetsu Nando)
• Tsuka Maki: Ikkan Maki TK-2
• Tsukasame: Black - No Navel Knot
• Fuchi / Kashira: Hiranami Higo - Brass (K-048-4BR2)
• Menuki: Hairyu - Gold -Plated Alloy (M-065-1AY1)
• Menuki Position: Chuo - Central
• Saya: Kuroishime
• Extra Finely Lined Saya: Yes
• Kurigata Position: Standard(M) SS-2
• Koiguchi Reinforcement : Ishime - Silver-plated Brass Reinforcement (G-028-3BR2) KG-5
• Kurigata Reinforcement : No thanks KR-1
• Shitodome: Gold Finish STD-1
• Kojiri: Hiranami - Silver-plated Brass (C-001-2BR2)

I love nature and my first steel iaito from hanbon was green with sakura motif so I thought this time I would go for a blue with water theme! The tsuba isn't really "matching" but thats my favorite tsuba shape and it also being 161g def helps bring the balance closer to the habaki since its 2.6 shaku and a heavy blade. I went with the masahide hamon since it reminded me of calm waves and to remind myself to be calm and not to tense up while doing kata. I also went with the kuroishime saya since it reminded me of light raindrops on stones near the ocean as well, and went with the hairyu cus of the story of the koi going up the waterfall to become a dragon and I thought that was a nice metaphor on how we begin small and grow into something greater the more we work on things we love and enjoy.

Review:

Keeping it short since there is not much to say at least for myself, but I'd give this a solid 9/10 overall for quality and feel. It fits very comfortably in the hands and the tsuka feels a bit thinner than I'm used too but in a good way. The saya even though its not glossy lacquered still feels very smooth for sayabiki compared to my other kuroishime saya. Fit and finish it good, but there are some minor cosmetic things like the tsuba has a slight scratch in the corner so its showing the metal color underneath, and they colored my mekugi pin black and some of the paint or ink got onto my leather tsuka wrapping. I also thought that the leather wrapping would get more slippery when your hands got sweaty (I have extra clammy hands and sweat a lot on my hands and feet) but the grip stayed quite good throughout practicing with it.

"Cons":

I really only have few cons to speak of after swinging it for a bit, and the first is that I noticed that the mekugi pin is at a almost a 45 degree angle and has slightly pushed the samegawa out on the other side. But also the angle of the mekugi pin is actually something I've never seen personally so if that is more common please let me know! Another is that I got a 9 sun tsuka since it's a longer 2.6 shaku blade but I guess because of the Fuchi/Kashira combo I picked it took some usable length off the end of the tsuka and it actually ends up feeling slightly smaller than 8.5 sun maybe like 8.2/8.3 sun? I wish tozando would let you know this since I would've gotten a 9.5 or 10 sun tsuka then. Also I guess because of how the kashira is shaped it's slightly lopsided and isn't completely flush with the ito on one side and there's a bit of a lip there but no hot spots.

Overall I feel really good about this iaito and feel that it will last a very long time! I do wish that for about $1600 and the headache of fish and wildlife/customs that it came to me in a bit better condition/fit and finish but overall I'm happy I pulled the trigger when I did since tozando raised their prices again recently. Also for those wondering it took about 4 and half months to make and about 1.5 weeks to get to me once shipped from Japan.