Paul Chen - Practical Plus XL Light Japanese Samurai Katana

Paul Chen - Practical Plus XL Light Japanese Samurai Katana Review

Massive XL Light Blade Geometry ; Traditional Construction ; Built for Martial Artists ; Blade length: 28 1/2" ; Handle length: 11" ; Overall length: 41" ; Weight: 2lb 9oz ; Point of Balance: 5 1/2" ; Width at Guard: 1.45" ; Width at Tip: 1.12" ; Thickness at Guard: .24" ; Thickness at Tip: .19" ; Sori: 3/4" ; ; ; The Practical Plus XL Light Katana provides a very economical cutting sword as dependable as the Practical XL Light Katana , but using more traditional fittings and construction methods. The blade is forged and differentially hardened (HRC60 edge, HRC40 back) and the hamon is prominent. The Practical Plus features genuine Same (Rayskin) on the Tsuka, with a tightly-woven cotton wrap (Tsuka-Ito). The long tang is double-pegged for security. The fittings of the Practical Plus are decorated in a Japanese Dogwood motif with dragon menuki, and the handsome Tsuba is of an iron "sunburst" design with a brass habaki. The Practical Plus has been extended to include all of the Performance Series blades; with three cutting styles and three iaito lengths. ; ; Competitive Cutting / Lighter Weight ; The XL Light blades feature the same geometry as those of the XL but incorporate deeply cut grooves (bo-hi) to reduce the weight of the blade while retaining most of it's strength and cutting ability. This weight reduction makes for a quicker sword, well adapted for multiple cuts in lighter targets. ; ; Specs will vary slightly from piece to piece.