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Cheness
SGC Series (Specialized Goza Cutter)
"Yamakami" Katana
| Name |
Yamakami
Katana (Mountain Guardian) |
| Blade |
Through
Hardened 9260 Silicon Alloy Carbon Spring Steel. |
| Overall
Length (+ Saya) |
42"
|
| Treatment |
Full
Hand Forged, Through Hardened, Oil Quenched, Hand Polished |
| Finish |
Tameshigiri
Polish |
| Blade
Dimension |
28"
Length, 0.25" Width, 1.50" Height |
| Sori
(Curvature) |
0.7" |
| Weight
|
2
lbs 15 oz (no saya), 3 lbs 14 oz (with saya), 9 lb shipping
weight. |
| Tsuba/Fuchi/Kashira |
Blackened
Steel "Mount Fuji" Tsuba |
| Balance
Point |
6"
above tsuba |
| Tsuka/Ho |
11"
Wood |
| Tsuka
Ito |
Brown
Cotton |
| Mekugi |
2
X Wood (Double Pinned) |
| Same |
Real
Ray Skin Panel Wrap |
| Saya
|
30.5"
Black Glossy Lacquered Medium Hardwood |
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NEW
CUTTING VIDEO
Test Cutting (12/22/06) of the Cheness
SGC Series (Specialized Goza Cutter) Katana and Wakizashi.
Testing
the newly completed Cheness SGC Series (Specialized Goza Cutter)
katana and wakizashi. Using half, single, double, and triple
rolled tatami omote. Both pegged and free standing. 3 minutes
17 seconds.
Download
Video (11.3 mb) - Streaming Windows Media Video (WMV).
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There
are many pictures and may take some time to load - Please be patient
The Yamakami
Katana shares the same blade as our Tsukikage Katana. Both swords
uses the Cheness SGC blade design and is especially made for goza
(tatami omote) cutting exercises.
The photos below
shows the overall appearance of the blade in and out of the saya.
This is a significantly broader sword with a narrower entry angle
in its cutting edge.
Due to the nature
of the geometry, the blade exhibits a hint of a pattern of how the
quench affected different parts of the blade differently than the
normal katana even though this is a through hardened blade.
The Yamakami
uses a brown cotton ito wrapping with a blackened steel tsuba and
an image of snow cap of Mt. Fuji. The steel used on this blade is
the through hardened version of the Cheness 9260 Spring Steel.
The handle of
this blade is slightly bigger than that of a standard katana. This
is to compensate for the broader blade and nakago within the handle.
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Comparison
of Cheness SGC Series Katana and Standard Katana
The
photos below are comparison of the Cheness SGC Series blade
and a standard katana. The SGC blades are thinner but broader
than the standard blade for purposes of improving its cutting
performances.
The
lateral strength of the SGC is just as strong if not stronger,
even though it is thinner, because of the additional material
in the height, providing support. Overall, the weight of
the blades on the SGC is heavier, but well distributed and
its center of gravity does not change from that of a standard
katana at 6" above the tsuba.
All
components on the SGC had to be re-cast... Including new
machined mold for the fuchi, kashira, habaki, etc. The Saya
is also significantly more substantial.
The
purpose of changing the blade cross-section geometry in
making the SGC is to significantly reduce the entry angle
of the cutting edge without reducing weight or lateral strength
of the blade.
As illustrated
in the diagram below, this change makes the SGC significantly
better at cutting. It is especially well suited for exercises
in cutting of goza mats or tatami omote. This blade also
handles bamboo extremely well.
Because
of the Cheness 9260 Spring Steel employed in these blades,
the cutting edge holds up to the rigors of cutting exercises
where other steels would crumple or roll edge under this
blade geometry.
The
overall geometry of the SGC katana is somewhat similar to
the Korean style Gumdo blades but still with significant
differences.
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The concept
of this new design is based off of a $5,000 custom wakizashi blade
made especially for cutting exercises for some high ranking iaito
sensei.
It took more
than half a year in planning, preparation, re-casting, machining
of new molds to bring this blade into a production basis and effectively
dropping the price down to less than a tenth of what it would have,
otherwise, cost to produce a similar blade in the past.
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| Cheness
SGC Series - "Yamakami" Katana (Mountain Guardian)
PROMOTIONAL PERIOD: $329.99
Regular Price:
$799.99
The
"Yamakami" Katana shares the same blade construction as the Cheness
SGC Katana "Tsukikage". With the primary difference being in their fittings.
This is a broad katana made especially for exercises cutting goza or tatami omote
mats. Its construction is based on a specialized dojo cutter and is the result
of over half a year in development. Click on the photo above to see more..
| SGC
Series - "Yamakami" Katana
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