Ronin Katana Dojo-Pro Dancing Crane O-Katana

A disappointing sword https://sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/44312/ronin-katana-first-impression
Here’s the link to my sword review. In short, it has a slightly bent blade from the tang that does not affect functionality, a small damage near the tip that I fixed, and a screwed up heat treat that the tip portion was 40 HRC with the blade body portion 60 HRC. The forte was below 40 HRC, which was ok. I wished the tip heat treat did not screw up. Cold Steel O Katana would be a better buy, for its more consistent heat treat.

The Star of my Collection I’ve had this sword for about three years now and after everything I’ve thrown at it, it holds true and strong.

First, let me start with the negatives. The ito wrap isn’t 100% tight and shifts easily. This is a little annoying but overall can easily be fixed which I have done so already. And that’s it. My only real complaint with the sword. I understand that some lemons do occur and many reviews I’ve seen of this model have had more complaints but in my personal experience, this is its only drawback

if there are any damage done to the wood core of the tsuka, I can’t feel any and I’m not in any particular hurry to unwrap an ito I’ve already re-wrapped and touched up to check

At one point, the mountings securing the kashira broke off and the pommel itself wiggled and came off. Some epoxy fixed that right up.

Now onto the positives. This sword is STRONG! As someone who is 5’11”, a normal katana just feels short to me so I wanted something a little longer. And lemme tell you, this thing sings. From plastic bottles to tree branches and even edge to edge contact, this thing just won’t give out on me. And believe me, I’ve tried. I even swung at a healthy tree trunk and it did nothing but gunk the blade up with sap. I can’t think of anything else that can test the limits of this sword short of taking an axe to it. The fittings are strong and secure and I have to hammer them off and on when I want to clean the blade every time. Out of every sword I own, Ronin Katana’s dojo pro line is the only one that has never had its fittings come loose and I’ve owned some of their other models, namely their Euro Models where the crossguards became loose after some use. But even after abusing this sword in ways I know I shouldn’t have, it just won’t stop.

Despite it’s length, I still find it very easy to use and can perform many longsword based techniques with it. It’s very easy to control and despite the longer than normal grip length that many people would consider axe like, I find it to be a positive because this adds a nice extra amount of leverage.

Again, I may have gotten lucky with this as I’ve seen other reviews on this particular model that have had a less positive experience than I have.

I know mass produced swords such as this one can be inconsistent with the heat treat but by some miracle I’ve received one of the better ones. And as a result, I’m pretty sure this sword will last me a life time. And if Matthew Jensen’s review on youtube is any indication of a good one, it’d take nothing short of a grinder to snap this blade. But again, getting one with a good temper can be hit or miss.

Pros:
+Extremely strong and durable blade
+Lightweight and easy to control
+Strong fittings

Cons:
-Records show of poor quality control
-Ito wrap could be better

For someone looking for a good first sword, or if you’re just looking for a longer than normal katana, this could be an excellent place to look. Just take some necessary precautions to ensure you don’t get a lemon out of the batch