I didn't of course buy it to look at it and took it to some bamboo mats to see how it handled. It's a heavy sword for it's size, and it actually cuts remarkably well. The balance is just right and it went through 2 rolled Tatami Omote mats without any difficulty, or any listing or deformation of the blade. It's a lot lighter than my PPK. The balance point isn't quite where I want it to be though, and I wouldn't call it an excellent martial artists sword, however if you practice some Iaido, and want to do some test cutting with a blade that is going to feel like your Iaito in terms of balance point(ish) and weight, then this is easy to recommend (especially as at 65 pounds you aren't going to be crying about it if you cut badly and deform the blade). I'm extremely pleased with it, though I'm probably going to re-warp the Tsuka with something a little less offensive. Compared to the other swords in this price range that I bought previously there is no comparrison. The Kissaki is great and the Boshi is subtle like the rest of the Hamon, but is apparent if you look on it. Wherever B-UK got these from they did a great job sourcing them. Sure it's probably not going to be as dependable as a Paul Chen Practical, but it's much more traditionally constructed and just feels a lot closer to an iaito.
