Tozando / Nishijin Shinken

Nishijin/Tozando branded shinken.  Purchased in 2011 from Todo Kai member.   

How the furniture appeared when first acquired from Chris

According to Nishijin's website at the time:

"Nishijin Sword's Iaito swords have already received numerous praises from the users with its superior balance, workmanship and finish.  Now with the new hard carbon steel blade, you can experience the real Japanese sword feeling and test cutting.  Unlike other competitors in the market, each and every sword is specifically handmade under the supervision of Tozando/Nishijin Sword and the technical guidance of the Japanese master sword craftsman in Seki of Gifu.  Although the final product is assembled in China, the quality of the fitting materials is as same as the one available in Japan and as such ornaments as Tsuba and Tsuka are shipped from Japan"  

In an e-mail to Nishijin, they indicated that they used T-10 steel for the toshin.  There was also talk of some of Tozando shinken (at the time) being forged and finished in Germany, but that information seems to have been lost with the sands of time.

 The previous owner (Chris), had an Edo-period tsuba fitted to it, however it seems a bit smallish and may have been meant for a wakizashi rather than katana.

The sword has since required some repair work to the saya, and was reinforced with rattan wrap near the koiguchi.  The tsuka was also removed just to take a look at the nakago, which was never done since taking ownership.  The tsuka was built well, as was the wrapping job, and even after a decade + of use, the wrap is still extrememly tight and doesn't need to be redone.