Cool Black Genuine Ray Skin Samegawa Swords Tsuka Handle for Japanese Samurai Katana

it takes some work to get this tsuka to fit specific nakago, but I assume you're willing to put in the for if you're purchasing custom parts like this. I mean this ito is SUPER tight, it feels like a rock! I've purchased two now.

While as much as I’d like to bang on about how long it took to arrive (tracking didn’t update for 2 weeks) but I really can’t and shouldn’t seeing that this purchase was made during a pandemic. If this happened under normal circumstances, then yes I’d complain about shipping, but they get a pass here due to the pandemic.As for the actual tsuka, the ito wrap is surprisingly tight and is done quite nicely. I can tell it’s synthetic nylon/silk and not pure silk just based on feel and handling. It was worth doing a burn test, but the way it handled gave it a way. The fuchi and kashira are also nicely cast and pretty glossy black, which I really like. The menuki are also done nicely in black and blend in pretty well overall. The fit with the bare blade I bought also works pretty well too. Now on to the bad things.There are only two negative things about this handle: 1.) the overall feel of the handle and the grip you get from it is oddly weird—it feels too thin and too wide, and there is no hourglass profile—and 2.) the advertised ray skin is not genuine ray skin—it’s synthetic—and honestly that was the biggest thing that dragged down this review. I’ve handled real ray skin, even if it was not as high quality, and it did not feel like what was on this tsuka. The way it worked seemed very reminiscent of grip tape or something similar, where the overall feel is synthetic. Had they gone with genuine ray skin this may or may not have been a 4 or a 5, but the quality of the samé was what really killed this review.For $20, it’s acceptable for a DIY project, but honestly with some time and effort, making one yourself would probably produced a better product than this production piece.

The ito wrap is fantastic, real rayskin. Will buy again.

basic materials are good but it needed a lot of work to make it fit one of their own blades

Fit like a glove