All about the Steel: Part Two -> Practical Plus
Topic: The Shinken Reports
Along with the Practical Katana sword that I received from Orochi Shinken I also received a second package containing the Paul Chen Practical Plus Katana.

The sword arrived well packed using three foam spacers that wrapped tightly against the sword. The closed box served to compress the foam so that there was no play at all when the sword was jostled around in the box. I gave a good shake and a couple drops to see how tight it was and I still heard no rattle in the package...very professional packing.

I removed the sword from its protective bag and began to inspect the handle and scabbard (for anyone reading this who has Japanese sword expereince, you already know the quality and cut of most of these swords... These reviews are meant to inform anyone who might be interested in purchasing blades from Mr. Graves. I am going to refrain from using Japanese sword terminology unless it has no direct correlation in English. Those that are a part of the JSA community already know these terms and I would not want to confuse the first time consumer). The handle and scabbard were in prime condition with no defects apparrent. I removed the blade from the scabbard and took a good look at the handle. The fittings were tight as was the handle wrapping. There were no play in any of the fittings and the hand guard was tight (no latteral play). The blade collar was tight and fit well into the scabbard.

I gave the sword a couple of good swings and the handle gave no inidcation of rattle or play. The blade itself upon casual inspection had no defects and was straight. Although a slightly shorter blade, it had a more pronounced temper line upon the edge of the sword that stood out beyond the one on the standard practical model. The blade had a more uniform curve with no less on one part of the blade than another. The handguard was larger than on the practical as was the handle.

The sword seemed sturdy and survived it's trip well and I should be letting it bite into some targets very soon.