Wonderful looking and feeling sword. The wire wrap is tight and looks great. The lines are nice and crisp and the fullers are well defined. The floral engravings are pretty and look nice, giving a bit of nice aesthetic flair to what would have otherwise been a relatively plain looking sword (wire wrap aside). The metal hilt fittings all have smooth edges and I don't feel any hotspots when moving it around, even when intentionally rubbing my fingers and palms across them trying to find a spot that might catch the skin. As someone who has had to sand and file sharp guards and pommels before I'm happy to say with this one no gloves are required, it feels good in my bare hands right out of the box. The scabbard is very nice with a solid wood core and pretty leather covering that I'm still not quite sure if it's black or a really dark blue? It's hard to tell honestly, but whatever color it is I like it! It also has some nice metal buckles already installed for a belt mounting system if I want to wear it, which is appreciated. They're higher quality than most pre-made (AKA not custom) belt furniture I've seen too so that's a big plus in my book. Also the stitching on the scabbard is tight and nicely uniform the whole way down. These things seem small but make the whole package feel more premium even if it's just placebo. The sword itself will only fit inside the scabbard all the way in one orientation. What I mean is if it is sheathed so that side A is facing away from my body and side B is toward me then if I flip the blade around but keep the scabbard the same orientation and try to sheath it again now with side A toward me and B away then it won't go all the way in without getting stuck around 3/4ths of the way in, which suggests to me that it's a very tight fit inside made for this specific blade and fit for whatever small asymmetry is there (that I really can't see with just my eye looking at it, so I'm not bothered if there is any). As such it is held in pretty firmly and will definitely not fall out unintentionally. I actually struggled a little to pull it out the first time and I'm while I'm no mountain that rides I'm not physically weak either. Some people might think it's too tight because of this, but I know it will loosen up a bit over time and with use, so that's not a big concern of mine. Lastly, the fit of the guard to the blade is actually pretty good! It's not uncommon for there to be big gaps on at least one (or both) side where it's just not perfectly centered and the blade end up squeezed tighter against one side of the eye hole or the other, but mine at least is pleasingly centered and the gap is quite small on both sides so I'm very happy with that. Overall, while I might be biased because it's the latest one in my collection and new sword day always gives you that good dopamine hit, this one is pretty easily one of my new favorites, if not at the tippy top of the list. Very pleased with this (impulse) purchase!
