[quote author=marc board=swordreviews thread=1168118359 post=1168118359]Today was another beautiful , sunny , 70 degree  day in GA;so I took the opportunity to do some cutting.

  The  sword was a new Kiyomaro from Oni Forge. I know that the Kiyomaro is a little over $300, but Loren sells seconds for $299 which fits in it. I have owned 5 Oni seconds, and it's hard to tell what is wrong with them. Some folks on SFI wanted a comparison to the W&T so that is what I've done
 
  I ordered the 32-14 configuration, and the sword dwarfs my Wind and Thunder, a bruiser in it's own right.

[IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/5876/img0020smallij9.jpg[/IMG]

 The kake is homemade so please refrain from reviewing it too harshly..I'm no craftsman;)

 Here's the specs on the blades

Kiyomaro                                           

Nagasa 32 in.
Tsuka 14 in.
 Sori: 7/8 in.
Moto-Haba: 1 3/8 in.
Saki-Haba: 1 1/16 in.
Moto-Kasane: 5/16 in.
Saki-Kasane: 4/16 in.
weight : 3.3 lbs

 Wind and Thunder

Nagassa 29.75
Motohaba 1.4"
motokasane around 7 mm
saki kasane 5.5-6mm
kissaki 3.4 inches
weight 3lbs 5 ounces.
sori .6 inch.
tsuka 11.75 inches

  The Oni blade is actually just 2 tenths of an ounce lighter that the Wind and Thunder, despite being considerably longer.

 The Kiyomaro also has considerably more sori, and the tsuka follows the sori much better than the W&T

[IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2491/img0017smalllz0.jpg[/IMG]

[SIZE="6"]Aesthetics[/SIZE]

Aesthetically , the W&T has the edge in a couple of catagories: the hardware,polish and kissaki.

  The hardware on the Oni is actually pretty nice,there's only a slight edge for the W&T there.The maki on the Oni is tighter and better shaped, even though the W&T has  slightly superior ito.

  Polish wise, the Hanwei has a better hybrid polish. The Kiyomaro has what would be a knockout hamon,but does not show it off at all.

  The Kiyomaro would have the edge in the kissaki dept, as i think the shaping is better, but the W&T features an actual yokote whereas the Kiyomaro is counter polished.

[IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/5379/img0014smallau4.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/4931/img0060smallpj8.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/4076/img0007smallby0.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9478/img0058smalljn5.jpg[/IMG]

 Here you can just make out the hamon on the Kiyomaro

[IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/180/img0008smallgp6.jpg[/IMG][/quote]