Armory Replicas Dark Assassin Kyoketshu-Shogei Ninja Knife

I purchased this Ninja Assassin Kyoketshu-Shogei Knife from Amazon for $26.95 and strictly as a display piece, there-fore, I am rating this as a display piece, not a functional weapon. Though I don't believe it's a replica of any real, ancient ninja tool, I still like the aggressive appearance of it overall. I did not buy it because of its' connection to any movie.Note: It also includes a weighted ball at the end of the chain, instead of the noted "ring".Upon receiving it, I noted that for the price, this is actually a fairly well made knife.The Handle Assembly:The handle is full tang and 4 and 3/4 inches long from the guard to the end of the chain attachment eyelet. The handle appears to be made of medium quality pressed wood. Not the best, but it serves its' purpose quite well. The wood handle is loosely over-wrapped in nylon cording, thus would likely not take a lot of use or abuse before it began to unravel. One suggestion would be; if the cording does unravel, simply remove it, sand the handle smooth, and stain or paint it black with quality paint or stain. The pummel is steel and quite tightly attached to the end of the handle and includes a fairly strong eyelet which the chain is attached to. The guard is also made of steel and is solidly mounted. Lots of inexpensive knives have loose guards or pummels, or they work loose fairly easily. It is my opinion, that this knife will take some abuse and survive pretty well (with the exception of the nylon cording)Note: "Full Tang" simply means that the handle has a core of solid steel that is the full length of the handle and is usually formed from the same piece of steel as the blade. This gives a knife or sword maximum support, strength and durability.The Blade:The blade is 440 stainless steel with a gut hook. The gut hook is not sharpened at all on the inside, thus it will not serve that purpose well until sharpened. The blade itself is 6 and 5/8 inches long from the guard to the tip. It is only lightly sharpened but could easily be honed to a razor sharp edge, and it should hold that edge well.The Chain:The chain is a full 53 inches long, including the ball. But, here is where the weakness lies, as it is an extremely cheap and weak chain. If you realize that this is primarily for show, then the chain is nice. However, if you intend to use it, you would be wise to change out this chain for a much heavier duty one from your local hardware store. I am confident that the chain would easily break if you tried to swing either the ball or the knife with any kind of aggression. As said, this is only a display piece for me, so the chain is fine as is. If that is your intention as well, you'll probably be happy with it too. The ball is nicely made, and quite heavy. It could seriously do some damage if you hit your opponent or the T.V. with it.The sheath:The sheath is constructed of good quality nylon and is well made. It includes a plastic liner to help keep if from getting cut up as you draw the blade over time. The closure keeps the knife securely held in place. The only drawback is, there is no place for the chain and weighted ball. Maybe wrapping it around your waist and/or just stuffing it in your pocket would be the best way to carry it.Overview:Very nice, aggressive looking knife for the price. Perfect as a display piece, but if you really wanted to use it, change out the chain, or remove it completely to have a very nice and useful survival knife. Five stars for the quality/price ratio. Sadly, I've seen far more expensive knives made at much lower quality levels.As with all my reviews, the above is only my opinion or observation of an item that I own or have tested. Consider that it is possible that I may have either purchased/tested a faulty unit or an exceptionally good one. Your experience may differ from mine, better or worse. Paying attention to the up or down trend from several reviewers will help you make an educated decision on whether or not the item is for you.

Great for Ninja Assassin Display. The knife and ball are good. The knife did not come very sharp so I put an edge on the blade with metal file with a precision sharpener to give an edge, and polished the blade. The chain does break easy when I slowly rotated and tested the ball and chain as if I am swinging like a meteor hammer or rope dart, and the chain broke which I knew it was going to do that. I would get a chain link that is full like a dog chain; their are other reviewers who advised this. However, this is not a bad product to my opinion. I'm glade I bought this item, and that I can upgrade this product if I wanted to for demonstration or just for full details for display for a Ninja Assassin scene.

Awesome knife. The chain itself is CLEARLY, SURELY not meant to be used in any manner synonymous with the movie Ninja Assassin--not only is it impossible to do, but the chain is far too weak to support the weight of the knife plus centrifugal force. It will snap, even if you switch out the connector rings with keyrings (which are much stronger), the chain links will snap. However, it comes with a nice belt holster and is definitely a fully functional weapon as a knife. Actually one of the sharpest things I've ever seen. Cut myself with it but accident. Great knife.

looks really good knife wise but the chain is very thin if u was to swing this like in the movies im sure not only it would break but u might reall hurt yourself

It looks fantastic a little polishing needed but other than that it it's great it's lighter than I expected which I like and the chain holds up well

I was not satisfied with the quality of the chain. The picture shows different than what i received. I was able to snap the chain with two fingers repeatedly. However i replaced it with chain from my local hardware store.

Very cool knife but the chain and ball are not the best quality. Be careful!!

case was very very very cheap, chain is very thin and definitely not useable. blade and handle are nice though.