A very nice buy especially for the price. I've taken this baby up against my friend's metal sharpened katana and all that's there is a few scratches.The only problem is the fact that the black finish comes off easily, so if you\'re gonna use it, don\'t expect it to be a pretty display piece, but the quality is awesome, a comfortable grip, authentic length, and all around good. The only other problem is the tsuba (handguard) it is meant to be held on with a white removable rubber stopper which comes off easily, but some black duct tape fixes that nicely. :)