We katana
 

Hi all,

what do you think about this new or copy split gear system?

http://www.weairsoft.com/detail.php?s_id=1&&id=269

WE "KATANA" M4 AEG - YouTube

I want one, I think it's basically a cheaper Airsoft Systems one and a better ICS.

We'll have to wait and see, but I think their design show real promise.

I wonder why they released their conventional AEG design a few months ago, and now this? When this hits the market, I think sales will natural swing to this newer design. WE sure has a busy R&D department.

I regret buying their aeg now..

Looks good, I red somewhere that the split gearbox is compatible with standard M4 bodies... This should be very interesting if it's the case...

i don't think its a cheaper airsoft systems one because it wont have a FET in it, not that i know of anyway, Airsoft systems one is extremely close to the PTW

I was just wondering that. They made most of the internals TM compatible it would only make sense not to have proprietary receivers. Provided the gearbox and cylinders aren't prone to catastrophic failure they might just have something here.

Yeah, I guess you're right. All I know is, I'd take this over the ICS any day. It seems more promising, and Marui style body is always a plus.

looking at the design I'm thinking it looks like it's possible to install a trigger based mosfet like the ASCU into the katana mechbox.

I love Ics split gearbox. The WE one looks kinda promising. I like the ICS only has 2 poprietary parts that are easy to find. but the WE has a lot of poprietary parts that are hard to fine. Still looks promising. I might even get one when i have the cash.

What, I think you have it backwards. The WE is the one that has easy parts available, everything is marui compatible except the tappet (I think) and gearbox shell.

ICS however has so many proprietary parts, anti reversal latch, receiver, hop up, pretty sure cut off lever, gears and motor have to match so if you replace the gearset you need a new motor.

You're right about WE, my bad. But the ICS is actually pretty compatible. Gearbox shell and airsoft nozzle is the only thing you have to worry about and ICS parts can actually be found pretty easily. I found an airnozzle in a site in the states for 7$ and the shells are sold almost everywhere that has ICS guns.

@ Raisinbran

Gears and Motor should be standard TM compatible. It's the "key" parts like ARL, Tappet, cut off lever, air nozzle, and hop up unit that are proprietary. Reason why the ARL is proprietary is that you can use the forward assist to actuate the ARL and let the gears spin "backwards" to decompress the spring at the end of the day. I think "KND" made a post once about what parts were and weren't proprietary on the ICS it turned out to be not too many and parts that would almost never break (ie. who's ever heard of an ARL breaking).

I love the ICS split gearbox as well. It's pretty great that other companies have started doing the same.

If you use a different pinion gear other than the ics one, the gears won't mesh properly.

Shouldn't you change gears in a complete set anyway? Just makes more sense to me in the end! Either way, I've used different motors in my ICS and with no problems!

does anyone know the release date for this?

Apparently it's supposed to be released any time now. I still think I'm going to pick up the previous version as a starter M4, maybe sell it after a while and get the new gun.

anyone have any idea where to purchase this? or.... any information at all?

it hasnt been released yet.

i emailed them about the Release date they said sometime in mid December apparently

LIARS

Yeah, I bet we won't see this gun 'til well into the year.

maybe they ran into an issue with the upper receiver cracking/splitting, since it doesnt have a rear tap, and is held down by the cylinder section of the gearbox.

From the pics and vids I've seen it looks like that gb will fit any body that slides together to lock the rear of the upper to lower. Just would need to slide upper off then pop out upper gb. I'd love to get my hands on one to tinker with....

Definitely saving my pennies for one of these or WE's other M4 AEG.

The way the gun is constructed, it looks almost as if you purchase the current iteration of the WE M4 AEG, you may be able to install the Katana system in it. Anyone have any thoughts on this? What would be really awesome is if the katana gearbox was somehow compatible with their GBB's, but that's asking for too much.

looks like the first round of Katana AEGs are ready. these are the ones without the Raptor Handguard
http://www.ebairsoft.com/a004-katana-system-p-6789.html

http://forums.airsoftmechanics.com/i...69.0;topicseen

Hmm... I'll copy the pics from the link & repost here for those without asm account

can't see the link without setting up an account/logging in

price tag isnt too bad actually
contacted them regarding the fps.

Has anyone ever ordered airsoft guns from EB?

If not I'll just wait until one gets in country.

http://www.jkarmy.com/eng/magento/we...o-marking.html

jkarmy has all the Katana's available, shipping is around $50 to Canada.

Never used this site, never heard of it though.

never heard of jkarmy, and the prices are significantly lower then EB....

Anybody got word about JKARMY?

I'll copy & repost pics tonight when I get on a pc (on phone now)

I mean WE says the red cylinder is 400 FPS, so with it installed. It should pass customs if that's all they check and if they do chrono, it should read over 366 at least.

But I'm still unsure about JKARMY, I'll wait until Ehobby or tiger gets them.

Also I feel like these katanas are dropshipped from Taiwan, Ebaybanned is a Chine retailer either HK or mainland and they said they ship Taiwan EMS...

$292 for a WE Katana? Sounds too good to be true.

well sorta, I mean their original AEG was also low priced, and I havent seen bad reviews on it. and They also said they want to keep the Katana around the same price.

Why do you say that? Their GBBRs go for $320 and AEG $250 in country.

I did buy from them. Transaction went well.

gun or parts?

Gear.

1. This isn't your average AEG 2. Other retailers having it roughly 55% higher. I'm still very tempted to get one, they're $350 shipped.

RSOV has them.

Yeah but it is WE. :)

pics grabbed from the asm forum

few more

Looking good

Internals look the same as their regular AEG not bad. Probably one of the best stock internals I've ever had a chance to use.

Beautiful, has anyone seen these countryside yet or gotten their hands on one? Redwolf has them on their website, but their listed FPS is significantly less than would be required for import.

You should check out a Lonex AEG.

And is that a PLASTIC spring release mechanism? I can see that holding up real well....
I like the overall idea - using Systema Revolution-style feed nozzle that eliminates the tappet plate and then incorporating the whole thing as a standalone cylinder. I'm concerned about high-speed feeding and I'm more concerned about the rigidity of the entire assembly and shot-to-shot consistency in a game scenario where you're going to be resting the gun on barricades and applying all sorts of torsional forces against the cylinder...

I was going to buy a Lonex AEG but chose the WE instead as I got a big discount from friends in Taiwan.

And yeah it's a plastic spring release same as their original AEG, I don't use the GB anymore as I replaced it with a Lonex after I kind of abused it a little too much.

Has anyone got a hold of the Katana yet? I'm still contemplating whether or not to buy this or wait for the A&K PTW...

RedWolf just posted a hands-on video for the WE Katana's.

400 Red, 350 Blue, 450 Grey, Still Will Hurt You - WE Katana System - RedWolf Airsoft RWTV - YouTube

I looked up everything I could on this and all I can say is "why?"
The only innovation it seems to have is a ptw style loading nozzle. If done properly it will significantly increase air seal consistency, and full auto accuracy.
But it still uses what looks like an AEG lower, and from what I could find I believe it uses a regular M4 hop chamber.
And the fact the receiver held closed by the cylinder makes me worry.

Right now this just looks like an regular ICS M4 with an upgraded air nozzle to me

For the price of $300 it isn't that bad. I would choose this over the ICS any day even the clone PTW's (not sure about A&K)

Im still waiting for confirmation from friends in Taiwan, then I'll try and review it.

nice to see it uses normal V2 switch. this means i would be able to put in a x130 raptor. add in a good set of helical gears and a high torque motor, and it'll be as quiet as a PTW and offer the same functions. i'd buy that for $300. they just need to make a 416 for it.

People still use helical gears?

it's all i use. my first set (going on 6 years) is still going strong. when i shoot, people next to be look at my gun with a confused look. first they think it's a GBBR then ask if it's a PTW. always get a good reaction when i tell them whats in it.

I don't even know what helical gears are...

Flat gears last just as long as helical, its all about quality.
But helical gears will always be quieter, it picks up its slack at an angle, so it doesn't audibly slap.
However it adds angular torque to your bearings, but good bearings should be able to take it anyway.
I always use helicals in my guns

Well, for anyone looking to get one. Looks like they've hit Canada over at TA.

Has anyone had any hands-on experience with these yet?

I attempted to play with one at TA... it misfired and locked up with one trigger pull. It's possible it's been abused, but it was a poor first impression. It feels like an AEG, but the break apart design is quite nice, and it's certainly a good platform at ~$300. I'm curious to see where it goes.

Has anyone had anymore experience with the Katana?

Guinea Pig:

Every time I get a new gun, I take it apart and see what can be improved. This WE Katana, will be no different.

I have just ordered the WE Katana (Toronto Airsoft) and will be doing a video of it in its "New Out Of The Box Condition" and another with it being modified with a ASCU mosfet unit, that is hopefully compatible.
I will also be seeing what it takes for external goodies, (Stock Pipe, Rail Systems, and Outer barrel) I will also be checking to see if it is functional without the spring release, As the ASCU completes full cycles and, at this time, I believe it will not require it.

Pretty much I will be doing a full review, piece by piece by piece.

I have high hopes for this gun... Cross your fingers

Just bought one yesterday selector plate broke the moment I first took it off safe. Not impressed.

mine too, %@#*!

Emailed WE, waiting for reply.

From what i understand from the WE video on YouTube, is that you can use any selector plate. In the video he say's "Tappet plate" but from what I have seen in the video, the system does not use a tappet plate?!

You can skip to 2:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttZ8jzCk2DI

I will assume some mods will be required, to accommodate for the spring release system.

I will know more once I receive my order from Toronto Airsoft (Ordered the Morning of Saturday March 16 ). Still in "reorder" status? Not sure what that means ...

But I will definitely look into the interchangeability of these parts.

Let us know if you hear back from WE..

Assuming it works when you receive it.

10-4

I believe I may have found the culprit for the broken selector plate. I played around with the selector with the body separated and it appears that the plate moves through the area the rear body pin would be in when assembled. Seems to be too obvious of a design flaw but who knows.

Thats how mine broke as well, and no the selector plate is not a standard Ver.2.

You can use a standard V2 I believe but you'll lose the spring release function, which isn't too bad.

Sorry, I have been busy with work and could not respond sooner.

I have promised to do a full review and compatibility of parts fact sheet, but I have been informed by my employer that I will be taking a month long course that is very demanding.

But I will be making notes as I dismantle the gun and note the changes I have made to make it more reliable.

I only received the gun yesterday, but have already taken the cylinder apart and can report that none of the cylinder parts are compatible with TM. I was a PTW owner and from my memory, the cylinders internals resemble that of the PTW. I have Macgyver coming to pay me a visit with his PTW spare parts to see if they are indeed PTW spec or not. I will continue to report back to this thread, with my findings.

My initial impression of this WE gun, is that externals are fantastic and are of a good quality. The upper and lower receivers, even with it being held together by the cylinder, are very tight and have no wobble.

The gears came dry with no grease to be found on them. So I will be taking the gear box apart soon to grease and also to attempt to add the ASCU mosfet to the gun.

But for the price, this is more than what you should expect. I am happy thus far, but then again I have only had it for less that 24 hours and have yet to fully disassemble the gun.

I will document all my findings and report back as soon as possible.

Wes

Update:

Well that didnt take me long at all..

The gun, that I received, is truly a great build! The lower gearbox is 100% TM compatible.

I have taken a ton of pictures and will post them up as soon as I can. Some modifications are required if wanting to upgrade to an ASCU, but only took me a couple hours at the most. :)

Wes

is it possible to take the internals and transplant them into another metal receiver?
I know the spring release feature would be lost but still wondering if thats possible.

Depending on the platform you are intending to place the system into... With some professional machining of the upper receiver, you can transfer the system to another receiver. I have seen some people machine the upper of a VFC 416 and were successful. You will not lose the spring release by transferring the gearbox to another system.

I took the spring release system out of my gun, as the ASCU completes a full cycle and stops the sector gear in the same place, so that it does not interfere with then piston. That is the spring releases main function with this gun, it releases the gears so that you can open and close the receiver without the gears or piston/cylinder being damaged.

http://www.popularairsoft.com/news/c...-hk416d-hk416c

So by taking out the spring release system of the gun you can put in the ASCU? would this apply to other mosfets as well like the raptor or Chimera?

I will post up pics as soon as I can, as they illustrate the modifications required to add additional mosfets and wires to be fed to the back. The Rapter would work, I have not played around with the Chimera, but it is the same system as the ASCU, so in theory should work.

As long as they have active breaking, that works, they should be fine. The thing I love about the ASCU, is it stops the sector gear in the same place every time. It stops the teeth of the sector gear at the 1 o'clock position, so that the gear is not in contact with the cylinders piston. This is required, as it reduces the stress on the piston and gears when opening and closing the receivers.

Ok, so I don't have time to write up a full review, but I thought I should share some required information on this AEG.

First of all, for those that are looking to upgrade this AEG with a rear fed mosfet, you will need to change out the buffer tube and stock assembly, with a regular AEG stock assembly.

The stock assembly that WE is using with the Katana, does not have enough room for the rear fed mosfet to be fed to the stock pipe. It doesn't even have enough room for the Tamiya connector or Dean's connector to be allowed through. This will make maintenance and repair annoying, as you will need to de-solder and solder your connectors on again and again.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana033.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana036.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana039.jpg


WE is on the right: The WE stock pipe does not have the spacer added to the inside of the stock pipe.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana041.jpg

You will need the spacer in the AEG stock pipe and you will need to source out a stock pipe screw, that is long enough to hold the WE spacer, that is used to push the Katana's cylinder forward into the hop up unit. You can not have any of the screw protruding from the cylinder spacer, as it will not allow you to close the receivers.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana044.jpg

The lower gearbox, is 1:1 TM scale. The internals are also 1:1 TM compatible.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana071.jpg

One of the first things that I replaced on the Katana's gearbox was the soft metal 8mm bushings.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana075.jpg

I also needed to add a 0.01 shim to the spur gear, as it was rubbing on the bushings.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana093.jpg

I can also confirm that vers.II selector plates can also be used, but you be required to remove the spring release arm. I removed this feature as I am using an ASCU that has active breaking and completes a full cycle. Similar to the Systemas PTW.

This is how the gear box came. BONE DRY, with no grease other than the little bit used on the shims. But the gears and internals are of good quality and should last a long time before requiring replacing. The workmanship on the internals seems to be near excellent workmanship, other than requiring the 0.01mm shim on the spur gear, I am quite impressed, when relating it tomany other gearboxes that I have been through.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana086.jpg

The trigger switch is similar to the King Arms, low resistance switch and does not use the metal tab on the selector plate.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana101.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...EKatana105.jpg

One last thing is the hop up unit.. It is a copy of the TM spec hop up chamber and inner barrel assembly, but I have found that the replacement of the chamber is a little snug for the Modify Accurate hop up unit. But with some gentle persuasion, the unit fits tight and the airseal I am getting with the Modify unit and WE's cylinder is 99.98%, with no exaggeration.
I am getting 368FPS, consistently, based on 10 shots, using 2 different chrono's.

I have ordered some Sytema PTW spring tensioners, that will increase my FPS, for out door games.

My personal opinion of this gun, is nothing short of amazing.

This is just a quick type up and my person thought s on the WE Katana. I apologize for the grammar, but I just don't have the time, but thought it may help others with any questions they may have.

The fuck? Do you think bullet connectors would fit? Or would I have to widen the hole?

You could possibly elongate the hole and fit bullet connectors through. But.. For the price of a stock pipe and its hardware, you will have resolved the problem and can use whatever connector you favor.

The following is the stock pipe/buffer tube that I currently have on the Katana and works perfectly. The aluminum spacer/stopper that comes with the stock pipe, needed to be reversed when placing it in the stock pipe/buffer tube and the area around the screws hole, needed to be ground off. By doing this, I was able to get the right amount of threads into the cylinder's spacer and not have any threads protruding into the receiver.

http://airsoftdepot.ca/catalog/produ...roducts_id=881

Guys I'm a newbie here, I just got my WE katana system, I have this problem when i fire on auto mode. The bits n pieces of broken bb could be seen flying out of the barrel. Do any of you guys encounter problem as such and what is cause of this.

Misfeeds. Could be that the tappet plate (or whatever pulls the nozzle back in this system) isn't pulling it back far enough or is broken, could be the hop up unit being on too much or just crap, could be the magazine doesn't feed right.

What kind of ammo are you using?

I don't understand why they would design and build a whole new AEG concept to use a PTW style cylinder system, and yet use a style of trigger switch that was designed in the 19th century -_-

That's what I guessed too, as the aeg does not have the normal tepet
I'm using tm 0.25g bbs
Anyone here having the same prob with their katana system?
Btw the hopup is made from plastic so I'm not too sure it works good

I think this system is excellent. It combines the simplicity of the AEG drive train but takes advantage of the Systema Revolution style compression system that was released a few years ago.

If they had replaced the trigger switch with a basic micro switch that would have been the bee's knees.

Not a microswitch, those are stupid lol
But a mosfet, that would have been genius.

Have you tried just bullet connnectors with heat shrink over each. Pretty sure a 3mm or 4mm is much smaller than a deans that has a housing. If there is room for the wires, then these connectors will work for sure.

Hi Guys, I'm new on here and live in the UK, I've just picked up a WE Katana Raptor last week, I've been reading this thread with interest, I found mine also chopped a few bb's on full auto, I've since fitted a gen 3 ASCU so hopefully this will help, I had a little trouble getting the ASCU to work with the stock motor, had to replace it with a Standard Guarder motor.

I too found it was difficult to fit certain hop units in too, I had to file down the front of a prowin hop to make it fit, something I've noticed in the last fews days may explain the feeding problems, if you look at the sector gear it has about 3 less teeth than a standard one, its been "short stroked" by WE, this increases ROF but reduces FPS, so it must have a stronger than normal spring to give 350 FPS with a shorter piston stroke!

Also because it has a shorter/faster piston stroke it may be two quick for bb's being fed from the mag! Need to keep the mag fully wound up or use a good quality mid cap.

Are you able to change the gearset?

I've not counted the teeth on the piston yet (should be the same as the gear) I'm guessing you can change the gear so long as it has the same number as the original sector gear, which means removing some.

We should get a mag capability sheet going. So far I know the Elite Force Mid caps do not work.

Some people on this forum have actually purchased this gun. Since it's a decent amount into the season, I was wondering if anyone has anymore impressions on how it functions?

I replaced my cut off lever and anti-reversal latch and now my spring release doesn't seem to work. Any ideas?

obvious answer would be you didn't put something back together correctly lol

I got a question before I get this for my birthday. Are the cylinders proprietary? Can you change the piston yourself or if your piston strips you gotta buy a new one.

You can always change a piston yourself, and when a piston strips you usually have to buy a new one...
cylinder is probably proprietary since the piston is undersize, but apparently they use ptw springs

What I meant by buying new one was buying a whole new cylinder as I watched videos on the cylinder and apparently the nozzle is attached to the piston head so I was just curious as to how you would take everything apart.

Nozzle attached to piston head? Pull.

Alright I guess i'll know when I get it.

I have never seen or heard of a breaking. However, the teeth on the piston is another matter. A couple of the WE Katana's that I have seen people run are great especially when they are kept stock.

Some people are "upgrading" the gears and winding up with stripped piston racks. etc.

The cylinders heads/nozzles are the same features found in the PTW and the systema revolution gearbox, they are not taken apart like a AEG.


In a nutshell, a WE Katana is a ICS split gearbox lower with a PTW cylinder instead of the clunky ICS upper gearbox and a AEG hopup.