@Chinner--
I think you are just trying too hard to get it going like a steam engine. It takes some patience and there is a learning curve, but if you step back a bit and take it easy it goes much smoother. I have ben getting clouds like that since my first Genisis (POC's Hybrid Mini) and have done ALOT of tinkering and experimentation.
I am to the point now where I wrap a coil and 9 times out of 10 there is not even a short in the coil on the first try. I am not bragging though, I am just trying to tell you that you can get to this level too and it's not that hard. I have been posting lots of tips and trick to get people going and writing out complete how-to setup coils too including what to look for an how to fix the things that come up. Look through my posts in this thread and the one this thread rolled over from and you will find everything you need to get the Katana working right.
Myself, Blu, Kami, rwechsler, Mac_206, lexi and a number of others are all here to help you out. You don't need to go it alone in your cabin getting frustrated. We are more than happy to guide you through it and get you to the level of performance we are all enjoying.
Now... to address the issue you are having. It sounds alot like you are having issues with the coil shorting on the wick. This is the single most common issue that people have when first starting with a Genisis atomizer. You probably are noticing the ends of the wire glowing very brightly and burning up. Look for where the coil stops glowing. That is the part of the coil that is shorting. Take a small screwdriver and move that part of the coil up or down while still firing the coil. You will notice that when you move it it will start glowing in that spot and will likely stop glowing somewhere else. Keep doing this till the coil is glowing evenly. If you cannot get to this point then the wick is not oxidized enough or it is touching the bottom of the tank. Either remove the wick and oxidize it better or move it off the bottom of the tank. If you have wrapped the coil properly you should be able to remove the wick without much fuss.
To oxidize the wick properly follow these steps.
Boil the mesh for 5 minutes, dry, drain the water from the pot and replace with fresh water and boil again like this 2 more times.
Cut a 15mm - 25mm x 50mm piece of mesh and roll it into a 50mm tall straw. Make sure it fits just barely snug in the hole where it goes in the Katana. It is important to make sure that the wick is like a straw with no kinks and open on both ends.
Pull the wick out and heat the mesh with a torch till it glows red then quickly dunk it in cold water. Dry and repeat this 3-5 times more.
Now take a couple of drops of juice and put it on the wick. Let it soak in for a second or 2 and light it on fire and let it burn itself out. Do this at least 3 times and continue doing it till the juice is instantly absorbed when you drop it on the wick. Hold the wick with a tweezers or an unbent paperclip so you don't burn yourself.
Put the wick into the tank and wrap your coil. Typically 4 coils is the norm (4 on one side 3 on the other). Put a couple of drops of juice on the new coil and fire it. Look for shorts and correct them using the method described above.
Once all the shorts are worked out, fill the tank and fire the coil till it is glowing then tip the Katana upside down 45 degrees. Keep firing the coil till the juice is flowing fast enough to not allow the coil to glow red anymore. This will typically take about a minute.
Now that everything is setup, go ahead and grab a new battery and vape it. It should be working beautifully right away.
If it is not then you have one of the Katanas that needs to have the Nylon re-aligned. There is a how-to posted on how to correct this and it is very easy. To limit this post I will not put that process in here.
The last step....
Let us know how it turns out
