Katanas!

[Makarov Kid]

So, I am looking for a new toy, but I am drifting away from the guns this time to a sword. I have been looking at katanas awhile now and I made my choice and I want one....of course, who makes good katanas? I am in the $100-$300 zone and I have been looking around and I spotted the Ryumon an they look pretty good. There's also Cold Steel, so who knows where to lead me in the right direction for a katana?

 

[Cai]

I don't have any Cold Steel katanas but the blades I do have have all been top knotch! Can't go wrong!

 

[Laharll]

Check out Zombie Tools. The Apokatana they sell is down right amazing and usable. Most companies make them just as show pieces. Stick with Either ZT or Cold Steel for the price and reliability.

 

[Tungsten]

cheness. it will make ya smile.
http://www.chenessinc.com/differential.htm

 

[Makarov Kid]

The Cheness looks pretty good. Found a very good review too. http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/cheness-sword-reviews.html

 

[rcorrelli]

Roninkatana.com. High quality, low price.
I suggest there Dojo pro line.

 

[jimbobborg]

How tall are you? Do you have an instructor? Are you looking for traditional or modern blades? Cutting with a Katana isn't like what you see in movies.

 

[shortround91]

I have several but for the $100 range if you can find mushurai model bamboo is suposed to be one of the best priced katans for the money. You get a aisi 1060 real clay tempered blade. I own a 1095 aisi folded clay temp, a T10(tool steel) clay temp, the bamboo mentioned above, ww2 japanese short sword and two mono steel aisi 1060 blades. Normally clay tempering is more expensive but it is a beautiful look. google the sword buyers guide they have great reviews for just about any price range of katana that you may be interested in. They even sell swords on there site as well. Check them out they saved me from buying a POS and who wants to do that. If you are just looking for a mono steel blade I could sell you one of my two 1060 blades just let me know and I can provide pics for the collection I have right now if you would like to see them first.

 

[Erno86]

Besides buying a steel Katana, figure on buying --- if you haven't already --- a couple of practice wooden or hard nylon Kantanas.

PBS...sells a interesting dvd, about the history and making of a Samurai sword ---they also sell a good dvd about the making of the Viking sword.

 

[DarthZed]

You can always look at Budk. 41 different choices, most cheap and crappy, but still; lots of options there.


http://www.budk.com/category/Samurai-Swords/Katana-Swords/pc/2884/2887.uts

 

[llkoolkeg]

These are the two options I'd consider if I was on a tight budget-

http://www.bugei.com/entry-level-trainers-168-ctg.htm
http://sbg-sword-store.sword-buyers-guide.com/SBG-exclusives.html

 

[Gunlawyer]

Problem is, with the budget you have laid out, you simply cannot purchase a quality sword. You will be able to get a crude but durable sword-like object from Cold Steel or some such though. Get some cheap beater and have fun and save up and then you can afford, eventually, a quality blade. Like cars or guns, the budget starts in the dirt and goes up into the stratosphere.

Like the poster above, you may consider the cheaper Bugei options or something from Sword Store that will be a bit more in price but will actually be something worth owning.

In the meantime, while you are saving up, here is a website you will enjoy: http://summerchild.com/summer.html

Keith has been polishing an HC L6 wak for me for over 3 years, he is that much in demand. Will post pics when it arrives, hopefully this fall.

Have fun and stay safe!

Chris

 

[llkoolkeg]

In the meantime, while you are saving up, here is a website you will enjoy: http://summerchild.com/summer.html

Keith has been polishing an HC L6 wak for me for over 3 years, he is that much in demand. Will post pics when it arrives, hopefully this fall.

Wow...I have held some of Big Ears' L6 blades at the NVA Swordfests as owned by the sponsoring sensei but never had the privilege myself. Here are a few of mine made by smiths you'd recognize.

 

[Wraith]

Wow the hamon's on the top two are all over the place

 

[shortround91]

For the best bang for the buck look for the bamboo made my rymon I think. They are 1060 aisi clay tempered and for $100 you cant beat the price.

 

[Troublesbrewin]

Check out Baltimore Knife and Sword, you won't get much for $100 but it's fun to dream.
www.baltimoreknife.com

 

[Vile Shadow]

Yeah, now you're talkin my language. If I can't carry a pistol, how about one of these?

 

[Nemesis]

Problem is, with the budget you have laid out, you simply cannot purchase a quality sword. You will be able to get a crude but durable sword-like object from Cold Steel or some such though. Get some cheap beater and have fun and save up and then you can afford, eventually, a quality blade. Like cars or guns, the budget starts in the dirt and goes up into the stratosphere.

Like the poster above, you may consider the cheaper Bugei options or something from Sword Store that will be a bit more in price but will actually be something worth owning.

In the meantime, while you are saving up, here is a website you will enjoy: http://summerchild.com/summer.html

Keith has been polishing an HC L6 wak for me for over 3 years, he is that much in demand. Will post pics when it arrives, hopefully this fall.

Have fun and stay safe!

Chris

I have to call ******** on this. You do not need a multi-thousand dollar price tag to have a real sword. In fact, i bet if you had a time machine, took a cheness blade back to old japan a warrior would take it over a traditional diff hardened blade...

The whole point of the folding and hardening techniques used was to make the steel as strong as possible with the best edge you could...they did not have the ability to make the metals we can today, and those that we have today like the 9260 spring steel used by cheness is far better for a fighting weapon. Beyond that...its not like thr samuari even used their swords in combat often anyway...mostly spear and bow (just like mostly everywhere else in the world). A modern blade in the 300-500 dollar price range is one hell of a sword, mot some sword like object wall hanger...

 

[llkoolkeg]

I have to call ******** on this. You do not need a multi-thousand dollar price tag to have a real sword. In fact, i bet if you had a time machine, took a cheness blade back to old japan a warrior would take it over a traditional diff hardened blade...

The whole point of the folding and hardening techniques used was to make the steel as strong as possible with the best edge you could...they did not have the ability to make the metals we can today, and those that we have today like the 9260 spring steel used by cheness is far better for a fighting weapon. Beyond that...its not like thr samuari even used their swords in combat often anyway...mostly spear and bow (just like mostly everywhere else in the world). A modern blade in the 300-500 dollar price range is one hell of a sword, mot some sword like object wall hanger...

I can see how one might believe this to be the case but it is unfortunately a fallacy comparable to saying a Davis .380 is a hell of a gun a member of Delta Force might proudly select over an HK. Why specifically?

Cheness swords are decent beginners blades only after they have been properly rebuilt...and I personally have bought and completely rebuilt a half dozen of them over the years because the mounting fittings, tsuka wood, same' rayskin panels, habaki blade collars, saya sheaths, ito handle wraps, etc. are constructed of the absolutely cheapest pot metal, scrap wood, plastic, cotton "shoelace", etc. and are practically unusable as is. You would have a far more functional Cheness sword from the factory if you simply stripped the thing to a bare blade and wrapped hockey stick tape around the handle.

If you are interested in a reasonably priced beginner sword, again, go to the links I posted and select one. Cheness sword blades are made of average-to-decent modern steel but are thorough-hardened(softer and not as sharp or good at holding their edge) compared to a REAL differentially-tempered sword of better materials, craftsmanship and lineage. If you want to buy and presumably use a japanese-style sword for something besides "plinking", you need one that won't fail you or let you down when you can least afford it. I still own one today that I COMPLETELY rebuilt for the simple reason it matches another better sword I own and when I want to practice with it and cut heavier targets, I can do so w/o putting mileage on one of my expensive swords.

Your points regarding steel are only partially correct. Modern steels are as a starting point/raw material more homogeneous and "clean" than hand-smelted tamahagane but the various folding and lamination techniques used by traditional japanese sword smiths were not just intended to make steel for bar stock but to make steel sword blades that are hard and sharp where they need to be(the cutting edge) and softer and more resilient where they need to be(the spine). Making a functional sword(besides a foil, epee, etc.) that has the proper weight, balance, flex and other handling characteristics requires a little more skill than hammering out bar stock industrial steel into a familiar shape.

Again, the Cheness blades are decent for what they are but a Yugo will never tear up the Nurburgring lap time records even if you slap a turbo on it. They are simply outclassed by an astonishing margin and you are unwittingly suggesting that the artistry and expertise of a mass-produced mall kiosk portrait is somehow equivalent to that of a Van Gogh. You get what you pay for in this world most of the time and blades are no less indicative of this reality than firearms. Do you need to drop $3K-$6K on a sword to get a decent weapon? No, but you better damned well be spending more that $150-250 unless you want the sword equivalent of jams, misfires and FTEs always lurking in the wings and waiting for the most inopportune moment possible.

FWIW, here's a few old pics of the only Cheness sword I still own which started out life as a 30" Shura model before I replaced every worthless component on it. It now has a custom-fitted cured hickory tsuka, real iron and water-buffalo horn fittings and silk ito from Japan, a full same' rayskin wrap of the entire tsuka, sea snake skin reinforcements of the saya joining seams, a real smoked bamboo retention peg or mekugi, etc.

 

[photoracer]

POS in my estimation. Looks nice but all the twists in the metal shaft detract from the proper use of a battleaxe. Correct martial technique for a 2-handed battleaxe requires a long smooth shaft because you need to slide one hand up and down the shaft depending on whether you are attacking, parrying, or need more leverage. A one handed axe should not have a shaft longer than 24" below the head even if the wielder is some kind of 7' 300# Norseman. Regardless of what you see in the media showy custom axes would be for show not real combat. You put them on the wall and when you need one you grab the one you chop wood with. Or find yourself a really good repro of the Danish bearded axe used by both the Scandanavians and Saxons. As long as the blade is good steel and it is mounted on a haft of a wood dense enough to stop sword blades you will be as well equipped as any Viking. Nobody used a double headed or spiked axe from the ground in those days. That came when plate armour was in style later to try and punch thru the armour. However finding someone to teach you the art of the battleaxe would be hard (I'm too old).
Even in its heyday at around the turn of the 1st millenium most used a hand axe because they could not afford a good sword. A couple of groups specialized in the long axe, the most well known were the Saxon Housecarls who formed the personal guard of the English Kings and Earls in the Viking era and the Byzantine Empire's Varangian Guard.