purchasing a katana

Its been a while since i posted here, i'm away all summer learning how to be a blacksmith.

I'm about to purchase a sword and i just wanted to ask one more time for a more definate answer. I have $400 which sword should i buy?

I'm looking heavily at the warrior series Katana from Cold Steel, but I am open to suggestions.

Rick,

I'm surprised no one has said this yet, but I think it needs to be said...

The sword you should get is the one recommended by your teacher. It would be unwise to purchase a sword based on the recommendations of posts on an Internet forum. It would also be unwise to purchase a sword before you have a teacher who can make the recommendation, because once you find a teacher you may find that your initial purchase was a waste, due to differences in preferences of different schools. ...Not to mention the safety issue.

Best,

Chris

Chris,

I'm not reall planning to begin any training, i'm mainly loking for a traditionally made Japanese Katana to display in my home. I'm just curious as to what people have, and what they like and dislike about the swords available. Like i said before, i only have about $400 dollars to spend on this, so i know I am extremely limited as to what i can get. Like everyone else though, i want the biggest bang for my buck and i know that there are good and great blades available within my personal price range.

I've heard far too many negatives about the Paul Chen Practical line and most other Chen swords, so i believe they are out of the question for me, but i am still looking into the Last Legend Katanas, the Kris Cutlery Katana 29, and the Cold Steel Warrior Series Katana.

Anyone out there who owns or has handled these swords, please, feel free to comment on them, good, bad, anything. Its the first time i'll be purchasing a functional sword and it means a lot to me that my money isn't wasted.

Thanks

-- Rick

While the swords you have listed are certainly functional, none of them in your price range are "traditioallly" made. I've heard good things about all of the ones that you listed, as well as a few negative comments about them from the "purists" on one forum or another. Cold Steel has a good reputation so I tend to lean towards their products. However, Last Legend has some really nice pieces too and there was some talk of them expanding their offerings to include different option choices. I picked up a Liveblade Iaiyo with a folded steel blade and silk tsuka on e-bay a while back for $465 which included shipping that I am particularly fond of. My advice is be patient, shop around, and don't necessarily buy the first thing you come across. You never know when a spectacular deal like the one I found will come around. One thing I've found is that folks are always upgrading or getting in a bind for cash, and their "toys" are usually the first things to go. Good luck.

$400.00 is a good amount of money for a toy to hang on your katana kake.
If all that you are doing is spending the bucks for a display sword, you can get a fine daisho with kake for around $250.00
--
If you are spending any more on a toy for show and tell, send your spare bucks my way.
--

one of my friends has trained in tameshigiri for many years and says, while not the best for any hard core cutting, paul chen paractical plus swords are good for an inexpensive beginner sword. I actually am considering getting one of the wakizashi for myself soon so if anyone can advise for or against it i'd appreciate it, It would also help out the starter of this thread.

The paul chen practical plus swords are a good choice for basic tameshigiri.

Aside from the advice that it's best to see what your sensei advises you to get, I say stay away from the Paul Chen Practical series (Practical Katana, Plus, Pro but also formerly called Fantasy).

If you must go cheap, get a mid range Paul Chen like Shinto, Musashi, Tsunami and Golden Oriole. A better choice would be any of the 4 high end ones, Kami, Tiger, Orchid and Bushido.

But highly suggest a sword from the exclusive Bugei line of production swords by Paul Chen. www.bugei.com

Last Legend original series, Tsunami, the Mark series, Dragon, Bear, etc. are discontinued. They have a new line of swords out. www.lastlegend.com

Tony Alvarez is starting up his own company www.tozaiimports.com and awaiting for his line of production swords for tameshigiri to come out. He's collaborating with Paul Chen as well to produce his exclusive Tozai swords. But his swords are not done and ready for sale yet. So keep an eye out on his site every now and then.

I personally wouldn't pay less than $600.00 for a production line Japanese styled sword for tameshigiri. You really get what you pay for in the world of Japanese swords.

Another option would be eBay, while you have to be carefull to make sure you don't get ripped off, you can find an idiot with a good item.

Unless you really know and understand Japanese swords, I would stay away from Ebay. The majority is crap on there and you'll be wasting your hard earned money. Stick with reputable companies, retailers, swordsmiths or whatever your sensei suggests.

I highly recommend swordstore.com

oops, for some reason the rest of my post went into the ether somewhere...

basically, I recommend swordstore.com because I and several of my sempai have beautiful Iaitos from there, and because my experience with them both by email and phone gave me the sense that they know their business and care that their customers understand what they are purchasing and why. There can be a bit of a wait for your sword to be imported, but I think their quality and service speak for themselves.

Good luck finding that "special sword".

Regards,
Drew

Ah yes, how could I have forgotten www.swordstore.com
I have their Iaito as well and I love it. And yes, swordstore.com should be seriously considered.

They have Iaito, live blades they call Iaito That Cuts, and shinkens made by Japanese smiths.

I've seen Thaitsuki Nihonto blades and they look pretty nice. Do any of you know anything about them or know of anyone who has one?

this site looks pretty good too - www.mantisswords.com

Was recommended this one by my sensei.

http://iaido.tozando.com/iaito/ka100.html

Can't go wrong with any Iaito from Tozando. I've seen quite a few of them from classmates and other JSA'ers outside my dojo. My sensei likes Tozando alot as well.

I'm more of a swordstore fan.

hi,.. i have a spanish Toledo shirazaya Sword,. they are very good swords and are not too expensive.

Look at:

http://www.loveleaf.net/sword/main.html

http://www.knightsedge.com/spanish-toledo-swords.htm

or

http://www.aceros-de-hispania.com/gb/default.htm

Could someone correct me if I am wrong, but, isn't Shirosaya meant to **store** a blade, not as an actual mounting? I wouldn't use shirosaya as a mounting for a training blade. When you say these are "good swords", do you mean good for training and cutting?

Personally, I don't think I'd use the ones on that site for anything but wall hangers...mostly because of safety concerns.

Best,
Ron

Ron Tisdale wrote: isn't Shirosaya meant to **store** a blade, not as an actual mounting?

Yes.

Ron Tisdale wrote: I don't think I'd use the ones on that site for anything ...

Indeed.

John

Not to mention most of them were pretty damn ugly...

RT