Who has the better deal for a quality sword? Some that's actually usable, but also looks good enough
for me to have out.
Cold Steel - For some reason I don't entirely trust
their stuff. Mostly because I haven't heard any
reviews.
Museum Replicas - I heard their older swords by
Tozando(?) were better, and the newer stuff by
Windlass Steelcrafts is of questionable quality.
Kris Cutlery - I have only heard good things, but
visual appeal on some of their blades is kinda lacking.
Bugei - Expensive and their whole "real katana had
extra long hilts" thing rubs me the wrong way, and can
be debated. Plus I find the extra long hilt to look
funny.
Paul Chen - Heard the tangs are weak except in one or
two of the swords. I just can't remember which ones
were good.
All of these are extremely poor quality IMHO for western swords. For non custom work I recommend Arms & Armour in the US. I have handled a few of their pieces and they are pretty good.
When it comes to swords you get what you pay for so going custom is a good idea. Some of the best work I have ever seen comes from here www.manningimperial.com
Cheers,
Stu.
Hello,
I can offer an opinion on katana's produced by Paul Chen and Bugei, having used both in tamishigiri practice.
Bugei's swords are expensive but are very true to form in (yes) the traditional "sengoku jidai" style with the long handle. I was able to effectively cut a 4 and 5(tatami) goza roll.
Paul Chen's - During this same practice I was also able to use a Paul Chen Katana, the tsuka(handle) is slightly shorter, but the craftmanship on the blade was fine. We cut several 2 and 3 roll goza, (didin't get the chance to use it on the large rolls). All in all still a decent blade.
Gumagalang
Guro Steve L.
www.bujinkandojo.net
Interesting stuff. I guess as a non-sword person, it's hard to know where standards should be set. As the old saying goes, there's always someone who can make it a little worse and a little cheaper. I mean, I'd always thought of Cold Steel as having respectable workmanship. For knives and stuff anyway.
Maybe I should browse around. Apocalypse, zombies... As the old saying goes, "Dig a well BEFORE you're thirsty." I don't see zombies around, it stands to reason that now's the time to buy a sword. ;)
As the old saying goes, if you really want to do it, any excuse will do.
Ask on the history forum.
I've heard a lot of good things about Last Legend's blades. You might want to check out http://swordforum.com (no www in the address) for a lot of discussion about swords. You need to register to get to the forums.
Thanks. Definately looking for something that could
hold up to tamishigiri practice or similar usage.