Okay people any help will be much apprciated, firstly i can't afford an expensive katana (how ever much i want it) i can only just afford over £100. I want to buy a katana which is functional and can be displayed and i found a site http://www.bladesunlimited.co.uk/samurai-1.htm with nicely priced ones, but it goes on about being display ones so sharpness shouldn't be an issue, so does this mean its crap? I like the "Oda Warrior Katana" any opinions and thoughts? and lastly there is a sword called the samurai 3000 which claims to have an indestructable blade has anyone heard about this or have any info. Well any info on anything i have said would be great thanks people.
A good place for swords is www.weaponmasters.com They have some nice swords and good prices along with buyers reviews and ratings on the quality, sharpness and functionality of each sword.
Thank you thats a brilliant site, but one question are they brand new or second hand? because they seem unbelievably cheap
100% brand new. Another thing, if you go into services (i think) you can send them designs and specs and they can make you a totally custom sword! Blade, hilt, material everything!
Uh. Sorry, but I have to throw in my 2 cents here. Just wondering what exactly you will be using this sword for. You say "functional" but you don't say exactly how functional you need. Is this for Iaido? Tameshigiri? Knowing what you'll be using it for will help quite a bit. Otherwise, you likely will end up with crap, especially if you're only wanting to pay <100 pounds. Edit: Addendum, having just looked at both of those sites. First site - By no stretch of the imagination are those Katana. Those, my friend, are cheap imitation. Second site - I'm wary. Any site that sells a "Ninja Sword" is useless in my books. The only reasonable swords on there are the Hanwei stuff, and I'm not usually a fan of the Hanwei. If you're looking for something close to a real Katana, check out these guys. Samurai Store, Sword Store If you plan on doing any authentic Japanese sword art, please, for your own sake, give these people the money. They're going through the trouble of producing realistic weapons/training aids. It'll be a stretch learning anything at all with a fantasy sword (Re: First Site). If you aren't doing a credible Japanese sword art, just swinging some steel in your backyard, it won't really matter what you use, because it'll likely get destroyed just as fast.
Man, that Musashi sword is a piece of pure beauty. If only I had the money The Hanwei's are great, I'd definately purchase the Tiger set if I *sigh* had the money.
There can be nice stuff. Just be careful what you buy. Estimates peg the amount of rip-offs for Ebay Katanas at around 65-70%. A lot of "Steel" blades aren't really steel. I'd say stick to reputable dealers, even on Ebay. Especially if you'll be training with said sword. You don't want a blade flying off and hitting someone, do you? Cause it happens, more than you think.
I'm looking for a sword myself, but I don't want any of the themed swords on Weapon Masters. My limit is €80-100. Does anyone know where I can find a good sword, long Tsuka is a must, I want a good two hander. It's only for display, but I don't want one where the blade will fly out if I swing it.
TJ:- if you find somewhere over in Ireland, give me a yell, and i might have a mosy when im over in the summer because im after a sword too cheers
Will do. I'll check out Martial Arts Supplies' weaponry on Monday. It's on Aungier St. in the city centre.
would that be Dublin or Belfast or where? ill be roughly in the middle of Ireland when im there (County Cavan) so ill be able to get to most places (if i can get away from the pub . cheers
I'd stick with Nine Circles, although the Barrington swords people are a somewhat worthy second. All they're selling is Hanwei stuff, which is good enough, but that's about it.
http://www.spiral.org.uk/ This place sells loads of different kinds of swords, medaleval european to Samurai. They're quite well priced as well. As the shop is in my home town, i've been in there a couple of times and handled some of teh samurai weapons (Katana, Wakazashi and Tanto) and they are all of good quality. Just a thought
