Inexpensive swords

[Cryozombie]

I'm looking for an inexpensive blade (100-300 bucks) thats decent for Tameshigiri but not overwhelmingly priced (I STILL miss my custom katana) for a poor sucker like me.

We (my dojo) have had bad luck with the Paul Chen Practical Plus blades so I have been trying to avoid those...

I found THESE and was wondering if anyone had an opinion of them... or could suggest somthing on the "cheap" end of the spectrum I can use when we do tameshigiri so I dont have to keep borrowing my instructors blade.

 

[Blindside]

The Swordforum reviews for the Kris Cutlery kats seem to be decent, as long as you go in understanding that these are not traditionally mounted.

http://www.kriscutlery.com/japanese/standard/index_29kat.html

Lamont

 

[Grenadier]

Last Legend makes a good sword for the money. I wish you could have asked this a couple weeks ago, since there was a 20% off sale going on back then!

They're not going to be nearly as good as a Trim, Clark, Bugei, et al., but they don't shoot for those price ranges.

If you take a look at the 2000 series (any of their sword lines), the differentially tempered Grade 2 swords may be what you are seeking. I've used them before with tameshigiri, both with straw mats as well as bamboo, and they've worked just fine. It's a bit more than what you were looking to pay ($389 shipped), but for the money, they're excellent sword.

 

[Walter Wong]

If you're aiming at a Last Legend, get something in the 3000 line.

I don't prefer Last Legend, but I'd choose them over any of the Practical series.

The 2000 Last Legend line would likely be better than the Practical series. But once again, you do get what you pay for. Don't go for the 4000 line of Last Legend. If you're going to pay a close to a grand or over, go Bugei.

I'd highly recommend either a Crane or Samurai from the Bugei line.

Swordstore's steel Iaito I heard are being made by different makers lately so the late batches of steel Iaito are not as good as the former ones that Swordstore sold. For swordstore, it seems more sensible to get either aluminum/zinc Iaito or the real shinken from Japanese smiths.

Angus Trim Katana are great user swords as well.

I heard Last Legend, DGuertin, Cold Steel are all coming from the same forge I heard even though Last Legend representatives claim Last Legend has their own foundry.

Save a couple extra more hundred dollars and go for a mid range Paul Chen or a 3000 line sword from Last Legend.
You try not to compromise when it comes to live blades of Japanese styled swords.

 

[Blindside]

http://www.angustrimdirect.com/saberhome.htm

They aren't Kats but I think you'd like them.

Lamont

 

[Walter Wong]

Not that those swords aren't good, Angus does nice work with his European styled swords, but Angus does make and sell Katana as well:

http://www.atrimasa.com/Japaneseswords.html

 

[Blindside]

Not that those swords aren't good, Angus does nice work with his European styled swords, but Angus does make and sell Katana as well:

http://www.atrimasa.com/Japaneseswords.html

Yup, but those are WAY out of his price range.

 

[Cryozombie]

Yeah thats around what I paid for the sword i had to sell.

If I had that kind of cash, I wouldnt need to buy a new one, Id still have mine.

 

[pgsmith]

I found THESE and was wondering if anyone had an opinion of them... or could suggest somthing on the "cheap" end of the spectrum I can use when we do tameshigiri so I dont have to keep borrowing my instructors blade.

I recently purchased one of their Higo models. My dojo cutter needs a new tsuka and, quite frankly, isn't worth the money to purchase a custom tsuka for it. So, I decided I'd try one of these since they were on sale and I'd never handled anything of theirs before. Frankly, I was pretty impressed. Make no mistake, it is still a cheap sword with all of the cheap sword faults. The fittings aren't very good, the wrap is tight, but not very pretty. The hamon is etched on and not a result of the hardening process. They tell you all of this stuff on their web site though, so I applaud their honesty. For the price, it is much better done than the lower end Chen swords. The blade is sturdy, and was sharp enough to be used just as it came. Quite a few inexperienced students hacked up several mats with it with no bends or loosening of either the ito or the tsuka. For the price, it is well worth it. My only problem is I wish it did not have bo hi. This makes the balance point farther toward the tsuka and makes it more difficult for the beginning students to cut, and they are the ones using the sword. If you must go with an inexpensive sword rather than waiting for a better one, these are much better for the money, in my opinion, than the Chen models.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Cryozombie]

Thanks Paul!

 

[kroh]

Hey TP...

You also might want to look into http://japaneseswordstore.com .

Loren Graves sells many different lines of blades that can pretty much fit any price range. He is also one of the few people I know that treats every customer like an old friend. I have one of the Dynasty Forge Blades and am very impressed with it. Give the site a look...good stuff and lots of info on there as well (he also just produced his own line... http://oniforge.com ). Loren can even customize any sword you can order with pretty much anything you can think of.

Regards,
Walt