[Liberal Gopher]

I'm looking for a sword that still "works". Does anyone know anywhere where I can get a decent quality sharp katana?

Thanks in advance.

 

[FarmerJohn]

go to japan

or get a ww2 captured one for about 7+ grand

 

[Fross_Byte]

In all reality you are looking at at least $2k(prob a little more) to get a truly, as the kids call it, "battle ready" katana from a reputable custom maker that knows what they are doing, do some research, there are some really good custom makers here in the states.

 

[SeekHer]

Check in American, Canadian or European made knives last page for my list of some sword makers.

 

[Amra910]

I buy mine from www.angelsword.com. He only sales at Ren Fares though. But at least you get to touch them.

 

[boot]

All right guys, tell me about the Cold Steel swords!

 

[Amra910]

In my opinion they are better than wall hangers but not as good as Angles. I would not go into combat with one.

 

[SeekHer]

All right guys, tell me about the Cold Steel swords!

They are for the most part just re-badged Paul Chen/Hanwei or Windless Steelcraft sharpened swords that you can find for a lot less at many dealers...Check Atlanta Cutlery and sister company Museum Replicas for some and there are lots of Internet links for dealers.

Info Sites
Sword Buyers Guide
Sword Manufactures Guide
My Armoury
Sword Forum International

Dealers
Cheness Swords -- Very good deals
Handmade Swords
Dealt with the above two
ASA Swordworks
Arms of Valor
and hundreds more...

Expect to pay at least ON SALE $650 to $700 for a starter blade anything below that is a wall hanger and not even a training blade...A fairly good fighting blade starts at $2,000.

 

[trixie]

just find a sword thats "battle ready" as long as it isnt made of stainless steel its fine. you can buy a nice sword for $75 and up from there. if you bought a katana for $20, its a wall hanger. if its full tang carbon steel and sharp out of the box, its good.

you can spend $2000 but you dont by any means need to. thats just more hype.


look through some websites like swordsofvalor.com and others to see reviews and vids of affordable swords.

 

[junglecrawler]

Why do you want a sword that "still works"?

 

[Trekker]

Hi LG,
Before you buy you might want to take a look here:
http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/buy-swords-online.html
And here:
http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/authentic-japanese-swords.html

I have the Cheness - Kaze Katana. It is not a multi $1K blade, but for what most of us will ever use it for it perfect. You want real protection... get a gun :
Of note here would be to point out that without training you will very likely bend ANY blade. It's not as easy as it seems. :
Good Luck

 

[Timmee]

yeah dude, thanx for proving my point. that was a QVC $40 sword, which would be a $20 in the store sword. there is all the difference in the world between a $20 sword and a $100 sword. the difference between a $100 sword and a $2000 sword is in the buyer.

-that sword that broke on QVC was a wallhanger.
-that will not happen with ANY sword that is full tang, and carbon steel.

Even though it's only a $40 sword, it still illustrates the point. It snapped mid blade, not at the tang (full tang wouldn't have done anything to prevent that). Quality steel that's been hardened and tempered properly shouldn't snap like that. For $100, I doubt you're getting quality steel, or proper hardening and tempering.

 

[cowboyup]

As well as fighting in the SCA, I have done live steel western martial arts in which we use live steel swords. I can't think of a single maker that comes in at 100 dollars that we would trust to be safe under the stresses of combat. IE maintain its structural integrety under combat such as hitting aror, shields, and bodies with power and blade to blade contact with power. Now we do use blunt edges for obvious reasons but these same swords wil perform the same way if given an edge.
To the OP. I would look into the Paul Chen Hanwei practical katana. I have not experience with that model but I have used the Paul Chen Practical Viking and found it adequate. I do know other Western Martial Artists using Paul Chen blades as well and find them suited to combat if later (post 2007) models are bought.
Good luck
John

 

[DanielW586]

Can I just ask, who here has actually been in a confrontation where a weapon has been involved?

 

[Amra910]

Can I just ask, who here has actually been in a confrontation where a weapon has been involved?

I have. East Dallas, Shooting. Late 80's. Cops didn't show up until an hour later because there were not enough to go to the call. No less than 4 officers in East Dallas on a shooting call. Only one was free at the time of the call.

 

[MrMorden]

Can I just ask, who here has actually been in a confrontation where a weapon has been involved?

When I was a cop I came one failed command from shooting a guy with a knife (hooked carpet cutter, actually). He had already cut up another fella, and had failed to drop it after two commands to do so and was walking toward me. I said "drop the knife NOW or I am going to SHOOT you"...finally got through to him (he was quite intoxicated).

 

[DanielW586]

ok

When I was a cop I came one failed command from shooting a guy with a knife (hooked carpet cutter, actually). He had already cut up another fella, and had failed to drop it after two commands to do so and was walking toward me. I said "drop the knife NOW or I am going to SHOOT you"...finally got through to him (he was quite intoxicated).

ok, well I see that since you are a cop that you would be confronted with a conflict, but you hear people talking about knife combat or other forms of weapon conflict, but how many (non police/ service) people actually are confronted with that kind of conflict?

 

[cowboyup]

I have scars from two, for lack of a better word, knife fights that occured when I was not in the service. Had I been older and wiser I may have been able to avoid the situations. I also had occasions to use my knife in the service. all of this was twenty years or more ago, now I AM older and wiser:thumb:

 

[dcliffhanger]

Should the "battle ready" katana come with alcahol?

 

[Liberal Gopher]

Thanks for the info. I saw some cheaper swords online on the links provided, but I think I'll just get a nice 3 inch knife. For the price of some of the expensive swords, one could buy a .50cal sniper rifle!