Advice before I purchase

Scotty2Hotty said:
Negative, no relation. Dynasty Forge will run you anywhere from $400-$3000, depending on your budget. They have a great selection, and I have heard excellent things about them. Nice katana you got from Hanwei, there! How does it cut? You stated you owned other katana as well, do you mind sharing what they are? Your opinion would be greatly appreciated. HAHAHA! I guess "higher end" is relative to the individual! Thank you all, good sirs.
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I've had the hanwei Shinto and the hanwei practical pro. The Shinto was great, awesome balance and was a great cutter. The practical pro (in my opinion only) seemed cumbersome (blade heavy) and awkward to cut. I've also owned agena sai from peter carbone. The Bamboo Mat cuts great and the balance is superb, it's very light weight . As soon as the L6 models become available again, I plan on getting one of those. I also plan on getting a Ronin dojo pro as well, more as a beater daily use sword. I'm getting rid of a lot of my guitar gear, to afford a lot this stuff for my collection.
 
It looks like "you get what you pay for" applies well to the models you have owned. I am considering my first katana. So far, I'm leaning towards the Ronin Katana Dojo Pro series. I like the options they give you for the fittings/tsuba/tsuka. As far as the steel composition, the Hanwei Practical Pro just says, "High carbon steel." This made me a bit weary of their product. Bamboo Mat has the Hanwei Hws-2s steel. I'm not so sure about that either. I guess the chromium is for extra hardness. The Hanwei Shinto looks like it would perform freakin awesome! What kind of cutting did you do with these? What are your thoughts on the T10 steel? I have heard amazing things about the L6 Bainite steel, but alas, that is way out of my budget for the time being. Elaborate on your "daily use." Are you just backyard cutting, or do you practice a martial art? Also, what Dojo Pro model/models are you interested in? Thank you for your time!
 
HAHA! I like the 18 and the 21, myself! What do you think about the RK's from Ronin? Are they just junk or what? I have heard the Zinc alloy fittings are likely to crack. I assume the lower price is b/c of the cheaper fittings and the 1045 steel. 1045 may be suitable for my needs though. What are your thoughts? There aren't any iaido dojos in my area either... All tae kwon do + karate type dojos. Lots of MMA too. I have found a practitioner that offers private lessons though. It wasn't easy! I had to ask around different dojo owners, and was eventually refered to this gentleman. I started a thread on sub-$300 katanas, hoping to get some opinions from fellow forumites. The other similar threads got off on tangents either about machetes or 9260 steel... I appreciate you, dude! Thanks a lot! :)
 
I think the Ronin is probably a great blade to start with. Starting out you won't be doing very heavy cutting, it'll be more technique if anything. When I first started out I was about 8 and had a real cheapo. But there are a lot of destruction tests on the ronin on youtube. I trust them enough to get one as a daily cutter. Just make sure the blade you get is light, the heavier blades will mess with the dynamics of your cuts. Yeah, cheaper prices typically have cheaper fittings, but you can always replace them with after market parts. As far as steel you'll want harder steel for blade retention, it's not fun to sharpen a katana. T10 held up really well and I really want the L6 model to see if it really holds up. Right now I'm enjoying the Bamboo Mat, it definitely surpassed my expectations. But like I said I want a ronin as my daily practice sword. Yeah, people go on tangents about steel a lot. In reality you can break any katana if used improperly.
 
Where are you ordering from?
the ronin 21 is nice too. I'd say get your daily katana first, then save up for the nicer one. I plan on getting a few more myself.
 
If I indeed decide on the Dojo Pro, I will order from roninkatana.com. Mine as well go directly to the source, the way I see it. Plus it's free shipping. SBG has some good reviews up on them, and they sell the whole line, but I think it's an additional $60 shipping. Thank you for the advice. I will bypass the RK's for now.
 
Aias said:
Most, well, all... of the practice I do these days is with wooden weapons these days, but when I swung a live blade, it was this one:

http://casiberia.com/product/tori-xl-light-katana/sh6007lff

This is the "light" version (with fuller)--I believe there is one without. Very well made and of course you can find them for less than the listed price.
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Good god man! By less than the listed price, you mean 20% of the listed price? hehehe I have indeed seen reviews of that katana in particular. I believe it was at the "nihonto" site. Yes, they have 3 models of those, bo-hi, without, and one with more niku(similar to the dotanuki style blades). From what I can remember, it took tops in the reviews. But alas, this is well beyond my budget, for the time being, anyway. Thank you, Mr. Aias, for your input. Much appreciated.
 
I'm going to get the dojo pro model 18, if I get mine before you, I'll let you know what I think. Also I know where you can find the Hanwei Tori pretty cheap, a lot cheaper than most places I've seen.
 
TrueBlue11c said:
I'm going to get the dojo pro model 18, if I get mine before you, I'll let you know what I think. Also I know where you can find the Hanwei Tori pretty cheap, a lot cheaper than most places I've seen.
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Please do! Full review expected! LOL Care to share what/where this place is? The cheapest I have seen is $899.
 
Scotty2Hotty said:
Good god man! By less than the listed price, you mean 20% of the listed price? hehehe I have indeed seen reviews of that katana in particular. I believe it was at the "nihonto" site. Yes, they have 3 models of those, bo-hi, without, and one with more niku(similar to the dotanuki style blades). From what I can remember, it took tops in the reviews. But alas, this is well beyond my budget, for the time being, anyway. Thank you, Mr. Aias, for your input. Much appreciated.
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Glad you like it! This is going back a few years, but I found mine on ebay, new for just under $800. I forget the seller--he was some kind of broker/ dealer of such fine goods... I kept it for a couple of years, did some cutting, took very good care of it, and sold it for just over $700 on ebay. All in all, it turned out to be an excellent "rental." Go figure!

In any case, I hope you fine a nice blade. My best!
 
BTW... you might want to check a certain website out for just that katana... who knows what you'll find... ;)
 
Agreed--they are quite good. Shipping, however, is always the killer...
 
That's why I said to get K.o.A to price match it. That's how I typically shop, find a place I like and have them match or beat the price.
 
I also found a pretty cool guy that specializes in making kusarigama, if anybody is interested.
He has a cool youtube channel, that's worth seeing for anyone knowledgeable in that realm.
 
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