Advice for a sword newbe

C

charlesbjr

Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Messages
448
Hi folks,
I am not new to knives but am new to swords. I want something with a Wakizashi look and size but that can be used to mess around with at camp, almost like a machete. I am tempted to go for a custom but really don't want to spend that much money on this. I was also looking at some of the budget friendly Wakizashis on line, but just don't know enough. For example, the Honshu or the Wndlass appear to cut well and are not very expensive, but how is the quality? I guess for the price I can't expect much.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks!!
 
I'd go with the Zombie Tools Zakasushi. Full scale tang 5160 and built like a tank. You won't break it very easily.
 
Yeah traditional wakis are not made for camp work and will get damaged. Also take a look at busse/swamp rat/scrapyard offerings
 
You could also cheap out and get one of the Cold Steel sword-machete things. Those are pretty durable and really cheap, which seems like it might be a virtue. Swords are NOT made for camp work.
 
Generally speaking what makes a good sword does not make a good woods tool.

Cold steel 1917 cutlass may fit your bill, perhaps longer than you are looking for.

Condor knife and tool has some good looking items, check them out. If I was to use a sword like object for outdoors work I would be very inclined to go with one of their sword like machetes.
 
gregorio said:
Generally speaking what makes a good sword does not make a good woods tool.
Click to expand...

Nobody has yet found a better compromise of sword and tool than the common machete.

It's cheap, it's rugged, it can make camp, work the fields all day every day, and it's a vicious weapon.

The Cubans even used machetes in lieu of cavalry sabers once upon a time. Effectively too.
 
I've used plenty of the cold steel sword like machete's and they would be the best thing for what you describe. I do my tree trimming and hedge cutting with them, most fun gardening ever.
 
Someone modded the tactana a while ago. Should be able to find it with a search in this subforum. Might give you a better idea of what you're getting. Condor or Cold Steel definitely should fit the bill.
 
charlesbjr said:
Yep, that one looks nice and so does their Chinese war sword machete. Can't beat the price too.

How about the Condor Tactana?

Thanks!!
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I've been meaning to try a Cold Steel machete for a while now, they have a few designs I like. If you get that one, let us know how it works out. That's one of the ones I wanted to try, it looks like it would be a monster for cutting reed grass jungles.
 
For a camp tool or fun backyard cutter get a quality made machete.











 
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If you still want a somewhat more traditional wakizashi, check out a ko katana instead. Think katana handle length in a wakizashi blade size. You can slash with one hand with ease and then go two handed for more difficult cuts. Several companies like Ronin (dojo pro series) and Cold Steel offer these. I have one from Ronin and two from Cold Steel, you can't go wrong with either.

Zombie Tools make some of the finest modern swords I have ever seen. They can take a massive beating, are sharp as hell and are high quality. The waiting period sucks, but its so worth it. I have to second the Zakasushi as being one of the best, all around blades.

Any of the Busse stuff is great too, should you go that route. A Swamprat (Busse sister company) Rucki would fit the bill just fine.
 
Havoc550 said:
If you still want a somewhat more traditional wakizashi, check out a ko katana instead. Think katana handle length in a wakizashi blade size. You can slash with one hand with ease and then go two handed for more difficult cuts. Several companies like Ronin (dojo pro series) and Cold Steel offer these. I have one from Ronin and two from Cold Steel, you can't go wrong with either.

Zombie Tools make some of the finest modern swords I have ever seen. They can take a massive beating, are sharp as hell and are high quality. The waiting period sucks, but its so worth it. I have to second the Zakasushi as being one of the best, all around blades.

Any of the Busse stuff is great too, should you go that route. A Swamprat (Busse sister company) Rucki would fit the bill just fine.
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That Ronin is insane!

I have to be honest, I was looking fort something a little lower on the price side. I know that I am compromising on quality. I really liked the Hanwei Tactical Wakizashi but see that they are no longer available. I do have a number of machetes that I love but was looking for something a bit different.

Thanks for all the advice, now its time to make up my mind!
 
Go here:

http://www.roninkatana.com/ronin-katana-scratch-and-dent.html

And look for this:

Dojo pro ko katana #10
$150

I got this one a week or so ago and there wasn't anything wrong with it at all!! The box has a sticker that says "saya" on it, so I assumed something was wrong with the saya. If there is, I can't find anything. The finish is flawless and the habaki locks up nice and tight in the throat of the saya, but fully seats as well, which is exactly what I wanted.

If you don't want to take the chance, that sword is normally $265, I believe, and its on sale for $200 for the month of May.

http://www.roninkatana.com/dojopro-ko-katana1.html

If I had noticed that before, I would have bought it that way, but the scratch and dent version was perfect, so I got lucky regardless.

BTW, I just got a tactical tanto from Hanwei and it's really bad. It was brand knew from Kult, factory boxed, but the blade is crooked and the way it seats in the saya is off centered and inconsistent. I love Hanwei swords, but this one is a lemon.

Oh, and I also second Sword Buyers Guide as a good place to shop. Everything I have bought from Paul has been top quality and a good price.
 
Havoc550 said:
Go here:

http://www.roninkatana.com/ronin-katana-scratch-and-dent.html

And look for this:

Dojo pro ko katana #10
$150

I got this one a week or so ago and there wasn't anything wrong with it at all!! The box has a sticker that says "saya" on it, so I assumed something was wrong with the saya. If there is, I can't find anything. The finish is flawless and the habaki locks up nice and tight in the throat of the saya, but fully seats as well, which is exactly what I wanted.

If you don't want to take the chance, that sword is normally $265, I believe, and its on sale for $200 for the month of May.

http://www.roninkatana.com/dojopro-ko-katana1.html

If I had noticed that before, I would have bought it that way, but the scratch and dent version was perfect, so I got lucky regardless.

BTW, I just got a tactical tanto from Hanwei and it's really bad. It was brand knew from Kult, factory boxed, but the blade is crooked and the way it seats in the saya is off centered and inconsistent. I love Hanwei swords, but this one is a lemon.

Oh, and I also second Sword Buyers Guide as a good place to shop. Everything I have bought from Paul has been top quality and a good price.
Click to expand...

Those are real nice, thanks for that info!!
 
If you're set on a Japanese style piece, I'll just mention that Cheness also offers a line of through hardened silicon steel blades, including a wakizashi & ko-katana. These would be much more resistant to bending than a differentially hardened blade, if ya plan to attack trees with 'em.

http://www.chenessinc.com/9260.htm

If ya do go this route, you should also consider that traditionally styled Japanese blades are convex ground from the ridge line right to the edge, with no secondary edge bevel. This means that every time you get a nick, dent, or other damage in the edge, you will have a huge amount of work on your hands to fix it. With a western blade, you'd just resharpen the edge. But with one of these wakis, you'll essentially have to regrind and refinish a large section of the blade to blend it back in, or the edge will quickly become too thick and blunt. So fixing a dinged edge will easily turn into a several hours long process (if ya wanna do it halfway right), instead of a 15 minute sharpening job. FWIW.
 
As another has said, Busse, Swamprat and Scrapyard make short swords That are indeindestructible. But the price is high.
 
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