Chinese made Japanese style swords

crom

crom

Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
3,219
Hi,
I a friend is considering buying a functional (no wall hanger) Japanese sword ouf of his life-long desire to have one. What he doesn't have is a ton of dough for the real deal pieces. he stumbled across these guys:

http://www.handmadesword.com

and is specifically interested in the 1095 high carbon series. He's fully aware of the corrosive characteristics of 1095 and knows how to take care of non-stainless knives and tool. I'm wondering if anybody here has any experience with this company or a company like it that makes a no-frills Japanese sword that is still something that "could be used in battle". And no, he's a peaceful guy, lifelong martial artist, not looking to use it as home defense or whatever. Any comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
K
 
Generally, there are fit and finish issues, and of course the errors that can and do occur in batch heat-treated blades like most factories.

There's a whole load of Chinese-made - from Dynasty Forge, to J-Armory, to Hanwei...

P.S. They're all "hand-made" - cheaper than investing in a CNC machine ;).
 
I got one from cheness cutlery ( may have spelled that wrong ).
From what I gather he used to forge for Hanwei and now does his own thing.
REAL nice sword for the money. Got the Tenchi w/ bohi.
 
It's been awhile since I've owned anything from kris cutlery, but you may want to consider their line. Last checked they made tough swords but were somewhat unwieldy.

The swords they have now are very different from the ones they produced years ago so do your homework. For a more recent update on Kris cutlery, ask the swordforum.

www.kriscutlery.com
www.swordforum.com
 
Thanks everybody. I cut and pasted the responses and sent to him. He said he in familiar with Hanwei's reputation and that these replies were very helpful. If he decides to buy i'll try to get ahold of it for a few days or so and will be sure to post here on my observations. Have a good weekend everybody, GO PENS!!
 
My first post! Absolute amateur, even though 65 years of age. What brought knife making into my interest was buying a katana, company unknown, bought it at a antique shop, [paid $110 so it is unlikely to be valuable or old], even though I took the handle apart...* 1/2 plus 8 inches full tang, with two holes for bamboo rivets...no lettering on the tang that i can see, but scratches often can be taken, like starring on a wall and seeing patterns. It seems to be Damascus pattern wielded, is heavy and rusts immediately unless kept oiled. This and other things lead me to try to build a shop and with my limited budget...build a few knives and perhaps a tomahawk or two. Strictly as a hobby...to keep the mind sharp and Al' Hammer disease as far away as possible.

Fire has always been the Grand Father of Shamans and Sorcerer's...so wish me luck.

Don Park
 
BTW...for those that might be interested the 'Daniel Boone Trading Post' in Grants Pass has a katana...with 3 different guards, & papers of authentication (although it could be a Japanese laundry list, as far as I know)...it looks good, brown wrapping on the handle, I get the impression that it is a WW II military sword, but don't know that for sure... $210...I think price tag. I do have some rather poor pictures I took of it. For someone who knows about these things...I do not...it might be worth looking into.

Do and internet check on the above name...he is on there.

I would go for it, but my setting up my shop, eats up available money. My wife is hard to fool...and psychic as hell; another sword and I could be on the street.

I have no money interest in this.
 
There are a couple of bladesmiths in China who make really good quality hand-forged katanas. They cost around $2,000 - $3,000 per piece, but they are made in the traditional Japanese way and hold a lot of value.

I can recommend the best Chinese bladesmith if anyone wants to know.

As for the other 800 "sword makers", most of them make crap with low price tags, such as those "Damascus" swords with fake hamon.
 
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