Deciding on my first sword

aznpos531

aznpos531

I like sharp and pointy things...
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
1,176
I've finally decided to take the plunge into collecting swords. For my first sword, I would like to get something of quality and that I would be able to learn how to maintain and sharpen.
I'm mostly interested in Japanese katanas but eventually I'd like to add a rapier or two to my collection. :D

I've been looking at CAS Hanwei swords and they seem to get the best responses from people in terms of fit & finish as well as price. I've taken a liking to their Tiger Katana. Any thoughts and alternate suggestions as well as good resources for learning more about swords would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance! :)
 
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Good choice, honestly. Hanwei is a great starting company, and their rapiers are very nice as well. Chris Zhou is another smith you should consider looking at for your katanas, if you're going to go production. He was the winner of the 2010 Masters of Fire sword competition, IIRC. I'd avoid Musashi unless it's one of their more expensive models, as those are made in Chris Zhou's forge, personally.

The Tiger Katana is probably one of their best high end katanas, in my opinion.

A few other popular options include:

Cold Steel (I don't really like their swords, because they tend to be overbuilt in the sense that, while durable, they're far too heavy, and while they can chop well, the balance is just wrong, and they don't move as well in hand as a proper katana should). They make heavy but durable chopping blades, although their pricing isn't nearly as competitive as CAS Hanwei

Badger Blades and Baltimore Knife and Sword offer very durable katanas, generally at Ren Faires and the like. They're not very traditional, but again, very durable and good for HEAVY cutting. I hear tales of people who have chopped through engine blocks and such. Fittings are NOT traditional.

There are also a lot of excellent smiths on this forum who can make you a wonderful katana as well. Perhaps some of them will chime up.

If you do want to get a CAS Hanwei, shoot me a PM, and I can direct you to my favorite place to buy Hanwei products, which has by far the best prices on the web.
 
Thanks for the info! I've looked at he Cold Steel swords and while I'm convinced that they're not just simple wall-hangers, they just don't appeal to me as much for some reason. I'll take a look at the other makers you mentioned to see if anything piques my interest.

Expect a PM from me very soon! :)
edit: You don't have PM's or email enabled. :(
 
i started studying on a paul chen practical plus katana that was surprisingly nice for the price. once i had the hang of caring for the blade i moved up to a bugei crane. 8 times the price but a work of art. still, if you want a good work horse that you won't feel too nervous about learning with, the practical plus was pretty solid. peace

beckerhead #118
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I considered the practical series as well but that Tiger has me hooked :p But perhaps you're right. Maybe I should start with the cheaper Practical Plus before I step up to the more expensive swords.
I've looked at the Bugei katanas and they are really quite nice. I wouldn't be adverse to some pictures of your swords! :)
 
I'd start off with one of Hanwei's Raptor series pieces before taking the step up to the Tiger or similar. The Raptor series is designed with near abuse in mind, and will provide you with a sturdy piece of work that can be a bit more forgiving of botched cuts. Those WILL happen as a beginner, so it's best to plan for it. Likewise, you get a wide range of blade options.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I'd start off with one of Hanwei's Raptor series pieces before taking the step up to the Tiger or similar. The Raptor series is designed with near abuse in mind, and will provide you with a sturdy piece of work that can be a bit more forgiving of botched cuts. Those WILL happen as a beginner, so it's best to plan for it. Likewise, you get a wide range of blade options.
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Thanks much for your insight! Unfortunately, my current schedule doesn't really allow time for me to take classes and without proper instruction, I don't feel comfortable swinging a sword around! As such, I don't think I'll be doing very much cutting if at all. However when my work schedule cools down a bit, I'll definitely be signing up for classes at which time I think the Raptor series that you recommended will fit the bill just right.
As for right now, I'm looking for a quality katana that requires regular maintenance such that I can learn how to care for a sword.
 
Just my 2 cents but I think that it is much easier to buy a really quality albion or arms and armor european sword for a semi reasonable price than it is to find a top notch japanese sword. Had too many issues with poorly wrapped handles and the like. I am pleased with my dynasty forge though, and the price was ok.
 
Whoops, my bad. I can't figure out how to enable messaging, since it looks like it already is, but I sent you an email. Definitely agree that Albion makes some nice swords. But there are plenty of top notch Japanese blades out there. @gregorio, what all have you tried so far that's had poorly wrapped handles?
 
aznpos531 said:
Thanks much for your insight! Unfortunately, my current schedule doesn't really allow time for me to take classes and without proper instruction, I don't feel comfortable swinging a sword around! As such, I don't think I'll be doing very much cutting if at all. However when my work schedule cools down a bit, I'll definitely be signing up for classes at which time I think the Raptor series that you recommended will fit the bill just right.
As for right now, I'm looking for a quality katana that requires regular maintenance such that I can learn how to care for a sword.
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By all means buy what you like--I just figure that if you have any intention of doing cutting at all then starting off with a less expensive (but still quality!) would make more sense. It'll still require the same maintenance that the Tiger would--it's just not differentially heat treated and doesn't have expensive fittings.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
By all means buy what you like--I just figure that if you have any intention of doing cutting at all then starting off with a less expensive (but still quality!) would make more sense. It'll still require the same maintenance that the Tiger would--it's just not differentially heat treated and doesn't have expensive fittings.
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I was under the impression that the Raptor series didn't require the same maintenance but I see now that it's still made of 5160 high carbon steel. I guess all that remains now is to go out and handle some swords and see which I like best.
Thanks again for your suggestions!
 
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No problem. Don't forget to post pics of whatever you end up with! ;)
 
Any reason why no one mentioned Dynasty Forge? If so, please tell because I've been looking at them pretty hard. OP - unless there's something I don't know, you might wanna check em out as well. I'm looking at the DF Musha series Ko-Katana.
 
gregorio said:
Just my 2 cents but I think that it is much easier to buy a really quality albion or arms and armor european sword for a semi reasonable price than it is to find a top notch japanese sword. Had too many issues with poorly wrapped handles and the like. I am pleased with my dynasty forge though, and the price was ok.
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zignal_zero said:
Any reason why no one mentioned Dynasty Forge? If so, please tell because I've been looking at them pretty hard. OP - unless there's something I don't know, you might wanna check em out as well. I'm looking at the DF Musha series Ko-Katana.
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Someone did mention them ;)
 
I think it's kind of a matter of preference between a Hanwei, Chris Zhou, or a Dynasty forge, assuming we're looking at comparably priced swords (namely, their best lines). You'd probably be looking at their Daimyo lineup to find something comparable to the Hanwei Tiger, and part of the difference is the steel that they use. The Dynasty Daimyo line uses 1080, 1060, and 1095 steel in a 9 layer billet, folded at least 8 times. So it's gonna have a number of layers (1152 to over 18k, in fact), depending on the way the billet gets forged. Hanwei, in contrast, uses K120C powder steel, made in Japan (although IIRC it's a swedish steel). Folding serves a number of purposes, but one is to promote the purity and carbon content of the steel, which powder steel already possesses. The patterning on the Dynasty Daimyo katanas will be much more pronounced than on the Hanwei, but I'd personally prefer the Hanwei blade, which is going to start out with greater purity, although I suspect the polishing job will be a little more professional for a Dynasty Forge Daimyo blade. I've had a tough time finding those at anywhere close to the same kind of affordability as Hanwei, however. Chris Zhou's really nice work tends to be pretty hard to find as well.

If you're looking at the Musha, or even the Bushi line, you're not even in the same category of quality though. If you're looking at a Musha, or even a Bushi, in place of the Tiger, you're really stepping down a LOT in quality. The greater availability of Hanwei products means that you're going to get a nicer blade at a better price than for the Dynasty Forge offerings, although I wouldn't say no to one of their Daimyo Tamahagane blades if I were offered one at a comparable price.
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
I think it's kind of a matter of preference between a Hanwei, Chris Zhou, or a Dynasty forge, assuming we're looking at comparably priced swords (namely, their best lines). You'd probably be looking at their Daimyo lineup to find something comparable to the Hanwei Tiger, and part of the difference is the steel that they use. The Dynasty Daimyo line uses 1080, 1060, and 1095 steel in a 9 layer billet, folded at least 8 times. So it's gonna have a number of layers (1152 to over 18k, in fact), depending on the way the billet gets forged. Hanwei, in contrast, uses K120C powder steel, made in Japan (although IIRC it's a swedish steel). Folding serves a number of purposes, but one is to promote the purity and carbon content of the steel, which powder steel already possesses. The patterning on the Dynasty Daimyo katanas will be much more pronounced than on the Hanwei, but I'd personally prefer the Hanwei blade, which is going to start out with greater purity, although I suspect the polishing job will be a little more professional for a Dynasty Forge Daimyo blade. I've had a tough time finding those at anywhere close to the same kind of affordability as Hanwei, however. Chris Zhou's really nice work tends to be pretty hard to find as well.


If you're looking at the Musha, or even the Bushi line, you're not even in the same category of quality though. If you're looking at a Musha, or even a Bushi, in place of the Tiger, you're really stepping down a LOT in quality. The greater availability of Hanwei products means that you're going to get a nicer blade at a better price than for the Dynasty Forge offerings, although I wouldn't say no to one of their Daimyo Tamahagane blades if I were offered one at a comparable price.
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I'm curious about your other reasons ?
 
aznpos531 said:
I've finally decided to take the plunge into collecting swords. For my first sword, I would like to get something of quality and that I would be able to learn how to maintain and sharpen.
I'm mostly interested in Japanese katanas but eventually I'd like to add a rapier or two to my collection. :D

I've been looking at CAS Hanwei swords and they seem to get the best responses from people in terms of fit & finish as well as price. I've taken a liking to their Tiger Katana. Any thoughts and alternate suggestions as well as good resources for learning more about swords would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance! :)
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maintaining is fine, but "sharpening" is another matter. I wouldn't buy an expencive one to start with.
 
SShepherd said:
maintaining is fine, but "sharpening" is another matter. I wouldn't buy an expencive one to start with.
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For actual "sharpening", I'll be sending it off to a togishi for proper polishing.
Do you have any other suggestions for a non-expensive one to start with other than the practical plus and raptor series?

FortyTwoBlades said:
Raising the price point, for one. :D
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lol ain't that the truth!
 
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