fighting Ninja Sword

I believe that you can get some very nice ones from The Home Shopping Network. :D
 
Paul Chen makes some ninja swords. If they're as good as his other stuff you shouldn't have any problems. www.bladematrix.com has some decent prices on them if they're in stock.

OilMan
 
The closest thing to a ninja-to on the market is the Cold Steel Chisa Katana. The real ninja-to had a full-length handle and scabbard but a shorter blade. There were also other types for special purposes.
 
Technically, the ninjas most likely used samurai katanas didn't they? The straight bladed version only came into being for movies and such to my knowledge. Unless someone knows different.

OilMan
 
I suppose I should move this thread to the Sword Forum, but they're not going to thank me for it....

The ninja sword is an invention of Hollywood.
 
I always assumed that the ninja-to was straight to accommodate back-carry. But I can't really back that up, it was just a thought. The full sized katana is pretty hard to pull out over the sholder. Paul Chen's is very nice, however because it's so symmetrical I sometimes pull it out facing the wrong direction.
 
Here are some pictures:

http://www.geocities.com/remipulwer/Budo/Sword/SwordsofBujin.html

As for the straight sword, it is true that this sword is not the real ninja-to/shinobigatana but it is not a hollywood invention. I have a Japanese children's book published in 1973 (this predates Hollywood ninja movies) that shows pictures of various ninja tools including the popular straight-bladed "ninja-to." The pictures are probably from the Iga Ninja Museum. It is probably a popular invention for Japanese movies, but not Hollywood.
 
I doubt that the sucessful Ninja would walk around with such a highly visible badge of identification as an oddball straight sword. It would have taken around five minutes for the Samurai to find everyone with a straight sword and turn them into sushi. But, I'll bet prop "Ninja" swords are cheaper to produce... :D

n2s
 
Historically, ninjato is BS. Also ignore everything posted about "actually ninja used..." if you care about authenticity. If you don't really care about accuracy however, then there are some OK suggestions posted.

Kris Cutlery used to make some straight swords back in the day, Hanwei makes a few still, and there are a bunch of variations on the wakizashi and "chiisagatana" flavor from a bunch of makers.

Good luck.
 
Sharp Phil just reviewed the Hanmei sword in the free section of The Martialist website. He seems to think its a good solid user. If you plan on being attacked by multiple ninjas though, there may be better out there. :D
 
There's Koto, Shinshinto, Gendaito. Ninja Sword? It's a creation of a cheap Hollywood movie.
 
Mr.BadExample said:
Because no one posted it yet, you should try
www.realultimatepower.net for all your ninja information.
Click to expand...

I was looking through this site... the fourth picture down on the first "Sightings" page is a picture of a barracks room here at West Point - I had a bit of a surreal moment when I saw it. The picture looks photoshopped though.
 
remember that before the middle of the 19th century, there were only two weapons recorded that were subject to strict regulation in terms of design, manufacture, and use: the roman pilum (javelin) and the english long bow.

every other weapon was freely designed, made and used.

ninja sometimes operated covertly so long visible weapons (except the tool-types) were out. concealable weapons like knives, darts, shuriken, derringers, etc. were the order of the day.

sometimes, they attacked armed camps stealthily so one can imagine dark suits, blades, ropes and swords.

sometimes, they openly supported some clans in battle so they were in armor, armed with swords, bows, spears, musket and halberds.

as regards the sword, remember that blade length is user-specific. and the longer the blade, the more sturdy it must be. a long katana (>24") has to have some curve since it's basically a big knife with a differential heat treat. it's not like a western sword that has a uniform spring taper.

shorter swords (<20") are not subject to the above requirement. different attachments, accessories and specific design quirks must have been the rule, rather than the exception.
 
Slow down!
Perhaps the issue here is that someone with 'like' no training wishes to fight at home with a live blade! OMEGA DOOM needs to look into some bokken FIRST and get some training. When his teacher decides it is time for him to 'like' get a ninja sword, he 'like' then can.
The other issue is NEVER purchase a stainless steel/surgical steel or other buzzword cheap catalog crap and not expect to destroy the sword in short order or injure yourself or others. Stainless steel, while wonderful for knives, 'like' sucks for swords. Struck together 'training' in the 'like' backyard will 'like' send chunks of razor sharp steel flying.
I know this is not what you want to hear OMEGA DOOM, but swords are weapons and are not to be taken lightly in construction or handling. 'Wanting to' is not enough. I cannot express how much you should try to learn first. Hollywood swords and swordfights are bull. Without exception. Japanese swords are not 'like' magickal, invincible, unbreakable or better than any other despite the popular mythos surrounding them and supported by flicks like Kill Bill, Blade or Cranky Monkey Pissing Tiger. There are many sites out there with serious information on swords and training. Generally the poop written between the picture of a sword-like object and the price is complete fabrication. Please try to read more than a single paragraph at a time and forget everything you think you have 'learned'.
Also there is a web-famous video clip of one of the HSN guys banging a 'genuine stainless steel samurai sword' on the counter. It is kinda funny when it snaps in two and injures him badly.....
Patience Grasshopper. Read. Learn. Please approach weapons with the proper attitude so you avoid becoming one of several possible statistics and giving sword owners in general a bad name.
By the way, this is one of the tests any boy thinking about dating my daughter will have to score well on. A serious desire to learn and never using the word 'like' inappropriately.
Sorry for the rant but this is serious.
Note: the curve in Japanese blade is caused by the differential heating of the blade thus, a straight blade is not likely to be manufactured in a 'tradional' manner. There is no historical precedent for the 'ninja blades' as we know them. :mad:
 
With all due respect to Merek, I have a deep distrust of most self annointed "teachers". Mr. Doom's problem is that he needs to grow up first - perhaps he also needs to learn that a sword isn't a particularly viable weapon for most people.

I thought that katanas were curved to increase resistance to stress and to create a shearing angle on impact. Of course, I know jack **** about Japanese swords, but it seems to me that if they curved when quenched it would produce all sorts of crazy stress in the blade - edge quenches don't really cause that much warping anyways, do they?

BTW, katanas aren't "differentially heated". The entire blade is heated, and the edge is quenched to produce a hamon. The blade is untempered.
 
Will P. said:
With all due respect to Merek, I have a deep distrust of most self annointed "teachers". Mr. Doom's problem is that he needs to grow up first - perhaps he also needs to learn that a sword isn't a particularly viable weapon for most people.

I thought that katanas were curved to increase resistance to stress and to create a shearing angle on impact. Of course, I know jack **** about Japanese swords, but it seems to me that if they curved when quenched it would produce all sorts of crazy stress in the blade - edge quenches don't really cause that much warping anyways, do they?

BTW, katanas aren't "differentially heated". The entire blade is heated, and the edge is quenched to produce a hamon. The blade is untempered.
Click to expand...

Actually on that bit Merek is correct, the curvature is in fact a result of the differential heat treatment. The edge can be quenched to produce a sort of hamon but traditionally it is clay tempered instead.
 
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