Anyone know of a company or maker making japanese stype swords with about a 14" to 16" blade and a 11" to 12" handle?
... THere are plenty of options out there to have one made or modified. What is your budget? Did you want it to have a traditional Japanese looking handle (tsuka). Is this sword for your collection or do you see some utility use? Some Thai or Bumese Daab/dha would roughly fit the size you mentioned.
The nearest production swords would be the Swamprat Waki and the Ko series Japanese swords from Cheness. Both are slightly longer than you have indicated.
Plenty to chose from, I re handled a Dah from Chen, a banshee I think they call it, love it, G. Grip was to small, now it fits my hands and swings sooo.. much better.
how about a Kris Cutlery DADAO (I know its chinese, but wth) I was just looking at their site yesterday...so I remembered this when I read your post. DADAO Sometimes referred to as the Chinese beheading sword. The long 14 inch wood handle has an oval cross section and wrapped with a flat black cotton material that extends to the ring at the end. The 1060 carbon steel blade has a single edge and is 17 inches long, 9mm(5/16 of an inch +) thick near the guard and tapers to 5mm (3/16 on an inch) near the point. A straight hamon/tempered edge is visible. There is a single hole on top of the blade near the tip. The thick blackened iron guard measures 10mm (3/8 of an inch). This is an older style Dadao prior to the Chinese Army type used in the 19th-20th century. Total length 32 1/2 inches. Wt. 2.2 lbs. (shp. wt. 4 lbs.)
My budget would be under $1K ultimately. Not that it need be expensive. I kinda want a traditional style but with a modern touch. Perfect would .25" thick tool steel blade like A2 with square tsuba and micarta handle slabs on a full tang. But I know this is gonna be a custom job if anything. The guy at SBG told me they could have a Cheness fitted to my liking. But I worry that it will be a waki tang in a katana tsuka and would have a weaker tsuka. I do intend to use it. Not for chopping down oak trees but perhaps the occasional sapling. I already own two Busse AK47s so the Rat Waki wouldn't do it for me. I was looking for something a little more traditional. That looks really cool to me. I may have to check that out. It's gotta be more durable than a machete and being as thick as it is it ought to chop well. I bet I could put a razors edge on it and make it something special. Now whether or not it would hold the edge is a different story. I worry about tsuka strength in such a case though. Wouldn't the handle be mostly wood at that point with a short tang just around the first hand area?
Yes it would be, but so long as the tsuka is well made it will still be sound. As for hitting a sappling that would be considered sword abuse and would not recomend it. While I have never handled the kris cutlery dadao, I have had a number of their swords and all are capable of taking and holding an edge very well and are great swords for the price. That being said a razor edge on a sword isn't needed and will cause more harm then good.
I have one of these. It's OK and probably would handle a lot of chopping but the tsuba is loose on them. It will not come off but it rattles around somewhat. I know a few others that purchased theirs the same time I did and their tsuba rattles around as well. I have so many swords that I will probably sell my dao soon. Everything I have from Kris Cutlery is very nice.
If you want a more traditional look, I recommend the ko katana as well. It's essentially the same length as a wakizashi(give or take an inch), but has a full length handle. Cheness and Dynasty Forge both make excellent ko-katanas for cutting. I've only used the Dynasty forge ko-katana. It's a little thicker than a wakizashi, and cuts tatami very well. I think it's durable enough to handle a sapling or two. The only downside is that it is monotempered steel, and doesn't have a nice hamon or jihada (for aesthetics). I haven't used a Cheness, but they have a great reputation. I'm not a Kendo ka or an expert, but I am a bit of a katana nut. That's my two cents.
