Katana

O

Odin40

Joined
Aug 3, 2015
Messages
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I'm interested in buying Japanese swords such as a Katana. The main purpose is to buy a rack and hang them on my wall. I would like fully functional swords but not looking to pay premium price. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Welcome aboard

The inquiry is a bit subjective and vauge. More than $100 per sword may seem a premium for some and others might regard spending less than $1000 per sword a waste of time.

Mega vendors such as Kult of Athena or Wild Bill's Wholesale offer one stop shopping for many sword opportunities. The possibilities really endless. If one wants to actually learn about katana, there are many katana related threads here and on other boards relating the same beginnings. There are boards such as the Sword Buyers Guide that also offer support of swords costing as little as $50.

Without playing twenty questions, it may be helpful for other to help you if you better outline your budget and expectations.

Cheers

GC
 
It's my first one so I'm thinking between $200 and $300. I'm just trying to avoid getting ripped off and not sure where to start.
 
When I first started looking at katana, I was lured by the glitz and ad copy of decorative swords. Then immediately looking at what was available on the higher end of the scale.. I should have jumped at the opportunity to buy a complete fitted sword by Michael Bell and did not feel the price of up to $2,000 terribly unreasonable. As a few more years passed, both my interests and budget changed. Looking more and more at reproductions of medieval swords, I opted for a lower cost example from Museum Replicas. It was really a toss of a coin but a savings for a model that also came with a scabbard, vs a Del Tin that was half again as expensive but I knew would be an ok sword. I spent many months and years looking before I spent.

Knowing antiques would be a primary interest, I continued to kick myself every time I spent on more reproductions and it continues to this day. With a difference though, as I continue to weigh several factors. I recently sold that first reproduction, while selling and trading more swords to cover my passion for older American swords. It hurt when that first MRL sword sold and it was just weeks ago I replaced it with a Del Tin I may have been better off buying in the first place.

The one traditional Japanese sword I bought early on is still here and lives in its bag. A Hanwei Practical Katana I bought twelve years ago. The price was about $130 delivered. Handled and cut with by many, the wrap continues to be tight and the edge sharp with minimal maintenance.

A moral and suggestion here might be to spend some time learning about the swords of interest and the best teacher, the amount of time one spends learning about them. Learn about katana. Learn everything you can about katana. Sites such as Rich Stein's http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/ a good start and read everything. Then read all the sites linked there. In your spare time, read this subforum back to the beginning. There are may katana threads to read. Sword Buyers Guide also. Read everything. It seems foolish to me to ask the "what's the best budget katana" without learning about the swords. At any rate, a very common question that has been asked and answered many dozens of times on boards across the internet.

Search engines can be very useful and using any model or make as search terms will often bring up reviews of a given sword.

Cheers

GC
 
Odin40 said:
It's my first one so I'm thinking between $200 and $300. I'm just trying to avoid getting ripped off and not sure where to start.
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There really isnt a shortcut or quick answer. Become familiar with what defines a TRUE katana. Then prioritize how authentic you want to go.

I decided that i wanted a sharp, carbon steel katana capable of light cutting, with a decent quality (read:tight) handle, and true hamon. I found a musashi that fit these criteria for 75 dollars. I read many reviews and stocked up on knowledge to get there. Rare to find one in that price range that isnt junk.

I really wanted a true japanese nihonto, complete with differentially hardened tamahagane. Unfortunately i didnt have the 10,000 dollars or so to spend on just a no name, entry level blade before fittings and saya. A complete mid level nihonto i could trust would end up costing around 75000 dollars or so. Bills to pay.

That said, for knowledge, google Sword Buyers Guide. Everything you need to learn starts there.

While these guys here definitely have excellent knowledge to share, I guarantee educating yourself is the only way to get exactly what you desire.

Just food for thought. Good luck.

Mods, if the reference of another forum is a problem, plz let me know.
 
Please let us know what you want to do with a katana:
- to hang them on the wall and look at them as work of art? There is no 200-300 that falls in this class.*
- to get out and cut bottles or any other similar targets? You will find some beaters, through hardened blades at that price

* Second hand katanas may be another route for you, buying a 6-800 for 2-300, but is more like a matter of luck than a rule.
 
I'd like something that looks nice on the wall. It doesn't have to be art, just something with a nice look to it. I'd also like to cut bamboo or cans in the yard. Where would be a good place to look for second hand Katana?
 
There are a lot of katana "snobs" on here. Nothing disrespectful meant by that, but they don't always seem to understand that not everyone needs or would appreciate nihonto, at least not as a first sword. You might look into Bugei or Hanwei. There are plenty of first-time buyers who are happy with their Musashi or Ronin purchases too, particularly for a wall-hanger. At that price range, you're looking at the upper tier of the cheap (for swords) Chinese repros. Most here tend to think of 800 being about the lower limit for a "good" sword, but you know, you might be happy with a dirt cheap 20 buck "high carbon steel" ebay piece that wouldn't even be worthy of mention by most here. If you're looking to cut bamboo, etc, you either want something that's a reasonably good cutter (especially if you don't have any prior training), and/or something that's sturdy and cheap enough that you won't shed too many tears when you bend it making a cut at a poor angle or something.
 
Suppose I would be considered one of those snobs, as I am prone to give my honest opinion if someone posts and asks "what do you think". My answers are sometimes brutally honest with no regard to how it is received. But that is generally when some one posts an old piece of coal and wants to be told it is a diamond.

I do respect others rights to appreciate what ever they like. I have owned and/or cut with numerous Hanwei, Bugei, as well as modern makers like Howard Clark, etc. For the most part, they were all good blades and I like them for what they are.

The only advice I would offer here, is be very careful buying a blade made too cheaply if you plan to cut with it. Trying to cut with an alloy repro is a good way to get hurt. Cutting with any sword is dangerous if you have not been properly trained.

Stick with something at least in the quality range of Hanwei blades. The Practical Katana, or Practical Plus is relatively cheap and is a pretty good sword for the money.
 
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I'm also a person that was looking just for a Katana strictly for display,and I came across trueswords.com .
One thing I'll say outright ,I've quickly learned that 98% of your Katana's are today made in China,so don't let the the snobs get to you.want a real Japanese katana? Yeh extremely high priced thousands of dollars,for something to hang on the wall,ya don't think so.
There are also several other really good forums to look at that can give you a wealth of information.
I like the Swordbuyersguide.com
I just took delivery of a Musahi Blue Midnight Kame folded elite, a beautiful sword for $200 plus shipping and and am extremely pleased with it and yep it's mainly just for display....

P.s Mods if mentioning another site is forbidden please feel free to smack my fingers with a resounding bad boy , bad boy!
 
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Snob here. :-)

One thing I'll say outright ,I've quickly learned that 98% of your Katana's are today made in China,so don't let the the snobs get to you.
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Reproduction Katana's.

(Still not clear on why I would be labeled a snob for liking real Nihonto. If you prefer reproductions, for whatever reason, I don't judge.)
But yes, us snobs do prefer the real thing, which ARE made in Japan.
Something more like this:
wak_sadamitsu_fvu.jpg
 
I don't really consider you a snob, SouthernComfort. In my view, what makes someone a snob is telling a new prospective sword buyer that they have to spend thousands of dollars to get a "real sword," without considering that the person in question may be perfectly happy with a cheaper, lower quality reproduction, and/or making fun of their tastes. In your case (and in the case of many of regulars in here), you've always been scrupulously respectful of everyone's different preferences, and always have good advice.

When I refer to the "snobs" on here, I'm talking about the many people who jump into every single one of these threads and tell whomever it is that's posting that they need to save up for real nihonto (or lessons), rather than buying a wallhanger that will fit their purposes perfectly well, and acting all judgmental. Yes, you DO get what you pay for, and most buyers of first swords don't really understand how much money a quality sword costs. But I suspect virtually every sword aficionado has a cheap first sword in their buying history. One of my favorite Christmas stories is about Howard Waddell's (Albion Swords) first sword, which by snob standards is a terrible waste of money. And yet...

Anyways, just wanted to clarify my perspective. At the end of the day, I believe that we are best served by respecting each other's tastes. There's nothing wrong with preferring nihonto, or reproductions, in my view, as long as one recognizes that his/her own preferences are just that: preferences, which don't have any inherent validity with respect to another's tastes.
 
Oh, ok. I appreciate you for clearing that up. Since I do appreciate Nihonto and can be a wee bit blunt and opinionated at times, throw in a little paranoia, and I wasn't sure if I was one of the ones referred to or not :-)

But you are right, I do respect the rights of other to appreciate whatever they wish. I realize from experience that Nihonto are very expensive to collect and many folks who may have a true appreciation may be limited by other factors, like budget, spouse, etc., etc.. Budget and spouse being my two biggest limiting factors ! I understand that all of us have a limit somewhere. The more I study Nihonto the more I realize that I can't own the swords I would really love to have. Come on Lotto !! :-)
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
I don't really consider you a snob, SouthernComfort. In my view, what makes someone a snob is telling a new prospective sword buyer that they have to spend thousands of dollars to get a "real sword," without considering that the person in question may be perfectly happy with a cheaper, lower quality reproduction, and/or making fun of their tastes. In your case (and in the case of many of regulars in here), you've always been scrupulously respectful of everyone's different preferences, and always have good advice.

When I refer to the "snobs" on here, I'm talking about the many people who jump into every single one of these threads and tell whomever it is that's posting that they need to save up for real nihonto (or lessons), rather than buying a wallhanger that will fit their purposes perfectly well, and acting all judgmental. Yes, you DO get what you pay for, and most buyers of first swords don't really understand how much money a quality sword costs. But I suspect virtually every sword aficionado has a cheap first sword in their buying history. One of my favorite Christmas stories is about Howard Waddell's (Albion Swords) first sword, which by snob standards is a terrible waste of money. And yet...

Anyways, just wanted to clarify my perspective. At the end of the day, I believe that we are best served by respecting each other's tastes. There's nothing wrong with preferring nihonto, or reproductions, in my view, as long as one recognizes that his/her own preferences are just that: preferences, which don't have any inherent validity with respect to another's tastes.
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And yet......no one that replied to this thread would meet your qualification of snobbery. ;) To me, it seems you may be acting defensively or hoping your posts will act as a prophylactic. I have found these two in this thread a bit quizzical and humorus. Steve may well be done with all of us but I imagine a reply from him would probably be a waste of everyone's time. I just don't see "the many" around here much. You would find more at SBG than here but that venue offers more information from the mr happy pants crowd :)

Merry Christmas

GC
 
None so far in this thread, anyways... I'm pretty sure we'd be able to find at least one in the majority of the "want to buy katana" threads on here though. My original post was in the lines of providing fair warning to the OP not to get too upset if and when those posters arrived, as you surmised. As you yourself noted, there are certainly posters who fall into the "if you don't spend at least 1000 dollars you're wasting your time" crowd, however. And that sort of attitude often is very off-putting to someone who is new to swords.

-edit- I'll also note that your logic is...bizarre, to me. Seems a lot like saying that you have to wait for a car to strike someone before you can shout "Look out!" In my view, there doesn't need to be an example already present to warn someone of that particular attitude. I'm not really sure what your point might be otherwise.
 
Anyways I went with the Hanwei practical XL Katana. Just ordered it a few days ago and still waiting shipment.
 
Hope it works well for you. I'm going to congratulate you on choosing a real sword over a nonfunctional hanger: many novice sword buyers buy something they think looks neat, and either hurt themselves when they finally try to actually use it, or realize almost immediately that they should have just chosen a real sword to begin with.

John
 
That's a good choice, one I think you will appreciate more over time.

I have found the practical line to be very durable and functional swords. For years I kept a practical katana (cheapest one) in the sword rack at the dojo. I did this as various visiting friends or demonstrators would inevitably want to try their hand at Tameshigiri. They would watch us cut, and since they were all at least Shodan in their prospective styles. They assumed since it looked so easy, they could do it. Well, I wasn't handing them my personal cutter, but I would give them, you guessed it, the Practical Katana.

They soon found that cutting actually did take study, practice, technique and control. And we usually got a really good laugh (sometime photos).
Point is, that cheap PK was subjected to the abuses of many unskilled users over at least ten years and it never bent, broke or failed in any way.
 
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