Picking my second katana

Bigfatts

Bigfatts

Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Messages
2,453
So I've been playing around with my Cold Steel and have decided I want another katana. Not only because I'm a blade addict, but because I'd like to try something a little more balanced. Something a little more nimble in the hand. Since I am still a total sword newb, I could use a little input on the models I'm looking for. Budget is 3-$400. I have that much in knife monies coming and I'd rather have a sword than a knife right now.

Models I'm looking at:
-Cheness Kaze
-SBG "Custom"
-Ronin Dojo Pro #5 or 8

Also looking to see if there's something else Ishould be looking at. I definately want the bo-hi and would like to have a legit hamon but I know there's only so much that can be done with my budget. All input welcome!
 
Another thumbs for a Kris Kutlery. Cheness is ok also. For your price point I would ditch the hamon
 
gregorio said:
Another thumbs for a Kris Kutlery. Cheness is ok also. For your price point I would ditch the hamon
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Why ditch the hamon? Poor heat treat for this level sword? That's one of the things that really caught my eye with the Kaze- authentic hamon. Also on the SBG (and it's T10 which seems well suited to swords.)
 
I looked at the Kris pieces. They look ok but none have a bo-hi. I'm stuck on wanting that.
 
For the price point I don't think you would ever get a real one. Perhaps a fake one acid etched.

Bigfatts said:
Why ditch the hamon? Poor heat treat for this level sword? That's one of the things that really caught my eye with the Kaze- authentic hamon. Also on the SBG (and it's T10 which seems well suited to swords.)
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Even without a bohi you would find one of their 29A models to be twice as fast as the cold steel you have now, but whatever makes you happy.

I thought they had one with bo-hi though. You could e-mail them and ask, they only post what they have in stock.

Bigfatts said:
I looked at the Kris pieces. They look ok but none have a bo-hi. I'm stuck on wanting that.
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gregorio said:
Even without a bohi you would find one of their 29A models to be twice as fast as the cold steel you have now, but whatever makes you happy.

I thought they had one with bo-hi though. You could e-mail them and ask, they only post what they have in stock.
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I saw one that had a partial bo-hi, only a few inches. I'll shoot them an email.
 
gregorio said:
For the price point I don't think you would ever get a real one. Perhaps a fake one acid etched.
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Both the Kaze and the SBH are differentially heat treated and feature real hamons. A strong reason they are on my list. On both of them the majority of the price seems to be in tne blade, not so much into the fittings, which is fine- I'vebeen looking at tsubas and other fittings online.
 
Cheness. The blades are tougher than a coffin nail (now don't get all metallurgical on me, you know what I mean) and the fittings are crap but are functional. If you decide you don't like the fittings you can strip it down and send it to a custom maker, or just cord-wrap the bare tang (my personal preference). I'm not one for fittings anyway so Cheness is actually better than adequate for usability purposes.
 
Bugei just launched a new line of affordable katana... Might be worth a look!

Their reputation is very good; the current offering is known to be the top of the line production japanese production sword.
 
Ok, I'm looking at the Bugei swords now, the SB0040 and SB0050. The 0040 has a cosmetic hamon(wish it didn't) but is folded-1000 layers. The 0050 hasa real hamon and is folded 1200 layers. Neither have a bo-hi though. I really like the 0050, but it blows my budget out of the water, don't know if I can swing it AND keep the Cold Steel- I'd like to keep it.

So my current choices and reason for them are:

-SBG (real hamon, T10, differentially heat treated, bo-hi, great reviews)
-Cheness Kaze (real hamon, differentially heat treated, bo-hi, great reviews)
-Bugei SB0040 (folded 1000 times)
-Bugei SB0050 (folded 1200 times, real hamon, differentially heat treated, nicer fittings)
-Ronin Dojo Pro (great reviews)
 
Bigfatts said:
Any particular Hanwei? I have heard some awful mixed reviews of some of the ones in my price point. I'll check Kris.
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Practical Plus or Pro, most likely. They're pretty solid all things considered. Or you could spend a bit more for a Practical Pro Elite (406 USD). Personally, I'd save my money and go for one of Hanwei's Tiger katanas, or maybe the Bushido. Or get a custom. But there are plenty of good options out there.
 
The bamboo mat from hanwei was one I was looking at.. Specifically for cutting I believe..

I'm pretty sure its around that much..
 
pap11y said:
The bamboo mat from hanwei was one I was looking at.. Specifically for cutting I believe..

I'm pretty sure its around that much..
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Bamboo Mat is solid, and kind of heavy... I had one before and sold it (along with Hanwei raptor)...

If I had to choose (based on performance & comfort), I would rate Raptor above bamboo mat a little bit...

BUT... Bamboo Mat is sexier though! :D O-Choji hamon is so pretty...

Bamboo Mat is very good sword; but kind of expensive... For $300 budget, I would go with Raptor. A well known sword retailer (they workship Athena!) has it ready stock for $281.95 while Bamboo Mat is double that price ($600-ish).
 
Ok, I bit the bullet and after reading more reviews than I can count I went with the SBG "Black Dragon" -which is the custom trimmed out with dragon themed furniture. The T10 steel appeals to me, as does the authentic hamon. And most of the reviews make it sound like the bulk of the price is in the blade, the fittings are average budget stuff. I am alreaey planning on a fitting set to upgrade it with. It is also one of the only bo-hi blades on my list. My plan is to have it as a user sword and eventually sell the CS to help fund a Bugei SB0050. So I will have a decent blade to learn with before I step up to a more refined katana. Look for a side by side of the SBG and the CS when I get it in.
 
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