types of sword blades.

T

Trypt

Joined
May 30, 2002
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I decided to post this here rather then the sword forum since it has a lot to do with steel and company info rather then just sword design.

I am looking to buy a Katana or a Samurai sword. The wooden replicas just don't cut it anymore. Now here are my questions, as I am quite new to blade discussion, although its been a part of my interest for a long time.

I am a tall guy and would like a longer then usual sword. The longest I found so far is a Red Dragon or Silver Dragon at 28 and a quarter inch blade. That could be enuff, but is there any longer blades out there? Also, more importantly, how am I going to go about finding a usable sword that is very strong and can be used in malee practice? I am not interested in the sword looking pretty, although that is a bonus, but I need it to be extremely sharp and strong.. I hear a lot about 420 J2 and 440 stainless, but now that I've read a few messages here, I hear there is all kinds of things I should look into, any info would be appreciated.

Furthermore, I prefer straight swords rather then curved, but still oriental design. I saw one called the Black Dragon (this is probably the United blade name, so it might not mean anything to you) which is a straight blade but it is 4 inches shorter then the red dragon that I talked about earlier.

I would appreciate any help you can offer regarding companies that make swords, or smithys online (or locally if you know of any in Southern Ontario (GTA)) and on my above questions. Thank You.

Chris
trypt2000@yahoo.com
 
Let me get this straight, you want a sword for melee practice? Are you sure you want a real steel sword for this? Sounds dangerous.

Swords made of stainless steel are almost always decorations rather than real swords. But real swords I mean built to survive the stress that a weapon is expected to see. Pretty much everything by United falls into the decorative catagory. Not that you can't use it at all, but expect it to fall apart after a while.

"Real swords" however are not as cheap as the decorative ones. Going by your requirement of a 28"+ blade, I would either go with the 29" Kris Cutlery sword, or the Hanwei Mushashi, which has a 29"+ blade. Kris Cutlery would cost $250ish, the Hanwei would be $700ish and look very traditional. These are the swords I've handled. Rob Criswell also makes affordable swords, they are pretty affordable, but is the least traditional looking of the three. All of these are sharp weapons, I strongly recommend you DON'T use them for sparring.

The only Asian swords with straight blades are of Chinese, Korean design. They look very different from katanas.
 
Thanx for the info.. I checked out some of the swords that you mentioned and both Kris Cutlery and Rob Criswell are great swords, or so they seem.. I definitely can't afford the other one you mentioned, at least not yet.. I was wondering if you can give me some more info or a link to where I can find info on steel and various steel techniques.. I see a couple swords that are evenly priced from the two companies/fellas but have completely different steel ratings.. When it says its heat treated at some RC number, is higher better? Thanx on your info on Korean swords, I see exactly the one that I want from Kris' website, but I think I'll just grab both since I've never handled a curved sword (could you give me a quick benefit/disadvantage of straigh/curved if all other attributes are the same). My only dihlema now is whether to buy the Kris Cutlery katana at $200 or do I buy the practice Katana (its called the low end practice sword or something but apparently very good) from Criswell. Most of Kris Cutlery swords are around the same price, but Criswell has only one sword in that price range and thats the one.

Any info appreciated.

Chris
trypt2000@yahoo.com
 
Generally speaking a sword should be 55 HRC or less for toughness. Traditional Asian swords had a harder edge and much softer spine. In reality what the swordmaker claims the hardness to be and what it actually is can be very different. There is no way to know how well a sword is going to perform from reading these numbers. Ultimatly, the only way you'll know quality is personal inspection and reputation of maker.

In my experience, curved swords are easier to draw, single edge swords tends to cut better, double edged sword are better stabbing weapons.

For sparring, we used wooden swords in the dojo. I understand Western Martial Arts people use padded PVC pipes. Advanced students use dulled aluminum swords with steel helmets. I just want to make it clear real swords should only be used in cutting practice, not sparring, just like you won't use real bullets for wargames. Not to mention prolonged edge to edge, edge to armor engagements will destroy the best swords.

Stay safe.
 
Jumping in on this a bit late:

The "Practise Katana"'s blade is made identically to the more expensive Hanwei reps. Vaciacraft (if you can find a supplier) also do a line of hand-forged steel blades @ ~40RC including various katanas. Can't say much more about them as I'm not a fan of this style of sword. If you want something straight rather than curved, have you looked into kung fu/tai chi swords? A few straight blades there, some far longer than a katana, and both single and double handed (although a standard katana is woefully inefficient for two-handed use by the average westerner. Different build means we gain virtually no leverage with a standard size handle).

That's the specifics done, now on to the practise. Melee practise? Exactly what style are you using? I can think of a dozen swords I'd rather have in a melee than a katana, long version or not. Whoever you're training with should be able to provide you with more accurate support or advice than anyone on the forums could given such little info. Are you all using the same style of sword and swordsmanship or is it a free-for-all stylewise? And although "live" blade duelling is dangerous, you can of course dull the weapons so they impact rather than cut. Hardly hurts at all once you get used to it ;).
 
Hello,

I have a re-ground razor sharp convex zero-edged zatoichi katana
http://www.888knivesrus.com/cas/cas-1014gt.html

The original swords suck, but they are made from good steel (A2) and are longer then your regular katana. The handle could use a guard of some kind, and I plan on redoing the handle (I'm kinda a knifemaker).

This one is really sharp.. you can shave with the entire edge, and it's fully convex, so it's also very strong. Kinda like the edges on original katana's.

It's also a tad too long for me, I prefer the practical katana by hanwei forge.

Contact me if your interested, I can do the handle to your specs if you like, or leave'm like this. It's a great chop-cut-slice katana.

Greetz and take care, Bart.
 
Thanx for all the help, I've narrowed it down a bit (I wish I had the money to just buy them all and try them out).. I am still having a hard time deciding what manufacturer I should choose, by reputation, and where exactly to find a 29"+ straight blade. Even though I am pretty big (6'4" 220) I prefer agility and speed over brute force (like with the huge medieval swords).

I practice with wooden straight light swords, but do not have a master.. I practice Wing Chun Kung Fu, but there is no weapons there (I don't like the Wing Chun swords).

I checked out some of the sites you all mentioned, and that straight edge Zatoichi Sword looks great, but I am sceptical of buying a $75 sword for actual use, it just seems pretty cheap to me (in price)..

I would appreciate if some of you posted some more web sites that make reliable and durable and real swords, or even magazines that I could read to learn more.

So far I have checked Kris Cutlery and Criswell and they both seem real nice to me.. If you know more places with great usable sharp swords for around $200-$300, let me know

Trypt
 
Most Western swords are not heavy at all, though most replicas tend to be bloated. I saw some Western Martial Art guys practice with longswords on a documentary show and was impressed with their agility.

A good place to learn about swords on line, besides asking questions at the sword discussion forum here, is netsword.com and swordforum.com. There are good swords at every price range, from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

There aren't many makers making good Japanese style swords in that price range, Cold Steel also have some swords, but I'm sure those are above $300. If you are sure you want a Japanese type sword I would pick Kris over Criswell. The Kris sword has a more traditional shape and scabbard, making transition to a fully traditional sword much easier. The Kris sword is a pretty cool beater just for fun. It's a little too heavy for me, but then you also got 25lbs on me.

Though I must tell you, if you do intend to train formally with an instructor, forget about doing these self practices. You would benefit more starting from a blank sheet of paper than bringing bad habits self-taught people tend to pickup. Different schools also have specific requirements for their swords and you have to inquire the details with your instructor.
 
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