# Communities > Modern-era Swords and Collecting Community > Modern Production Katanas >  Elite sword

## s.maya

Hi,
I saw in Paul Chen's catalog Elite swords.
What do you think about the Elit model,like Practical Pro Elite sword etc. Is the quality of the  models that good as it presented in the catalog?

----------


## Andrew W. Priestley

> Hi,
> I saw in Paul Chen's catalog Elite swords.
> What do you think about the Elit model,like Practical Pro Elite sword etc. Is the quality of the  models that good as it presented in the catalog?


Understand that the level of fit, finish and polish (and possibly the amount of time spent on heat treat), rises as the price point goes up.  The Elite series designation seems to denote a more classical sugata compared to the Performance Series. Therefore the Musashi should be better fitted out than the PPK and Practical Pro.

in general Hanwei swords are pretty solid buys for the money, pretty much at the top of the price point. hanwei has perenial issues with uneven tsukamaki, and their tsuka remain pretty straight and chunky, but I'd rather see chunky at that price point.

----------


## Bogdan M.

> The Elite series designation seems to denote a more classical sugata compared to the Performance Series.


Elite is just the first model in the performance series, called: Elite, Elite XL and XL Lite. The swords with the classical or traditional sugata are in the classic series.

As to the thread starter, each specific model has a price tag and a quality tag, there are plenty of threads around about different models... Is the quality of the swords as good as described in the catalogue? I guess it never is, a catalogue is for advertising and things are never exactly as in the advertising, whether we talk about swords, cars or whatever...

----------


## s.maya

Hii
Thanks for the answers, I understand that the PPXL is "newer and much better" then the Elit sword, I really like the TORI sword but I don't know if its wright to pay so much money for it... thanks

----------


## MRusso

Tori seems to be a good sword for the money, but to spend a bit over $1000, I'd go with the 28" Tri-Steel F/F Katana - Wave Theme from DF, as it is stone polished. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## s.maya

Hi again,
I saw the sword that you mentioed in DF, do you think that the sword in DF in this price (which is cheeper then the TORI ) is better fitted and better blade comparing to the TORI sword ( Paul chan ) ?
Thanks

----------


## JoeT

> Tori seems to be a good sword for the money, but to spend a bit over $1000, I'd go with the 28" Tri-Steel F/F Katana - Wave Theme from DF, as it is stone polished.


I spent well under $1000 for my Tori XL from IaitoGear. Took exactly 7 days (Friday to Friday) for me to receive it in the original CAS package. This is provided as an FYI... My second choice for the Tori was on Medieval Weapon Art. This was where I got my Tori Iaito. Took 3 days and came double packaged. Sweet. 

What I liked best about the tori was the black same and leather-like ito. The manufacture of the blade was ranked up there too.

The DF looks like a nice sword... I've never picked one up. Buy the one you'll be happy owning.

joe

----------


## MRusso

> Hi again,
> I saw the sword that you mentioed in DF, do you think that the sword in DF in this price (which is cheeper then the TORI ) is better fitted and better blade comparing to the TORI sword ( Paul chan ) ?
> Thanks


Maybe it's just me but yes, I think a stone polished japanese blade does look better than hybrid polish or whichever... Don't get me wrong, Tori seems to be a top blade with far better quality control than most sword available in the market. But again, if I'd spend a bit over 1000 USD, and I could get a stone polished blade like the DF mentioned,.. that'd be my choice (and use as display only, not as a cutter).

----------


## s.maya

> Maybe it's just me but yes, I think a stone polished japanese blade does look better than hybrid polish or whichever... Don't get me wrong, Tori seems to be a top blade with far better quality control than most sword available in the market. But again, if I'd spend a bit over 1000 USD, and I could get a stone polished blade like the DF mentioned,.. that'd be my choice (and use as display only, not as a cutter).


Well, thank you again.
Where did you buy TORI sword in $ 1000?
In fact, I wanted to buy the swords at Brian from runin swords but after I wrote him and he didn't give me answers, I'll buy  cas/hanweii   .
I have looked again DF's sword but I didn't find anything that indicates that the swords is stone polished, I think the swords with buhi, I'm not sure. I wonder what is the difference between Paul and DF that one of them cost $1300 and the other of DF almost half.
I ran into a company named http://nihonzashi.com, is anyone has any experience with them in terms of time of deliveries credibility, customer service, etc.

----------


## MRusso

> Well, thank you again.
> Where did you buy TORI sword in $ 1000?
> In fact, I wanted to buy the swords at Brian from runin swords but after I wrote him and he didn't give me answers, I'll buy  cas/hanweii   .
> I have looked again DF's sword but I didn't find anything that indicates that the swords is stone polished, I think the swords with buhi, I'm not sure. I wonder what is the difference between Paul and DF that one of them cost $1300 and the other of DF almost half.
> I ran into a company named http://nihonzashi.com, is anyone has any experience with them in terms of time of deliveries credibility, customer service, etc.


I do not own a Tori, I'm just saying that I won't buy one in that price range, and would go for a stone polished, it's just a personal preference. In most places the Tori is around USD 1000, i.e  Swords of Might. Take a look at the Daimyo line:

"Efficient and meticulously crafted, the Daimyo 1095 line is hand-polished from imported Japanese stones."
link below 

http://www.dynastyforge.com/products/daimyo_1095.php
In the site there is a detailed description of the products.. some are DH, some not.. some are stone polished and some are even made of Tamahagane.

In the end, you should decide what you want and how much you can afford.

----------


## JoeT

> Well, thank you again.
> Where did you buy TORI sword in $ 1000?
> In fact, I wanted to buy the swords at Brian from runin swords but after I wrote him and he didn't give me answers, I'll buy  cas/hanweii   .
> I have looked again DF's sword but I didn't find anything that indicates that the swords is stone polished, I think the swords with buhi, I'm not sure. I wonder what is the difference between Paul and DF that one of them cost $1300 and the other of DF almost half.
> I ran into a company named http://nihonzashi.com, is anyone has any experience with them in terms of time of deliveries credibility, customer service, etc.


I posted two links for Tori's less than !$!1,300. I understand that nihonzashi is reputable. I've dealt with iaidogear.com, mwart.com and mantisswords.com. Iaidogear and mantisswords they were very responsive to e-mail. All three successfully shipped what I purchased.

joe

----------


## s.maya

> I posted two links for Tori's less than !$!1,300. I understand that nihonzashi is reputable. I've dealt with iaidogear.com, mwart.com and mantisswords.com. Iaidogear and mantisswords they were very responsive to e-mail. All three successfully shipped what I purchased.
> 
> joe


Many thanks, you helped me a lot. The sword is almost half price, I wonder how could it happened...if I'll check more I might find it in 400$.... (joking)
The web stores that you have mentioned, are they relaible?
Thanks again,
Shay

----------

