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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2009 20:44:26 GMT
So, there I was the other night , doing the usual -- browsing the internet for knives and swords -- and I came across this website: www.handmadesword.com/info.htmlThey look to have a rather large (and fairly broad) inventory of Japanese-type swords, knives, and Asian-style cutlery paraphernalia. A lot of what they have looks like Paul Chen stuff -- but there are no actual brand names. A lot of the pictures make their stuff look nice -- or at least par for the course in the sub-300 dollar market -- but this is all new to me, and I know the people on this forum are considerably more savvy. Again -- I'm a little spooked out by how there aren't any brand names (though they do use the appellation 'practical' when referring to a number of their middle-priced, solid-looking, blades -- which echoes the Hanwei-forge terminology) -- and the prices look *a bit too cheap* when compared to Kult of Athena or the like. Is this place a clearinghouse for factory seconds? Is it stolen semprini? I don't know. I would chip in a couple bucks to see if this stuff is legit -- but there's no way I'm going to "experiment" by ordering from this vendor on my own. Hope there's some advice to be found out there.
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Post by randomnobody on May 6, 2009 21:23:55 GMT
Oh boy, these guys again! The general consensus is their mid-range stuff is "okay" but their higher-ends are generally ripoffs and the lowers just jokes. I typically recommend staying away from them but some of our members have had some luck with their offerings. Oh, and beware their $10,000 tachi.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2009 22:07:30 GMT
Actually, I bought two swords from them- one turned out to be one of the ubiquitous Masahiro Bamboos- no wire brushed hamon either, it looked fairly natural (to my untrained eye) with a lightweight but excellently balanced feel to it; the other was some counterfeit with fake leather ito, nylon sageo, wire brushed hamon and a rather beefy blade presence. Beefy compared to my Masahiro.
The swords they have for $100 or less are probably safe buys...thats pretty much what I paid for each. I almost let that Bamboo go til I read about some fuss regarding these.
In looking through some of my old feedback on eBay, I believe handmadesword used to do business as onimushasword; I just seem to link the two in my mind. I don't want to make anything up so I'll leave it at that.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2009 15:40:49 GMT
I bought some Tsuba from them a while back, they had good service but nailed me on the shipped cost.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2009 19:14:57 GMT
I also purchased a couple of swords and and a few tsubas from this place and was satisfied with what I got. The swords came in Masahiro cardboard tubes. They are quick and friendly too.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 22:58:50 GMT
I'm happy to see this thread, I've been shopping for two katanas with a friend and we are seriously considering buying from this site.
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