What is your favorite sub-$300 sword and why?

Ooooo... tough one.

A lot of the ones I might mention are, as you said, discontinued or not sub 300 new even if got them for that price.

Available now and under 300 what is my favorite production sword?

Its sorta a tie between the VA Practical Arming Sword and the Kris Cutlery Katana 26 or 29. Two very different styles of sword, but you get SO much value for your money out of both of them.

This is a really neat idea for a thread, though I don't really see why one's favorite sub-300 has to be currently in production. That really excludes a lot of good quality swords (and thus good opinions from our members) that could easily be found second-hand. Plus members could stumble across this thread months or years from now when several of these swords, while in production now, would be discontinued by the time someone reads this. Especially in the case of a Windlass sword. My current favorite sub-300 sword is still in production, so no worries there, just throwing out my two cents. Definitely with you on the "must be 300 or less retail" though, lately I've been seeing a shift towards more expensive swords on here. Which isn't a bad thing, plenty of sub-300 swords are still available and are discussed here, but it's nice to have a thread that gets down to the base of what SBG was/is all about.

My favorite sub-300 sword is my H/T Fullered Bastard sword. It's got a couple of upgrades that put it over 300, but the sword itself can be obtained for well under 200, and (ignoring the scabbard work Sonny did, which was optional) just having the grip redone and edge touched up by the CSS would still be significantly under 300 dollars. The sword handles wonderfully. It is both light and powerful, with excellent blade presence yet being nimble with great point control. This sword is a true bastard sword, it really shines with one-handed use but becomes quite powerful with two hands.

In times past when threads like this ran, people get caught up in talking about alot of discontinued swords - I'm just trying to avoid that this time around. In years to come, I am certian that many of the swords that will be discussed here with either be discontinued or changed - no doubt there. However, for the time being, my point is to offer a real-time snap shot of what the sword market currently is in the sub-$300 realm.

Perhaps one of you should begin a "What's your favorite discontinued sub-$300 sword?" thread. I could add about 20 there myself.

I can't help it that I'm broke! :lol:

I could do that, too, but I wouldn't get a lot. Like I said in the other thread (I'm the first poster, by the way), all I've got is a cheap 15$ wallhanger katana. Otherwise I am SOL in the money department and I'll stop hijacking the thread before it spirals into oblivion.

My favourite Sub-$300 sword would have to be the Hanwei Cutting Jian. Accurate blade profile and the rest. There's some things I don't like about it, especially compared to pricier options which I own, but compared to quite a few of the other more expensive swords out there, it certainly stacks up.

As of the moment, it's the BEST sub-300 Chinese sword available. (Not sure what Hanwei retails it for, but it's under $250 on KoA constantly.)

Hmm, ya just couldn't make this one easy, could ya.

For currently-in-production-sub-$300-swords, the favorite in my collection is my Bushido Demigod. We picked this sword up at a gun show for $160 about five years ago ($100 less than the vendor was selling it for) and I've found it online at many retailers for prices ranging wildly between slightly over $100 and around $250. I'll do a mini-review of it here so people can kind of get a feel for my experience with this sword.

Over the years I've owned this sword, it has been used and abused. I used to sleep with it by my bed (our mattress is on the floor) and I stepped on it once, cracking the saya. After using it extensively, the kashira fell off, revealing that the ito was never tied through properly, but was glued on with some incredibly resilient glue, because despite the kashira being off the sword, the ito is still tight. Handle is decently waisted, ito is cotton and showing its age. Same is very low-grade, yellowing and, while not the worst I've seen, isn't the swords' best feature. All the fittings are brass and have not been patinated, nor were they incredibly shiny. They look okay, if a little cheesy. The balance is right where it should be and it feels comfortable in the hand. The koguchi on the saya is plastic and keeps falling off. It somehow managed to remain in one piece after I stepped on the sword, maybe because of the habaki beneath it. Sageo was ito material and long gone now.

The blade is through-hardened, despite what some retailers of this sword say. The bohi termination is off, like most lower-end production blades and the counter polish on the kissaki is so-so. However, this has been the one sword in my collection that we have abused the most, and it's never said 'die'. I've loaned it out to 20+ people and we have cut waterbottles, tatami, and mats with small bamboo cores with it. It just won't stop. It's had to be bent back to true a couple times and resharpened maybe once, but for half a decade of service and abuse, I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of it. Granted, for $100 more, you can get a much better, beefier DH sword with nicer fittings, but this little katana will remain in my collection and close to my heart for a long time. I have no reason to replace it with something better, because it fits the spot in my collection that I need it to. It's the only sword I own that I will cut bottles with. I can loan it to people training (those who can use shinken) if we're short on iaito. It's role is 'utilitarian workhorse for hire', and it fits it well. I am planning on having the saya rattan wrapped because of the cracks, new same panels and ito, maybe a new tsuka (I think this one's glued on)...and possibly some horse fittings.

Would I recommend this sword for the price I paid? You betcha. It's a great first sword, bottle cutter, or work horse and could be dulled to make a decent iaito as well.

Valiant Armory at304s longsword for European swords. there's just no beating the quality and detailing of Valiant Armory right now.

Munetoshi Matsu Red for katana. this is the sword that came to use first as the Roninsword Deshi and Kokoro Ichi both of which were more than $300 but well worth the price. the only thing the expensive models had that the Matsu Red doesn't is a fancy custom tsukamaki and empty promises for delivery (not going there). the Matsu Red has a stunning hamon, great balance, durability, and beautiful detailing plus sweet extras like that balistic dojo bag. best bang for the buck in sub $300 katana in my opinion.

Musashi model ss-806 katana is my favotite because it does not have an axe handle like Hanwei does , it is DH with a nice hamon. It's balanced and fast and cuts very well . The best for backyard cutting of bottles and mats . and best of all if I give it a set or a chiped edge it only costs $80.00 and can be replaced. I have meny others some costing $600.00 and better but I still like to cut with this one . I've cut with it for a couplw of years now and no set or chips. Highly recomend for novice cutters like myself . you can have fun and not break the bank.

Vic