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Post by craigd on Jan 19, 2011 16:32:17 GMT
That is a bit of an aggressive reply, there are plenty of people who would prefer a Bugei over a Hanwei PPK, and most of us would prefer a genuine Nihonto over a Bugei or even a Howard Clark etc. Does that mean the PPK is not very good? Of course not. That aside, he may not care if others can tell the difference, but HE will know. Your advice to get a $200 sword and a $800 may be great advice, indeed I would be tempted to get the Bamboo Mat and keep an eye on the ads for a 2nd hand Bugei or similar. However if he could find the extra $200 then something like this: bugei.com/old-pine-sword-1510-prd1.htm may be perfect if he wants something with a wee bit extra panaché. ( www.swordforum.com/forums/showth ... p?t=100089 and for a bit more info on the Old Pine) However I have never really looked at the 1k mark so I am sure there are some amazing options out there that others will point out. |
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Post by Hiroshi on Jan 19, 2011 17:31:13 GMT
[/quote]
one thing that worries me about them, alot of there items are listed with $0 price.
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Post by Hiroshi on Jan 19, 2011 17:34:59 GMT
craigd, I think it is very unwise to buy a $1000 sword as your first sword. It would be like buying a brand new BMW as your first car. It's just an all out bad idea.
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Post by craigd on Jan 20, 2011 0:03:12 GMT
Why? If you are buying a sword primarily to admire why would you buy a $200 sword, then sell it for $100 then buy the sword you were going to buy for $1000?
I am genuinely curious... do you think collectors of antique Nihonto should buy a PPK first?
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Post by Student of Sword on Jan 20, 2011 1:51:08 GMT
If it is for display, RDSA is the place to go. Here is one for $550: www.red-dragonfly-sword.com/good ... goodsIdx=5 . It is folded as well. Or any DF tri-steel would be nice to have. I don't care about folding since I don't buy katana for display. But if you want katana simply for display, folded blade look much nicer. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2011 4:14:51 GMT
Thanks for the advice sword, but I really like that bushido katana, and ive found it at Kult of Athena for 599, but im wondering if that site is reputable?
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Post by Student of Sword on Jan 20, 2011 4:27:44 GMT
I have a Bushido too, which I bought from Kult of Athena. It is a good blade and Kult of Athena is a good vendor. It is a good cutting sword as well.
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Post by shoboshi on Jan 20, 2011 4:32:42 GMT
The advice of getting a cheap 'beater' blade is absolutely sound if you intend to do any cutting. If you want to cut and have no experience, I would not start with a semi valuable blade that is going to really hurt if you bend it.
If you want something only for display, the bushido is a fantastic blade to choose. Nice hada, nice hamon(even with the white stuff) and by all accounts a super blade. Wish I had the money for one.
Let us know how it turns out.
KOA is definitely a good vendor.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2011 4:42:44 GMT
Alright thanks alot, putting in my order now  |
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Post by craigd on Jan 20, 2011 12:36:08 GMT
I totally agree which is why I said we needed to find out what the OP wanted it for before we could really answer. Most people seemed to assume it was for cutting.
Sounds like the OP is sorted now which is great, KoA have been good with me and the Bushido is by all accounts a cracking blade.
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Marc Kaden Ridgeway
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Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Jan 20, 2011 13:56:53 GMT
Please lord do not buy that sword... for $150 bucks it may be fine... for that price.... no. Many, many better options. Almost any option is better than that ...
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Post by frankthebunny on Jan 20, 2011 19:39:57 GMT
I just wanted to step in and give my opinion of HMS.
I bought a sub $300 katana from them and was very embarrassed when I reviewed it and got a few rather negative comments about making that purchase, even though a lot were followed by "well, as long as you like it, that's all that matters", this could mean a few things, lol
to be honest, I am glad I bought it and it is in fact my favorite cutter next to my KC's.
HMS as far as I know, imports their swords from different makers and do not actually forge anything themselves so it is hard to judge every sword they sell. I do recognize that once you are above the $250-$300 mark they do tend to overcharge for what you are actually getting. it gets really sketchy for anything over $500.
my Katana is light, quick, well balanced, solid tsuka (no cracks), no saya rattle, real horn parts, iron fittings, 1095 steel blade with real hamon. I really don't see any difference between this and many other kats for that price.
I also had great customer service before and after the purchase.
so, I think it's unfair to say that you shouldn't buy anything from them but certainly pay attention to the price point and what is offered for it.
I'm not saying you should buy from them but I'm not saying you should count them out completely.
remember, a lot of people here do have a lot of experience and offer great advice but ultimately it is all just a matter of opinion most of the time.
also, I am not responding to any particular comment made here, I just meant to give my opinion when I first saw this post but didn't get around to it until now
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2011 1:30:44 GMT
Also wanna thank you craigD hehe
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Post by 6stringseme on Jan 21, 2011 3:55:41 GMT
Speaking of Handmadeswords... Today I took my $40 handmade swords/masahiro dragon katana to our dead christmas tree (a tough nordmann pine), beating the heck out of it to see what would happen. Surprisingly, there was not too much damage and I hacked every limb off the tree, including a pretty clean cut through the top of the trunk, about 1.5 inches thich. I rolled the edge about 4 times swinging at the trunk with all my strength, but all-in-all the damage was pretty light. I straightened out some of the bends with a tack hammer, and scrubbed the sap-stained blade with orange cleaner, then 320 grit metal sandpaper (which left it in surprisingly nice polish)... and replaced the tsuba (had to shim the habaki since it got loose after one of the stronger slashes) well, it's not good as new, but it impressed me quite a bit today. People diss on HMS because of a few lemons, but they offer some pretty decent products from various chinese forges, if you are a careful consumer. I got my masahiro bamboo wak from them too for $42 on an ebay clearance auction, and it handles beautifully.  Still, I wouldn't recommend spending $800+ on a dubious no-name chinatana when I could have a RDS, Citadel or Bugei for just a little more, and a Hanwei bamboo mat or lion dog for a good deal less. (but I wouldn't be taking any of THOSE to tree branches  ) |
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Marc Kaden Ridgeway
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Awful lot of leaving and joining going on here for me .... And gosh I can't recall doing a bit of i
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Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Jan 21, 2011 13:45:45 GMT
Just to be clear... I do not dis on handmade swords because of a few lemons. I have bought many, many swords from them.... many. Still have one... my first mas bamboo , bought 5 years ago. I dis on the particular sword in the link because it is painfully obvious to my experienced eye that it is not worth the asking priice.... That's all.... Continue. |
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