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Post by aussie-rabbit on Aug 5, 2015 2:39:25 GMT
I am currently "sampling" multiple Longquan swords. A kind of comparative study. Part of the experiment is specifying hishigami on all (but one). It costs a small bit more $10-$30, but it clues them in I might be "picky". Thus far, two of them have been made with full samegawa wrap (including Ryans). Thus far, the best bargain appears to be Lyueswords, but all the swords aren't in yet. Love seeing comparative studies like this. Thanks for sharing your thoughts for the rest of us. Would like to see swordmaker688/Hanbon in that study
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Aug 5, 2015 2:40:29 GMT
Any and all, hahaha.
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Post by Croccifixio on Aug 5, 2015 2:57:01 GMT
IIRC you wanted to avoid the more well-known forges such as Hanbon, Huawei, and St Nihonto right?
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Post by Kenny N on Aug 5, 2015 4:29:24 GMT
I love my Hanbon and Huawei swords, definetely not perfect, but great for the price. plus free shipping to australia, which is a MASSIVE bonus haha
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addertooth
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Working the tsuka on two bare blades from Ninja-Katana, slow progress
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Post by addertooth on Aug 5, 2015 12:51:14 GMT
I did want to avoid the better known sellers. But in looking for a reverse kobuse, it may force me to go with either someone already ordered from, or one of the better reputed sellers. So far, I only have one repeat, and it was purchased to see if the first sword ordered (which was quite good) was a fluke, or the way they normally do business. So far, nobody has produced a truly crisp yokote.
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Post by johnwalter on Aug 5, 2015 16:53:52 GMT
IIRC you wanted to avoid the more well-known forges such as Hanbon, Huawei, and St Nihonto right? Rebranders and assembly houses.Not forges.Very few of the ebayers are actual forges.Most call themselves a forge and source their blades from whoever. I have to agree with Josh.Ive seen nothing from Ryansword that is special or above average,imo,not to say they are terrible.
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Aug 5, 2015 18:05:48 GMT
IIRC you wanted to avoid the more well-known forges such as Hanbon, Huawei, and St Nihonto right? Rebranders and assembly houses.Not forges.Very few of the ebayers are actual forges.Most call themselves a forge and source their blades from whoever. I have to agree with Josh.Ive seen nothing from Ryansword that is special or above average,imo,not to say they are terrible. I'll be that guy. I'll say they are terrible. And here's why. With eBay "forges," you can get your pick of blade shape, purple saya, pink rayskin, gold sageo, green ito, fittings made from fish lips, saya parts from bananas, grape flavored, and orange scented. HOWEVER, when you get it, it will be poorly put together. Anything you get from eBay for under $150 or so will have the same quality as the $40 Musashis. Anything you get in the $200-$300 range will have the same quality as the $100 Musashi Shirikawas. You're literally paying triple for the same quality you could have had just so you can get a BBQ infused blade. With, like, cheese on it. Because that's what you wanted. If you want a good blade with fittings and ito you want, get a good, cheap blade and have it sent off to any of the fine customizers on this forum for a quality rebuild.. Hell, I'll even throw in the cheese for free.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 19:39:51 GMT
Rebranders and assembly houses.Not forges.Very few of the ebayers are actual forges.Most call themselves a forge and source their blades from whoever. I have to agree with Josh.Ive seen nothing from Ryansword that is special or above average,imo,not to say they are terrible. I'll be that guy. I'll say they are terrible. And here's why. With eBay "forges," you can get your pick of blade shape, purple saya, pink rayskin, gold sageo, green ito, fittings made from fish lips, saya parts from bananas, grape flavored, and orange scented. HOWEVER, when you get it, it will be poorly put together. Anything you get from eBay for under $150 or so will have the same quality as the $40 Musashis. Anything you get in the $200-$300 range will have the same quality as the $100 Musashi Shirikawas. You're literally paying triple for the same quality you could have had just so you can get a BBQ infused blade. With, like, cheese on it. Because that's what you wanted. If you want a good blade with fittings and ito you want, get a good, cheap blade and have it sent off to any of the fine customizers on this forum for a quality rebuild.. Hell, I'll even throw in the cheese for free. Childish bashing and hatred, as before. Unobjective and polemic. I TRIED to stay out of it this time, but you pushed the start button. Just away ignoring there are guys on this forum who own good blades from Ryan-Sword and are satisfied with them. I bet if someone would invite you to test out their Ryans you would still right away ignore the facts. Pity i live in germany, i would do that for sure, just to experience that attitude live action. Really, i dont know you, and you may be the nicest person on the planet, but the way you show yourself here...what have that Ryan guys done to you? Killed a relative or what?
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Aug 5, 2015 19:42:40 GMT
A relative? No. The quality sword market? Murdered. In cold blood. Also, if you'll notice, I said the eBay sellers. Not RS specifically.
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Post by chrisperoni on Aug 5, 2015 19:53:01 GMT
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Aug 5, 2015 19:59:19 GMT
Ain't that the truth.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 20:08:50 GMT
A relative? No. The quality sword market? Murdered. In cold blood. Also, if you'll notice, I said the eBay sellers. Not RS specifically. ;) Huawei? Hanbon? Zhi-Forge? ST-Nihonto? ALL of them? And you quoted Josh, referred directly to his far more fair statement that Ryans are no better nor worse than other Ebaytanas...or better SPECIFICALLY!
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Aug 5, 2015 20:09:49 GMT
Pretty much. I've seen a lot of things come out of a lot of those forges. And they all look low quality for what you could get for the same price. Sure, it's the color you wanted, but it's very likely to come apart on you in a short amount of time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 20:20:03 GMT
Huawei: 1.5" Sori Full-wrapped Tsuka Katana 1.5" SORI SHINOGI ZUKURI KATANA 1.5" SORI SHINOGI ZUKURI KATANA 9260 Budget Katana 9260 Katana 9260 Spring Steel Katana 9260TH Shobu Choji Hamon Katana Custom Blade Custom Sword DH Shinogi Zukuri Katana Differentially Hardened T10 Destructive Review Differentially Hardened Unokubi Zukuri Folded 1085/T10 Budget Katana with Modifications Functional Kogarasu Maru Double Bo-hi Wak FUNCTIONAL-KOGARASU-MARU-LITTLE-CROW Han Jian Kanmuri Otoshi Folded T-10 Katana Katana Shinogi-Zukuri t8/9260 T10 Katana Twin Huawei Katana Side by Side Two Katana from Huawei Unokubi Wakizashi in Rosewood Shirasaya Unokubi Zukuri Katana Zheng Qi Ren DH Black Shinogi Zukuri
This is from our review index; so all this, for example, Huawei owners are wrong? Or not-better-knowing ignorants?
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Post by AceofHats on Aug 5, 2015 20:43:44 GMT
I'm curious... Anyone claiming Ryan Sword products are "all that"... What other swords do you own or have you owned? I see a rack full of one vendor's blades. Is this a true way of measuring value and function?
Also, do we now group all ebay katana vendors in one subset and rank them accordingly? Just wondering.
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Aug 5, 2015 20:49:14 GMT
I quoted John. Not Josh. And go take a look at Huawei's eBay store right now. There are two swords under $300. One is a TH 9260, and those are a dime a dozen. Their current prices have to compete with other well-known brands in that price range. For $300-$450, you can get some really nice Hanweis or other good brands. Yes, they may be the "best of the eBay sellers," but their prices reflect that. You might get quality, but you're paying quite a bit for it. Plus, it's easy to say that eBay sellers are ok when you take the one regarded as "leaps and bounds above the other sellers" and put them as the face as the rest of eBay.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 20:52:12 GMT
To Aceofhats: Can only speak for me: Albion/Bugei/Chistian Fletcher/Hanwei/Cold Steel/Huawei/Kasto/Kovex/Jeffrey Robinson/Dynasty/DelTin/Zombie Tools/Condor/Raven Armoury/Valiant Armory/...so what? And what you saw was surely not my rack...i own just only three Ryans...
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Aug 5, 2015 20:53:56 GMT
Can only speak for me: Albion/Bugei/Chistian Fletcher/Hanwei/Cold Steel/Huawei/Kasto/Kovex/Jeffrey Robinson/Dynasty/DelTin/Zombie Tools/Condor/Raven Armoury/Valiant Armory/...so what? And what you saw was surely not my rack...i own just only three Ryans... Someone posted a picture a while back of a whole rack of them. I don't remember who it was, though. I think it was the bottom of the second page.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 21:17:23 GMT
Ah, i see...that picture. Well, surely not my taste in colours...but you cant argue about taste...xD
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Post by AceofHats on Aug 5, 2015 23:08:24 GMT
i guess if you're happy thats the main thing. These chinese-based eBay vendors all seem to have Buyer Beware written all over them.
I don't know if placing 100% faith in any of them is a wise choice. Clearly RS has done some sketchy things in the past, and have also produced swords that are highly thought of by their customers. They just seem to be such a polarizing topic.
I always exercise caution when dealing with these types of companies.
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