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Post by vermithrax on Feb 28, 2017 3:00:26 GMT
First off, hello all!
I have been checking out the site for a while and made an account last week. I want to say I think the folks here know their stuff and it's a great information source.
That said, I would like to buy an "authentic" or as close to it as possible Samurai Katana. Looking over the boards I see that Swords of Northshire is frowned upon quite a bit, but I see their blades on Facebook a lot and they look legit (fake?). Yes, I am a sucker for the tamahagne option.
I have a small collection, I will attach a pic of a crap Highlander sword replica and two great blades from windlass steelcrafts. I also have the Conan Atlantean sword, and a few others.
My price point is $5000.00 Not 500, 5k. Maybe more but I am not going 20k for a sword that I can't drive (big time car person).
I imagine if I poured over the board here I could figure it all out, but wanted some help to do it quick. Thanks in advance.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Feb 28, 2017 3:45:11 GMT
I'll answer assuming that by "authentic" you mean an actual Japanese made sword, not a foreign made reproduction. Swords of Northshire is a Chinese vendor that deals in Chinese made reproductions. They are functional, but not "authentic". If you wish to have a real Japanese made blade, made of Japanese tamahagane, you need to look elsewhere. There is a fellow by the name of Paul Martin who runs The Japanese Sword. He specializes in mediating between Japanese and non-Japanese in order to get actual, authentic Japanese made blades. www.thejapanesesword.com/www.facebook.com/The.Japanese.Sword/?fref=tsOutside of that you can look at the websites of toshigi(polisher) as they sometimes get swords as payment and resale them. Here are a couple of sites where I have seen them for sale also. www.aoijapan.com/www.nihonto.ca/Lastly, we have a couple of forum members who buy/sell them and could possibly point you towards something. sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/user/16527sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/user/14074Matthew also has many swords for sale, including some Nihonto(Japanese made sword). If you want a top notch Non-Japanee made custom katana, he has some of those made by a few of the best Western smiths alive. sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/48177/japanese-swords-custom-production-parts |
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Post by seriouslee on Feb 28, 2017 5:32:56 GMT
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Post by Verity on Feb 28, 2017 6:03:28 GMT
$5k can be a price point to get an ok Nihonto. Are you looking for antique or shinsakuto or high end productions?
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Post by Jordan Williams on Feb 28, 2017 6:09:27 GMT
I don't like Japanese swords, but I have to say the Tachi listed for 6K is sooooo cool looking. |
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Post by Verity on Feb 28, 2017 6:22:48 GMT
I don't like Japanese swords, but I have to say the Tachi listed for 6K is sooooo cool looking. You talking about the green abalone shelled saya one with iai koshirae too? Yeah I have eyed that for a while. The only hesitation comes from the lamination openings in the blade |
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Post by vermithrax on Feb 28, 2017 23:13:12 GMT
I'll answer assuming that by "authentic" you mean an actual Japanese made sword, not a foreign made reproduction. Swords of Northshire is a Chinese vendor that deals in Chinese made reproductions. They are functional, but not "authentic". If you wish to have a real Japanese made blade, made of Japanese tamahagane, you need to look elsewhere. There is a fellow by the name of Paul Martin who runs The Japanese Sword. He specializes in mediating between Japanese and non-Japanese in order to get actual, authentic Japanese made blades. www.thejapanesesword.com/www.facebook.com/The.Japanese.Sword/?fref=tsOutside of that you can look at the websites of toshigi(polisher) as they sometimes get swords as payment and resale them. Here are a couple of sites where I have seen them for sale also. www.aoijapan.com/www.nihonto.ca/Lastly, we have a couple of forum members who buy/sell them and could possibly point you towards something. sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/user/16527sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/user/14074Matthew also has many swords for sale, including some Nihonto(Japanese made sword). If you want a top notch Non-Japanee made custom katana, he has some of those made by a few of the best Western smiths alive. sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/48177/japanese-swords-custom-production-partsWow, great information Adrian, thank you very much. I figured this place was the right way to go! I guess by "authentic" I mean the actual construction process. Are the Swords of Northshire tamahagane swords made using the old school furnace melting of the steel, is it folded? I really want to see the finish with all the grains, that's so wild to me. Appreciate this response and the others above, I have plenty of reading to do tonight. Thanks again all, great site.  |
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Feb 28, 2017 23:55:34 GMT
No, it's not made via the same process that I believe you are referring to. Smelted in a tatara, broken up into pieces based on carbon content, then arranged, stacked and forged by a smith. I cannot say whether the Chinese tamahagane is better or worse performance wise, but it is not made in the same manner from that forge.
They may very well fold it and differentially harden it. They tend to specialize in low cost mono steel blades. They are affiliated(allegedly a sub-branch) with another forge/vendor that has been shown to provide false information and blades that are not as advertised, such as polishing a folded but mono steel blade to appear to be of a San Mai construction and selling it as such, at an appropriately inflated price.
If you are wishing to purchase a blade specifically made of tamahagane, Dynasty Forge has their Daiymo line. They are much more trustworthy. Not Japanese tamahagane, but they have skilled workers and source from makers with a lot of experience. With your budget you could afford to get one and have it refitted by a customizer to your liking.
Also, and you may want to ask around about this a bit, but I seem to recall a fellow by the name of Simon Lee that makes swords with tamahagane(Chinese) for not a lot of money, and they were of pretty good quality.
Lastly, is tamahagane a must have? It has a great look, but performance wise it is on par with modern carbon steels ranging from 1070 to 1085. You can actually get more performance out of modern steels, and with your budget you could get a pretty fantastic sword from someone like Bugei, Citadel or any of the aforementioned vendors made in a fairly traditional manner. To get 100% traditionally made tamahagane you will need to get a sword made in Japan by a Japanese smith. The guys I mentioned in my first post are probably your best bet to get one fairly soon/easily.
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Post by vermithrax on Mar 1, 2017 0:24:13 GMT
No, it's not made via the same process that I believe you are referring to. Smelted in a tatara, broken up into pieces based on carbon content, then arranged, stacked and forged by a smith. I cannot say whether the Chinese tamahagane is better or worse performance wise, but it is not made in the same manner from that forge. They may very well fold it and differentially harden it. They tend to specialize in low cost mono steel blades. They are affiliated(allegedly a sub-branch) with another forge/vendor that has been shown to provide false information and blades that are not as advertised, such as polishing a folded but mono steel blade to appear to be of a San Mai construction and selling it as such, at an appropriately inflated price. If you are wishing to purchase a blade specifically made of tamahagane, Dynasty Forge has their Daiymo line. They are much more trustworthy. Not Japanese tamahagane, but they have skilled workers and source from makers with a lot of experience. With your budget you could afford to get one and have it refitted by a customizer to your liking. Also, and you may want to ask around about this a bit, but I seem to recall a fellow by the name of Simon Lee that makes swords with tamahagane(Chinese) for not a lot of money, and they were of pretty good quality. Lastly, is tamahagane a must have? It has a great look, but performance wise it is on par with modern carbon steels ranging from 1070 to 1085. You can actually get more performance out of modern steels, and with your budget you could get a pretty fantastic sword from someone like Bugei, Citadel or any of the aforementioned vendors made in a fairly traditional manner. To get 100% traditionally made tamahagane you will need to get a sword made in Japan by a Japanese smith. The guys I mentioned in my first post are probably your best bet to get one fairly soon/easily. Again thanks for the great info. The user you linked Matthew Jensen already has a few I would just LOVE to have. Tamahagane is not a dealbreaker, but I really want to see the damascus like lines in the metal. I think If I check in on his listings I can find something. Except for the green wrap, I love the James Raw Katana, except for green wrap ( drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B7Ws_1m1h-WsZV93by10d0VMVjA ) as well as the Dynasty Forge one he has ( drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B7Ws_1m1h-WseXRycDRBOFUtVVE ) though I am not a bo hi fan. All your help is making this way easier. Thanks again. *Not sure why my Quote button is not setting your comments off with a break but, will work on it! |
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Post by vermithrax on Mar 5, 2017 2:43:15 GMT
Working on a sword purchase right now. I wanted to stop in and say thanks to this forum and especially Moderator Adrian Jordan for all the help and direction. Great forum, knew I came to right place.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Mar 6, 2017 2:16:21 GMT
Please share what you get, we love to see that kind of stuff.
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Post by vermithrax on Mar 6, 2017 2:35:27 GMT
Please share what you get, we love to see that kind of stuff. I will, waiting for invoice tonight! Close the deal. |
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Post by blackjack on Mar 6, 2017 4:59:50 GMT
Please share, what did you get, where did you get it, how much?
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Post by vermithrax on Mar 7, 2017 0:48:37 GMT
Hey all, I worked with Matthew Jensen (Thanks moderator Adrian!) and he sure has plenty of excellent swords available. It was not an easy call for me to make. In the end, I decided on the Nihonto Katana signed Kanemasa as it's just too pretty to believe and an "authentic" Japanese sword, which I have always wanted. Second place was the Dynasty Forge Tamahagane Sword, which in better pictures has a really nice pattern on the blade. Hope to have the sword here near end of week or early next week. Pretty damn excited!!!!!! Thanks to this board, it really saved me a lot of time and worry because I could get to the right resources with confidence. Great group.  |
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Post by blackjack on Mar 7, 2017 0:56:11 GMT
Very nice! Mathew is great to deal with.
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Post by Croccifixio on Mar 7, 2017 6:57:06 GMT
Hey all, I worked with Matthew Jensen (Thanks moderator Adrian!) and he sure has plenty of excellent swords available. It was not an easy call for me to make. In the end, I decided on the Nihonto Katana signed Kanemasa as it's just too pretty to believe and an "authentic" Japanese sword, which I have always wanted. Second place was the Dynasty Forge Tamahagane Sword, which in better pictures has a really nice pattern on the blade. Hope to have the sword here near end of week or early next week. Pretty damn excited!!!!!! Thanks to this board, it really saved me a lot of time and worry because I could get to the right resources with confidence. Great group. :) Man, as a first sword that pretty much blows anything out of the water. Congratulations! |
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Post by vermithrax on Mar 14, 2017 0:50:20 GMT
It has arrived!!! First off, thanks to Matthew Jensen for working with me. I must have had him send me 100 pictures of various blades to look over. He was prompt, detailed, and great to work with. Shipping was fast and the sword was secured in a way that it could have been dragged from Minnesota to Massachusetts by horse and arrived in fine condition. Recently oiled and a nice sword bag was a added ![]() touch. Thanks! I will have to take better pictures, I am a bit excited right now. This word has some HEFT and it's super solid. The Wally Hostetter fittings are wonderful. The blade is thick and hefty, I love it. The hamon lovers may not like it too much, it's just mostly straight, but I love it. What a nice piece. Very happy and hoping this does not become a habit........ |
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Post by blackjack on Mar 15, 2017 4:10:16 GMT
fantastic!
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pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Mar 15, 2017 14:07:12 GMT
It's beautiful. Congratulations.
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