Should I buy this Katana?

I personally would not. If the fittings are what they say they are and it has a blade made of proper steel that has been well made and heat treated it'd still only be worth a fraction of that price. It isn't made of Tamahagane, at least not the kind that they are hoping you think of when you see the name.

It's tough. Anime swords almost never get a fair shake when it comes to functionality, even when the design isn't too far fetched. I've seen similar design from eBay forge/vendors like Hanbon sword(aka swordmaker688) and st-nihonto. They probably would not be the same quality as the one above, but they would be more fairly priced.

Perhaps you could ask the seller above to provide some images of the blade and tang. For that kind of money it's not a big favor to ask. That way you could check out the grind quality, the folding and lamination pattern, how well the kissaki is done and what kind of shape the tang is in. You could also post the images here and some of our members could give you some better insight.

I saw the pictures that he listed, the issue is that they don't focus on the blade, more on the fittings. I can see what appears to be a hamon, lamination line and hada(all good signs), but I can't see the quality of them or the polish. Since the price is so high, they'd need to be above par to justify the price.

With this new one I'd say it's on par with other swords in its price range. Probably suitable for light cutting and display.

I imagine that it will have some of the same issues all production swords have, which can include dull edge/polish, loose fittings, saya rattle, machine marks, etc. Not saying it will have all of these, but wanted to let you know what you may expect rather than have you buy a sword and have them dumped on you out of the blue. As I said, these are issue all across the board from the lowest replica to the highest end production sword.

Also, I wanted to ask what the swords intended purpose will be. Is it mainly for display or to be used for cutting as well? Lastly, is there a tie frame you are working within(such as a holiday or birthday) or is this just something that you want to do for fun and can take some time on getting done?

krew


www.sinosword.com/
The link above is to the JKOO/Sinosword website.  They have a pretty good reputation, and do custom work for a reasonable price.

I just checked and they stock a tsuba/guard of a similar design to what you are looking for, and offer color and style options which match closely to the other swords you linked. You can contact Van Yang via email (sales@sinosword.com) and show him pictures of what you want to have made, and he will work you up a quote to have it made-to-measure for your specifications.

I am in no way affiliated with this company. I'm just a satisfied customer. 

Between Swords of Northshire and Sinosword(also called JKoo) I'd go with Sinosword. Better track record.

If Sinosword can't make the design you want(they likely can) then I'd try to keep the order as basic as possible. Stick to a steel like 1060 or 1095, don't ask for any steel lamination. They may try to ply you with what is called a Maru lamination, but that just means that it's one solid piece of steel, and it isn't laminated, hahaha. Kind of an old joke around sword forums, but people who are just learning still fall for it. Most forges will try to get away with it, but if anyone tries to charge you more for it don't let them. Anyway, but asking for a blade that isn't laminated and made of one of the known, proven steels above you can really cut down on the chances of getting a blade that isn't trustworthy. I say this because SoN is affiliated with a vendor that is well known to lie about what steels and forging methods they use. I don't know if SoN shares these practices, but better safe than sorry. Both 1060 and 1095 react well when through hardened and differentially hardened. TH will result in a tougher, more flexible blade, and DH will make the blade stiffer and the edge much harder than the spine, so it will take and hold a finer edge but will take a set(bend) easier. A DH blade will also show a hamon, with 1095 have a more vibrant hamon than 1060.

Sorry to keep throwing all this stuff at you, but I'd like you to be able to get as close to exactly what you want as possible as at good a price as possible.

All things being equal, the 1060 will be slightly tougher and will show an okay hamon. The 1095 will be harder and show a clearer hamon and hold a better edge. I guess if I had to pick one for myself I'd go with 1095, but the 1060 would be acceptable.

Ok thank you everyone 1095 it is. I'm just waiting for a reply from sinosword & I will get back to you.

I'm glad to hear it. I'm sure your daughter will be overjoyed.

Looks fine for what you wanted... I assume a Bleach fan, at least. I would have gone for a higher quality ito, but that's personal preference. I can't stand the super-fuzzy stuff.