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Post by sora on Aug 26, 2018 15:43:15 GMT
I’m looking to get my first ever Katana. I’ll be using it for Kenjutsu and Iaido practice and some “light” cutting. Any opinions?
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Post by treeslicer on Aug 26, 2018 16:56:57 GMT
Get a shinogi-zukuri water-quenched DH folded-steel katana from the SBG store or from Sinoswords/Hanbon/Wang-katana2011/Huawei, etc., on eBay, more or less at random in the $150-$300 range to get your feet wet, and don't lose any sleep over it. Spending any more money than that on your first katana is probably not a good idea, IMHO.
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Post by sora on Aug 26, 2018 18:50:05 GMT
Get a shinogi-zukuri water-quenched DH folded-steel katana from the SBG store or from Sinoswords/Hanbon/Wang-katana2011/Huawei, etc., on eBay, more or less at random in the $150-$300 range to get your feet wet, and don't lose any sleep over it. Spending any more money than that on your first katana is probably not a good idea, IMHO. I’m only spending 100-150$, yeah. Or if possible under 150$. Sadly. the SGB store doesn’t ship to where I live, which is Greece. :<
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Post by Madmartigen on Aug 27, 2018 5:01:43 GMT
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Post by treeslicer on Aug 27, 2018 12:16:30 GMT
Yes, their reputation is as good as that of any other reseller on SBG. The OP question was about their katana, which are the same as every other reputable reseller of Longquan swords provides.
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Post by treeslicer on Aug 27, 2018 12:21:34 GMT
Get a shinogi-zukuri water-quenched DH folded-steel katana from the SBG store or from Sinoswords/Hanbon/Wang-katana2011/Huawei, etc., on eBay, more or less at random in the $150-$300 range to get your feet wet, and don't lose any sleep over it. Spending any more money than that on your first katana is probably not a good idea, IMHO. I’m only spending 100-150$, yeah. Or if possible under 150$. Sadly. the SGB store doesn’t ship to where I live, which is Greece. :< While I can't address your shipping problems to Greece, I'll note that $150 is too low a price point to have much opportunity to get a good katana, and $100 won't get you anything I'd consider worth having in a katana.
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Post by sora on Aug 27, 2018 12:24:23 GMT
I’m only spending 100-150$, yeah. Or if possible under 150$. Sadly. the SGB store doesn’t ship to where I live, which is Greece. :< While I can't address your shipping problems to Greece, I'll note that $150 is too low a price point to have much opportunity to get a good katana, and $100 won't get you anything I'd consider worth having in a katana. I see. What’s the minimum budget?
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Post by treeslicer on Aug 27, 2018 14:07:02 GMT
While I can't address your shipping problems to Greece, I'll note that $150 is too low a price point to have much opportunity to get a good katana, and $100 won't get you anything I'd consider worth having in a katana. I see. What’s the minimum budget? In the current market, I'd say $180 with "free shipping" (which really means that the EMS charges are included, of course). This time 2 years ago, $150 was realistic, because there was one reputable Chinese reseller selling excellent swords for $125 to $175, but prices have risen since by about $40-$50. Using "Make Offer" on "Buy It Now" is a good idea, I recently got a $184 blade for $160 doing that (on the second round of haggling), but going by list prices, and assuming an assembled sword in buke-zukuri koshirae, you're looking at around $200-$250, IMHO. A few years ago, you could save money by bidding in (usually unopposed) auctions, but those have become rare, most sellers now using "Buy It Now". Another thing to look at is to check direct-sale websites like JKOO's, which may have "factory seconds" for sale at very reduced prices.
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Post by sora on Aug 27, 2018 16:20:11 GMT
I see. What’s the minimum budget? In the current market, I'd say $180 with "free shipping" (which really means that the EMS charges are included, of course). This time 2 years ago, $150 was realistic, because there was one reputable Chinese reseller selling excellent swords for $125 to $175, but prices have risen since by about $40-$50. Using "Make Offer" on "Buy It Now" is a good idea, I recently got a $184 blade for $160 doing that (on the second round of haggling), but going by list prices, and assuming an assembled sword in buke-zukuri koshirae, you're looking at around $200-$250, IMHO. A few years ago, you could save money by bidding in (usually unopposed) auctions, but those have become rare, most sellers now using "Buy It Now". Another thing to look at is to check direct-sale websites like JKOO's, which may have "factory seconds" for sale at very reduced prices. Unfortunately, SINOSWORDS/JKOO’s heavy discount sales were already sold. Their shipping is 50$ aswell. I don’t know if buying their 120$ swords + 50$ shipping is a good idea. I was planning on getting a custom from HanbonForge with a 1095 Carbon Steel. But unfortunately, they don’t ship to Greece aswell lol.
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Post by nbhraizo on Aug 28, 2018 1:49:14 GMT
If Sinosword ships to Greece I'd give them a shot. I bought a custom made sword from them for my first sword and it's phenomenal.
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Post by shepherd214 on Aug 29, 2018 4:30:19 GMT
What is wangkatana2011? Never heard of them
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Post by treeslicer on Aug 29, 2018 6:53:27 GMT
What is wangkatana2011? Never heard of them
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2018 18:37:43 GMT
www.swordsofnorthshire.com/shipping-and-billingI think you will find shipping swords to Greece isn't likely to happen. If you are working with a sensei, ask their advice on importing weapons. What one will typically encounter from vendors is "We cannot ship to the following countries: Greece, Portugal, Japan, South Korea, China as they do not allow swords." Swords of Northshire is a Texas address,. At any rate contact vendors directly to obtain correct information. www.myus.com/gr/WHAT YOU CAN'T SHIP TO GREECE (PROHIBITED ITEMS) Greece prohibits and restricts certain types of products that can be imported. The links below, in addition to the list of items that cannot be exported from the US, which also applies, explain Greek Import regulations: See site links DHL import restrictions for Greece FedEx import restrictions for Greece UPS import restrictions for Greece MyUS
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Post by steves87 on Aug 30, 2018 13:36:23 GMT
Hello, I purchased a blunt custom 30in nagasa for Iaido about a year ago from SoN. Was a great experience and blade was very good to almost exact spec i requested. The additional Hardware is all mass produced but I was always going to replaced it all with stuff I make. Saya was obviously custom made for the blade and has held up very well with almost daily Iaido use. I only just now have shimmed the koiguchi which wore due to my sloppy draws
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Post by LG Martial Arts on Aug 30, 2018 23:11:08 GMT
I’m looking to get my first ever Katana. I’ll be using it for Kenjutsu and Iaido practice and some “light” cutting. Any opinions? FYI: SoN is an affiliate of Ryansword,... I'll jest leave it at that. Others can fill in the details if they want, or you can look up more info about Ryansword's checkered past here and elsewhere.
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Post by dimitori on Sept 18, 2020 0:43:50 GMT
I’m looking to get my first ever Katana. I’ll be using it for Kenjutsu and Iaido practice and some “light” cutting. Any opinions? I am also from Greece and have been trying to find a solution to this for about a year. I was thinking getting the package to Belgium or something first and then using another courier company to get it for me. In that way i guess the possibility of skipping Customs which is the issue, rises cause we both members of E.U. Anyway did you manage to get something yet? Greece only has cheap replicas
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Post by vidar on Sept 18, 2020 7:18:13 GMT
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Post by Stef on Sept 18, 2020 9:19:40 GMT
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Post by Stef on Sept 18, 2020 9:28:40 GMT
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Post by Dandelion on Sept 18, 2020 9:53:57 GMT
We have had some DH/TH monosteel katana from Ryansword some years ago and found nothing bad on them. Fit & finish was alright, blades very nice. Absolutely and no doubt better than our entry/mid level Sinoswords. I love Sinosword, but fair must stay fair. Ryan are nothing special amongst chinese ebay sellers either; we had have similar quality from Hanbon, Kawashima etc. What they are special in is that they have some nice euro and movie themed swords which are very well made and constructed. If their mid/higher end katana hold that level i see no problem at all. Ryan sword is a a target (almost) everybody JUST loves to shoot on because of some strange stuff that happened in earlier years. DSA anybody?
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