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Post by Silent on Jun 12, 2019 6:36:10 GMT
Tsunami dragon sells T10 DH bare blades too.
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Jun 12, 2019 19:19:15 GMT
Tsunami dragon sells T10 DH bare blades too. I ordered a custom one from Even about a month ago that is over due in shipment. DBA Shinken-Sword.com according to feedback left for me. Ordered from his website in February, sword was supposed to be in stock, asked to add hishigami and a better saya, got it 3 months later. Sword is pretty but have a few esthetic defects, can correct the worst myself with some polishing work. Samegawa the worst I had so far on a production sword, if I were you and if you have the budget I'd ask Even for 'premium' samegawa (with pictures), so you at least get average quality.
o7
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Jun 12, 2019 22:19:20 GMT
Ordered from his website in February, sword was supposed to be in stock, asked to add hishigami and a better saya, got it 3 months later. Sword is pretty but have a few esthetic defects, can correct the worst myself with some polishing work. Samegawa the worst I had so far on a production sword, if I were you and if you have the budget I'd ask Even for 'premium' samegawa (with pictures), so you at least get average quality.
o7
I ordered a bare blade only on April 21. The shipment reached the US today, so not too far off. He did mark my order shipped without first sending me any pictures. I contacted him and questioned why, he said he was busy. I almost canceled the order but he came up with some out of focus ones. Hopefully it's the correct length, the width looked correct. As for production swords, nothing came close enough as to what I wanted. I'm waiting to see it in my hand before I order the other parts for it. Yeah, 'forgetting' to send pictures seems to be his habit.
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Post by michael1969 on Jun 13, 2019 0:05:19 GMT
It doesnt sound to me like much of any of these ovrseas sellers are very reputable, honestly.
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Jun 13, 2019 1:09:49 GMT
It doesnt sound to me like much of any of these ovrseas sellers are very reputable, honestly. Some are more than others.
For some of us, once you got sub 300 swords offered by Hanwei, SBG, KoA and such, what is left to get beaters is basically Ebay. And tbh, they also offers much more choice than the known brands, who have been stuck with the same models for many, many years now, that's not much variety after a while. Also budget: KoA charges me 125$ to deliver a sword to Canada. SBG 30$. RK 50$.
So yeah, you got to take a risk and sometimes get a lemon. To be fair, branded sub 300$ have their defects too, you just got to live with it.
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Post by randomnobody on Jun 14, 2019 20:35:15 GMT
That's an enormous nakago.
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Jun 14, 2019 22:13:54 GMT
That's an enormous nakago. Indeed!
Ko-katana?
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Jun 15, 2019 2:45:58 GMT
How is it made? T10? Folded? How much did he charge if I may ask?
o7
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Post by michael1969 on Jun 15, 2019 21:07:03 GMT
It's T10 in Unokubi Zukuri style with real yokote and clay tempered. $200 USD, shipped. Not bad at all for this blade. It weighs 612 grams. I ordered it to be wide and heavy. OAL is 70cm, blade is 45cm for CQB. I got some nice parts picked out for it. I'm guessing swords are like AR platform builds. That looks nice! Who did you orer it from and what was the lead time to get it?
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Post by michael1969 on Jun 16, 2019 1:24:16 GMT
I cant find him by doing a seller search.
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Post by michael1969 on Jun 16, 2019 1:42:26 GMT
Found it, he has some nice looking blades for sure.
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addertooth
Member
Working the tsuka on two bare blades from Ninja-Katana, slow progress
Posts: 458
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Post by addertooth on Jun 17, 2019 13:37:37 GMT
Longquan can be a source of amazing frustration for most purchasers. A few years back I did a running article on which forges were capable of making blades in the laminations they advertised. The article ended up being about which of the forges were willing to correct for their mistakes, and at what additional cost. Laminations I ordered included SanMai, Shihozume and Gyaku Kobuse. All blades (with the exception of one (Hanbon)) sent me a Maru Damascus blade the first time. Most did a deceptive polish on them to make it look like a different steel was at the edge.
Some things I noted: If you bought one of the highest end flagship models, and added customization (like Hishigami), you tended to get a better product, than their less expensive cousins. You also tended to get a better "complaint resolution", than if you had purchased a 150-350 dollar sword. The top tier Longquan swords at that time were around 550 or more dollars. They advertised Hazuya finish (it was actually reverse Hazuya), you could order hishigami, and they typically had the top tier saya and fittings included in the price. When you had a complaint, they tended to pay/repay most or all of the shipping costs to send it back (or even better, send you an entirely new replacement sword (Ryan)). The less expensive blades fared far less well. Most required you to pay for shipping back (Ninja-Katana), to correct for the fact they sent you a Maru blade, instead of the SanMai you paid for. I also noted that all of the swords ordered with Hishigami (for an additional fee), had much tighter and prettier wraps on them. I guess they had to use their more experienced employees to fulfill those orders.
I suppose I could order from Longquan again in the future, but it definitely would not be for a sub 400 katana. My spot purchasing established that the outcome can be more spotty as the price goes down. And, quite frankly, spending more was not a guarantee you will get something good, it just increased the chance you would get better resolution of a legitimate complaint.
From my experience here is how I ranked the forges which offered different laminations online (other blades which were supposed to be Maru not listed).
1. Top Tier Hanbon sword... as advertised, no warranty work required, right the first time. Most expensive he sold. 2. Top Tier Ryan sword... not as advertised, but when presented with proof, they sent an entirely new sword at zero cost, which was the promised lamination, most expensive he sold with kozuka and kogai (knife and pick in saya). 3. Mid-priced Ninja-Katana Sent Maru blades with a deceptive counter-polish at the tip, not shinogi zukuri, Resolved by sending new blades at my cost, blades with arrived were just counter polished and not the advertised shinogi zukuri. 4. Mid-priced Lyue swords Abject denial of the fact they were maru, even when clear proof was provided. No warranty honored, one of the two blades had a seriously screwed up grind, but makes awesome takekaze. 5. Kaze99 mid-priced Horrible, everything, not lamination, loose ito, menuki falling off, bad grinds, loose fittings, crooked Mekugi/pegs, etc.... I had to pay entirely for shipping to get a refund, refused to refund until I left positive feedback. *avoid*.
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admin
Site Admin
Posts: 2,088
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Post by admin on Jul 1, 2019 3:03:26 GMT
This thread certainly came off from the original discussion pretty quickly..
Let's see if I cannot get it back on track.
I fell in love with the prototypes and actually could not bring myself to do destruction testing, but it wasn't really necessary - if you have not read the review and testing you can find it here.
We have sold close to 100 of these custom swords since they began, apparently not to any forum members - and have had only one complaint so the sword was returned to Texas (not China where it was shipped from as it is impossible to return a sword to China). No issues were found on the sword and the same customer also returned a Hanwei Cromwell sword they bought at the same time so I guess they were simply not cut out to be sword collectors.
There are a few unsolicited reviews by buyers here but since no forum members have actually tried one out, I talked to the forge and we have come up with a special deal for the next 5 days only you can get the Custom Katana with a $300 discount!
The coupon code to use is:
(All capitals, no spaces) And will expire midnight EST on the 5th of July. So if it is money that has been holding you back from trying one of these out, well - here is the best price you will ever see them advertised for.
Hopefully that will get the discussion back on track! It's a bit sad that more people don't support or know much about the SBG Sword Store products - my fault for not being aggressive with my marketing. So let's see if there are any takers..
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LH
Member
Posts: 203
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Post by LH on Jul 2, 2019 14:20:47 GMT
That's a nice discount! Too bad no shipping to EU...
And I did just buy a house so I'm a bit broke. Still tempting though.
Would be nice to have some reviews on the site.
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Post by tancred on Jul 3, 2019 5:44:32 GMT
This thread certainly came off from the original discussion pretty quickly..
Let's see if I cannot get it back on track.
I fell in love with the prototypes and actually could not bring myself to do destruction testing, but it wasn't really necessary - if you have not read the review and testing you can find it here.
We have sold close to 100 of these custom swords since they began, apparently not to any forum members - and have had only one complaint so the sword was returned to Texas (not China where it was shipped from as it is impossible to return a sword to China). No issues were found on the sword and the same customer also returned a Hanwei Cromwell sword they bought at the same time so I guess they were simply not cut out to be sword collectors.
There are a few unsolicited reviews by buyers here but since no forum members have actually tried one out, I talked to the forge and we have come up with a special deal for the next 5 days only you can get the Custom Katana with a $300 discount!
The coupon code to use is:
(All capitals, no spaces) And will expire midnight EST on the 5th of July. So if it is money that has been holding you back from trying one of these out, well - here is the best price you will ever see them advertised for.
Hopefully that will get the discussion back on track! It's a bit sad that more people don't support or know much about the SBG Sword Store products - my fault for not being aggressive with my marketing. So let's see if there are any takers..
A $300 discount is a very generous offer. Speaking only for myself, I am all katana'd out, though. I've been collecting swords for almost 20 years now. Medieval European style swords are my main interest, although I do like katana, and do have several of them. When I first started collecting swords, there wasn't much variety in the production katana market. Hanwei was the most trustworthy company at the production katana level, and they had very affordable models. I know there were some people who weren't crazy about the Practical Katana Gen 1, but I was blown away by mine. Still love it, and am still surprised I got it new for a little less than $150. Hanwei had decent to very good quality for a decent price, and so I bought several of their different models. Hanwei's prices have nearly doubled since then. Over time, it became clear that their variety wasn't entirely up to my standards. Unless you wanted themes in only black, blue, or brown, you were out of luck. I like a lot of color. I wanted reds, and greens, and whites. Hanwei just didn't offer that at that time. I branched out, took a gamble, and got a base Last Legend katana. Got it with red ito at a little extra cost, and even though it was only a base model, this bumped the price up to just over $300. For a person like me who was on a budget, this is a pretty big step to get something that expensive. Now, there are many options available, including these from Forge Direct. Like I said, though, I'm all katana'd out; I have several katana, and can't really justify getting another. I have several; most are from Hanwei, though there are some Windlass Steelcraft, Last Legend, Cold Steel, and Cheness in there. I still wish there was more color in my collection, though. So, I just have to go the way of getting more colorful rewraps on my current katana. The only way I could justify new katana would be if I sold some of my old ones (not likely, because I've come to love them), an actual affordable antique came up, or if a modern made, affordable tamahagane blade was offered (hint, hint to Forge Direct ). If these katanas had been offered like ten or fifteen years ago, I would have been all over them and their awesome options. As it is, for a collector like me who's collection is probably already too big, I just can't go there. I do really applaud these efforts from Forge Direct and the SBG Store, though. Maybe there are some newer collectors who haven't gotten what they want from katana just yet, and will be looking to buy. I do wish Forge Direct and SBG all the best in their endeavors.
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Post by michael1969 on Jul 3, 2019 12:42:48 GMT
If I had the extra money I would jump, but unfortunately I do not.
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Jul 4, 2019 5:36:17 GMT
I could scrounge the money, but in this price range I would expect horn fittings on the saya, and some of the best looking ones DO seem to have brown horn koiguchi and kojiri, but I want to be sure before commiting.
Have sent a PM to Paul and Emailed the SBG Store to know more, hopefully will get answers before the deadline is up, though today being the 4th of July, I doubt the store will answer if they haven't already...
o7
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Jul 5, 2019 15:41:08 GMT
Finally stepped up and ordered one, will definitely write a full review once it gets home.
Hopefully the blade and saya will be top notch, because the koshirae is nothing much to write about being generic Chinese cast, and I'm worried about the itomaki, the two katana I got so far from non-Ebay sellers (RK and Ryujin) having itomaki issues, namely general ito/knot looseness.
The name of the game in customization and/or made to order products is options. In this particular field: Zukuri shapes, different types of bo-hi, kissaki, hamon, tsukamaki options (ishigami, full same wrap, different itomaki styles), saya options (color, horn/metal fittings) and tsuba/fuchi/kashira/habaki/seppa.
All things that are proposed by most of Ebay sellers, and yes, I know they sometimes fail to deliver as far as customization, or that they botch the job on some stuff even if they do, and type of steel/heat treatment almost always being suspect. Not even going into folding and lamination there.
Not trying to be the wise arse and pretend to educate you guys, just writing black on white what we already know.
What I wish, would be to have all these kind of options offered by a non-Ebay seller that actually have consistant QC and actually back their products. I think the SBG Store could become such a supplier if it widened its range of options. Even at 900$ (which is a steep price compared to most production Ebay katana), I would prefer to have some swords made there and pay the double price that the same Ebay order would cost - for QC and product warranty.
I have quite a few Ebay swords that I have on watchlist for eye candy because the look is awesome, featuring stuff like tight ishigami(ed) itomaki, nice saya, O-kissaki with handsome hamon, that I will likely never get because of QC.
Would be nice to have the option to have these made by SBG.
o7
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Post by cost on Jul 5, 2019 23:48:33 GMT
Forge direct is a Ronin katana "forge" advertised by Paul southren, if my deduction serves me. It's just Ronin katana making Paul's ideas. If you don't like Ronin katana you won't like anything they produce. I don't like Ronin katana because they refuse to change their issues that have plagued them for years, instead just blowing customer complaints off. They make enough from his marketing that they don't have to worry about returns or reputation. They get enough newbie money unfortunately,it keeps them in business. But then again, what people like is all subjective. Also too what ppl accept as done well. Everyone has their diehard fanboys.
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Post by RaylonTheDemented on Jul 6, 2019 13:37:50 GMT
Yes, likely the same forge of origin than RK. Bought my Dojo Pro in a S&D sale so it have some issues but nothing that deter functionality, except for the ito that could be tighter.
Anyway, if the blade is good enough but the itomaki is lacking, I may just have the tsuka re-wrapped professionally, but that's a discussion for after I receive the thing, which will take a few weeks.
Will do a full review at the best of my knowledge once I get my greedy hands on it.
o7
P.S Which reminds me, I am remiss reviewing a couple other swords I got this year.
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