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Post by Eric Bergeron on Nov 15, 2023 0:43:30 GMT
So if you were given $2k for a budget to spend on a katana where would you go? The only catch, it has to be a in stock katana from a vendor like Kult of Athena or similar place. You maybe could squeeze another $500 for a total of $2.5k.
Seeing as Alientude showed a great piece I hadn't thought of when I made this post, I am looking to spend the money on a sword that you will use and not just display on a mantle.
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Post by Eric Bergeron on Nov 15, 2023 0:44:21 GMT
also it has to be full $2k/$2.5k, can't go and grab x piece for less then the money and then send it off to get customized to get a combined $2k/2.5k
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Post by alientude on Nov 15, 2023 0:50:29 GMT
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Post by Eric Bergeron on Nov 15, 2023 0:57:32 GMT
Oh that is a great looking piece.
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Post by blairbob on Nov 15, 2023 2:19:30 GMT
you could scour antiques and maybe find something production level, it's not enough money for a Citadel katana. I see KoA has a wak of theirs ready to go. For that kind of money, I'd probably go with DragonKing and you might be able to get a daisho for $2.5k Bugei is the other option or high end Hanwei. I'd think about another Shobu for a workhorse. DragonKing feels like a better chance of not having some issues. Maybe Skyjiro? That Mountain Teachings guy is liquidating his stock. the high end cloudhammer stuff waiting for a home isn't over $1k now. cloudhammerforge.com/products/daishou-jade-tiger-sx105v-japanese-tool-steel-choji-and-midare-hamon 2 swords for $1.5. Should be good enough for cutting. Not exactly themes I like but I just wanted something that slices and dices...
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Post by larason2 on Nov 15, 2023 3:23:27 GMT
There's martial arts swords/Butoken to consider. They have some sword that are in your budget.
Otherwise I agree with others. Bugei, dragon king, high end Hanwei.
I feel that for just a bit more, you get to motohara/citadel (though there is one citadel in your price range). If you could get one of those used that would be ideal.
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Post by Eric Bergeron on Nov 15, 2023 3:32:09 GMT
Yeah I see a citadel for $2.2k over at KoA
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Post by Arlequin on Nov 15, 2023 6:36:41 GMT
Probably Zsey, push it to 2.5k to get custom length, their base Shobu Zukuri runs about 1,600
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Post by toddstratton1 on Nov 15, 2023 7:37:48 GMT
I'd try and find some 2k price range shinken to have a nice antique in the collection. They are often in stock on certain Japanese sword sites.
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Post by blairbob on Nov 15, 2023 22:21:34 GMT
yeah, I thought about them and Dragonsword but Eric postulated off the shelf so basically 0 wait time needing to be in stock and ready to be shipped.
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Post by blairbob on Nov 15, 2023 22:23:24 GMT
i commend you for being a baller and willing to take Nihonto to tameshigiri though the Japanese seem to do it. Dunno if they are antiques or swords post Meiji.
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Post by Arlequin on Nov 15, 2023 22:43:35 GMT
yeah, I thought about them and Dragonsword but Eric postulated off the shelf so basically 0 wait time needing to be in stock and ready to be shipped. Then none lol. All the other production kats either have no interesting polish or a poorly shaped tsuka, wouldn't waste 2k on a plain cutting blade.
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Post by toddstratton1 on Nov 15, 2023 22:50:47 GMT
i commend you for being a baller and willing to take Nihonto to tameshigiri though the Japanese seem to do it. Dunno if they are antiques or swords post Meiji. I do practice Toyama Ryu Batto do, tameshigiri is something we do in training so aligns well enough. Id consider any sword made 19th century or earlier to be plenty suitable , provided its not my own spent 2k anyways. I can use the shinken in regular training and cutting practice, and its more interesting and enjoyable than using an overly expensive modern mass production katana. Even in the 2k range, production katanas ive seen reviewed by Matthew Jensen for many different companies, nothing they did really justified the asking prices each time. Seems like a lot of those places don't necessarily have the perfect quality to warrant the asking price.
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Post by Robert in California on Nov 18, 2023 12:40:57 GMT
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Post by ggolden219 on Nov 18, 2023 20:21:17 GMT
After 8+ years of collecting production katana, there is nothing within that price range that I would purchase off the shelf.
However, if I'm allowed to sell it after I've had some fun with it, I'd try out a Citadel, Skyjiro, or the Hanwei Celestial. None of these have a place in my collection, so if I'm forced to keep it, I would decline the offer and let whoever keep the money.
Personally, I wouldn't use an antique nihonto for tameshigiri, no matter what I paid for it. A mass produced gunto on the other hand - maybe.
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Post by Eric Bergeron on Nov 18, 2023 21:13:25 GMT
Well I was surprised to see a lot of people's responses, I am used to seeing coming from the medieval side of collecting, for this price range go with Albion, for this price go with a custom from said smiths. Is there a "Albion" of the katana market?
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Post by larason2 on Nov 18, 2023 23:09:32 GMT
The trouble with katanas is that everything is traditionally custom made by hand. The cheapest you can get a Nihonto katana with everything relatively bespoke is about 5k (for a really entry level blade). A darn good Chinese reproduction laminated/damascus bare blade tops out at about $500. After that, you're not really getting a better blade for more money. To get one of those blades and get all the koshirae custom made by hand will probably cost at least 5k as well (and way, way up from there, you can spend $3000 on a custom tsuba alone and up).
So this sort of guts the middle market. A $2000 katana is a $500 blade with $1500 of cast koshirae, a bit better materials and designs, sometimes with hand applied details, a bit better materials like samegawa, ito, etc. It costs $2000 for a custom saya alone, similar to european blades.
So for 2k, if you want an art piece, you'd get an antique nihonto. If you want it for tameshegiri, $500-$1000 still gets you a pretty darn good blade in pretty nice koshirae. If you want to cut with a nihonto level blade, or a Chinese blade with all bespoke koshirae, you need $5000. It seems to me that most people with $2000 to spend won't get a fancier $500-$1000 sword. They'd probably rather save up and get something in the $5000 range, or an antique they won't cut with.
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Post by blairbob on Nov 19, 2023 0:13:17 GMT
Robert, that sword is bitzch'n. 29" makes it a steal as it's hard to Nihonto that long under 4-5k. Maybe the market is opening up even more when I last checked a month ago (but I didn't dive very deep besides a few websites)
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Post by blairbob on Nov 19, 2023 1:35:07 GMT
back in the day that was probably the high end Hanwei and Bugei pre fire. DynastyForge/Fred Chen had a good reputation way back. So did Nine Circles if you were in the UK. I want to say DynastyForge had a good reputation but still had some QC issues. Better tsuka shape though I think.
I think for awhile Huawei was starting to get there but still wasn't as expensive as Albion and ofc, some quality control issues with the tsuka cores.
DragonKing might be the new contender for off the shelf. They are basically a Hanwei spinoff though. Tho I hear Cloudhammer has made a bunch of swords for sale in Spain and Germany, I'm not sure they classify as off the shelf and still had some issues to fix before they can claim the title of Japaneesy Albion.
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Post by Eric Bergeron on Nov 19, 2023 1:40:18 GMT
Yeah I am leaning towards DragonKing as well, every sword I have handled or owned from them have been a great experience, there ito work is always super tight and never moves. There blades are amazing for the price as well.
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