Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2009 17:16:03 GMT
I am looking into buying a folded clay tempered funtional katana to add to my small katana collection (i also own a musashi and a masahiro katana. I live in uk and want to spend about £200 - i have found the ryumon dragon and okinowa - any other suggestions? I have been looking at the hanwei practical katana and was wondering is the hamon enhanced or completly natural?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2009 18:13:23 GMT
£200? dude, good luck. kris cutlery katana yagyu is folded and tempered, but after shipping, import tax etc, its over £200. www.rgwhandforgedkatanas.co.uk is the best place over here to buy from imo (say ric sent you) also imo, dynasty forge bushi class would be the ultimate choice, but double your budget.
|
|
slav
Member
Senior Forumite
Katsujin No Ken
Posts: 4,457
|
Post by slav on Jan 28, 2009 18:28:05 GMT
Good suggestion with the DF Bushi class. There are a few other sites that sell swords with Fred Chen blades that are exactly the same as DF blades. Red Dragonfly Forge comes to mind.
Somethimes you will find some sales on good blades for about the amount you are looking at spending.
|
|
|
Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 28, 2009 19:03:04 GMT
so you want folded and DH (clay tempered) for ascetic reasons right? I mean obviously you still want it functional, but folding and even DH are not required for a katana to be functional. sounds to me like you want a sword "done right" or at least closer to right than you've had.
fist I'd like to comment on Ryumon: they say they are folded and clayed. and they probably are but the one I had did not show any evidence of being folded and only the slightest of evidence of being DH. it was NOT a pretty katana. it was sharp and cut pretty well but ugly and a burnt stump. the Dragon sounds like it is a lot better and at least it has a natural hamon I still haven't heard anyone say they could pick out any grain in the steel to evidence it was folded. note: this doesn't make this a bad sword. everyone I've talked to that has a ryumon dragon has loved it. if you buy a ryumon, buy the dragon and nothing else unless you have it well researched and know what it is you are getting; unless you like tossing the dice.
ideally you would be looking for something like a Hanwei Tori but that is rediculously expensive.
the thing about folding is that the way you are going to find it for anything less expensive than the tori is completely historically inaccurate and might as well be a fantasy blade. this may sound a little harsh, and it is. folded steel can be very pretty and if that is what you want then ok. folded steel tends to hide hamon though which is one reason I think there are so few swords available that are both.
I would trust the KC to have the features you want before I would trust ryumon but I don't know anything about the KC yagyu so it's still a shot in the dark.
oh and Hanwei DOES enhance their hamon but it isn't too hard to polish their etching off and reveal the true natural hamon.
if you just want a good cutting sword and the folding and hamon are less important then go with a hanwei practical and polish off their nasty hamon frosting.
|
|
|
Post by tajima on Jan 28, 2009 19:56:50 GMT
Tom, I don't have anything to say about the actual topic but I would like to point out that the Hanwei Tori is not 'ridiculously expensive' for the quality you get, across the board. I assume you mean it is expensive in comparison to our range (Sub $300)? The Hanwei Tori is pretty much a 'top-notch' production cutter. If I had the money I could easily say it is worth it - but than, I would buy a Nihonto... Thanks, -Tajima
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2009 22:09:22 GMT
I think Zhisword might have something. Maybe not 200, but close.
|
|
|
Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Jan 28, 2009 22:12:24 GMT
Tom, I don't have anything to say about the actual topic but I would like to point out that the Hanwei Tori is not 'ridiculously expensive' for the quality you get, across the board. I assume you mean it is expensive in comparison to our range (Sub $300)? The Hanwei Tori is pretty much a 'top-notch' production cutter. If I had the money I could easily say it is worth it - but than, I would buy a Nihonto... Thanks, -Tajima yeah, I meant in comparison to his stated budget. Tori is an awesome sword no doubts there. I guess I would say it is rediculously good and priced to match ;D hey you get what you pay for and pay for what you get.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2009 1:18:33 GMT
Tori is well worth the price wiwingti sells it for...and for the special he had, it is WELLLL worth it
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2009 19:09:51 GMT
James Gall recently posted up a Musashi blade that fits your requirements. I think it's retailing for $450 US. Not a bad sword I suppose, though I personally think the price is a bit high. But then again, I think the tori is WAY high lol. Just not much interest on my part in relatively low layer copies that really don't look a whole lot like what they're trying to copy. I'd rather buy a monosteel and call it done. Cris
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2009 21:19:25 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 2:00:55 GMT
Thanks for all the replys! I feel i should explain my motivation - i own two low budget katana - but i feel i want an 'authentic' katana, and i do not classify my masahiro or musashi this way. They are monotempered and unfolded. I found it intresting that low budget modern folding is not an accurate reproduction of traditional process - this makes me think i should go along the differentualy hardened route. Any suggestions? is polishing out the etching on the practical katana difficult, and how good are the results? I hear the practical katana is glued together...not too traditional! Are there any other clay tempered blades about around this price range about with a natural hamon?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 4:34:14 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 5:24:08 GMT
Hmm, no offense but that's ugly as sin in my opinion. The large layers I can deal with if the price is right. The apparently bad polish added on top of that - nope. Don't like it. Sadly its a Chris Zhou?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 5:28:32 GMT
Hmm, no offense but that's ugly as sin in my opinion. The large layers I can deal with if the price is right. The apparently bad polish added on top of that - nope. Don't like it. Sadly its a Chris Zhou? Yea, that's what it says, forged at the chris zhou forge. Hey Sam can you get those DH hardened bamboo warriors somehow? or not yet?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 7:29:08 GMT
Not yet. I was informed late January but January has come and is now almost gone and they're still not around. Neither here nor anywhere else it would seem.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 14:54:47 GMT
you could always try out the new swords of might katana... its below your budget but still pretty nice unless folding is really that important to you. i personally would rather buy monosteel just because a good folded blade will cost me more than i'm usually able to spend and all the lower end folded stuff i tend to feel uneasy about the folding they do. or maybe a bushi class from dynasty forge or if super traditional geometry isn't as important to you, you could shop around and pick up a LL I have a tsunami and i love it, not the most traditional sword but if i had to charge into battle that'd be the one i take with me
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 23:18:42 GMT
if your budget at £200 still stands then you can get a cheness folded kochou delivered to your door without pissing around with import or tax or customs etc from www.rgwhandforgedkatanas.co.ukif you double your budget then ask rgw rod to get you in a dynasty forge tri steel folded and clayed bushi class that sword will not only meet your 'not cheap' expectations, it will blow them clean out of the water.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2009 20:46:25 GMT
That's a tough call in that price range. The Bushi model at www.roninswords.com/ looks pretty nice, folded pattern and clay tempered. I'm not up on the UK exchange rate but this sword goes for $600, which I think falls in your price range.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2009 22:21:52 GMT
it falls in double his price range
our exchange rate is declining by the day
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2009 0:33:59 GMT
it falls in double his price range our exchange rate is declining by the day Depresssing, isnt it! Not worth importing anything at the moment... Iv found a paul chen practical elite for £130, im thinking of buying it as a hybrid polish project and restoring its natural hamon (iv been practicing with a mono blade with good results). I didnt realise how hard it would be to find 2000 grit sandpaper! ;D
|
|