The new guy needs advice.

[Shinden]

Howdy all.

It's always a little wierd to be starting a new thread in a foreighn forum, so I hope you'll all cut me some slack if there is another thread that answers this. I thought it'd be best if I didn't dig out a dead thread.

At any rate, for a while I trained in a local combined martial arts (no weapons) dojo till I was a brown belt and then fell out of the habit. I'll probably be getting back into the same dojo sometime soon, but I've always been interested in Japanese blades, both period peices and newly smithed ones.

Moving along. Since I discovered what constituted a true katana, I've wanted one. Until recently, that hasn't been a very achievable desire. However with a decent income, I'm now in the market for one. Maybe later down the road I'll start training in kendo, but for now, I'd settle for owning a decent blade.

I've been looking on ebay for quite some time now, and decided that one of the higher-end Hanwei blades would fit the bill. I've narrowed it down to either the Orchid or the Tiger. I've heard some good things about these swords but when making a purchase of over 800 bucks, I thougth it would be prudent to get as many opinions as possible.

My ultimate question is such as follows: How does one of Paul Chen's folded hanwei blades compare to a decent Shinto peice, or failing that, a proffessionally smithed modern katana? If anyone that owns or has worked with these blades could give me some input, I'd be much obliged.

[Kenshin Himura]

I don't know much about swords, but I do own 2 of my own. the cheaper one I have is of stainless-steel and scratches easily. the other is of carbon-steel and doesnt scratch easily, but tarnishes if you dont care for it properly. The carbon-steel one was about $200, but the ken is a reverse bladed one. The one that scratches was $100. Well, this was just a thought for you. I'm not sure if it will help much. ^^x' sorry if I was just a nueicense.

[AlexM]

Someone started a thread about this on e-budo.com :

http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24125

You'll find more knowledge about swords on that forum since rare are those in kendo (or even iaido) that use an actual shinken.

I can't imagine for the life of me why people want to buy these "practical" katana though. If you must buy a real nihonto, buy an antique: something with a history.

[Kenshin Himura]

hm.. something with history? good idea. good way to carry on history too. lol ^^x'

[Shinden]

I don't know much about swords, but I do own 2 of my own. the cheaper one I have is of stainless-steel and scratches easily. the other is of carbon-steel and doesnt scratch easily, but tarnishes if you dont care for it properly. The carbon-steel one was about $200, but the ken is a reverse bladed one. The one that scratches was $100. Well, this was just a thought for you. I'm not sure if it will help much. ^^x' sorry if I was just a nueicense.Umm, that wasn't quite what I was looking for. Like I said, I'm in the market for a REAL sword; something that maintains an adequate level of functionality similar to the pieces that were produced in the major sword periods of Japan. For me, stainless steel is completely out of the question. In my opinion, it's rubbish. It's really a shame that it has become overwhelmingly popular in general knife and blade making.

Edit: The only reason I dont want to buy a REAL nihonto at this point is price. Less than a thousand dollars for a fully functional blade is pretty tantalising in my opinion. I was just asking if anyone had has had any good or bad experiences with these particular blades.

[Kenshin Himura]

Umm, that wasn't quite what I was looking for. Like I said, I'm in the market for a REAL sword; something that maintains an adequate level of functionality similar to the pieces that were produced in the major sword periods of Japan. For me, stainless steel is completely out of the question. In my opinion, it's rubbish. It's really a shame that it has become overwhelmingly popular in general knife and blade making.

Edit: The only reason I dont want to buy a REAL nihonto at this point is price. Less than a thousand dollars for a fully functional blade is pretty tantalising in my opinion. I was just asking if anyone had has had any good or bad experiences with these particular blades.
ah ok. ^^x' well at least I learned something here too. sorry for bothering you. Hey, if you ever find a place with a great functional blade for a good price, tell me. I'm not that good at looking for swords that your looking for. *shrugs* at least one of my swords are functional, the carbon-steel one.. *shrugs* oh well. see you later.

[Neil Gendzwill]

The practical katana (both regular and plus) has poor balance and worse fittings, I can't recommend it for use. If you must buy a Chen blade, spend more money. But if you really want something to practice with, please consider your own safety and buy a good quality iaito. www.swordstore.com is a good source.

[Kenshin Himura]

The practical katana (both regular and plus) has poor balance and worse fittings, I can't recommend it for use. If you must buy a Chen blade, spend more money. But if you really want something to practice with, please consider your own safety and buy a good quality iaito. www.swordstore.com (http://www.swordstore.com/) is a good source.
hm.. i could use a good training katana too (unless you were talking to me) so I'm checking that place out

[ALI G]

I don't know much about swords, but I do own 2 of my own. the cheaper one I have is of stainless-steel and scratches easily. the other is of carbon-steel and doesnt scratch easily, but tarnishes if you dont care for it properly. The carbon-steel one was about $200, but the ken is a reverse bladed one. The one that scratches was $100. Well, this was just a thought for you. I'm not sure if it will help much. ^^x' sorry if I was just a nueicense.

Homeyz...Da katanaz youz buyz off da telley dontz countz....

"Look at diss authentik 440 steal Japaneze Kitana...Itz haz a dragonz on da bladez!!!!"

[Kenshin Himura]

Homeyz...Da katanaz youz buyz off da telley dontz countz....

"Look at diss authentik 440 steal Japaneze Kitana...Itz haz a dragonz on da bladez!!!!"
.. um... *blinks* mine has dragons on the hilt.. I forgot the word for them..

[Shinden]

Once again. I'm looking for specific opinions on Paul Chens higher-end katanas, not the Practical or practical plus. I've stated the ones that I was looking at, the Tiger and the Orchid series. Ultimately, I'd not like my budjet to go over one thousand, but I'm willing to pay anything under that for the best available in that price range. I realize that a grand is only starting money in the larger scheme of traditionally smithed blades, but as I said before, if anyone could give me any input on the Hanwei blades, I'd be very grateful.

In case your not sure:

Tiger: http://www.swordarmory.com/katanas/1204gt.htm

Orchid: http://www.swordarmory.com/katanas/1207gt.htm

Edit:Yes, I'm familliar with swordstore.com, as well as Bugai and a few others. Like I said, I've been pining for a sword for a few years now. I.E. I've seen and read quite a bit of books and sites regarding the subject.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Check over on swordforum.com, there's more people there who have experience with these blades.

[Hai_hai]

Howdy all.

It's always a little wierd to be starting a new thread in a foreighn forum, so I hope you'll all cut me some slack if there is another thread that answers this. I thought it'd be best if I didn't dig out a dead thread.

At any rate, for a while I trained in a local combined martial arts (no weapons) dojo till I was a brown belt and then fell out of the habit. I'll probably be getting back into the same dojo sometime soon, but I've always been interested in Japanese blades, both period peices and newly smithed ones.

Moving along. Since I discovered what constituted a true katana, I've wanted one. Until recently, that hasn't been a very achievable desire. However with a decent income, I'm now in the market for one. Maybe later down the road I'll start training in kendo, but for now, I'd settle for owning a decent blade.

I've been looking on ebay for quite some time now, and decided that one of the higher-end Hanwei blades would fit the bill. I've narrowed it down to either the Orchid or the Tiger. I've heard some good things about these swords but when making a purchase of over 800 bucks, I thougth it would be prudent to get as many opinions as possible.

My ultimate question is such as follows: How does one of Paul Chen's folded hanwei blades compare to a decent Shinto peice, or failing that, a proffessionally smithed modern katana? If anyone that owns or has worked with these blades could give me some input, I'd be much obliged.

Contact www.tozando.com
Every once in awhile, they put a real katana on eBay auction. Usually, it is old and a bit rusty and expect the purchaser to maintain the sword.