How many of you got a real sword?

[Clash]

How many of you that practice Kendo got a real sword?
If you do got one, which? :)
Do you ever use it to practice in the air?


Swords are beautiful! I love them, especially carefully hand made ones.. it's art.

Me myself don't got one...yet ;)

[Light Samurai]

By real, you mean one to be used? i have a iaito. I don't use it in kendo, but in Iaijutsu.

[GoldenShinai]

in the air? like on a plane? nope, they wont let them on.

[Akai Bushi]

I have two. Red and Black. To go along with my name Akai Bushi.

I have a kodachi wrapped with Black over red.

I also have a katana that is black with red cherry blossoms on the saya made with silk.

They both have tang full to 3/4th no rat tails. Forged steel not just decoration.

I'd like to get the Golden Oriole Katana by Hanwei, but as a college student I don;t have that kind of change.

[Clash]

Sounds great :)!
Get me some pictures hah ;)

"in the air" I mean, in the thin air :P

[Mibu-Ro[Okita]]

yeah, i've got an iaito too, it's all black, except the blade and tsuba.

I've only had it since christmas though, but it is a lot easier to do the kata with an iaito than my bokken, probably just cause it doesn't feel as wierd.:)

[kru$$ti]

Sounds great :)!
Get me some pictures hah ;)

"in the air" I mean, in the thin air :P

Hey-hey!

You can see the Golden Oriole and other Paul Chen Hanwei swords at: http://www.southernswords.co.uk/paulchen.html

There have been quite a few posts about Paul Chen Hanwei swords recently... and you can also find them on eBay...

Opinions are mixed, but they seem okay to me... but I prefer to use an Axe and Custard Pie...

enjoy...

[mushinman]

Sensei says to treat the shinai or bokuto as a real sword. Does that count? If so, I've ruined hundreds of swords. Otherwise, I only own one iaito.

[Clash]

Wow nice pictures! :)

[geeunit000]

in the air? like on a plane? nope, they wont let them on.

ya try taking anything that looks like a blade onto an airplane in america :D

[Hank]

Hey-hey!

You can see the Golden Oriole and other Paul Chen Hanwei swords at: http://www.southernswords.co.uk/paulchen.html

I'd have so much more confidence in a store if they took the time to find out how to spell "martial" correctly.

Hank.

[tattooedasshole]

I have a Bugei Crane. I pull it out from time to time for kata(alone).

[drizzt]

i have a european style sword does it count? on of the strongest blade ive ever seen......came from starfire.

actualy its the sword thats in the western union commercial with the woman and the dog.....

[Ren Blade]

I have a Bugei Crane. I pull it out from time to time for kata(alone).
I have a Bugei Crane on order and I'm waiting for it's arrival. I currently have a Paul Chen Tsunami.

I'd have so much more confidence in a store if they took the time to find out how to spell "martial" correctly.

Hank.
No kiddin.

[tattooedasshole]

You'll be more than happy with your Crane Katana. They are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! What size did you get? Mine is in the 28.5/14 variety.

[akumalkenshi]

Living in Mexico, I dont feel like dealing with customs importing a sword.

So I bought a domestic one, hand forged you can see it at

www.nahuarraswords.com (http://www.nahuarraswords.com)

On my second purchase, they let me design the tsuba, so I used coreldraw to design a mushashi replica.

the blade quality is outstanding.

the only flaw was the tsuka ito ( the cord around the handle), it was originally form tick nylon.

I replaced with leather.

[Ren Blade]

You'll be more than happy with your Crane Katana. They are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! What size did you get? Mine is in the 28.5/14 variety.
Oh, I know I will be happy with my Crane. I got mine in 27.5/11.

I have a friend who own and uses a Bugei Crane and another friend who owns & uses both a Bugei Dragonfly and Samurai. I've seen these swords in person already so I know what to expect.

In the future I will be looking to invest in a Dragonfly and Samurai. Ultimately I would love to have a Howard Clark L6. Hopefully by the time I can afford one, he'll be taking orders again cause currently he's stopped taking orders for his 1086 and L6 cause of being backed up in orders from December 2003 to now. Which is fine cause I can't afford one of his swords right now.

[tattooedasshole]

Apprently Mr. Clarke isn't taking commisions any more at all. Just wants to work on what he wants to make, and sell the blades that way. Should up his production, but you can't ask for sepcifics anymore (most people want about the same thing anyway, 27-29 nagasa, 1/2-1 inch sori, shinogi-zukuri, ect.).


Wish I had the $$ for an L6 too....some day, some day.....though I'd take a 1086m any day as well, lol. Guess I'll have to start saving up my pennies again....

What are your impresions of the dragonfly? I'm thinking of getting one because of the lighter weight, but I'm not too fond of the scant niku....but it's such a gorgeous koshirea. I love the black same....

[kuzu70]

I have a katana which I have been told is from world war II. I am not sure how to verify it though.

[tattooedasshole]

Take a shit load of pics, blade, mountings, nakago,ect. EVERYTHING. Make sure you can read the kanji on the nakago, and send it to some one with knowledge of nihonto and kanji, or better yet, bring the blade!!!!! Also, check Richard Stein's Japanese Sword Index, theres alot of info that will help you identify your blade.
Post some pics, I'd like to see what you've got. I'm not fond of gunto mounts, but the blade may be nice.

[elitesamurai]

I have some swords, 4 altogether but they're only decorational i cant afford a real one. im thinkin about saving up for a last legend katana, something appeals to me about those swords.

[Twobitmage]

by real sword do you mean made of metal? or must it be a usable shinken?

I have an wall hanger katana but I dont think its usable.

[Lazken]

wallhangers are NOT usable :p dont make kaoro start all over gain :p

[Ren Blade]

Apprently Mr. Clarke isn't taking commisions any more at all. Just wants to work on what he wants to make, and sell the blades that way. Should up his production, but you can't ask for sepcifics anymore (most people want about the same thing anyway, 27-29 nagasa, 1/2-1 inch sori, shinogi-zukuri, ect.).


Wish I had the $$ for an L6 too....some day, some day.....though I'd take a 1086m any day as well, lol. Guess I'll have to start saving up my pennies again....

What are your impresions of the dragonfly? I'm thinking of getting one because of the lighter weight, but I'm not too fond of the scant niku....but it's such a gorgeous koshirea. I love the black same....
Yes true, you can't go wrong with a 1086 either. :wink:

Dragonfly is very nice. My friend's Dragonfly is without bo-hi and it's pretty light steel blade. It's lighter than the Crane. I can only imagine the Dragonfly being very light, probably as light as an Iaito, with a bo-hi. The scant niku is for the lightness for kata and if you practice tameshigiri it provides least resistance against soft targets like mats. But shouldn't cut anything more than 2 rolled mats and definitely not hard targets. The koshirae is very nice indeed. This sword is also unbelievably sharp. Can you say "lightsaber"? But remember it's only designed for light cutting next to making a nice Iai sword. That was the intent on it's design. No heavy target cutting like multiple mats or bamboo.

[kuzu70]

Take a shit load of pics, blade, mountings, nakago,ect. EVERYTHING. Make sure you can read the kanji on the nakago, and send it to some one with knowledge of nihonto and kanji, or better yet, bring the blade!!!!! Also, check Richard Stein's Japanese Sword Index, theres alot of info that will help you identify your blade.
Post some pics, I'd like to see what you've got. I'm not fond of gunto mounts, but the blade may be nice.

Thanks for the advice. I will try to get some pictures after I borow a camera.