Samurai katana for sale8/15/2023 The hamon on these swords is up there with the best Samurai swords anywhere in the world, I showed the pictures to some Japanese sword friends without telling them where the swords were made and they thought they were real Shinken made in Japan (one even thought he knew the smith!).įittings are the best available to the forge, all iron or all work hardened copper. But when I checked the blade afterwards, it was as if it had never happened - the edge was as keen and beautiful as when it arrived. On the popular TV show, Forged in Fire, splitting a coconut with a blade has broken or twisted many a blade. The clean cuts on the hard bamboo left not a mark on the blade.Īnd despite my inability to line up a decent cut on the coconut a couple of times, when I did finally hit it straight - it sliced it easily. Only the best Samurai swords can handle both ends of the cutting spectrum. From the video below you will get some idea of how easily they are cut - as too are pool noodles, a surprisingly challenging target that only the keenest swords will cut as they 'flop' away from anything that is less than crazy sharp.īut conversely, they were also tested on some aged, thick, hard and nasty bamboo - and finally, a coconut. Water filled bottles were cut without any effort at all. Only the best Samurai swords can handle both - and it takes a lot of skill to make a blade that can handle the light stuff and not chip or break on something more demanding. While a paper cutting test can only tell you so much, it was especially eye opening when compared with a different Katana priced closer to $300 that I was testing at the same time as these.īut the real proof of the pudding is in the cutting of light and not so light targets. The real reason they are the best Samurai swords in my opinion is their cutting ability and sheer quality of the blade. I call these the best Samurai swords not because they look amazing, handle extremely well and are - for what you get - incredible bang for the buck. Cutting Tests: The real reason why I call these the best Samurai Swords. It was a curious thing and made them feel somehow more alive and may well down to their exceptional handling. While most Katana sit flat when balanced on one finger, both of these would tilt upwards with the cutting edge facing the sky (better that than the other way, as I would have lost a finger!). Interestingly, when balancing the swords for the photos, I noticed a slightly odd phenomenon. Read on and decide for yourself if we have achieved this rather lofty goal.īalanced at 6" from the tsuba, it is not as fast as the Muramasa clone, but for such a long blade, is very, very easy to wield. The Project was called the Forge Direct Custom Katana. But for those who simply wanted just the best samurai swords under $1,000, in 2016, working in conjunction with my friend Chris Scoggin from Ronin Katana and the contacts we made with Master Smiths over the years, we created a project to finally be able to give a definitive answer to the question as to what where the best samurai swords around for under $1K. We created such swords ourselves as part of Project X - producing a range of traditionally laminated Katana starting at around $1,100. So for the next best thing? Apart from Citdel Swords in Cambodia, the next best Samurai swords would have to be those made by certified Master Smiths from the city of Longquan (the 'Dragon Well'), a city with over 2,600 years of blade making experience deep in the mountains of Zhejiang province and famous the world over for its swords. The attention to even the smallest detail is evident in the Japanese monozukuri work ethic, and their swords are in many ways a quest for perfection.īut not everyone can necessarily afford the average price of a Japanese Shinken of $5-8K (which is very much the basic entry level for genuine Nihonto). If price is no object, then it is easy to answer - Japanese made Shinken are the best Samurai swords money can buy. Until recently, my answer to this oft asked question was "it depends" - and with quite a few decent swords to choose from, there were few that truly stood out as the best of the best under this price point (and a few less than stellar examples too). What are the best Samurai swords around for under $1000? Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA).
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