SBG $330 Entry Level Custom Katana! (2.0)
MORE INFORMATIONFREE SHIPPING IN THE USA AND CANADA!
We take high quality differentially hardened and traditionally clayed high speed tungsten based T-10 Tool Steel blades. Then YOU select the length of the blade, whether or not you want it fullered, choose a tsuba, style of fuchi and kashira, color of the ito, same (rayskin) and the saya and create your own unique personalized design!"An SBG Exclusive - design your own custom Katana!" But it gets even better, because rather than shipping direct from the forge and hoping for the best - we send each sword to a warehouse in Canada where it is pre-inspected for quality and then shipped out to you ANYWHERE in the world, with the whole process from your order to final shipping usually taking only approx 90 days (sometimes slightly more, sometimes slightly less). We have seriously squeezed our margins to be able to bring you a blade of exceptional quality and sharpeness mounted in your choice of fittings. With over 6,000,000 different possible combinations, this is your chance to own a unique one of a kind sword at a previously unheard of (flat rate) price... (Link Opens in a New Window)  A completed custom Katana: the fittings are a P1 Tsunami Tsuba, C1 water themed Fuchi and Kashira, A1 Blue Cotton Ito and Black Same We have kept the number of options deliberately simple, but over the years the number of different designs I have seen people come up with is staggering! To get started, simply have a look through the various component choices at the top of the page, select the ones you like using the drop down menu and when you feel 'yup, this will look cool' , hit the order button and I'll be in contact with you to confirm your choices. Once everything seems good to go, we'll fire up the forge a couple of weeks later and begin work on your own unique, one of a kind custom made Katana! PLEASE NOTE: While we will do our very best to create your sword as close as humanly possible to that you design you enter below, please note that because we are using stock photos of the components and that computer monitor colors are different depending on the settings, some SMALL variations between the colors and designs seen above and the final product are to be expected. Below are a few examples of what the combinations end up looking like. Component Information* The blades are available in 3 different geometries, standard Katana, Kogarasu (double edged tip) and a 'Ninjato' (Chokuto - straight blade). All are made from high performance T10 Tungsten Alloy tool steel, and differentially hardened in the traditional manner to produce an authentic, unenhanced hamon. * Available in 3 lengths, 27" (for people under 5'3"), 28" (5'3" to 5'8") and 29" (over 5'8"). * Tsuba's are solid brass, iron or alloy, and all the Fuchi/Kashira sets are also made from an alloy. * Ito is available in either cotton or synthetic 'silk' (rayon). * The rayskin is real and available in either white (natural) or black. All swords are double pegged with bamboo mekugi. * The saya are laquered wood and available in a wide range of glossy and sparkling colors as well as a textured black. * Version 2.0 of the SBG Custom Katana comes with a much more carefully polished kissaki (tip) than most other swords in this price range - it's still not perfect because Kissaki are VERY expensive and time consuming to properly polish by hand, but its much better than most other $300 swords (see pic below).  Typical kissaki on right, new improved kissaki left Ordering Procedure and ExampleStep 1: The first step is of course to design your sword and place your order, reserving your spot. In this case, let’s say you are looking for something fairly traditional with a dragon themed tsuba, so you decide to select a 28” standard blade without bo-hi (as you want a real slicer), pick out the P4 dragon tsuba, a C10 dragon themed fuchi/kashira and use black cotton ito with white rayskin (and a crimson saya) and submit your order. Step 2: I will send you an email within 1-2 business days confirming receipt of your order and also a rough mock up of what your color combinations will look like. So in the case of our example above, I’d send you a picture that looks like this.  Step 3 (International Orders): If you have ordered outside of the USA or Canada and need to pay for shipping charges, I will send you a paypal invoice for this based on what sword you ordered and where it is going to. Step 4: While we are batching up all the orders together and making the necessary arrangements, you can make a few changes if you like. Just email me and it will be modified accordingly. Step 5: After around 2-3 weeks of collecting orders, we batch them all up, send all the payments through to the forge, and get them to work on all the designs. I’ll update you by email at least a couple of times while the sword is in production, but you can always email at any time for an update. Step 6: Once all the swords are ready, they will arrive with my agent in Canada who will quality check them, pack them and send them on to you and, in the case of our example above, you’ll end up with this..  Unlike ordering direct from ebay or direct from a forge in China, if there is something wrong when you receive your order (and we go the extra mile to make sure this is RARE) – we’ll work with you to ensure a happy outcome. The forge knows that SBG orders are special, and THEY want OUR repeat business, so by buying from SBG you KNOW you will not be left hanging. Happy designing – the forge and I look forward to bringing your final design to life! OPTIONAL EXTRASWhile the basic options are more than enough for most people - due to popular request we have added a few additional extra optional customizations if you wish to make your design just a little bit more personalized and special.. One optional upgrade regards the steel - you can now choose to have your sword folded for an additional $60.  OPTIONAL EXTRA: FOLDED STEEL Another optional upgrade involves a small selection of more ornate saya options, pictured below - with some including a rattan wrap or traditional 'egg shell' style finish with prices ranging from $15 to $30 depending on the design.  Plus there is also the option of a rayskin wrap on the saya itself which is quite expensive at $70 but may be just the touch you are looking for to take your design to a new level.  OPTIONAL EXTRA: UPGRADED SCABBARD OPTIONS Another extremely popular option is to have a 'horimono' engraving on any of the no-hi option blades, either a traditional design like the ones below or an engraving of your own choosing.  The price for an engraving is just $20 - if you want it to be in Japanese please send us the characters you wish to be added and we'll make it happen. OPTIONAL EXTRA: Engravings Finally, there is also the option for us to source you a type of tsuba that is not shown in our standard selection - here are a few very popular ones that were used in the custom katana v.1.0 that are available for an additional $20.  However, if you have a type of tsuba in mind that you have not seen in our selection we can probably find it for you - if so please email me a pic or a description and I'll see what we can come up with for an additional $20. OPTIONAL EXTRA: Other tsuba designs NEW OPTIONS ADDED OCTOBER 2011 Two newely added options being trialled for the first time with batch 18 - added October 2011 The first of the two new options is a 'battlewrap' ito configuration, available for an additional $10 (see pics below).  NEW OPTIONAL EXTRA: Battlewrap Ito And the other option is a black leather ito wrap for $25 (available in black ONLY).  NEW OPTIONAL EXTRA: Black Leather Ito These options are not necessary to create a fantastic personalized design, but after so many requests for them they are worth adding just in case one of these elements is the missing touch your personalized sword requires. Simply make your selection at the top of the page as normal, order the basic sword, and then pick and choose any extras like a smorgasbord before submitting your final order. Have fun - and if there are any questions feel free to drop me a line! |
