Author Archives: admin

Batch 23 closes Midnight on Tuesday (EST)

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Even though we are now batching them all year round, the timing of your order DOES make a difference..

Get it in nice and early in a batch and you can play around, make changes, etc – come in towards the end and the next day its off the forge – so the more you know about what stage we are up to, the clearer the whole thing is – which is good for everyone..!

Oh, and it also shifts the delivery date a bit. For example, if you get your order in before the Tuesday 4th deadline, you will be part of batch 23 and get your sword around the 5th of June. If you order on Wednesday – it will arrive in late July, though you will have plenty of time to make adjustments and tweaks..

So armed with this info you can choose which side of the batch you want to be in! Lock in now for June delivery or take it slow after Wednesday it is your choice..!

Speaking of choice, we have added some last minute additional tsubas and elite sets – quite a few actually. More on this shortly, but for now – time to start wrapping up this current batch!!!

Lots, and lots (and lots) going on!

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Looks like the knights have been at it again – has been a rather busy day as the store starts getting some additional features and upgrades..

And speaking of features and upgrades..

Batch 23 of the SBG custom Katana has just had a last minute burst of new options for the elite themed sets (from the previous runs of version 3.0, we are confident it can handle this expansion without breaking a sweat – and YOU guys get access to some additional unique, top quality designs that – who knows – one of which might be the exact thing you were hoping for..

Anyway, check it all out here – the next few days will see a few more changes occur here and there but don’t worry if the furniture moves a bit here and there, the store remains 100% secure at all times!!!

Talk to all of you again soon.

– Paul

A price drop!!!! ACROSS THE BOARD!

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Its not often that a price break follows on the heels of an increase – but this is SBG, by now you should be expecting the unexpected as a matter of course.

So how is this for good news – our agent has relocated operations to the USA, resulting in some significant price breaks for us – which in true SBG tradition we have immediately and retroactively passed on to you!

Anyway, enjoy the new prices – we will be passing on partial refunds to everyone who ordered a custom katana from this most recently opened batch and have them all wrapped up within the next 24 hours, so please bear with us as we spread the good news around and do our bit to help the sword collectors dollar go just that bit further…

The quietest launch?

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There has been little fan fare or build up – indeed, it would probably be fair to say that there has been something of a shroud of mystery about exactly when the next batch of the custom katana would be available to order.. (after all, the last official date provided was August last year!)..

But theres been good reason for it – because in the background we have been tinkering away to delivery what we think now is the PERFECT system – and we can now offer you the option to purchase the custom katana at ANY time, all year round!

Thats right – no more mad panic.

No need to rush your purchase, and no way to ever miss out again!

Sounds too good to be true? Well, it certainly has us excited – now people can budget and save sensibly for their design, knowing they can order anytime and behind the scenes your order will become part of a sophisticated Just in time delivery and production system we have developed with the Black Dragon forge over the years – and now set it all up so that we can provide a slow and steady supply of customized Japanese style blades when YOU want them, not when a frantic window of opportunity opens and closes within a few weeks…

So relax – no rush. You can order again – anytime, and over the next few weeks will be will doing a few cosmetic upgrades to the images, etc – but otherwise, the custom Katana 3.0 is not only back, its here to stay…!

A pretty exciting announcement, but no hyperbole necessary – its a quiet launch because we prefer you take your time thinking about your design than rush it. It really is a lot of fun..

– Paul

New SBG Designs

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Hi everyone,

Just a very quick update – we have just finished adding 3 brand new, never seen before products to the store from our very own SBG Black Dragon Forge, makers of the SBG custom Katana since 2008..

Like all the blades the forge makes for us, each sword is made from differentially hardened T10 tool steel with a natural, unenhanced hamon. But as you can see from the brief introductory pictures below, that is about the ONLY thing these three designs have in common.

THE KAGETORAKEN

Features: Iron fittings, reinforced black rattan wrapped saya. Designed to be a frequent use dojo workhorse.

THE RED BELLY BLACK SNAKES

Named after a deadly snake native to Australia, this set of two blades are some of the most unique you are likely to stumble across – with double fullered blades, snake themed copper fittings and mottled habaki, if you are tired of the run of the mill designs then you need to check these out.

THE HOBGOBLIN KOGARASU NAGAMAKI NINJATO

This is a true Ninjato – designed to be unpredictable and cause confusion to an opponent with its unfamiliar angles of attack and with a mystical “Bakemono” (Japanese Hobgoblin) theme..

More pics and info can be found at our dedicated “SBG Black Dragon Forge” blog here or click the link below to see them all in one place at the store:

I hope you enjoy checking them out as much as I did designing them! Stock is limited so if you see a design you like we strongly recommend that you snatch it up while you can.

– Paul Southren