Category Archives: Project X Updates

Forge Direct Chinese – Annual Chinese New Year Mega-sale Now On!

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It is THAT time of year again – when the weather is perfect for sword making, and the Master Smiths and their assistants return from the long Chinese New Year holiday refreshed and ready to do their best work of the year..

But it is not only the best time of year to have swords made – with the Chinese New Year Mega-Sale pricing on all Forge Direct Chinese Swords – now is your chance to get the best sword at the BEST PRICE!

From today until midnight EST the 7th of February EVERY Forge Direct Sword is available at a whopping 25 to 40% off the usual price! PLUS in addition to these specials, we are also taking this opportunity to introduce 5 new swords to the line up by the Baojian Forge – starting with.

The Red Copper Ruyi Jian – a stunning folded and differentially hardened blade in sleek red copper hand made fittings. Normally $1795 but available with the Mega Sale discount of 40% making it just $1077.

Next up, also with the 40% Mega-sale discount, the powerful Two Handed Gem Dao, an ornately decorated folded steel blade, differentially hardened to cut with enough force to match a Japanese Katana. Also normally $1795 but down to $1077 with the 40% discount.

Bargain hunters will love the second Dao in the line up, the extremely affordable entry level Master Smith Dao – the $599.99 Cloud Dragon Dao, now just $449.99 all inclusive with the standard 25% CNY special discount price..

And who can go past the simple beauty of the Warring States Brass Dragon Han Sword with its clean lines and unique, viciously effective cutting and thrusting blade that was centuries ahead of every other sword of the era – priced to sell at not $1,300 but just $975 until the 7th of February..

And last but certainly not least, how about the ornately decorated Spring Flower Yi-Dao, one of those extremely popular Tang Dynasty swords that were exported to Japan and Korea and were the very blueprint upon which the first Katana were based upon. Truly a sword of special historical significance and a bargain down from $1350 to $1012.50 for the sales duration.

Naturally this is just the tip of the iceberg – now there is a record number of Chinese swords, daggers and even a boar killing spear available at Forge Direct Chinese, a total of 30 other designs to consider!

Check them all out by clicking the link below:

Forge Direct Chinese

But whatever you do, don’t miss out. This special deal is an annual event, and if you miss it, you will have a long wait until these kind of prices come around again..

Store Officially Re-Opened!

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Plus Some Sneak Peaks at what is planned for the first couple of months…

Hey everyone,

Thanks for bearing with us while we took some time off during the holidays. As of today we are officially back to work, though personally I am still in transit back and there might be some minor delays with personal correspondence until the end of the week as there is a ton of stuff to catch up with, and as you will see in this blog post, a ton of new projects and ideas that need to be addressed..

So in the meantime, we are pleased to advise that the 5% coupon code will remain active until the 17th of January!

5% OFF STORE-WIDE COUPON CODE:

SALE2020

Simply click the coupon code to automatically add it to any and all products in your cart.

CONDITIONS: Please note that this coupon MUST be used at the time of purchase to qualify. It cannot be retroactively applied to an order, so please ensure you double check it has been applied BEFORE you pay for your order. The coupon code will become inactive at midnight the 17th of January 2020.

What is planned for Jan-Feb 2020..

A sneak peak…

First off, January is the lunar new year – and so as it has become something of a tradition over the previous years, stay tuned for the CHINESE NEW YEAR MEGA-SALE on Forge Direct Chinese..

But another HUGE new project planned that will dominate the early part of 2020 (and continue to expand and grow over the course of the whole year) is related to my current trip to Japan – our first offering of genuine ANTIQUE and GENDAITO Nihonto (Katana made in Japan!).

More on this will be released on the blog, social media and our various newsletters over the course of the coming days and weeks, but in the meantme, here are a few sneak previews..

First off, the Japanese Sword Smith who has made all of this possible as we took a stroll around the Masumida-jinja Shrine in Aichi province, a relatively short distance from his forge on the outskirts of Seki City.

Yours truly inspecting one of the many Nihonto antique swords that we will be making availble to collectors and enthuisiasts over the following weeks right here at the SBG sword store (and yes, it is hard to disguise my feeling of AWE looking at these blades, almost all of which are several hundred years old..)

And just a sneak peak at two of the actual antiques that we will be offering at the most reasonable price possible.. (though naturally, being the real deal – they will be more than most swords we usually offer at SBG, but as always, sold with the fairest and best margins we can muster to give collectors the world over a fighting chance to own one).

Naturally this ‘working holiday’ was extremely educational, and I will be doing my best to share what I learned with all of you as many questions I had about Japanese swords were clarified, and I have necer seen or handled as many genuine antiques at one time as I have during this incredibly eye opening trip.

So I hope that you will all bear with me over the coming days as I catch up and prepare to share everything I have learned and everything that we can offer you!

Talk again soon.

  • Paul

Coming Soon – the Chinese New Year Forge Direct Mega Sale..

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If you have been thinking about buying one of the beautiful traditional Chinese swords from Forge Direct, you may wish to hold off a little bit..

During Chinese New Year, the entire country pretty much grinds to a halt for a one full month – no shipping, no sword production – nothing. But when they come back from the long holiday, the Master Smiths come back re-energized, the weather is perfect for sword making – AND it’s during this time we collate as many orders for them as possible by negotiating and offering steep discounts (typically around 25%!) on each and every sword in Forge Direct Chinese.

But with the new Baojian forge now on board, even MORE swords will be joining the line up. So here is a sneak preview of some of the swords that may well be joining the line up for the mega-sale..

A really thick bladed Ming Dynasty Dao
Another Dao, this one a classic willow leaf style
Warring States Period Two Handed Sword
A truly beautiful Kiangxi Horse Killing Dao
A beautiful example of a Octagonal blade profile late period Jian
A highly ornate Tang Dao
A much simpler, more common Tang Dao
Another beautiful Ming Dynasty Jian
One of the meanest, coolest looking Warring States swords I have seen.. (this one is my personal favorite)
And a simple looking but beautiful two hander

Hope this whets your appetite for what is to come..! In the meantime, we still have a few more days left on the Yue Maiden Sword with a massive 50% discount (expires on the 18th) – so unless it’s the Yue maiden calling you (as this is the best price it will EVER be listed for) – then keep your eye’s open for the mega-sale starting in mid to late January 2020.

Last Call: 50% discount on the Yue Maiden

The Yue Maiden – Down from $900 to $450 – but only for two more days..
$450 Yue Maiden

Special Half Price Offer on the New Yue Maiden Sword by Forge Direct

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Now just $900 $450 with FREE SHIPPING

A beautiful sword with a beautiful, if fanciful backstory, I was personally surprised that when we offered the Yue Maiden Sword by the Baojian Forge at a 25% discount we had no takers..

Click on the pics for higher resolution images.

(More high resolution pics available here in a Facebook Album)

So after talking it over with the forge, we decided to offer it at the absolute best price possible to get the word out about this stunning design and the Forge in general (basically, to use a marketing term, as a ‘loss leader’ – we don’t make any money from it, but we get the word out about the quality of these swords and the forge in general).

A Fascinating Backstory

The Yue Maiden is a famous character from Chinese Wuxia – a genre of storytelling with martial arts heros, the most well known in the West perhaps the movie ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’.

Originally penned by Hong Kong by Louis Cha for the Ming Pao Evening Supplement, the tale was first serialized in the 1970s and was later adapted into a movie in 1986 called “Super Swordslady”.

https://youtu.be/x0I9Vbgy4Mo

Set during the wars between the rival Kingdoms of Yue and Wu over 2500 years ago, the central character Aqing is a seemingly simple Shepard herder who has a curious secret friend, a mysterious white Gibbon, who in the course of play fighting and sparring with her, teaches her sword fighting skills above and beyond a mere mortal..

Discovered by a loyal advisor to the King of Yue, and learning of her skills, she recruits him to train the trainers – and pass on her secrets to the Yue army – and with her sword fighting methods now in their arsenal, the Yue go on to win many a victory against the Wu Kingdom.

But as with all good stories, there is a twist – the young Aqing falls in love with the royal advisor, and becomes insanely jealous when she discovers he is married to the most beautiful woman in all of China, Xi Shi (pictured left), who is rescued and re-united with the advisor after a recent victory against the Wu who had been keeping her prisoner.

Furious, the ‘Super Swordlady’ confronts the helpless young woman – thrusting her blade towards her, but catching herself before delivering the fatal blow..

Yet her internal energy was such that it continued to travel through the sword and caused the advisors beautiful wife to recoil in pain, but upon her face an expression “so beautiful that it will take away the soul of any man who looks upon her” – and Aqing is left sad and alone, yet at the same time, a celebrated hero famous among her people but heartbroken until the end of her days..

While the 1970s version of the story is the most well known, it is actually much older – where she is known not as Aqing but as Yuenü, Aliao and simply the maiden of the Southern Forest.

In the mythological version, she was first trained in swordmanship and archery by her father – but again encounters the white gibbon, this time in the form on an old man, who teaches her the deepest secrets of swordsmanship by combining Yin and Yang to produce Chi energy that no mortal fighter is able to contend with..

With a beautiful blade, intriguing backstory and now a truly amazing price – let’s see if anyone changes their mind about this blade.. The special price of $450 is available until the 18th of December. For all the details, click below:

Sword of the Yue Maiden

Black Friday Deals Starting NOW!

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Round 2 of the 15% off coupon code and 25% off 8 new swords from a new forge as part of Forge Direct Chinese!

To say it has been a busy week is an understatement.. But I hope that you will agree that it has been worth all the preparation, and it’s not all done quite yet (if you think it looks busy on the surface you should see how insanely busy things are on the inside! We have more irons in the fire than we know what to do with almost..!).

Anyway, before I ramble on too much – let’s get to the crux of this post because it is now BLACK FRIDAY and the deals are coming in hard and fast..

First up, and this one surprised me, Cas Iberia are running a second round of heavy discounts on 4 major brands – 15% off EVERYTHING they make using the coupon code below:

Hanwei Forge (Paul Chen)

Kingston Arms

Dragon King

A.P.O.C.

And don’t forget, order 3 swords at the same time and you also get FREE SHIPPING.

But the next big release is that our success with Forge Direct has attracted one of, if not THE premium forge for traditional Master Smith crafted Chinese Swords – established in 1956 and were selected to craft the four swords gifted to president Nixon in 1972 – the Baojian Forge (with over 50 smiths, including several rank 1 master smiths, and 200 workers – it’s no small fly by night operation!).

And the best part, we have started our collaboration with 8 new swords, 6 of which are actually available ex-stock and can be shipped in time for Christmas, with a massive 25% introductory discount until midnight the 3rd of December..!

I have just spent several hours refining the listings and preparing the special announcement plus additional bonus deals for members of the Project X inner circle, so rather than introduce each sword for what feels like the umpteenth time – click the link below to see them in the New Products Section of the Store:

New Additions

In the meantime, just a few random high resolution ‘glamor’ shots of some of the 8 new swords available.

First up is the most glamorous and expensive – one of these was actually purchased by a MAJOR A list Chinese celebrity (TV and Movie Director
Zhang Jizhong) with a Windsteel blade and all Damascus folded steel fittings plus imported Brazilian Black ebony..

At the other end of the spectrum, a short bladed Tang Dao in plain rosewood fittings – only $450 with the 25% discount and worth EVERY penny and then some..

And for those of you who prefer a longer, more elaborate Tang Dao – check out this two handed Tang Dynasty Yi-Dao and its distinctive ‘chisel tip’ blade profile – ideal for piercing almost any target..

For martial artists and serious Tai-Chi practitioners, we have the extremely well balanced 9 Dragon Sword, available with a standard shiny brass finish..

Or a more subdued antiqued finish (though it is essentially the same sword, just a different finish).

Then we have an ancient sword from the warring states period – specifically a sword of the Yue Kingdom (which encompasses modern day Shanghai) and the tale of the mysterious Yue Maiden – a former shepardess who learned swordsmanship ‘play fighting’ with a supernatural white gibbon and who trained the entire Yue army..

And should you feel in need of some good luck, nothing will bring you good fortune like the ‘lucky’ Sword of the Heavens..

And last but not least, a real stunner and one my favorites, the Supreme Dragon..

Most of the swords come with the name of the forge and the name of the sword engraved on each side but this is optional – you can choose to forgo it if you prefer a plain unadorned blade and though it will delay things slightly, the forge assures us that they have enough workers and smiths standing by to be able to make these swords in time for Christmas – and as mentioned, quite a few of of these are available from stock for almost immediate shipping.

So to beat the rush, get the 25% discount and ensure you get in ahead of the queue, if one of these swords ‘speaks’ to you, NOW is the time to pull the trigger..

Forge Direct Chinese

More Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals coming soon – so stay tuned! It is going to be a long and busy weekend that is for sure..

P.S. If you haven’t already, sign up to our store newsletter – there will be some deals in there that are NOT available to members of the general public – the kind of deals you REALLY will not want to miss out on. So sign up today and keep your eye on that inbox… (Project X subscribers, check your inbox NOW for all the extra bonuses and goodies you guys get).