Category Archives: Project X Updates

Black Friday Deals Starting NOW!

By | | , ,
Leave a comment

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).

Project X Japanese – Orders Closed for 2019

By | |
Leave a comment

I’ve just come back from a short business trip to Vietnam to catch up with my friend and business associate Sam from Ryujin Swords as I documented in the November edition of the Sword Buyers Digest Online Magazine (click here for access to that issue from our backissues section of the main site if you aren’t a subscriber or haven’t seen it already) and so of course have some catching up to do of my own now..

First order of business, update the status of Project X Japanese – which actually went slightly OVER our limit of 30 swords..

Luckily I have caught it in time so we don’t overwhelm the forges limited capabilities to produce these stunning blades – but for anyone who wanted to get in on this round, sorry but we will not be taking orders again until approximately February/March 2020 (or once the vast majority of existing orders have been completed – for real time updates and more information, sign up to the Project X Newsletter).

Project X Japanese – Final Call for 2019

By | |
Leave a comment

Plus Update on Forge Direct Japanese Delay

Pre-Orders Now 80% filled and going fast..

We have just surpassed the 80% point for Project X Japanese – and last time that happened, the last few spots were gobbled up in a matter of days..

It’s no real surprise that despite the relatively high price tag (which is actually a total bargain, these swords are easily worth at least twice as much as what we are charging for them) – orders for Project X Japanese have been coming in hard and fast over the course of this month. So if you want the good stuff that ‘John West didn’t reject’ – here it is.

Project X Japanese

At least, for the next few days – after which it won’t be until sometime in 2020 that the next opportunity will present itself..

Don’t miss out..

Forge Direct Japanese – supply and demand issues..

Pitting one forge against another can be good for the sword buyer.

In the case of Forge Direct – a price drop from $899 to $699 for the ‘standard’ Forge Direct Custom Katana (if there is such a thing as a ‘standard’ custom Katana!) – but it can lead to some other issues. Namely, supply not being able to meet the demand.

Since the price drop and special promotions, we have literally been flooded with orders for these swords that are second in quality ONLY to Project X (though the truth is, it’s a little bit subjective too – the main difference is that Project X is an advanced laminate while Forge Direct are simply the best made T10 blades on the market. Period – so it depends on what you like really).

With demand exceeding the forges capacity to supply them and a total refusal to send out an inferior quality or flawed blade for the sake of speed – we are a bit backlogged right now. And there are still some supply chain issues with some of the more exotic hand made or hand painted saya and fitting sets for reasons that are too complicated to go into in this blog post (such as the saya below – it takes time to do something like that by hand)

100% hand painted, art like this takes TIME…

So we highly recommend that if you want to get ahead of the queue you order NOW as the later you leave it, the longer it will take to complete your order.

Forge Direct Japanese

Either way, these are some of the best blades around for anything NEAR this kind of price. The value for money factor is off the scale, so get in on one or the other while you can..

Custom Katana Fans – the time has come..

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Okay, I’ve been working around 14 hours straight with only coffee and the occasional snack to keep me going, but we made it..

Project X Japanese is live and ready to order. Indeed, subscribers to the Project X newsletter have already jumped in and out of the 30 pre-order spots available, 20% have already been snapped up!

We only just opened and already have reached 20% of our total order capacity

And then, the one that gave me the biggest headache – changing the pricing and options on Forge Direct Japanese. After much number crunching, some prices are slightly higher than we anticipated and others slightly lower, but when you consider what you can get for your money with even the basic options, well – the value for money factor is off the charts..

In addition to this however, I have also been spending countless hours creating pages explaining all about the two product lines, both the pros and the cons of each, and then a mammoth of a page for Forge Direct here which lists full size images of all the available components so you never have to squint to figure out what the design looks like again.

For your ease of reference, here are the new relevant pages:

Forge Direct – overview

Forge Direct – all the components, huge images

Project X – Overview (just written today)

Project X – component pics

Project X – large images from various angles of the elite fitting sets

These pages are not 100% complete yet and will need to revamp the page about the differences between the various custom lines we have and create a few more helpful pages, as the more info you have, the easier it is to make a clear decision right?

So enjoy the new prices, products and sword buying opportunities. Like I said, its not perfect yet – there’s still more tweaking to do – but right now even coffee number 18 won’t keep me up any longer, time for a rest and then we get back into it! Phew..

If you notice any errors, PLEASE contact me directly so I can fix them. I will be going over everything a second and third time, but as a typical male can quite easily miss small details that are glaringly obvious to a casual visitor but completely invisible to me because I am seeing what I expect to see, not necessarily what is actually there.

Now its over to you.

Have a look at both lines and see what you think. It’s been a lot of hard work, but I stake my reputation on both of these swords as being some of the best if not THE best custom Katana anywhere near the under-priced point we are offering them for..

Project X Japanese – Round 2
Forge Direct Japanese – Version 3.0

Time for a little nap and then straight back into it so that I can be ready for business as usual on Monday. Hope you like what you see – it’s been months in the making, and with so many different options available all based on the very best Katana around, I’m pretty sure it won’t be all that hard to make a design from one series or the other that you will fall in love with..

Talk again soon!

Project X and Forge Direct

By | |
Leave a comment

A date has been set and the countdown begins – both for round 2 of Project X Japanese and a price reduction and new optional extras and modifications to Forge Direct Japanese.

October 5th onwards, 2019

We were originally planning this for late September, but delays getting information on some possible new options for Forge Direct Swords and preparing three new models for Project X took up more time than I had available (end of the month is always crazy busy – and is usually taken up writing each edition of the Sword Buyers Digest Online Magazine).

So let’s get down to brass tacks.

PROJECT X JAPANESE

Round one of the customizable Project X Japanese was a resounding success – so much so that we have several customers wishing to order a second sword! Only 30 places are available, and once filled it will take 3-4 months before they are complete and so after this, the next opportunity to buy them will be sometime in February 2020.

What we learned is that with complex lamination, you can’t rush the process. As with in Japan, it often takes 4-5 swords to make one good one (with the scraps being picked up by the eBayers) but from the feedback we have been getting so far, 3-4 months is not a long time to wait for such a quality item.

But that’s not all, for as I believe I mentioned in a previous post – three new models will be joining the round 2 line up. Whether or not they are permanent additions or one off’s remains to be seen, but here’s a sneak preview..

From left to right, the Miyamoto Elite has several FREE upgrades in exchange for less custom options. For even less options, and for those who like to keep it simple and save a few extra $, there is the Kihon which only has a few sets to choose from and cannot be mixed and matched like the other lines. And finally the unique Black Crow Kogarasu with its double edged tip.

No matter what happens, the launch date begins on midnight Eastern time, 5th of October – only 30 pre-order slots are available and as per last time, we will show you how quickly the spots are being taken up so you don’t have to wait until February if you miss out on this round.

FORGE DIRECT JAPANESE

Meanwhile, the biggest reason for the delay launching Project X Japanese is we needed to make some big changes to our previous top of the range Custom Katana, the Forge Direct line.

The base price of all models will be coming down significantly, but at the same time we are also offering MORE optional extras to make up for it and allow you to take your forge design sword to a whole new level. Plus I am also in the process of creating a page on the blog showing large resolution pics of EVERY custom component so you can see it up VERY close and make out every detail. And then there will also be more custom options like with Project X and the soon to be discontinued SBG Custom Katana.

For example, one popular custom option we have been asked for many times is a leather wrapped tsuka. Here’s an example of one about to be wrapped at the forge (and yes, they too will have hishigami).

An example of the leather used – note just how wide the rayskin ‘panel’ is. Literally only an inch or so away from being a full wrap!

And then there are the saya. Forge Direct Japanese will have even more saya than ever before for the standard custom Katana, though we will be forced to charge extra for the most ornate ones, many – especiallu those that are hand painted – worth more than many entry level swords alone.

And finally, a folded steel option and maybe even a laminated version too (we aren’t 100% on the lamination yet, but here is an example of what the folded version looks like).

Some prefer a subtle ‘hada’ others a richer, easier to see one. The Forge Direct version is most certainly in the latter category of the two and really makes the sword ‘POP’

As mentioned, confirming these modifications, pricing them and making sure we don’t hurt the reputation of either brand is what has been slowing things down so much.

CONCLUSION

Regardless and come what may, at the stroke of midnight on the 5th, Project X opens up come hell or high water. And if it all goes to plan, so does the lower priced Forge Direct Custom Katana with more options than you can poke a sword at..

At the end of the day, the Forge Direct Katana will be more affordable and with more options and take only around 2 months to make, while the Project X series have far more complex blades and higher price, higher quality fittings and take around twice as long to make (and is only available in batches until we are 100% confident we can run it all year round like we can with Forge Direct).

The countdown to the best deals and the best Katana designs ever made at SBG has begun.

In the meantime, we STRONGLY recommend you sign up to the exclusive Project X Newsletter. If you knew the bonuses and extras available to subscribers, you would sign up in a heartbeat..

More updates coming soon!