Category Archives: SBG Custom Katana

Posts and news concerning the SBG custom Katana and the Black Dragon Forge

Nearly THAT time again…

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Ok, definitely time for a blog update – and quite a bit to report!

First off, Batch 19 should be shipping out from the forge by the end of the month – I’ve just sent a couple of update emails to everyone in this batch along with some pics, but here’s a couple of pics for everyone else.

Some great use of the various configuration options

Gotta love those hamon – the blades rock

Of course with batch 19 nearly clear it means that Batch 20 may well be only a week or so away from opening up on new orders (as it takes a while to process everyone’s orders, compile the master order sheet for the forge, etc – and I don’t want the forge to be sitting idle in the interim).

So if you have been waiting for a shot at creating your own custom Katana in this next batch, you may not have to wait all that much longer!

The only other thing I should mention is that along with batch 19 we will have another limited run of the SBG Black Dragon Katana coming in.

A ‘peek’ at some of the Black Dragons in the incoming shipment

So it’s definitely all hands on deck at the moment, that is for sure!

I’ll post again soon with some more news on batch 19 and a firm date for new orders on batch 20 so talk to you all again shortly!

Thanks all,
– Paul


Batch 18 swords – the stragglers

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This post is specifically for people who ordered swords from batch 18 (batched and commenced by the forge on the 5th of December 2011) and haven’t emailed me about what is going on. While the vast majority of the swords cleared customs and have been shipped, I hate to say it but we still have a few stragglers that are still stuck in customs (grr) – and the majority of these are for Wakizashi, Tanto and sword sets (though there are still a few Katana).

It’s really quite frustrating as batch 18 is now coming up to 150 days since batching, so the last stragglers are some 60 days over the 90 day turnaround time we aim for. 🙁 However we should have the last ones clear customs within a week and my agent will ship them out as soon as possible, so while I hate to ask for it – please bear with us just a little longer.

Since I am making a quick post, I though I should also mention that batch 19 is coming along much faster – without Chinese New Year to get in the way, batch 19 is 100% on track and I’ll be making another post (and sending an email update) around the midway point. In the meantime, if anyone has any questions please email me and I’ll do my best to get back to you asap. – Paul

Updates on Batch 18 and 19

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Ok, first off a quick update on batch 19 – by now you should have received an email confirming that the forge has started work on the blades, components are being ordered and the wheels are well and truly turning. One quick thing though that I forgot to mention in this email is that the design instructions that accompany this email are only what was ordered ORIGINALLY – so if you have revised your order or added other components to it since it was first placed, it doesn’t show up here. But do not be concerned, the order details that have been submitted to the forge are as per our most recent correspondence. If you have any doubts, simply shoot me an email and I’ll confirm it for you.

Now, for our delayed batch 18 – the good news is that it should clear customs any day now and as soon as it arrives with my agent to be inspected you will receive an email letting you know where we are up to. Rest assured we will do our best to get them out to you as quickly as possible, though NOT at the risk of sacrificing Quality checks – so please bear with us just a little bit longer.

The waiting is the hardest part I know, but I hope that once you have your sword in hand you’ll agree that it was worth it. 🙂

Talk to you all again soon.

– Paul

NOW taking new orders!

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Hi everyone!

Just confirming that the timer has counted down and we are NOW officially accepting orders for the SBG Custom Katana series! Yay!

The previous batch to this one is on the way to my agent in Canada and will take a few weeks to arrive, and this batch will take a few weeks to collate and send to the forge – so if you have been waiting for this batch to open NOW is definitely the time to get your order in.

If previous batches are any indication, we will reach the forges maximum production capacity within the next 2 weeks (and even though we do our best, there is ALWAYS some people who miss out simply because we wont ‘bite off more than we can chew’ and order more orders than the forge can comfortably handle) – so there is still a little time to ask questions, consider what customizations you would like or make some changes. But the sooner you get your order secured the better.

I’ll be updating again about the previous batch (18) shortly, so in the meantime, happy designing!

– Paul

Custom Katana and Shipping Module

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Hi everyone!

I’m in a good mood because after 2 weeks of trying to get the new shipping module to work in EVERY situation it should I am pleased to say that it is now 100% operational!

Because SBG has several different shipping rates – for example, across the board free shipping in the USA, some free shipping in Canada and some at $30 per sword, and then international shipping from locations in the USA and Canada, the system had a lot of trouble adapting to our unique shipping cost needs.

But now, you don’t even have to think about it – if an item cannot be shipped to your destination, it won’t let you accidently order it and will display a message telling you as such, otherwise – it just calculates the shipping based on where you are and what you are ordering, just the way it SHOULD be (but anyone who has worked with computers for a bit will know getting a computer to do something the way it SHOULD be is like pulling teeth!).

Anyhow, I’m really glad this is working properly now – and none too soon either. Because the other reason I am in a good mood is because batch 19 of the custom Katana is about to open orders within the next 24 hours!

With new options, new tsuba and lots of people waiting in the wings to get their order in, it’s all very exciting – read about it on our dedicated Custom Katana Blog here

Thanks all! As we are really about to go into “custom Katana mode” please be sure to visit the other blog frequently because it is where all of the real action will be over the next couple of weeks or so.

– Paul