Additional thoughts, information and hints for our sword lines and products, including detailed introductions of new swords as they come in, special discounts and more.
If you love your swords BIG – the sub $300 Ryujin Custom O-Katana is a must have for collectors on a budget..
With a 33″ long blade and 14″ long handles and all up counting the space between munemachi and tsuba, you get around 4′ of sword – for just $259.99 – only $30 more than the standard line!
Each component is specifically designed FOR the O-Katana, but in almost every case it is possible to make a COMPLETE MATCHING SET of swords, with an O-Katana, standard Katana and Wakizashi all sharing the same style of fittings across the board.
At the start of this month we were saddened to hear that our good friends at Ryujin Swords had several workers and bosses test positive for Covid-19 and while their symptoms were minimal (most were only sick for 3-4 days with a fever and some coughing) the warehouse was reduced to a skeleton crew and we had to temporarily suspend the Ryujin line of Custom swords as the key workers were simply not around..
Well, as the title says – the tests are coming back negative, and as the tests come back, so do the workers – and we are delighted to say that Ryujin is back to business as usual!
When you consider the blades are made from well tempered 65mn Spring Steel, have iron fittings, genuine leather handle – and comes with a scabbard, belt and suspension for under $300, it’s pretty rare.
Here’s the review a customer left for it from the first time we offered it, giving it a 4 star rating:
Ok, so this is my first purchase from SBG. Ive been wanting a similar type sword for some time and saw the special and took the chance buying one.
The sword arrived very quickly and was well packaged preventing any damage.
It is a very good looking item, with a mirror finish blade and plain hand guard, grip and pommel. The scabbard is good and would make an excellent part of a display or costume, the attaching belt, not so much.
The blade came razor sharp and was immediately bigger than I had anticipated. My example is 34 1/2 inches long in total with a 2 inches at the base making it quite wide and was almost exactly 3 lbs.
Seems like it would be a massively good cutting weapon, especially to unarmored flesh. I tried some practice cuts on my backyard pell but immediately stopped as I felt it was abusing the blade. However, I feel like it could cut pork chops, water bottles and melons all day and still have a good edge. I found my example to be dangerously sharp.
The pommel is peened and grip/ guard very solid.
The handle is not very comfortable and is a downside. It fits one hand well and is almost long enough to be used two handed for average size hands.
The pommel is plain and is unfinished making room for it to be personalized.
I feel like if I had handled this in a shop I would have put it back instead of buying as it is larger and heavier than what I would have chosen.
For example the Windlass Agincourt sword is slightly longer has a full two handed hilt and is still half a pound lighter.
All in all an awesome sword, and I suspect a formidable cutter. Thanks SBG for a good first experience.
No problems! And if you want to take it a step fancier, we also have a Damascus folded version for just $229.99..
Basically the exact same sword, just with a more attractive blade and better suited to display, while the cheaper version is better for practical cutting.
Take your pick, but don’t miss out – stocks are limited and the last restock was over a year ago from memory.
First there is a backlog at Ryujin that we are working through, then there are a ton of emails that need urgent attention, and we need to make a few changes and update the site and stock levels (which are, for most of our suppliers, very limited!).
Personally I spent at least 3 hours a day over the holidays working on the site so that there was no mountain of work to come back to – and also unable to see my family being locked away overseas since the pandemic started, had plenty of time up my sleeve..
But it has NOT been a positive start to the year at all. The industry in Longquan is more or less decimated – we warned about this for years, but the eBay guys have stripped it like locusts and we have seen many talented smiths retire or forges change to producing Celedon ceramics. But personally, I am saddest to see Master Michael Ye move on from sword making – and taking all his products from the Forge Direct Line up with him..
The Wuxia line he made for Legendary Swords have been discontinued for a long time. But here are the swords that have since joined the permanently retired archive..
Classic Peony JianHan DynastyYong Lo Mk IIFeathersteel Golden DragonDragon FireGolden PeonyTiger Jian
Honestly, it does not leave us with anywhere near as many Forge Direct Chinese Swords to Choose from – and as the industry continues to shrink, chances are so will the number and possibility of obtaining new models..
Anyway, it’s real shame to see him go – and sadly, the writing is on the wall. Many others are soon to follow his lead. He did some amazing work, and was part of the collaborative project to create the fantasy blade the Seraph Aegis with US artisan Jeffrey Robinson
Add to this extremely low stock levels at Hanwei – with restock expected first in November, then December and now, unknown…
But it’s not ALL bad news..
BCI USA advised me that we have a single new and unshipped Zelda inspired Master Sword still in stock! And one that was returned because the customer did not like the construction techniques and was upset that the hilt is 2mm different on one side than the other..
Have a look and tell me if you think it looks terrible or not,
Anyway, you can find them both for sale on the main page of the site. So grab them while you can!!
Okay, now I have an absolute TON of work to get to, so will post again when I get a chance or if something new and noteworthy happens. But I must say, 2021 feels like 2020 but worse..
UPDATE: This is pretty amazing, but it was sold out within a month of the new stock landing! Looks like aficionados know a bargain when they see one – buy makes it hard to keep in stock!
Updated mid December, 2020
It is one of Ryuin’s most popular swords – and is an extremely faithful recreation of a Japanese NCO blade from the second world war – not just in appearance, but also in its handling and statistics.
Below is a comparison to an antique (top).
And a recent review on the SBG forum has the following summary:
“To summarize, this is probably the very best modern Type 98 shin gunto reproduction currently available as a production sword, is equal to the originals in usability, and very nearly in quality and appearance. It’s a great cutter as well. It’s also probably priced as low as something of this quality possibly can be. For what you get, it’s a genuine bargain. WW II military re-enactors take note.”
