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.
As I mentioned in the previous post, if all goes to plan September will be restock month. But it’s also a month where we will see some new products – here’s two of them..
COMING SOON – the KERN Irish Sword by Kingdom of Arms
I wrote a fair bit about this one in the August edition of the Sword Buyers Digest Online Magazine (click here to read the back issue) but the stunning KERN sword by Kingdom of Arms is due to land THIS WEEK!
Truly a stunning piece of craftsmanship – it is hand made by the team at Blade Culture International in the Philippines, so you know it is going to be premium quality.. So you will definitely want to keep your eye out for that!
A New A.P.O.C. Not just a restock, it’s a new epoc for A.P.O.C. (sorry, just could not resist – worst accidental poetry ever) and here is the latest in their rapidly expanded line up in 2020 – the TAC BRUTUS designed by Angus Trim.
It has often been said that a Gladius is a very effective self defense tool in the modern era, and this one made from 9260 spring steel and designed by Gus Trim may be one of the best in its price range (the MSRP on this one will be $159, naturally we will sell it for much less).
Stats look like this: Overall: 24″ Blade Length: 18″ Handle Length: 5 5/8″ Weight: 1 lbs 12 oz Point of Balance: 2 5/8
Combine it with a modern riot shield and you have the ultimate deadly doorway blocker – so zombies beware!
More swords coming in this month – so stay tuned folks…
And not just for pretty much EVERY product line available at the SBG Sword Store. This September almost the whole industry – which has not seen any REAL sword import shipments come in since January – are ALL restocking at the same time..
The Wheels are Turning…
At our end – finally, we are starting to see the huge Backlog of Swords that were stopped dead for months due to Pandemic and that has been keeping Forge Direct on hold start to move – with all the blades done and now just the final assembly process…
At the same time, all those recent Project X orders have been almost entirely clarified (there sure were a lot of modifications and last minute changes) and the Master Smiths are already ordering in the materials, components and firing up the forge for a small number of very creative and lucky individuals who were able to get in this, the one and only batch of the year.
Meanwhile, most other forges have had the fires on for months and now almost EVERY backordered sword from Ronin Katana, Ryujin Swords, Hanwei, A.P.O.C. and your other favorites is about to land pretty much all at the same time…
The Hanwei Forge In Action
Indeed, ‘newcomer’ Kingdom of Arms and their BCI made swords are due to land this month (this WEEK) actually too.
So while recently stock levels are running extremely low, stand by – that’s all about to change.. And there are some new swords coming in too.
What new swords you ask?
Well, there’s a lot to get done right now so save that for when I have a spare moment in a few days time..
Talk again soon – it certainly has been a hectic few months, and with the restocks coming in, it is about to get a whole lot busier..
Only catch is, right now we only have the bo-hi version – solid bodied blade is still a way off.
But there is some more good news, almost all the components are also restocked – including the saya. BUT with the saya, there have been some color changes – some quite signficant – so every image has been updated to avoid confusion and disappointment.
SIDE NOTE AND SHAMELESS PLUG: I think this constant stock updating, close communication with the warehouse, best price prices and life time guarantee against breakage – we are the most sensible place to buy Ryujin Swords and receive them as quickly as we promise. Other sites that sell them have lots of hidden costs and sell stuff that they don’t have in stock, sometimes even offering items that haven’t been made yet! So in short, by keeping up to date and offering the best service and prices, yeah – it would be silly to buy them anywhere else..
– Paul Southren
But I digress, back to the saya.
Here are all the updated colors – most haven’t changed so much, but gun metal grey, forest green and a few others just don’t look anything like they used to:
Of course, this also means that other semi-custom Katana have also been restocked. So check out the full range and click the link below:
Sometimes, things just keeping getting harder and harder.
First there was the Chinese New Year shut down, then the Covid-19 worldwide lockdown that resulted in the forges sitting idling for months longer than we ever expected..
Eventually, the forges began to re-open, but component supplies were and still are behind production schedules and international shipping ground to a halt (for a short time, it looked ok, but then all the orders bounced back at customs)..
FINALLY, things are starting to look more ‘normal’ and the forges are running at maximum capacity and slowly we are catching up on the extended backlog (though shipping costs have increased dramatically, literally sucking most of the humble profits out of all this years orders).
However, the backlog is still too large for my liking. Some component makers are STILL playing catch up, and so to ensure the forges focus their full attention on completing all the outstanding orders, we have no choice but to temporarily halt taking any and ALL new orders until we are properly caught up again.
Unfortunately, this also means that Project X Japanese has been pushed back yet another month or two – from a planned round of orders in February now looking likely to begin – well, who really knows right now..
Halting new orders is going to hurt both our and the forges bottom line – but at the end of the day, existing customers come first – and personally I just can’t keep taking orders until we have the backlog properly under control..
We will keep you updated as the backlog begins to look more manageable – in the meantime, our apologies for the inconvenience.
As we alluded to in the previous post, we have a LOT of new cool items about to hit the shelves at the SBG Sword Store. Here’s MY favorite (and its a great deal too, buy the big one, get the small one free!)..
Yes, it is the WORLDS LARGEST Wrench/Folding Knife Combination by one of Sam Sung, the owner of Ryujin Swords, Companies – S-TEC. I mean seriously, for $142 every Dad deserves one of these in his man cave (and it also comes with a smaller EDC version here for just $30 if you buy it by itself or FREE with every order of its big brother).
With that beast out of my system, here’s another by S-TEC, the most basic carbon steel chopper around with a price tag to match it ($19.99)
And then they offer what is perhaps my favorite type of knife next to a Tanto – the South East Asian Karambit with quick draw system (patent pending) for just – $24.99!
But if you like this basic entry level Karambit and want to get serious, another one of Sam’s companies – DEFCON – has you covered with the RAPTOR Karambit, available in Black or Bronze Finish.
EVERYTHING about these two blades screams premium quality – from the tempered CPM S35-VN w/ Silicon Nitride Coating blade to the milled 6AL4V Milled Titanium + Forged Carbon handles and smooth as silk cage bearing reinforced lock bar at $246.95 it’s worth every penny, and even better at our special price of just $185.95.
But we haven’t finished with our latest knifes just quite yet – for there is one more brand from Sam that spans the middle ground between S-TEC and DEFCON called Proelia.
My personal favorite, this little hard to classify D2 tool steel folder called the TX927 for $34.99 (which incidentally is a great price for properly tempered D2). But I have a soft spot for their interpretation of a Tactical folding Tanto, again D2 tool steel and again a bargain at $74.95.
That about catches us up with the knife expansion (well, we also quietly added a classic – the Hanwei Practical Plus Tanto for $194 here). After all, it was easy enough to list as we added not one but three new Hanwei Forge swords to the store – all Classics in their own right.
The first two are swords that are almost universally acclaimed by the community as worth every penny and then some, but are so rarely in stock in some cases nearly a decade has passed since they were last made available. But here they are, fresh stock straight off the boat of two swords that if you DON’T know about them, you owe it to yourself to have a look..
First up, the Banshee – an evolved, tactical version based on the Burmese Daab and a pattern typically found throughout what was once called ‘Indochina’ (Siam, Kampuchea, Burma, Laos, etc). But it’s really well made, incredibly good fun, and a steal at just $189.99.
But if you want to go beyond a steal and get a HEISTS worth of value, try this on for size – the Dark Sentinel!
Mixing elements of the Swiss Saber with the Japanese Katana, it is a solid performing cutting blade that tends to last for years and years without barely a scratch. And no, the $124.99 is NOT a typo..
And then one of Hanwei’s latest products, a special re-release of the Classic Tiger Katana designed by Paul Chen
Truly a sword we can strongly recommend – from the imported Japanese cotton ito to the brass leaf inlaid saya and absolutely stunning Swedish Powder Steel blade with real hada and hamon.. A tad expensive at its full price of $1650, but right on the money for $999.99 – you get your money’s worth and then some..
Well, hope you found something of interest for Dad this year.
PLEASE NOTE: While we will do our best to ship as fast as possible, orders placed now are NOT guaranteed to make it in time for fathers day. The sooner you get your order in, the better..
