Custom Katana Fans – the time has come..

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..

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!

Game of Thrones Inspired Works at Darksword Armory

It started with the Wolfsbane, then the High King Sword – but the two most recent GoT inspired creations have taken it to another level..

Well, one of them has taken it to the highest level – with a one off, one time 1:1 scale replica of ‘the Iron Throne’.

Count ’em if you can, 112 blades – all 5160 Spring Steel!

Only one has and will be made, and with a $15,000 price tag, it might be a while before it finds its final home. But there can be no denying they did and amazing job of replicating it.

And then there is another sword, this time a hybrid of fact and fantasy – a sword never seen in the series, but attributed to one of the most important characters, Daenerys and called the Mother of Dragons Sword

The owner of Darksword Armory, Eyal Azerad, has travelled extensively to museums around the world and was inspired by this particular blade he saw at the Wallace Collection in London (see below, click for the full size image)

The original the design is based on

In the video below, Eyal explains how it all came about, how it feels in the hand and what made them decide on its final form.

As you can see, they pulled it off very, very well..

Just $485 with the works at the SBG Sword Store

As is always the case, the SBG Sword Store offers the best deal on this blade – normally the price is $510 for sharpening and the Deluxe scabbard plus shipping and 15% sales tax for Canadian customers. But at SBG you can get it with all the bells and whistles, no sales tax and FREE SHIPPING for just $485!

Check it out below in the New Products section.

Not one but FOUR new Far Eastern Swords..

It’s always exciting to report the release of a new sword – but doubly exciting (or quadruplely exciting technically, though as far as I know that’s not actually a valid expression).. Anyway, clearly I am excited – here’s why.

The first sword is a what is commonly called a Wing Chun Butterfly Sword, they trace their lineage back around 200 years and variations were used in many Southern Chinese Kung Fu styles, such as Hung Gar, Choy Li Fut and others and were often used by revolutionary fighters and rebels, small enough to be concealed in a sleeve and often (but not always) used as a pair.

Includes Leather Sheathe and Display Box

Our version, brought to you by our good friends at Ryujin, has a differentially hardened 1095 carbon steel blade with brass handle and is one of the best made functional Butterfly Swords on the market. Normally sold for $229.99 each, order 1 for just $159.99 – or TWO or more and the price comes down to $139.99 each.

Here’s a couple of budget Katana that don’t look cheap..

Most of our swords at SBG are at the mid to high end of the market, but when we saw these basic monotempered 1045 carbon steel blades (which could be passed off as ANYTHING by some unscrupulous sellers) the overall designs and totally unique fittings, we just could not resist..

Doesn’t look half bad
Simple but beautiful – a classic design

First one is the most subtle, black saya with a Geisha print, blue ito – subtly painted tsuba – stylish and classy all the way.

But the second one, some might say is garish or over the top. But me, well – I love it!

There’s a lot to take in here so lets try to break it down
Faux silver pleather over black rayskin with silver sageo and unique habaki
Tsuba, dedicated to Miyamoto Musashi in both writing and style
And that saya..

It’s called the ‘Golden Dragon’ due to the Dragon on the Saya, but there is a lot to take in on this one that you probably haven’t seen on any other sword.

Decent 1045 blade – well tempered with bo-hi

The blades are well tempered and have bo-hi, weighing around 2.2 -2.3lbs, so they are fast and responsive should it come to cutting. But I would think that they are instead “functional sword art” on special and available at a fraction of their true value (both are under $80!).

And finally, a classic reproduction

And finally, from one of my favorite childhood TV series and the movie – Shogun Assassin – the Dotanuki of Ogami Itto from Lone Wolf and Son.

Look closely at the clam shell tsuba..

If you haven’t seen the series or the condensed version known as ‘Shogun Assassin’ first, go see it. NOW! Here’s a few scenes that barely do it justice..

https://youtu.be/2Dcrhg5SDWA

Anyway, it was THIS series that inspired Sword Artisan Frenchie Jin from Dragon King’s interest in swords, and so he has created a faithful replica from the series down to every detail.

One inch sori, ribbed saya, even a Kozuka throwing knife concealed in the tsuba.

A tad expensive at $1,199 – naturally at SBG we have slashed the price to the bone, and you can pick it up for $779.99. Limited stock on a truly collectible blade for die hard fans of one of the best Japanese Sword Stories in Manga, TV and as a movie.

Next up, something for fans of quality and affordable Fantasy Artwork (as well as Game of Thrones).

It is going to be a busy last few days of the month, that much I can tell you!

New Fantasy Sword by DSA – the Vindaaris

Based on Norse myths of the ‘light elves’ and the light elves in the works of J.R.R. Tolkein, the Vindaaris is a stunning fully functional fantasy sword designed by Terry Maranda who has been working closely with Darksword Armory for the last 10 years as a weapon designer, and according to his website, is one of his favorite creations to date.

Available in two versions, one a limited edition run of only 50 pcs, while large and heavy, it is balanced exactly at the Ricasso – allowing surprisingly good handling while delivering almost unstoppable blows. Below are the two versions available.

Click for a larger image

The differences between the two are subtle, with the script and fuller of the Dean Marino limited edition version running the full length of the blade.

Includes a stunning and very suitable scabbard embossed with the Elvish script and overall, is a design that any lover of fantasy swords will find very hard to resist.

Includes the advanced suspension system, belt and ornate scabbard

A few more pics, first one showing the blade without the wood core handle so you can see the thickness of the tang.

As usual, we offer the very best deal on these blades – with FREE sharpening (usually an additional $30) and FREE shipping (quite often considerably MORE than $30) plus it comes with our standard satisfaction or your money back guarantee.

Only a limited number have been made, so get in quick if you want to add one to your collection.

Legacy Arms Restock!

Back in the day Legacy Arms was known as Generation 2 – and it was Gen 2 and Windlass Steelcrafts who dominated the market for affordable, fully functional replicas of medieval and European historical swords and weaponry.

I loved them – they were solid, dependable and hand hammered they were at least as resilient as the historical originals, if not more so.

The problem has been production schedules. The family forge where they are made in the Philippines is tiny, nothing even remotely close to Hanwei’s mega factory in Dailan or the big three forges in Longquan. So it takes them literally an age to make, forced to shut down for most of the rainy season – and you just never know when or if they will show up again..

Well, the good news is – they have. The bad news, we have no idea how long they will be in stock – especially the rarer and more popular models.

Amazing value, check them out while stocks last