Category Archives: Store Product Info and Musings

What a fantastic month August has been for lovers of Japanese swords – just looking at the updates on the blog, first there was the 5160 Elite Custom Katana from Ryujin, the return of the Ryujin Gunto, launch of the Forge Direct Custom Wakizashi and Ko Katana, the new WarFire Katana by Dragon King – and now – perhaps the best deal of them all so far..

A Differentially Hardened 1060 Carbon Steel Katana with steel fittings, cotton ito and 5 different sets of Koshirae available for just $149.99!!

That is the price most other sword sellers offer a differentially hardened 1045 carbon steel sword with cheap alloy fittings for..!

Truly amazing value, need I really say anything else other than as it’s a trial run there aren’t all that many in stock, especially considering the low price they are being offered for.. $270 worth of sword for $150 is a pretty crazy deal – check them out below while we still have some in stock..

In the meantime, some quick close up picks of the blades and fittings (click to enlarge)

Click here for more information

There isn’t anything all that revolutionary about the Warfire Katana by Dragon King. Indeed, it could be argued that it is rather plain – but that is actually part of its charm. Its uncomplicated. Traditional. Very traditional really, with Banzashi (Formal Castle Regulation) fittings that were required for Samurai who were retainers to the Shogun in Edo – black ito, white rayskin – black sageo and black saya with buffalo horn Kurikata, Kojiri and Koiguchi.

True formal, classic Samurai style..

And maybe that return to basics is what is makes it stand out. Its not fancy -a little streak of silver in the menuki – but neither is boring, for in the dark fittings if you look closely you can see scenes of war and horror to remind the Samurai that death is there in every second..

But the basics on this one are solid – steel fittings. cotton ito wrapped tight over real rayskin. Sturdy saya with buffalo horn, and a beautifully forged 65 mn spring steel blade with clear hadori finished notare hamon that gives it HRC 60 at the cutting edge and 40 at the spine.

Its all there – no shortcuts, and a great price – $500 over at Cas Iberia or $374.99 with free shipping at SBG.

Click here for more information

Following up on the success of the Katana and the Cutlass in the A.P.O.C. Tactical series are two new designs by the legendary Gus Trim..

Expected to be available in late September – as with all of the swords in this series – the two new models will be made from Monotempered 9260 Spring Steel and with full sandwich tang ensuring no moving parts for maximum durability of the entire assembly.

The first new model is the Survival Broad Sword:

With a wide cutting blade terminating in a servicable tip, this sword takes the medieval arming sword to its natural evolutionary conclusion – and with a listed weight of 2lbs with point of balance 5″ from the guard makes it nice and fast in the hand with quick recovery times.

Got to love their official ‘blurb’ trailer:

“After everything hits the fan and the muck has settled, all the symbols that represented the best man had to offer (honor, compassion, liberty, truth, trust, dignity, integrity, justice) are laid waste to give way to what now matters most: survival. In the twilight of man’s morality, a new symbol emerges to bring law to the foreboding chaos to come .. the A.P.O.C. Broad Sword. “

The second sword is one of the most unique and perhaps the most menacing looking..

The Wasteland Gladius:

This one looks particularly interesting, with a versatile hand and a half style grip and substantial weight behind it (2lbs 8oz) – not to mention the intimidation factor..!

From the official blurb:

Containing all the expected features of the swords in the series, our Wasteland Gladius design arises from the larger gladius designs featuring a pronounced “wasp-waist” or “leaf blade” curvature. Along the 21 3/8” blade edge it gives you different angles for different tasks needed on the desolate wastes. The blade flares out from 1 3/8” to 2” creating a brutal chopping cutter and a powerful piercing point or whichever you need. The pommel of the handle doubles as skull cracker, glass breaker for whatever needs bashing or breaking. The 9 ½” handle allows for easy single-hand or two-hand sword use making the Wasteland Gladius probably the most versatile swords in the series.

Awesome stuff, can’t wait to see these come in!!

In the meantime..

We are pleased to say we still have stock of the original two A.P.O.C. series swords that started it all off.. Now with lower pricing on the Tactical Katana and still with FREE SHIPPING

Check them out here – currently under the Dragon King brand but once the two new swords hit A.P.O.C. will be considered mature enough to exist as a new brand in its own right.

It is that time of year again, when Cas Iberia – arguably the largest distributor of swords in the world – gets in a container load or two of functional swords from their suppliers..

And this time around, a ton of popular swords that have not been restocked in ages are once again available to purchase.

Probably the most popular one, and the one that ALWAYS sells out the fastest, is the amazing Tinker Pearce Longsword (pictured below).

Insanely good value at just $229.99

Honesty, we really should raise the price on these as clearly demand far outstrips supply – but that’s not the SBG way, so you just need to get in quick.

Another couple of fast sellers are the awesome Ninjato replicas – the Iga and the Kouga Ninjato by Paul Chen..

And then there is one that I honestly can’t remember how many years it has been since it was restocked – so long that I pretty much thought it had been discontinued – and that is the Ox-Tail Dao, a very nifty Chinese Broadsword with brass fittings and amazing cutting action for such a low priced, single handed blade..

Priced to sell at just $199.99

And then there is the amazingly historically accurate Hanwei Cawood Sword, the super tough Claymore, the Mercenary Sword (which I recently discovered is actually a rare and quite accurate replica of the hard to find Oakeshott Type XX Longsword) – all of these to be had for well under $300..

Or how about the classic Shinto Katana, or the L6 Bainite Praying Mantis Katana, or the – well, okay – you get the idea.. Just excited to see a lot of these swords restocked again. 🙂

And if you are too, well – check them all out here..

Hanwei Forge Swords at the SBG Sword Store