Category Archives: Store Product Info and Musings

I had to retract a recent post about the new Kingston Arms swords designed by Angus Trim that arrived just before the weekend – as not only had the swords not been made to the correct specifications, but my description of the error was also erroneous..

Hence, the title of this post – Two Wrongs (the double oops)..

From the description I was provided late Friday afternoon of the swords – I was under the impression that the leather fittings were black instead of as pictured below..

Type XIV Single Hand Medieval Arming Sword

Type XVIII Single Hand Medieval Sword

As it turns out – the swords WERE/ARE exactly as pictured here, but SHOULD have had reddish brown grips..

The main thing that caused them to be off spec was the type XIV is a bit overweight and the edges on both didn’t fit with what CAS Iberia were looking for in an out of the box performance sword. Also, they swapped the pommels between the swords from Gus’s originals.

I will contact everyone who ordered in the next couple of minutes to see if they are okay with and relist any remaining swords as soon as we get final clarification.

Sometimes one oops just follows another one – sorry to everyone for any inconvenience. 😛

Frenchie Jin and his team of artisans at Dragon King had been busy in the lead up to Chinese New Year – and the fruits of their labors have brought 5 new stunning, premium quality Katana to the table designed for every taste and budget..

Their most beautiful and highest quality addition – is the Tatsumaki Katana, a high polish T10 tool steel blade with silvered fittings, a rattan reinforced saya with buffalo horn fittings and the overall design is, quite simply, breathtaking..

Moving down the line, the next sword in the line up is the Savior Katana – which has the same level of exquisite blade polish and quality but slightly simpler fittings (i.e. no rattan wrap on the saya and iron with gold plated fittings instead of silvered ones) but is equally stunning.

From these two high end swords, we move to Dragon Kings mid-range offerings.

These swords are in the same class as the previously released Hana Katana – that is to say, they all have authentic fittings, are made from differentially hardened T10 tool steel – but have a more basic level of polish to make them more affordable (about half the price of the two swords above – as to properly polish a Katana by hand to the highest level is an extremely time consuming and expensive procedure).

The first of the two is the War Horse Katana (pictured above). And the second the arrow themed Fletching Katana (pictured below).

And then finally – the most affordable of them all – the Yanone Katana.

The blade on this sword is the same, but what makes it the most affordable is that it skips all the bells and whistles and strips away the extras such as the Buffalo horn on the saya, uses synthetic cotton and synthetic rayskin – and brings it down to a price point that almost any serious sword collector can afford – allowing you to own a Dragon King quality blade at the same kind of price as a Hanwei Practical Plus Katana..

And if this was not enough, along with this shipment of new swords is a restock of most of the previous models at the same time – including the Chinese swords such as the MASSIVE Chinese Jian and Saber..

Now that is what I call a BIG Sword..!

Anyway, for more pics, pricing and other information click here and check out the entire range of brand new stock from Dragon King.

Hail to the King!

As a follow up to my previous post, while every pre-order for the limited edition Furia Sword of the Apocalypse was spoken for and John Lundemo is pulling out all the stops to get them made over the coming months – for those who missed out on the ultimate zombie slaying sword or who simply are not in a position to be able to afford the relatively high price point, you might be interested in our next limited edition project..

It is not yet available to order – and the full review and backstory not yet completed – but here is a sneak preview of the sub $300 Tactical Ko Katana by Chris Palmer from Scorpion Swords tested to the max by Jason Woodard..

The tests on the steel pole and concrete block show just how tough this blade really is..

Stay tuned for the full review and opportunity to get one for yourself to stash away in the ‘in case of zombies, break glass’ case..

If you have read any of my extensive reviews of the Generation 2/Legacy Arms swords or have been following SBG for any length of time you will know two important facts about Legacy Arms:

1. I really like their products. They are solidly made, hand forged 5160 Spring Steel ‘beater’ swords that I consider to be great value for money and..
2. They are REALLY hard to get hold of as the production runs at the forge in the Philippines is sporadic at the best of times.

I still agree with point number one – but for a very limited time 5 of my all time favorite models have just come back into stock after literally YEARS of being unavailable, and are sure to sell out faster than you can say ‘where did they go?’..

Here are the 5 swords I am referring to:

The first is the $279.99 Black Prince Sword – which went from being something of a sword shaped crowbar to a highly refined, extremely historically accurate fully functional replica of this famous long sword. There are only about 4 or 5 of these available, so they will be the first to sell out – especially at this price. Click here for our original review to see what all the fuss is about..

The second is the Excalibur sword – at $475 it is the most expensive sword in the Legacy Arms line up – but is worth every penny. With a whole lot of steel, solid brass fittings and a wire wrapped handle – it is pure class, and since it has been out of stock perhaps longer than any of the other swords that just landed, it is almost certainly going to end up sold out just as fast as the Black Prince. Click here for my classic review.

The third and fourth swords are a little harder to quantify which one I like best or think will sell out the fastest. But if I had to choose one, I would grab the Gladius again in a heartbeat, so I think it will have to come in at number three.

This Legacy Arms Maintz Gladius may not be the most historically accurate replica – especially with regards to the scabbard. But the blade itself is a solid performer, and was one of the first swords ever reviewed at SBG.. (click here for the testing results). And the best part, even in 12 years the price has not gone up – and is a total steal at $209.99..

Hot on its tails both chronologically and in terms of the best buy, the River Witham Viking Sword is a real treat, both in terms of build quality and handling. And pictures never do seem to do it justice.. Check out this review by Mike Harris to see why it compared favorably with an Albion, but at only a fraction of the price ($299.99).

And last but certainly not least, the beast of a sword that is the Templar Knight Sword.. It is a solid blade designed to take the Saracens head on and has some serious blade presence for its $279 price tag..

With 4 of the 5 swords here being sub $300 – this is a rare opportunity to grab a serious bargain while you still can and then you will know why I loved this brand so much and why I always recommended in my reviews, when they do become available, you need to pounce on the opportunity, as who knows when it will come around again..

Enjoy!