This should be the last post when I mention the site overhaul – it has been pretty all consuming for the last few weeks, and took a LOT longer to complete that I first expected and completely changed the look and feel of the main site and the store when it was not really supposed to be that dramatic..

That’s the way it goes with websites these days though I guess – what looks good on a desktop is often unreadable on a mobile or tablet, so in many ways it is like creating not one but around a dozen websites at the same time..

Anyway, over the last couple of weeks the site has gone from this format, which we introduced early last year but I was never fully satisfied with (too many navigation bars, top, left, right, center and bottom is just confusing – plus it all just jumbled up at the bottom when you look at it with mobile)..

The overhaul began in earnest just before Christmas, and as you will know from the previous blog posts, had a bit of a false victory..

It started off looking like this..

Same basic theme but simplified. So I thought..

Unfortunately, it was a complete mess in mobile – and the store especially so. Several days over the holiday period were spent pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to make the site, the store and the blog compliment each other and keep a kind of central theme and I had to strip it all back to the basics.

The end result?

At least, this is how it looks on a desktop or sideways held tablet.. 😉

The format is much cleaner – just one navigation bar that stays in place on the left hand side as you scroll down the page. A page width that works with pages built from 2005 to 2016 and beyond – and a nod to recurring themes that have appeared in previous incarnations of the site – scrolls, parchments, a white background – some black, some red and some grey – and – of course – a picture of a sword of some type that is not a wallhanger featured prominently (in this case, the prototype Forge Direct Custom Katana I had made for myself reviewed here).

There will probably need to be a few more minor tweaks over the course of the year, but the basic theme should not change all that much. Whats next is content – the most important thing. And lots of it..

In the meantime, this month will see a focus on two main product lines – Longship Armoury and Forge Direct..

Right now we are in the final month of taking pre-orders of the final run of the last 10 of 20 Furia swords made in the USA by John Lundemo – so securing the final pre-orders will be a priority for January. But at the same time, with Chinese New Year about to shut down all production of swords in a few weeks for over a month – we will be offering a special deal on our entire Forge Direct line – including three new swords..

Here is a preview of the three swords (click for a larger image)..

As the wait time will go up significantly, the price will come down signficantly to make up for it.. So stay tuned..

Speaking of sneak previews and swords made in the USA – here is a pic of a brand new prototype we are having commissioned. An incredibly mean, and affordable (will be sub $300!) Tactical style Ko Katana blade that is currently being prepared for some heavy destructive testing by our friend Jason Woodard..

Just a cursory look and I think you will agree, this one looks like it will be a lot of fun!

And this is just what is in store for the first couple of months of 2017 – if all goes well we will be taking some new orders on the monthballed SBG Custom Katana, introducing even more products and brands and much, much more..!

Next post will be on the pending Forge Direct Chinese New Year Sale – so talk to you all again very soon!!

-Paul

It is PROBABLY too late for Christmas to get one of these delivered in time (unless you order a Ryujin Custom Katana and live close to California – the elves at the Ryujin workshop have gone into overdrive and have been assembling and sending out swords within 48 hours recently instead of the usual week!) but Christmas aside for a moment – just a quick update on our current two main custom Katana lines.

First off, the elite level Forge Direct Custom Katana now has the O-Katana as a separate product in its own right.

The reason for this is two fold:

1. I was not comfortable with the necessary price fluctuation on the Custom Katana to make it an O-Katana. The idea was to have ONE flat rate price regardless of your customization choices OR where you live in the world, but we simply could not offer an O-katana for the price of a standard length Katana, so made it a break away product in its own right and..
2. It became apparant that it was not always feasible for the O-Katana to have every saya made that can be offered for the standard Katana line. The reason is that the saya come from a third party saya specialist provider, and we could not afford to buy in bulk every type of saya as they don’t deal in single quantity orders. Additionally, the time frame of the O-Katana is about 2 weeks longer than the standard Katana. So we changed the saya options, info – and dropped the price from just over to just under $1000..

Check it out HERE

WIth the Ryujin custom Katana line, we added 2 new saya options:

New Option 1: Gun Metal Grey

Saya Option 2: Matt Dark Red

And finally, the Gold ito wrap is back in stock if you want to get regal with it.

Check out the full Ryujin Custom Katana line up HERE

We just added two new swords to the current SBG selection, and while they come from different cultural settings and time periods, they both have one thing in common – they are dedicated cutting and slicing swords with curved, single sided blades..

It has been argued many times that a curved sword CUTS better than a straight, double sided sword, but tends not to thrust or stab as effectively. The main reason why a curved sword tend to cut better than a straight one is because less surface area contacts the target when slicing, putting more pounds per square inch of pressure on the surface being cut – resulting in easier entry into the target and reducing friction when passing through the target.

Of course, there are many other variables that effect how well a given sword will cut, such as the hardness of the edge, the amount of vibration in the blade, the weight and balance of the sword, the power of behind the cut, edge alignment and of course actual sharpness (which is less important than many people think) – but all other things being equal, swords that are optimized for the cut are almost always curved and swords optimized for the thrust (or balanced between cut and thrust) almost always straight – and the two new swords we added are firmly in the first category.

The most effective of the two is the Forge Direct Duan Dao – a shorter, more concealable Chinese Broadsword style with the same unique laminated blade as the Muramasa Katana by the same forge.

This particular design ticks all the boxes for a frighteningly effective cutter – weight, balance, curved edge and the hard T10 tool steel edge supported by 1060 carbon steel either side and a softer, impact resistant core of 1045 carbon steel..

The blade itself is complimented by beautifully finished rosewood scabbard and handle and Dragon themed brass fittings.

While most of the Forge Direct Swords are sold at the $1,000 price point, this sword is an absolute steal at just $700 – especially when you consider the extra effort that goes into making such a complex laminated blade.

The second sword is based on the German ‘War Knife’ – the RK Euro line Kriegsmesser

With a two handed grip and made of expertly tempered 1075 carbon steel, this sub $300 sword is an absolute bargain.

Check them out today!

“Science Meets Tradition!”

This may well be one of the most revolutionary swords ever made..

A bold statement, but the Muramasa Katana by Forge Direct is truly quite unique.

Here is why:

The hamon, while real, is created through metal extraction and not clay. It’s achieved by grinding through the jacket layer of 1065 steel until the middle layer of T-10 is reached. The color of the steel is the natural unpolished look of the steel.

The five layer composition from side to side is: 1065, T-10, 1045, T-10, 1065.

Because the steel is placed in layers and welded together, they blend differently down both sides of the blade. The entire blade is then given a polish before the extraction on the edge. The reveal of the lamination is going to be different every single time, as the blend of the steels is never going to be the same, resulting in unique waves and patterns.

The process provides an edge hardness of 62-64, a spine in the mid 40’s, and a medium carbon core that is very good at diffusing shock.

The goal was to find a way to get the harder edge of a differentially hardened blade, but with the resilience of being through hardened.

The overall theme and design of this sword may be a little sinister (after all, Muramasa was an infamous sword smith with a very dark reputation – a reputation shared by his blades) and may not appeal to everyone, but to those of you who is “speaks” to, you are in for a real treat…

As with all the swords in the Forge Direct line up, the sword is made to order and ships within 4-6 weeks. At $700 (with free shipping in North America) it may not be the cheapest sword on the market, but for such a revolutionary design, it is actually quite a bargain (following industry standard pricing forumlas, it should sell for a LOT more)..

Check it out here

One of the least common types of medieval swords, both historically and also with modern functional reproductions, was the Hollow Ground blade – which is essentially a blade with a concave grind either side of the central ridge that swoops up slightly and terminates with a secondary bevel..

Below are some examples of typical medieval sword cross sections from Wikipedia – the Hollow Ground blade is not exactly right, but gives you some general idea..

A hollow ground blade was primarily used against lightly armored (leather) or unarmored opponents and the main advantage was, sharpness and viscous cutting ability. These were the kind of swords that would quite easily lop off and arm or a leg with a casual swipe, while the other types of edge geometry were designed to withstand chain and heavier armors, so lose some raw slicing ability in the process..

To make it all work properly, a hollow ground sword needs to avoid tapering off to a thin edge but instead MUST end in a secondary bevel, something some collectors think is ahistorical, but the reality is that EVERY historical hollow ground sword had a secondary bevel to ensure the edge was strong enough to asborb the power of the cut.

In many ways, I am surprised hollow ground swords are not more commonly available – as they are, by their very design, the kind of swords best designed for cutting common backyard targets such as water filled bottles, pool noodles, tatami mats, etc (after all, most backyard cutters do not need a sword able to withstand chain armor).

But these days, there are essentially only 2 swords on the market with this geometry, the $1570 Albion Regent and – very recently – the $499 Kingston Arms Crecy Sword

Above is a picture of the Kingston Arms version – and even from this pic, the hollow ground design – swooping in on both sides from the central ridge, then scooping upwards and ending in a viscous secondary bevel – is very clear to see.

I think that the main reason these swords are not more commonly seen on the market is simply due to the extra difficulty involved in doing it well (the hollow ground geometry is NOT easy to do correctly, and takes nearly twice as long as a standard edge) and the fact that, well, not that many collectors understand the benefits of this kind of geometry and the fact that it needs to be done differently than a hollow ground knife.

As these are so rare, and yet so suitable to the desires and needs of many a backyard cutter, if you do have a chance to try one out – you will not be disappointed. That much I am certain of..