Category Archives: Sword Sales

Expansion of minor sword related product lines.. Cool Stuff GALORE!

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Probably our biggest post with the most new products and largest discounts EVER – with a few rather ominously appropriate for our times..

You might be forgiven from the lack of updates that not much has been happening at SBG. And no, it is not because of the Coronavirus – truth is we have been extremely busy behind the scenes preparing for not one but several major product launches and expansions..

And as the warehouses are still open and the couriers still delivering, not to mention how timely some of the new releases are (in an ominous kind of way) and come hell or high water, we aren’t going to let this thing stop us just quite yet..

‘Homeless’ Oddball products..

We already have a few ‘odd ball’ items here and there that did not fit into any existing category in our store. After all, our specialty is and will always be sharpened, battle ready swords.

But we also happen to offer, for example, the Saber Shogun Light Sword or items like this months ‘blade of the month’ the Boar Killing Spear by Forge Direct Chinese.. Neither of which are clearly swords.

And then we have a range of ‘short swords’ that come very close to blurring the lines between a sword and a knife. Take for example the extremely popular Ryujin Tak-Wak or the Wing Chun Butterfly Sword and you can see that it would not be so strange that, when presented with multiple opportunities to expand similar offerings at the same time, we might well go for it..

Now we already have a few Tanto knives here and there. From the cheapest $29 Ryujin Tanto to the occasional Japanese antique from Blades of Japan.

But as many of you may well already know, my friend Sam Sung (pictured left with yours truly) from Ryujin Swords is not just a word maker, but specializes in tactical and folding knifes with some truly stunning lines under the brand names S-TEC, Proleria and DEFCON.

So you could say the expansion idea was sparked when I saw his latest knife from DEFCON for 2020 aptly named ‘the Katana’ – because for me, it was love at first sight..

The blade is a 64 layer Damascus pattern made from 10Cr15CoMov steel and everything about it, from the Tanto tip to the itomaki style
6AL4V Titanium handle, was truly a fitting tribute to the Japanese Katana that bears its namesake.

Quite classy at $165 (but marked down to $115) – I also just HAD to offer this cool looking Kozuka style ball bearing action folder at the cheap end of the knife spectrum, just $25 from one of their other brands, S-TEC.

The move to add these two knives and expand a new official KNIFE SECTION to the store, listing all the existing Tanto and Daggers, was made all the easier by the announcement by one of our major sword suppliers, CAS Iberia, of a closeout liquidation sale from Russian Premium Knife makers Kizylar Supreme.

Click the link or the image to see what is on offer in this final closeout sale. But the expansion doesn’t just begin and end with knives, daggers and tanto (though these sections will be expanding their offerings in the coming days and weeks ahead)..

When we do something at SBG, we don’t do it by halves..

Until around 2 years ago (from memory here, so could be longer) we made the decision to stop carrying any and all unsharpened swords and training gear. But we had to re-evaluate everything when our friends at Darksword Armory went and outdid themselves by adding a range of high quality, fully functional wooden shields to their store.. Something I have personally wanted to be able to offer to the community for years now, but was never able to find anything decently made that didn’t cost a fortune.

Here is what they look like – basically 16 layer laminated wood with handle, strap and a satin print design on the front for $350. Check them out by clicking the image below:

Of course, the problem here is a lot like when you change the curtains in your home. Suddenly, the sofa doesn’t match anymore, so you change the sofa. Then the coffee table, and before you know it – you have a ton of new stuff..

Well, that is what happened when we added the shields – and so we decided to offer what we consider to be the best blunt trainers currently on the market by Kingston Arms – from 9260 single handed European swords to replicas of authentic training Longswords known as Federschwert (pictured below)..

But like changing the sofa, the coffee table was the re-addition of two synthetic training swords by Rawlings/the Red Dragon Armory… You know the ones.. (after all, we already had a Polypropelene Bokken)

And since we were going down THAT road, I spotted a few more items from the Catalogs by Sam Sung and found a few real little gems for super safe and super FUN sword fighting for the more casual enthusiast in yet another line he offers called ‘Sparkfoam’..

I mean, for $50, how can you go wrong with THIS? Lol..

A set of two latex, flexible fiberglass ‘boffers’ with a Deadpool style back mounting and plastic saya? And their medieval swords aren’t bad too – I mean how much fun would it be to go full power sparring with one of these bad boys?

There can be only one..

More to come..

Right now we are really only just scratching the surface of what we can bring to the table for sword related products like these. As always, we won’t be adding every single thing that we CAN – only products that we stand behind and believe are worth the purchase price..

In truth, we will be rejecting far more items than we will add. But there are some additional tactical knives out there, more very cool and affordable fun boffers by Sparkfoam, and more categories we can add for all manner of historical weaponry – as noted, we already have some spears (Japanese and Chinese) – so why not some axes, halberds, flails – you get the picture..

It’s not a race and we aren’t in a rush. Our goal is simply to be able to offer everything a sword enthusiast could ever want – and introduce new products that they otherwise may never have even seen or heard about (for example, that stunning folded steel ‘Katana’ knife by DEFCON..

LINKS TO NEW SECTIONS

Hope you find something new and exciting! It really is not so much a revolutionary change, just finding better ‘homes’ for existing odd ball items that did not fit any existing category, and expanding the categories with the kind of stuff WE would be happy to buy ourselves. Nothing more, and nothing less.

STOP THE PRESS – Last Minute Additions by A.P.O.C…

As a final piece of serendipity, just as we were about to make this announcement, the acclaimed A.P.O.C. series of blades just got a whole lot bigger.. And they added, yup – you guessed it, some tactical Knives to their line up – so if we had not taken steps to make a place for knives, we may have had to anyway..!

Here is the first two knives – both available for just $74.99 at the store.

Then there is another blade that blurs the line between shortsword and knife – a tactical version of twin Wing Chun Butterfly Swords (yes, they are sold as a set).

And who knows exactly how to classify this monstrosity..

Even the humble Kukri blurs the line between knife and sword..

But one that clearly is 100% all sword is one of my favorites, a tactical version of a Yataghan!

How awesome is all that! And especially as nothing here is over $129 – talk about stopping the press!

Oh yeah, and before we go..

Wait, there is more!

At the same time as all of this, we are also having a major scratch and dent sale on, including some premium blades with cosmetic flaws marked down with thousands of dollars of savings on offer..

Since scratch and dent items go so fast, there isn’t much point listing each one – just check out the entire lot here:

2020 Scratch & Dent Sale

So there you have it – the reason why we have not posted for several weeks. It sure has been a lot of a hard work, but so much fun to be able to offer all these amazing new items to you all. Hope you find something new and something of interest!

  • Paul

P.S. A QUICK NOTE ON COVID-19 AND SHIPPING

While some major sword stores have actually closed down due to the virus – our suppliers, warehouses and the various couriers and the postal services we use are still running (though are, as you may have noticed, delivery services are rather busy of late). As such, the first major impact of the virus is that shipping may take up to twice as long as usual.

The second concern is of course, being exposed to the virus when receiving your delivery. It’s Avoid direct contact with drivers (i.e. practice ‘social distancing’) and to be 100% safe, handle incoming shipments with gloves and let cardboard parcels sit for 24 hours before opening if you want to be super cautious. See the article by Fastcompany.com How to Safely Receive Packages and Deliveries During the Coronavirus for best handling practices, just to be on the safe side..

Forge Direct: Blade of the Month

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In close association with the Master Smiths we work with, we have decided to trial a special ‘Blade of the Month’ deal on a selected piece from the Forge Direct line up. If sales go well, it will be an ongoing sale – if they do not meet the necessary sales target to be viable – then it will be a one off event.

Either way, the blade in question is not likely to be marked down like this for quite some time – so when you see a particular design you like come on special – grab it with both hands.

So without any further ado, here is the first Blade of the Month for March 2020 – the stunning Dragon Boar Killing Spear – now marked down by 25% until the end of March:

Limited Specials, Closeouts, New Products AND a general sword industry update!

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There is no doubt that the Coronavirus is having an extremely negative impact on the Sword industry. Most of the forges in China remain shut – with the primary sword making city of Longquan in lockdown – delaying production further after an already long break for Chinese New Year – and it is reflected in stock shortages and delays storewide – for example, we are completely out of stock of the Ryujin Custom Katana with bo-hi as well as many key components such as tsuka, saya and other bits and pieces.

But, as is often the case when things go bad, some extraordinary deals tend to pop up as we go into ‘survival mode’ – and this time around, there are plenty of awesome deals to choose from for lovers of Japanese styled swords..

First off, as the stock levels dwindle, our friends at Ryujin offer two limited edition offerings.

The first is the Ryujin T10 Tsuzume Kamakiri Mother of Pearl Special

This one has all the bells and whistles, with a beautiful black iron, gold gilded tsuba depicting the circle of life as the Sparrow (Tsuzume) hunts a praying mantis as it in turn hunts a grasshopper and a highly detailed mother of pearl inlaid saya that is valued at $100 just by itself but the complete package can be yours for just $284.99..

And then there is the simpler Ryujin Shirohikata Katana

With a solid bodied T10 tool steel blade, Hikata (hawk) themed gold inlaid tsuba and white glossy saya for $214.99 – this in itself is a good deal. But both swords come with a DELUXE leather bound sword case that we sell by itself in our store here for $74.99 – YOURS FREE with EITHER of these amazing deals..

Closeouts and Liquidations

It’s always a bittersweet moment when a product is sold off at a special price for final liquidation..

One I always liked in both concept and form was the Survival Kukri, but sadly the blade market was not sure what to make of it – sword lovers thought of it as a knife and knife lovers saw it as a sword, but for those few like myself whom it calls to – this is it’s final siren call at just $137.50..

In the short term, its a great deal for the lucky few – but in the long term, always sad to see one less quality blade on the market. But in this case, Paul Chen’s Hanwei Forge are shedding not just one product but an entire product line..

In this case all THREE Katana from the ‘Musashi’ performance series, including the razor sharp XL light and XL Katana and the T10 tool steel ELITE – now each one discontinued and being liquidated at BELOW WHOLESALE pricing

First in the series, the Musashi XL Light – a narrow entry razor sharp blade, this version with a bo-hi for extra speed..

Next up, it’s close cousin the Musashi XL – which is basically the same design and blade profile, but with a solid bodied blade for a little more cutting power and overall blade strength.

And then finally, the Musashi ELITE – this time a T10 tool steel blade with a more traditional geometry, but a slightly wider entry angle for easier cuts on traditional targets..

Click the images for the full product description and to understand the subtle differences between each type in the Musashi Performance series – this is a FINAL LIQUIDATION sale, so once each one is gone they are gone forever – and at just $475 each (usually closer to $700 – with a MSRP closer to $1000) they are not likely to be around for much longer..

News and Industry Updates – Prices are on the rise, so grab every bargain you can..

It is very much looking like the sword industry is facing a tough year ahead..

As you probably know, maybe something like 80% of all modern production swords are made in China – and a combination of pressure from the ongoing trade war and prices largely unchanged for over a decade has seen yet another key sword maker raise their prices hot on the heels of Hanwei, this time Cheness Cutlery..

In a statement on their website they noted on Valentines Day, Feb 14th:

Due to the current trade war between the US and China, we have been imposed a drastic increase in import duty from just over 2% to well over 17%. Coupling the new duty rate with rising production and shipping costs over the last few years, we can no longer keep our pricing the same. We often took pride in keeping our pricing the same as when we first opened over a decade and a half ago, but we can no longer maintain the current pricing. Price increase is to take effect on 2/14/2020. Thank you for your understanding.

CHENESS CUTLERY – NEWS

Being their exclusive distributor, SBG has also been forced to raise our prices to the same level while also working with even narrower wholesale margins, and now with two major players forced to give way to higher prices or go out of business, the writing is on the wall and it is only a question of time before prices start going up on swords EVERYWHERE..

Add to this supply chain issues from an extended Chinese New Year due to the Coronavirus and many sellers are also running out of stock – suggesting that next time they bring in a shipment prices will almost CERTAINLY be higher yet again..

Bargain hunters be on notice – while none of this is good news for a tiny industry that has been struggling for quite some time now – manufacturers will continue to try to generate sales by liquidating off selected product lines like you see with the Hanwei Musashi series above. So when you see opportunities like these, do not miss out. NOW is most definitely the time to grab as many bargains as you can..

A NOTE ON PROJECT X AND FORGE DIRECT

Due to the aforementioned Corona virus – production of swords in Longquan is still at a standstill after an already extended period of closure due to the Lunar New year celebrations.

With the city of Longquan itself still in lockdown in an attempt to prevent a local outbreak of the Coronavirus, we are all waiting for the all clear from the Chinese government before the smiths can start to filter back and commence work again – and as such, ongoing delays with Forge Direct orders of several weeks is to be expected.

Likewise, we have also postponed our scheduled re-release of Project X Japanese until the situation becomes clearer and have sent out email updates to all effected customers to let them know we haven’t forgotten about them and are doing our best to work through what is a very difficult situation.

We will continue to update you here as more information becomes available – our sincere apologies for this totally unexpected situation.

Chinese New Year Sale has ended but..

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It went out with more of a whimper than a bang – rather fitting for the ‘year of the rat’..

Complicated by the spread of the Coronavirus, despite the heaviest discounts EVER seen on Forge Direct Chinese, the sale was a bit of a flop.

As such, we will confer with the smiths, our partners and our associates in this project and see about re-releasing some of these specials later in the year when all the Coronavirus panic has subsided.

But in the meantime we have one final special offer – an EXTENSION of the sale on the two most iconic, and most affordable, entry level Master Smith swords – the Classic Peony Jian and the Cloud Dragon Dao respectively.

Classic Peony Jian
Cloud Dragon Dao

While both of these are made by different forges (the Classic Peony is made by Master Michael Ye, while the Cloud Dragon is made by the Baojian Forge) each is an excellent example of the two main types of historical Chinese Swords and represent the pinnacle of each design accordingly,

Price for these is usually a very reasonable $599.99 – but with the 25% off sale extended until the end of February on these two, they are available for a crazy low price of just $449.99 SHIPPED

Don’t miss out, click on the images above for the full product description and to get yours before the special discounted rate disappears for good.

New to SBG – Blades of Japan: Anique Japanese Nihonto!

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I posted the first ‘teaser’ about this upcoming Project in the December issue of the Sword Buyers Digest – followed shortly by another mysterious post called ‘Store Officially Opened’ made on the 14th of January – but the time has come to lift the lid and show what a goodly portion of the trip to Japan that I document in this months edition of the Sword Buyers Digest (click here to read it online) was all about..

INTRODUCING: Blades of Japan at SBG

The full backstory of how this project came about is explained in detail in our new article on the main site “Antique Samurai Swords: a personal journey” – but the long and short of it is that the Japanese economy, which has been on a steady downwards incline since the late 1980s – has reached a point where the market for Antique Nihonto has pretty much dried up..

This has led to a series of price drops and devaluations, but despite lower pricing, the swords are STILL not selling in Japan like they used to. So, with dramatically discounted Nihonto under their belt, SBG was contacted by Chris Loeber and the Japanese Blacksmith Shinsuke-san, to help try and move some of these amazing historical blades and offer them to the SBG Sword Buying community.

So what do we have to offer in round one?

  • 5 Antique Edo Period Katana
  • 2 recently made Gendaito
  • 1 Amazing fully furnished Daisho Set
  • 1 Shin-Gunto with antique Edo period blade
  • 1 Wakizashi
  • 1 700 year old Tanto
  • 1 Full set of demon themed Koshirae
  • A set of antique menuki in an antique lacquer-wear box
  • A large selection of hand made tsuba

Some of these swords have quite an interesting backstory to them. For example, the Gunto was an older blade mounted in military fittings for the war and both the soldier and the blade returned to Japan safely, only to be found decades later when the old soldier passed away and it was found hidden away in a barn.

And then there is a restored Echizen Kanetane (the name of the Sword Smith) blade that has already received a free upgraded machine polish (valued at $750) and has a couple of unique ‘dings’ in the saya that suggest a very curious encounter at some point in the sword long history..

Or for anyone with a quality bare blade or an iaidoka looking to have the best looking ‘dripping with history’ iaito in the dojo – a full set of extremely cool looking Edo period fittings for a Sword that belonged to a Samurai who most definitely was not the shy and retiring type..

Plus, for those who cannot necessarily afford a complete new antique, why not upgrade the best Katana in your collection with some antique tsuba – from simple and affordable iron tsuba to hand made (not cast) brass tsuba that would have taken weeks to make, such is the level of detail..

More swords and components will be added over the following weeks and months, but for the time being, check out the heavily discounted Nihonto sales we currently have available while they are still up for grabs (naturally as there is only one of each sword or component available, they are sold on a first come, first served basis).

Blades of Japan