SBG Sword Store Blog

We used to sell these years ago – but back in those days they had a strictly regulated minimum advertising price, so while excellent, crazy sharp swords they were – they were a tad overpriced.

But not anymore..

But price aside, the sword itself – how does it stack up? Lets take a look at it from a Pros and Cons Point of View.

PRO: The steep, wide blade angle cuts a lot like the Cheness SGC – but with a much lighter, faster (and extremely well balanced) cut (and, price again, at $40 or so less).

CON: Unlike the SGC, the blade is differentially hardened – so it is not a sword to “abuse” but rather a precision tool. And thus, not for everybody as it is considerably more breakable.

PRO: It IS DIFFERENTIALLY HARDENED and around $200! Woo-hoo!

CON: The hamon is covered over by an acid etch. I.e. it is not a natural hamon, but there is a hamon UNDER there. Crap.

PRO: Solid Iron fittings at this price point is a real plus, creating a very strong and reliable handle. Nice.

CON: The rayskin is synthetic and it is wrapped in a faux suede that cannot get quite as tight as cotton, leather, silk, etc (shifts slightly, but unlikely to come off. An annoyance, not a disaster).

PRO: On the bright side, no animals were harmed in the construction of this sword (but an ostrich got nervous).

SUMMARY:

The overall effect is that while it has an untraditional geometry, the overall effect is surprisingly close to how a real Japanese Nihonto feels in the hand and performs..

I don’t know if it was intentional or they just got lucky (probably, like how swords developed historically, it was a process of trial and error) – but at the end of the day, for the price, this is a hugely enjoyable sword and a fantastic base for customization.

Now where have I heard that before.. Looks like I messed up linking to SBG Sword Forums Global Moderator Marc Ridgeways original review (that to do list of mine just keeps on getting longer by the second! Lol)..

Better fix that up – in the meantime, to get the full scoop on this sword, check out Marc’s review here – it is actually super helpful as it is also a bit like a guide to Japanese terminology at the same time (actually, tell the truth, I added this later with Marcs blessing he freely used some advanced terminology without referencing it – and I decided it would be a good chance to introduce beginners to the meaning at the same time)..

In the meantime, here it is in all it’s glory.

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It is generic, it is cheap.

It is solidly constructed – it looks cool..

But the price tag makes it even cooler..

At $149.99 with FREE SHIPPING it is one of the cheapest non Japanese battle ready swords on the market – especially when you consider just the amount of steel you get for your buck.. (31″ blade and weighing in at a manageable but authoritize 3lbs 2oz) and apparently, pretty suitable for belly dancing according to this belly dance review and video.

Thankfully for all of us, it is not one of MY Videos. 😉

Seems that it is both belly or battle ready, not something you can say about too many swords now is it.. (Not dropping the sharp tip on your foot however, is pretty universal advice for sword collectors!).

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Zombies beware – Japanese blades are sceaming into the 21st century with the Plasma coated 5166 Spring Steel blades of Hanwei’s Tactical series.

It is basically a RAPTOR series blade mounted in an ultra modern, military fashion – and this line has proved to be a popular one.

Until recently, Hanwei kind of hogged this line to themselves, and the price was a non negotiable $175 – which isn’t an unrealistic price, but I think you will agree, OUR price is a lot more attractive…

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I had long resisted making a cleaning kit available at the SBG Sword Store, mostly because I had had so many bad experiences with just how USELESS the vast majority you get free with a sword (its NOT FREE, as an experienced sword seller – and buyer – I know whatever free items that have been have been factored into the final price and I am definitely paying for) or pick up on ebay for $20, really are.

I mean, none of the materials are authentic, 90% of the time the oil is dried out, the box broken, the thread on the mekugi-nuki hammer gone so it spins everytime you try to use it..

99% OF JAPANESE SWORD CLEANING KITS OUT THERE ARE A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!

The ONLY exception I would recommend to people who could not be bothered making their own sword cleaning kit for FREE (or almost free, just depends on what you have laying around in the garage already) was this Hanwei Sword cleaning Kit – simply because, it was decent quality and the components – actually useable! (shock horror – think of the difference between a stainless steel wallhanger and a fully functional sword and you get the idea of the quality variation).

So when listing some new swords the question came up – why not make it available? After all, a lot of people like the convenience of a decent ready made kit, there really was no reason not to make them available…

So here they are!

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