Thanks all!

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Hi All,

Thanks to everyone who participated and snapped up a bargain for themselves over this weekend – it was a lot of fun. 🙂

We don’t have sales very often – indeed, we simply can’t! To be able to run sales like this more often – we would have to be cheeky like some other sellers and RAISE our prices to DISCOUNT them, which does’nt make as much sense to me as having everyday low prices, right!?

But yes every now and again we need to move some extra stock – and the best ways to find out what, why and for how much? THIS blog or this store newsletter!

Hope you had a great weekend and talk again soon!

– Paul

New Products, New Pics and SBG Sword Store Coupons To Celebrate This Weekend!

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Phew, that sure is a lot of posts for one day..! Serves me right for adding so many products at once, but as some of these are truly limited in stock, I had to make sure that everyone who could benefit from these deals has a chance to see them, get the low down, and decide if they want it or if it is a pass.

In the last day or two, we have also gone over and revised most of the pics of the products we offer at the store, so now if you click on the image you get a giant, high res 1000 x 1000 pixel size image so you can really get a good look at what you might be buying.

Still some sorting, tidying up, and the like to create an even more consistent, clean and modern format – but we have come a long way, and while we price everything so it is permanently discounted about as low as we can go, with these swords we have not left enough room to be able to do this again without taking a massive hit..

Sooo..

THIS WEEKEND ONLY – from now until midnight Sunday the 13th of July, if you enter the coupon code (or click the link once you have finished adding everything to the cart):

SBG SWORD STORE COUPON CODE I (10% off):

WEEKEND

(All capitals, just how you see it above – or click to activate in the checkout)

It will automatically deduct a whopping 10% from every product in the store – the only exceptions, the new products listed today and the last call on pre-orders for the Project X Dragon Dao and Jian of Marquis Yi..

PROJECT X PRE-ORDER DISCOUNT

For those two – and this is the LAST CALL on pre-orders before we lock them away and Master Xiaolong works his magic – you can instead use the coupon code or click below:

COUPON CODE II ($100 off a Project X Pre-Order):

100off

To deduct $100 off your already massively discounted pre-order price of either sword.

OR, if you can swing it (and to help you swing it) order both pre-orders at the same time and use the code:

COUPON CODE III ($300 off BOTH Project X Pre-orders):

300off

And you can take three hundred dollars of the total price – a huge saving (on a huge saving!).

Click here for more information

Click here for more information

CONDITIONS: Naturally, with a totally mad sale like this one there are no rainchecks and sorry – but these discounts cannot be applied to any orders before this blog post, nor can we send part refunds if you didn’t see the blog before you ordered something as it costs money for the team to process it (at several points, including later when we do the books) and when we discount on our already low prices, it isn’t me who is winning from it – it is you guys!

So have fun with the sale, enjoy the posts and talk to some of you very, very soon..

– Paul

P.S. to ake sense of that last enigmatic sentence, and to actually BE one of those people I will have some special follow up news for – you will need to be signed up to the store newsletter. The blog will have some specials and deals from time to time, but the only way to know – and get access to EVERYTHING is to get that email in your inbox, so if you haven’t already, sign up to the Store Newsletter NOW!!! (Don’t worry, I hate spam too, so I promise you will ONLY get the store newsletter – and it only goes out around once a month and, I think you will find, is an easy, breezy read full of stuff no-one else will ever know about..)

P.P.S. There are TWO MORE COUPON CODES for the weekend sale in the body of some of the new product related posts. So while the 10% discount code does not apply to these new listings or the Project X Pre-orders, these two additional coupon codes offer significant savings on already crazy low prices.. What am I thinking with this..? Man..

P.P.P.S. It is rare we dare to offer discounts on our low prices, and this 10% deal isn’t one we can run at the drop of a hat, so while I am sure I will be kicking myself for this later – here are a few products that I would personally be looking at to get the most bang for my buck..

Everyday Low Price: US$479.99 US$429.99

Minus WEEKEND 10% DISCOUNT CODE: US$386.99 with FREE SHIPPING (USA & Canada)

Combined Total Savings $93!

Everyday Low Price: US$499.99 US$329.99

Minus WEEKEND 10% DISCOUNT CODE: US$296.99 with FREE SHIPPING

Combined Total Savings $170!!

Everyday low price: US$475

Minus WEEKEND 10% DISCOUNT CODE: US$427.50 with FREE SHIPPING

Combined total savings.. Hmm.. $47 isn’t a bad deal – but you might want to wait for the STORE NEWSLETTER as I am feeling generous and might be able to come up with an even BIGGER DISCOUNT on this one..

Membership (and it’s 100% FREE of course) has it’s priveleges.. 🙂

Click Sir Clanks a Lot to find out the low down

Click Sir Clanks a Lot to find out the low down

New Product: Hanwei Shinobi Ninja-to

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If you have read our page on Ninja Swords you will know that there is a rather fierce debate about what exactly a Ninja sword actually was from a historical point of view..

You see, the classic Ninja sword that most people imagine – a straight blade with chisel like tip and square, distinctive handle – cannot be found in any museum (ok, scratch that – the Ninja Museum in Iga has a very similar sword on display – BUT it is not an original, for all intents and purposes, it might as well be the hanwei sword on display).

Here is a picture of the sword in the museum again for those of you playing at home:

Ninjamuseum

The incriminating Ninja sword in the Ninja Museum, Iga, modern day Mie prefecture, Japan.

However, it gets complicated because it IS listed as representative – and the good folk at Iga are the living descendents of the arts and have certainly researched it more than anyone in interwebz land, so who knows..

Perhaps that is the way the Ninja would have liked it.

But – all argument aside – at face value I must admit, on its own merits it is a fantastic, versatile and incredibly good FUN sword. And oh my, can that chisel tip kissaki sure can deliver one rather frightening stab..

Ah, good times.. For a trip down memory lane and a review that was as valid now as it was when it was made 6 or 7 years back…

Click here for more information

In the meantime, here are a few more pics from the Iga Museum I snapped on one of my trips there.

Ninja-concealable

Very plausible, concealed blades, chains and other things that cause people to go ouch..

Here are some concealable weapons, ranging from blades in a walking stick ala Zatoichi to flails and all manner of clever knick knacks.

Below is some chain armor:

Ninja-Armor


I don’t know if you can call this chain armor “concealable” or not – guess it depends what you are wearing on your head over it! (even today, concealing the face in public is not strange in Japan, so I guess it was possible)..

And the “Ninja’s” from the show (which is quite impressive, especially the display from the old senior guy throwing 3 heavy shuriken at once into a wooden board from about 30 feet!):

hammingitup

A piece of that tip just got me O’Dell.. Performers at the museum stage in Iga hamming it up.

If you are ever down Kansai way (West Japan – includes Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Kyoto – and excludes Tokyo – West is the best! Go Hanshin Tigers, rah, rah, rah) – sorry, I will start that again..

If you are ever down in West Japan/Kansai a visit to the museum is a must ーbut bring a friend who can speak Japanese as the show, etc is not in English.

まあーやっぱり日本だね – Well, it is Japan after all!

Luckily, they do have an English website for the curious or those who are seriously planning the trip.

Back to topic again, the Hanwei Iga Ninja-to.

Here is a link to the original review of the Hanwei Shinobi Ninja-to on SBG.

And here is the sam model sword available in our store:

Click here for more information

It really is a fun, nifty little sword – especially at this crazy price.

New Product: Hanwei Practical Elite Katana

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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.

Click here for more information

 

New Product: Battle Ready Fantasy Scimitar

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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!).

Click here for more information