Following the release of the Wolf themed ‘Grey Wolf’ Katana featuring a classic Ryujin T10 tool steel blade at the bargain introductory price of $249.99 – the tsuba from this themed fitting set has just been made available across the board on all of the Ryujin Custom Katana (and Wakizashi and O-Katana) lines (personally, I think it would look awesome on an O-Katana!).
Made from iron/low carbon steel it features two wolves howling at a (genuine) silver moon and on the side facing the sword when held, a yellow (gold plated) eyes snarling wolf – and as noted is now available on every sword that has a tsuba option (though only the grey wolf model features the themed wolf head kashira).
Definitely one of the most awesome looking tsuba to date – check out all the Ryujin custom sword lines that it features in below:
First applied to swords in the 1990s by the famous US swordmaker Howard Clark, L6 steel soon garnered a reputation as a kind of modern ‘super steel’ famous for its strength and durability. While many smiths attempted to follow, few were able to duplicate Howard’s success as the steel is notoriously hard to work with. However after many years of trial and error Ron Chen, son of Paul Chen, the founder of Hanwei, finally cracked the code and developed several models of high end production Katana using this highly sought after steel..
But in 2022 – the year when almost nothing new or revolutionary has happened – they release a surprise. A sub $1000 Chinese Long Saber, the Hanwei L6 Miao Dao.
Essentially a ‘Chinese Katana’ this simple yet sweeping and powerful design was a fantastic candidate for another L6 blade to their line up, but with simpler fittings and the emphasis on pure functionality, it was possible to house this blade and offer it for the lowest price any genuine L6 sword has ever been listed for before.
Stock is limited, and the restock is likely a very long time away, so if you can see what a great and rare opportunity this is, grab it at our heavily discounted price of (wait for it) not $899.99 but just $679.99!
While restocks and new products are few and far between in 2022, we don’t always make a big song and dance about every single new item that comes in. But here are a handful of interesting new additions to consider, starting with an expansion to the 1095 DH Katana series by Ryujin with the ‘Kame’ Katana.
RYUJIN 1095 DIFFERENTIALLY HARDENED ‘KAME’ KATANA
These are entry level swords that tick all the boxes:
Decent heft and balance with real hamon temper line
Nice firmly wrapped cotton ito over real rayskin
Solid brass fittings with copper accents
Great cutting action – perfect for the dojo or at home
And the best part, the special introductory price of just $199.99!
The next items are ‘accessories’ and the first one is an item that you could use to channel your inner Deadpool or ninja with a Universal Backmounted Sword System.
Made from nylon with an adjustable strap, almost any sword can be carried on the back (though drawing and resheathing can be a different matter depending on blade length) and works with almost any sword type.
Our friends at CAS Iberia, master distributors for such well known and respected brands such as Paul Chen’s Hanwei Forge, Dragon King, A.P.O.C., Kingston Arms and more – has once again defied the supply chain odds and restocked with many of their most popular items.
So lets do some impromptu ‘unboxing’ to see some of the treasures that have just come back online again, starting with..
Tinker Pearce Longsword
It’s nearly impossible to hold the sub $250 price on this sword, and they are rarely in stock for longer than a week or two after they land, so if you have always missed out on this sword – for a limited time you have a chance to secure one before they sell out again (if you like Longswords, this is one of the very best at a crazy low price).
Another hit sword designed by Tinker, and another sword rarely in stock for very long, grab this hand and a half sword with BOTH hands before its sold out again..
A Hanwei classic and forceful cutter if ever there was one – the iconic Great Wave Katana is one of the best T10 tool steel blades on the market and is an absolute joy to cut with.
Tough as nails, the 9260 Spring Steel blade of this evolved version of an Ottoman empire Yataghan sword is finally back in stock after a long hiatus. A total bargain at just $139.95.
In addition to the regular and expected restocks, Hanwei also restocked a couple classic and rare items from the series that started the whole ‘Tactical Katana’ craze – the original and the best monotempered Raptor Series blades mounted in high grip, slip-proof Kraton handles in both Katana and Tanto formats!
The first House of Atreides Sword by Missouri based artisan and sword maker, Chris Palmer from Scorpion Swords, proved to be quite a hit. But a lot of customers were also asking for another design based on the ‘training swords’ seen in the 2021 movie, and so Chris got to work recreating it..
As with all his swords, he starts with a precisely cut sword blank made from 1095 carbon steel, into which he drills 6 holes for the handle mounting in preparation.
The basic blank is then shaped and given a rough edge before heat treatment.
The heat treatment itself consists of first hardening the blade by heating the steel to 1500 degrees until it becomes non magnetic and it is then quenched in brine (salt water). It is then tempered by heating the blade for 2 hours and then letting it air cool.
The blade is then sharpened and melded with a black linen mircarta handle, pinned and epoxied in place.
The end result of this technique essentially fuses the handle to the blade, with no looseness and no moving parts, making it as strong as humanly possible and essentially makes it a one piece construction.
All in all, it is an extremely tough, extremely durable blade – hand made in the USA and a total bargain at just $249.99.
