This is embarrassing to admit, but I totally screwed up a listing for one of our current hottest selling products – the Ryujin Limited Edition KuroKensai..
Indeed, looking at it – it’s actually pretty obvious.
The sword has a bo-hi – it’s there as clear as day, so how it ended up being listed as a solid bodied blade mystifies me..
Of course, at $174.99 when it normally would cost $229.99 to build I hope that everyone who received one either saw it in the pics, or is happy with it anyway – but as I had to change and update the listing, it’s only right that I at least let everyone know about the silly error..
They had been discontinued without good reason for years – but finally they are back, the Tactical Swords that started it all – the ORIGINAL Tactical Katana and the Tactical Wakizashi by United Cutleries fully functional sword line – Honshu Swords.
The ORIGINAL Tactical Katana
The ORIGINAL Tactical Wakizashi
(Technically the Tactical Wakizashi should really be classified as an ‘O-Wakizashi’, or what is commonly called a ‘Ko Katana’ in the West, in that the sword has a long enough grip to accommodate two hands).
And then we have the newest of the NEW swords in the Honshu Boshin series. And man, are these things mean looking..
First of three we have added to the new line up is my personal favorite – the D2 tool steel ‘Spartan’ Sword..
Tactical Spartan Sword
You can clearly recognize the blade is inspired by the sword from the movie 300 rather than historical Spartan sword, but just one look at this sword lets you know it means business.
And closely related in size, but with a blade kind of facing the opposite way, is the War Sword, which was clearly inspired by historical Chinese Dadao.
Both are mean looking, no-nonsense designs, though of the two I prefer the Spartan due to the use of D2 tool steel, which is rarely seen on knives but generally reserved for mid-range knives. Yet here, you get sword size blades at knife prices..!
The Tactical War Sword
And last but not least, in general shape and style it actually does resemble many a historical Grosse Messer (German for ‘BIG Knife’) and they don’t get much more Grosse than the Tactical Grosse Messer by Honshu.
Tactical Grosse Messer
This thing is an absolute BEAST – finesse is not even in it’s dictionary, all this monster knows is destruction and is capable of generating tremendous force with its very forward weighted, highly aggressive blade.
Check all of these and more out in the Honshu Swords section of the store, the prices will truly surprise you..
If you love your swords BIG – the sub $300 Ryujin Custom O-Katana is a must have for collectors on a budget..
With a 33″ long blade and 14″ long handles and all up counting the space between munemachi and tsuba, you get around 4′ of sword – for just $259.99 – only $30 more than the standard line!
Each component is specifically designed FOR the O-Katana, but in almost every case it is possible to make a COMPLETE MATCHING SET of swords, with an O-Katana, standard Katana and Wakizashi all sharing the same style of fittings across the board.
At the start of this month we were saddened to hear that our good friends at Ryujin Swords had several workers and bosses test positive for Covid-19 and while their symptoms were minimal (most were only sick for 3-4 days with a fever and some coughing) the warehouse was reduced to a skeleton crew and we had to temporarily suspend the Ryujin line of Custom swords as the key workers were simply not around..
Well, as the title says – the tests are coming back negative, and as the tests come back, so do the workers – and we are delighted to say that Ryujin is back to business as usual!
When you consider the blades are made from well tempered 65mn Spring Steel, have iron fittings, genuine leather handle – and comes with a scabbard, belt and suspension for under $300, it’s pretty rare.
Here’s the review a customer left for it from the first time we offered it, giving it a 4 star rating:
Ok, so this is my first purchase from SBG. Ive been wanting a similar type sword for some time and saw the special and took the chance buying one.
The sword arrived very quickly and was well packaged preventing any damage.
It is a very good looking item, with a mirror finish blade and plain hand guard, grip and pommel. The scabbard is good and would make an excellent part of a display or costume, the attaching belt, not so much.
The blade came razor sharp and was immediately bigger than I had anticipated. My example is 34 1/2 inches long in total with a 2 inches at the base making it quite wide and was almost exactly 3 lbs.
Seems like it would be a massively good cutting weapon, especially to unarmored flesh. I tried some practice cuts on my backyard pell but immediately stopped as I felt it was abusing the blade. However, I feel like it could cut pork chops, water bottles and melons all day and still have a good edge. I found my example to be dangerously sharp.
The pommel is peened and grip/ guard very solid.
The handle is not very comfortable and is a downside. It fits one hand well and is almost long enough to be used two handed for average size hands.
The pommel is plain and is unfinished making room for it to be personalized.
I feel like if I had handled this in a shop I would have put it back instead of buying as it is larger and heavier than what I would have chosen.
For example the Windlass Agincourt sword is slightly longer has a full two handed hilt and is still half a pound lighter.
All in all an awesome sword, and I suspect a formidable cutter. Thanks SBG for a good first experience.
No problems! And if you want to take it a step fancier, we also have a Damascus folded version for just $229.99..
Basically the exact same sword, just with a more attractive blade and better suited to display, while the cheaper version is better for practical cutting.
Take your pick, but don’t miss out – stocks are limited and the last restock was over a year ago from memory.
