SBG Custom Katana Update

We just closed off on Batch 45 of the Custom Katana a couple of days ago – not sure if was bad timing or what – but we barely got enough orders to be able to justify sending them through to the forge..

It’s no huge surprise, in recent years despite holding the price to the point where we are losing money – the number of orders has been steadily decreasing.. And this time around, so low that the project that we have been running for the last 10 years was nearly cancelled..

While some of it may be due to bad timing, the main reason orders have been disappearing is because the eBay and AliBaba sellers in China have become more and more aggressive – and more and more dishonest – promising things that they cannot do or lying about the steels and processes used. And so honest sellers can’t compete when sellers take local pig iron and claim it is Tamahagane on a $300 sword.. (please, please – NEVER attempt to cut with one of these monstrosities..)

The truth of these sellers is discussed here – not all are bad, and it is possible to get a good sword, but it is a total crapshoot – with more crap than shoot..

We would not mind losing orders if someone actually stepped up to the plate and did what we are doing, but better.. But losing them to dishonest business practices is bad for everyone..

Anyway, apologies for the mini-rant – we will do our best to try and keep the project going and get the word out to people to be extra careful when doing business with these companies whose offers are too good to be true.. (its really frustrating when we know they are using cheap 1045 carbon steel but claiming it is L6 or 9260 or – whatever will get them the sale!).

In the meantime, as Chinese New Year comes to and end, Batch 44 should ship out and Batch 45, which is being finalized with the customers in case of any last minute changes, will begin. We hope it is not the last one – just the QC we offer makes these swords worth the price point..

Case in point (and a great opportunity for one lucky, fast person) below is a Custom Katana from Batch 43 that failed QC at our end and was not sent to the customer (we made them a new one from scratch)

What is wrong with it? This.

I don’t know of any eBay seller who would catch a tiny chip like that, tell the customer and remake the sword for them.. Indeed, THESE are the kind of blades they WANT as they can get them cheap (eBay sellers are always asking the big forges for their scraps, rejects and QC fails)..

Instead, we sell it at a huge loss rather than throw it away or try and trick someone into buying it as a new sword – and like I mentioned – someone who is quick enough can get this rejected sword (which has a folded blade with Kobuse Lamination and Leather ito with hishigami) for less than half its value ($299 with free shipping) – click here if you are interested, there is only one available of course..

Anyway, /rant. I will update you all again in due course.. In the meantime, please do all you can to get the word out about these dishonest sellers and don’t fall for their false promises. Every now and again it IS possible to get a good deal with them, but more often than not, you don’t get what you ordered..

Megasale Ending in 48 hours

Right now the SBG Sword Store is having a bit of a ‘mega-sale’.

If you read the most recent blog posts, you will see a ton of new products and special offers all happening at the same time, from the special price extension on the Seraph Aegis, to the 25% discount on all Forge Direct Chinese Swords, to batch 45 of the SBG Custom Katana – and much, much more (for example, the DSA Fantasy Sword closeout, Ryujin Daisho Special, New RK Euros, Custom Saya by Guy Gilchrist, Full medieval sword restock at Hanwei, etc)..

Thus, with so many great offers available all at once, we have called it a mega-sale, but the special limited time offers all end midnight EST the 12th of February – around 48 hours from now..

Check out what is on offer at the front page of the SBG Sword Store – the clock is ticking..

Seraph Aegis – Special Pricing Extended to the 12th of February

The Limited Edition Seraph Aegis – custom made brass fittings, master smith feathersteel blade and custom scabbard. Premium quality at the lowest possible pricing..,

I really did not want to raise the price on this sword – at $2999.99 we break even and make a small profit that isn’t really enough to justify the amount of time and effort involved in the project – and not enough to help fund the Legendary Swords Project (which is proving to be a real money pit and has no outside funding, crowd sourcing or other ‘eBegging’).

But with only 5 made and 1 sold at the time the special offer ends, and a rather large amount of money tied up in its production, I have decided to extend the special offer until the 12th of February (when all the other mega-sales end).

If there are still swords available after the new extension period we will have no choice but to raise the price to cover the costs of funding the production for longer than anticipated – perhaps not up to $3800 but despite it being our most expensive sword to date, $3K really is too cheap for this sword package.. (the new price, which will also carry across to additional runs, will likely be priced at $3,300).

Either way, time is running out on this deal – do some research online and you’ll see that despite the high price, you get your money’s worth and then some.

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE DETAILS


New Collaboration – Custom Saya by Guy Gilchrist

The end of the month continues with new deals and special offers – this time with a very unique and exclusive collaboration between Ronin Katana, SBG and a living Legend – cartoonist Guy Gilchrist.

You might not know the name off hand – but Guy has an extensive portfolio including Xmen, the Muppets (he is often referred to as ‘Jim Hensons Cartoonist’ and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – and with this special offer he will paint either a Dojo Pro Katana (selected from the classic models 1-3) or a Tanto (models 1-2) with a TMNT theme of your choosing (you can ask him to paint specific characters, a message, yuor name – you can have it customized how you want).

And the end result is a collectible and truly unique package unlike anything else out there.

Check them out here

Back by Popular Demand – the Ryujin Daisho Set!

Things have been a bit quiet for Ryujin this month – and with many people asking when it will come back and lots of unsold components still available from last months sale, we are delighted to be able to offer this amazing deal a second time around..

The $274.99 Ryujin Daisho Set – a matching set of Katana and Wakizashi with differentially hardened T10 Tool Steel blades.

The Ryujin Daisho Set

Available only until February the 12th and while stocks last – it may well be 12 months or more before we can offer this deal again. So if you are a bargain hunter, you can’t afford to let this deal pass you by a second time..

CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS