Hanwei Lowlander Sword – Overstock Sale

lowlander-overstockEvery lover of medieval swords should have one of these BEASTS in their collection..

IMG_4054-1And from now until the 10th of September, it has never been more affordable.

The MASSIVE Hanwei Lowlander Sword is on overstock sale – quite simply, Hanwei have too many of them and need to free up the cash flow.

So what better way to do that than to make them available to the community for just $239.99 (normally at least $300 – but up to $440 depending where you buy).

Here are a couple of pictures of the sword with some people who have purchased one previously to give you some idea of just how BIG this sword really is..

15nojljlowlander-3Click here to read a review on the SBG Sword Forum

Click here for more information

Oops, they did it again… Raptor Katana Blowout Sale Round II!!

Raptor-sale-headingIt looks like the latest incoming batch of the Hanwei Forges’ Raptor Series Katana were on the ship before they had a chance to address the Quality control issue with the slightly short Rayskin..

This time, its EVERY model that has been effected – and this time, just like before, this unfortunate incident is your chance to save over $100 off our already heavily discounted price (from $220 to $260 off the MSRP!!).

So if you missed out last time, or even want to grab a matching Wakizashi or Tanto with the same issue with the same discount, well – now is your chance..!

I am pretty sure that this will be the LAST time they will be offered at this discount and the last time this minor defect will surface. So if you want a serious, heavy duty Japanese beater sword with a barely noticable defect – well, you know what to do..!

Here are the 6 swords in the series.

Check them all out and read more at our HOT SPECIALS page here

P.S. We also have fresh stock (literally came in 2 days ago) of the perfect Rayskin versions of the same sword. PLUS some of their most popular medieval swords from the Tinker line, the Claymore and the Rheinlander have been restocked as well – at new, even LOWER prices..!

Never been a better time to grab a bargain, that is for sure..

Hanwei Raptor Blow Out Sale!

Raptor-sale-heading

A small gap between the rayskin and the wood behind it is an extremely common cosmetic flaw for swords under the $300 price point. The main reason is, real rayskin is VERY expensive – a single skin costs around $70 and is only good for ONE full rayskin wrap or 3-4 panels (which is why you never see full wraps these days. Well, almost never. We do full wraps on Project X, but that is a different story – and a different price point!).

As such, the forges try to get the most out of every little piece of Rayskin they have – but it is not good enough for the Hanwei forges Raptor line..

So when they received a shipment with small gaps showing, they decided to offer them to SBG as factory seconds with a massive discount, and we are passing the discount directly to you!

There is NOTHING wrong with the blades or other fittings, just small gaps in the rayskin peeking out here and there. Something only visible if you look for it (after all, these models have battle wraps on the handle, so the middle section is covered anyway). But the savings are easy to see – $260 off the MSRP and $100 less than our usual already discounted price..!

So for anyone in the market for a serious Japanese style beater sword (and the Raptor series designed by James Williams are among the best of the best beaters out there) here is a rare opportunity to pick one up at a drastically reduced price point..

Two models are available, check them out below.

Click here for more info

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New Product: The Most Durable Blade We Have Ever Stocked… Hanwei L6 Bainite Katana!

I often get asked the question:

 What is the most durable Katana I can buy?

The answer is a tricky one – historically Katana never were all that durable. They could and would break during the heat of combat, leading to a sudden and unexpected death because while they were easy enough to snap (there is a scene in the movie “Shogun” in which Hideo Takamatsu playing the part of Buntaro is furious at his wife Mariko for getting too close to the barbarian gaijin Blackthorne, and he draws his sword to strike her down, thinks better of it, cuts deep into a wooden support beam, and snaps his sword clean in half when he tries to retrieve it! Serves him right – but the sword breaking like that, all quite historically plausible I am afraid..)

The reason most people think Katana are so amazingly durable is, I believe, twofold:

1) Because it can, in the hands of a skilled swordsman, cut you clean in half with one cut. Historical Katana were SPECIALIZED to cut, as grim as it sounds, human flesh and bone in the form of an unarmored or minimally armored opponent. There were exceptions, like the Dotanuki style of blade, which was used to cut an ARMORED opponent in half, but these were – as I said – exceptions. The misconception comes about because we imagine we are more special than say, a tree, so if it can cut us so easily, surely it can cut ANYTHING. But not so..

2) The second reason is, well, this kind of thing:

While the reality is actually a lot scarier..

Anyway, while a totally indestructible, cut anything Katana may be a misconception/myth – around 10-15 years ago there appeared on the market monotempered Katana, which with a simple maru lamination and decent heat treatment, proved capable of withstanding tremendous punishment when compared to a historical Katana, bridging the gap between “Myth and Fantasy”..

When they found out that it was all quite serious, naturally, the market responded with enthusiastic zeal, so with modern steels and much trial and error, the sword industries quest for the most durable blade possible began in earnest..


Now at SBG we have found a couple of really good steels, configurations and tempering methods that do not cost too much but yield, pound for pound, can withstand the kind of abuse that would break a traditional Katana clean in half..

Yet, the best we have offered to date, our 9260 Spring Steel Katana – arguably our most durable Katana (followed closely by the expert tempered 1060 carbon steel Dõtanuki blades from Ronin Katana) are made to a budget. If we can look above the US$300 price point, looking ONLY for what most collectors consider to be the most durable steel currently in existance – the closest thing to an “indestructible” sword – then the answer would have to be a Howard Clark L6 Bainite Katana..

L6 BAINITE???

art_bain_analysis

So exactly what is this L6 Bainite stuff, from a laymans’ point of view?

Well, it was originally first used by famous US swordsmith, Howard Clark and tested to the extreme by Adrian Ko from SFI back in 1999 (it isn’t online these days sadly, or at least several hours of searching suggested it has all been buried – but his tests showed him bending the sword in a vice more than 90 degrees and it sprang back to true!) – and needless to say, as word got out – people started getting excited.

Here is a video of Howard Clark and James Williams explaining more details about what it is all about and why L6 Bainite is so special:

Now this is all very well and good.

Only problem is, best of luck getting Howard Clark to make a sword for you in 2014..!

His backlog must be several years by now and he can pick and choose, indeed I recently saw a second hand Howard Clark BARE BLADE sell for over $3,400 in the classifieds section of a sword forum..!

With such demand, you would expect L6 blades would be everywhere.

Not so, as they are notoriously hard to make, and for years no one could crack the code.. That is until Paul Chen from Hanwei’s own son, Ron Chen – a skilled swordsmith in his own right – decided he would not rest until he did.. The result? In their own words:

Bainite is a structure of high-carbon steel that combines great strength with excellent flexibility and shock absorption characteristics. It has been known as an exemplary Katana blade component for a number of years but its use has been restricted to a few top-class master smiths, due to the difficulties involved in performing the exacting heat treatment procedures necessary for the production of a Bainite blade body in combination with the very hard Martensite Yakiba (edge section) required for Katana blades.

Hanwei has now mastered this difficult process, using billets of L-6 tool steel (a very tough high-carbon low-alloy steel) as a starting point. Blades are forged and shaped in the normal way, then carefully heat treated to achieve the required Bainite and Martensite structures before final polishing.

Yes, they succeeded in making a Hanwei L6 Bainite Katana they were proud to call their own – and the fruit of that labor is the sword this post revolves around, the stunning Preying Mantis Katana, now IN STOCK and available at the lowest price it has EVER been made available for..

If you are a fan of high end Katana and want to own a blade made from this somewhat legendary sword steel, you had best be quick..

Not many of these are made, it is often a year or more between restocks, and at this price, they will surely be snapped up by discerning collectors – and provides something for the rest of us to drool over and aspire to…

Click here for more information

New Products: Hanwei High End Wakizashi

The funny thing about Japanese swords is that, while superficially to the completely untrained observer two swords might look “the same” – one is priced at $10,000 and the other, $60 (ok, you would think even the untrained eye might see the difference – but the point I am trying to make is that Japanese style swords, especially production models, are priced depending on how REFINED they are).

The only problem is, the more refined the blade – the more $$$. So what is the answer for someone who appreciates and wants a taste of a higher level of craftsmanship, but whose budget can’t justify spending over a grand to get one – we offer a middle way: why not buy an elite level WAKIZASHI!

We selected two of Hanwei’s finest to stock at SBG. And we shaved our margins to the bone to make the affordable alternative even more affordable.

Check out what we selected below.

Click here for more information

Click here for more information