Katanas and wakizashis

[Zidara]

Does anybody here know of any good katana-wakizashi retailers?

[Todd Shogun]

I get all of my swords and fantasy weaponry from http://www.budk.com ... from katanas, to battle axes, to Hibben knives, to Force FX lightsabers, Bud K has it all and then some. I actually have a weapons budget and the folks who work there know me by name. Pretty sad huh? be sure to check out the Samurai 3000 space age katanas! Just like Space Usagi.

[Blambot]

About the best you're going to get outside of spending thousands on Japanese made blades are katanas made by HANWEI/PAUL CHEN. Different retailers carry them. Many of the different models are actually made for practicing sword arts both kata and cutting. They use actual ray skin on their tsukas and double pinned, full tang blades for safety.

Search the web or Ebay for PAUL CHEN or HANWEI.

~N

[Zidara]

I get all of my swords and fantasy weaponry from http://www.budk.com ... from katanas, to battle axes, to Hibben knives, to Force FX lightsabers, Bud K has it all and then some. I actually have a weapons budget and the folks who work there know me by name. Pretty sad huh? be sure to check out the Samurai 3000 space age katanas! Just like Space Usagi.

are they genuine?

[Leonardo-san]

It's going to depend on what you want.

Do you want stuff for display?
Do you want stuff you could train with or use?
And if so, do you want something used in iado training without a live edge, or something with a live edge?

The Paul Chen blades are supposed to be good quality. But not cheap. If you only wanted something for display, then it might be more than you want to spend.
Anything with a live edge, anything forged in traditional methods is going to be very expensive.
Anything with "real" fittings made of shark or ray skin instead of plastic, silk instead of nylon, etc, is going to cost more.

If you got a sword of the type useable for iado, most blades used in iado training are not very sharp, and are not going to hold up if you start cutting things or clashing them against other blades. (My United Cutlery replica Legolas White Knives are sharper than either of my iado katana! I was actually surprised replicas would be thaaat pointy and sharp. )
The purpose of the iado training swords is to be used for practicing drawing the blade, and for one's kata, not sparring or cutting bamboo or mats or whatever.
So they are less expensive, depending on the fittings. Mine have the same fittings you'd find on a live blade, and run about $500. And the blade is shaped exactly like a live katana blade, it's just the metal and the forging is not the same.
And the nice thing about most training swords is you don't have to worry about cutting yourself with a live blade, or freak about the risk of bending an expensive live blade while you learn. Or destroying the edge because of a bad cut. You can also touch the metal and not freak freely over that, too.
(It is still very easy to bend a good quality blade or crack a scabard if you do it wrong when drawing the blade.)
Do be careful of the overly cheap iado blades because they probably aren't put together very well, and if you are using them for more than display, you do not want them breaking or falling apart because of poor quality.

If you want to bash some weapons together, get shinai or bokken.
Bu Jin has these really great suede covered shinai.... Much fun--long as you keep some safety in mind!

In addition to what Todd Shogun mentioned, there are also online shops like Bu Jin, Bugei, and The Sword Store. Others and myself at the dojo have ordered from these places and their quality is good.
If you want great wooden weapons, like bokken--go to Bob's Bokken. My jo from them is great!
The Mithril Armoury has great prices on a lot of replica and movie replica weapons.

Have fun shopping, whatever it is you are looking for!

[Zidara]

I'd like a daisho thats folded steel. Genuine. Not synthetic. Like, a stainless steel daisho is synthetic. Wouldn't cut worth a peice of paper, and wouldn't STAY sharp. A folded steel daisho could cut through whatever that testing poll is called, and stay sharp. Plus the handle is a factor, too.

[Blambot]

You're going to spend over a thousand for folded steel (non-Japanese -- more than that for Japanese). Paul Chen/Hanwei does carry some folded steel blades.

For the money, I think Hanwei is the best bang for the buck, though. I own two. I studied in an Iaido dojo a few years back.

~N

[Leonardo-san]

You're going to spend over a thousand for folded steel (non-Japanese -- more than that for Japanese). Paul Chen/Hanwei does carry some folded steel blades.

For the money, I think Hanwei is the best bang for the buck, though. I own two. I studied in an Iaido dojo a few years back.

~N

exactly!
That's the key. If you want the "real thing" you're going to pay for it.
I kind of dread the day in the future when we'll have to get a live blade, it's going to cost serious money.

I didn't get my iado katana from here in the States, my sensei picked them out from his dealer in Japan when he goes each year for training with his sensei. Almost everyone gets their swords through our sensei for training, because we know we can count on the quality.
But we have someone in our classes that has two Paul Chen blades. So at least I've heard from someone I know the quality is at least up to a good standard for the money.
Hanwei, huh? Always nice to file info away....

[Blambot]

Hanwei and Paul Chen are basically the same company. (Not sure if I made that clear...)

They make some nice Iaido blades at decent prices. For $200-$700 you can get an Iaito that will last through regular training for a couple of years.

~N

[JediFraz]

If it's an iaito you're looking for try bogubag.com. I got my iaito from the european branch.

The cheaper end Iaito's are very good value.

I'm looking at getting a Paul Chen Practical Plus for tameshigiri, but it'll haver to wait until after the christmas spending spree...