I want a katana so bad

Tez3

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Me too! Of course, I have expensive tastes and the one I want is the hand made Japanese one that costs £34,000 lol! think thats about $18,000. Ouch!
 

howard

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Hi Tez, not to be pedantic, but you've reversed your multipliers in your exchange rate calculation... 34,000 pounds is more like $US65,000. Which is probably closer than $US18,000 to what a real Japanese sword (made by a licensed smith in Japan) would cost.

Harley, you can get yourself a functional katana (or, better yet if you're a novice, a nice iaito) for way less than $3,000. If you're interested in recommendations, why don't you post a bit more detail about what you intend to do with the katana. There are several knowledgeable members here who can recommend vendors and models to you.
 

Grenadier

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Howard is correct.

If you aren't looking for all of the bells and whistles, and want something that's functional, sturdy, and stable, you can easily find something for around 400 dollars. Just as an example,

http://www.swordarmory.com/05kat/mikusa/mikusa.html

No, it's not an Agnus Trim custom work, nor is it a Howard Clark L6, but it's still a very nice cutter, and certainly not a piece of junk.
 

howard

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Thanks Grenadier...

See what I mean, Harley? :)
 

Cryozombie

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Even 3k is a bit high, I had my custom Katana done for 1700.00 and it was a nice quality sword.

I miss it.


 

shesulsa

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It also depends on what you want it for. If you want to cut with it, you'll need to spend a bit to get a blade you can cut with, not just hang on the wall. Don't cut with those $65 blades you find at the local hardware surplus center or the $100 stainless steel blades at the mall import store.
 

Tez3

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Hi Tez, not to be pedantic, but you've reversed your multipliers in your exchange rate calculation... 34,000 pounds is more like $US65,000. Which is probably closer than $US18,000 to what a real Japanese sword (made by a licensed smith in Japan) would cost.

Harley, you can get yourself a functional katana (or, better yet if you're a novice, a nice iaito) for way less than $3,000. If you're interested in recommendations, why don't you post a bit more detail about what you intend to do with the katana. There are several knowledgeable members here who can recommend vendors and models to you.

Cheers for that, I'm pants ( English for really really bad) at arithmetic and anything to do with numbers lol! I'd like to train with it but there's nowhere for me to train around where I live. I think I'd probably end up just staring at it in love, they are so beautiful! Is that just me being odd or does anyone think so?
 

howard

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I think I'd probably end up just staring at it in love, they are so beautiful! Is that just me being odd or does anyone think so?
No, you're far from alone, Tez.

They are indeed beautiful. The swords that the top Japanese smiths make today are works of art. And they're collected just like other works of art, which is one of the reasons they are so expensive. Most are probably never used for even kata, let alone any type of cutting.

I'm sorry there's no Iaido near you... I'm sure you'd enjoy doing it. It really helps your empty-hand art a lot, although indirectly in most cases.
 

Bob Hubbard

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I've got a client who's got a couple of authentic katana's he's selling, look in the proshop for info.

Personally, I'm happy with my Practicle Plus right now, though I played with a couple other sub-$1,000 blades yesterday that I'd love to own. feel and balance was sweet. :)
 

Charles Mahan

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Cheers for that, I'm pants ( English for really really bad) at arithmetic and anything to do with numbers lol! I'd like to train with it but there's nowhere for me to train around where I live. I think I'd probably end up just staring at it in love, they are so beautiful! Is that just me being odd or does anyone think so?


Actually there are a lot of training oppurtunities in Britain. Do a google search for "British Kendo Association" and for "Roushukai". You should turn up a number of hits. If nothing else head over to the Iaido forum at http://www.kendo-world.com There are a number of Brits over there who could point you to your nearest training oppurtunity.
 

Sukerkin

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Actually there are a lot of training oppurtunities in Britain. Do a google search for "British Kendo Association" and for "Roushukai". You should turn up a number of hits. If nothing else head over to the Iaido forum at http://www.kendo-world.com There are a number of Brits over there who could point you to your nearest training oppurtunity.

Good advice, Charles. If you're interested, Irene, I'm sure I could find something close enough to be of use to you. I can't picture how long a journey it would be for you to come and train with us over here in Stoke but you'd be more than welcome.
 
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