A search for quality among Cheap Samurai Swords for Sale

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Cheap Samurai Swords for Sale: Finding the Jewels in the Junk

In the last few years, there have been a flood of extremely cheap Samurai swords for sale on the internet.

While many of these are touted as ‘carbon steel, full tang
blades’, ‘hand forged’ and ‘fully functional’ – 9 times out of 10 it is
pure marketing hype and BS.

Few of these cheap Samurai swords for sale can cut anything much
better than the occasional water filled plastic bottle. And fewer still
are made well enough to stand up to any reasonable usage.

But sometimes, just sometimes, you get lucky…

Not so long ago I started hearing from a few people that there
was a line of Chinese made cheap Samurai swords for sale at just US$59
that seemed to offer exceptional value for money. And while I was
naturally enough extremely skeptical, I was also curious to find out
more.

It wasn’t like that finding a cheap Samurai swords for sale around the sixty dollar mark was impossible.

Note

This is a fairly long read, but by the end of it, you will know how to find some cheap Samurai Swords for sale that cut almost as well as swords many times the price, so it’ worth it!

While the exact swords reviewed here are, for better or for worse, gone – constant improvement at the sub $50 price point makes it easier to get a good sword than EVER BEFORE. So it is good news all around – and at the end of the article, we will even show you where you can start digging to uncover your own ‘jewels in the junk’

Indeed with some strategic bidding the somewhat infamous Masahiro Bamboo Katana
was sometimes available on ebay at this price point, so there was a
precedent. But perhaps most importantly, if I ignored these blades I was
in danger of becoming something of a sword snob!

Naturally enough, this was patently ridiculous, because as a
reviewer and firm advocate for finding the jewels in the junk in the sub
US$300 price range (and I have found quite a few!) – I have often had
to contend with the off hand barbs of folk who never bothered with
anything below a given price point – so dismissing them out of hand was
not an option…

The brand that everyone was talking about was a relative newcomer called ‘Musashi Swords’.
And while I had some reservations, I at least owed it to my visitors to
have a closer look at these cheap samurai swords for sale for less than
sixty bux and judge them on their own merits.

And in many ways, I am glad that I did…

Musashi Swords ‘Blood Reign’ and ‘Wind Dragon’ Katana Comparative Review

Review by SBG Editor in Chief, Paul Southren

US$59 is a ridiculously low price to expect much from a Katana. And
indeed, having seen first hand quite a few cheap Samurai swords for sale
at this price, I must admit was not expecting a lot.

All the $59 Musashi swords pretty much had the same description,
including the typical marketing hot buttons ‘full tang, carbon steel
& hand forged’ yet I noticed that there appeared to be two separate
lines of these cheap Samurai swords for sale – one with the prefix
‘Bushido’ and the other ‘Shogun’.

Looking at them both, the Shogun line appeared to be the more
aesthetically pleasing of the two, but for good measure I got one from
each group according to my fancy – selecting the Shogun ‘Blood Reign’ and the Bushido ‘Wind Dragon’, which I obtained from one of my recommended vendors, Trueswords.com via special request (Trueswords does not normally ship swords outside of the US, but were willing to make an exception so I could review them).

I must admit, the order was very promptly dispatched and within only a few days, the much anticipated rectangular shaped box arrived at my door.

Of course, since we are actually reviewing two different cheap
Samurai swords for sale at $59 here, let’s take a cursory look at them
one at a time, starting with the most attractive of the two, the Shogun
lines ‘Blood Reign’ Katana.

THE BLOOD REIGN – Initial Impressions

The first thing that struck me about this sword was the box – which
featured a painting of a classical Japanese samurai and was actually
reasonably nicely done.

Naturally, as this review is not about the box, I proceeded to open
it up and took my first glimpse of the sheathed blood reign firsthand.

The saya was a bit plasticy looking, not the usual glossy
lacquered black scabbard I was accustomed to, but it was not in any way
ugly. And folded neatly underneath was a typical white lined and black
covered cotton carrying bag, which was a nice touch.

Naturally, like all other cheap Samurai swords for sale at this price, most of the fittings were obviously plastic…

The same (ray skin) was a plastic panel wrap, revealing in places
the wooden tsuka core. But this was actually quite reassuring – as for
obvious reasons I much prefer a wooden tsuka than plastic. To be honest,
the imitation same – which I believe looks and feels like it is made
from soft PVC – isn’t too badly done and looks like a reasonable
facsimile of the real thing (unlike the same of many other cheap Samurai
swords for sale I’ve seen), though the gaudy golden dragon menuki
(ornaments) under the synthetic ito wrap – which initially felt a little
loose – were definitely not my cup of tea.

However, beyond these somewhat ugly features, the tsuba (hand guard), fuchi and kashira were much more than I was expecting…

The tsuba of the blood reign depicts what appear to be two somewhat
fierce Chinese warriors – one armed with a sword and the other playing a
kind of lute. At first, I was struck by the fact that they were so
obviously not Japanese – however on reflection it was at least
possible that such a tsuba may be historically plausible, considering
that at various points in Japanese history the Samurai deeply admired
China and studying the Chinese Classics was a part of every young
Samurai’s education (though chances are I am reading too much into this,
as like most other cheap Samurai swords for sale on the ‘net, it was
probably selected simply because it looked nice!)

The fuchi is also really quite attractive, with a brassy looking
relief depicting a set of three tri-pronged fire symbols surrounding a
decorated sphere. But the kashira or pommel/butt cap is my favorite part
of the fittings and is actually quite breathtaking – beautifully
shaped, with a very intricate design that words simply do not do justice
too (see picture below).

All in all, this swords fittings make it a reasonable choice even just
as a display piece, though the picture is of course not complete until
we come to the blade. But before we do, let’s take a look at the
fittings of the other line of cheap Samurai swords for sale by Musashi –
the Bushido Wind Dragon.

THE WIND DRAGON – Initial Impressions

Compared to the Shogun Blood Reign, the Wind Dragon’s box is quite
plain and uninspiring – and I truly hoped that this was not a sign of
things to come upon opening it up…

Luckily, after opening it up, I was not too disappointed.

At first glance the Wind Dragon was obviously not quite as ornate as
the Shogun series Blood Reign, but certainly more attractive than most
other cheap Samurai swords for sale at this price point.

The saya was a generic glossy black lacquered scabbard. Like the
Blood Reign, the Wind Dragon also had PVC imitation same – though a
little darker and more substantial looking. It also featured some
forgettable silver colored plastic menuki which I assume depict some
kind of warrior standing upright but it’s hard to clearly see them under
the ito wrap (and to be honest, they were not interesting enough to
warrant any further investigation – in other words – generic fittings
commonly seen on 90% of all other cheap Samurai swords for sale priced
under 100 bucks).

However, what impressed me most was the ito wrap itself.

While it was cotton and a bit shoelacey, it was surprisingly tight and
showed no gaps between the tsuka core and the same – a common issue with
almost all cheap Samurai swords for sale at this price. In fact, I had
to push quite hard near the top to check for the material the tsuka core
was made from (and was again relieved to find it was wood).

Other fittings were nothing fancy – the fuchi and kashira did little to impress me either way.

And the tsuba itself while quite attractive, is pretty generic
and either the same one or a very close design is found on several other
cheap Samurai swords for sale (though most tend to be a little more
expensive at just under the US$100 mark).

Overall, at this point on fittings alone I’d have to give a
slight advantage to the Shogun Blood Reign, but we are missing perhaps
the most critical part of the picture – the blades themselves.

The Blades

Now before I begin to look at the blades in detail, I should mention
that the first thing that struck me about both the Shogun and Bushido
was that, like all other cheap Samurai swords for sale on the internet
and on eBay, both had a single mekugi peg holding the blade to the
handle…

At first, this really worried me. But when I removed the mekugi
peg and tried to get a look ‘under the hood’ as it were, I was both
frustrated and relieved to find that it would appear that the blade has
been glued with an epoxy resin in a similar manner to the earlier model
Hanwei Practical Katana.
While this was frustrating (in that I could not get a look at the
nagako) it was also something of a relief as it was very solidly
attached and almost impossible for the blade to detach from the hilt.

Speaking of which, the blades themselves share quite a few similarities.
Both are 27.5″ long, with a pronounced and attractive sori (curvature).

Both are also quite thick and substantial, certainly a lot
thicker than many other cheap Samurai swords for sale you find clogging
up the internet.

Both also had a bo-hi or ‘blood groove’ running down the length
of the spine, lightening the blades to 2lbs 4.5oz for the Shogun Blood
Reign and a slightly heavier 2lbs 5.9oz for the Bushido Wind Dragon,
though each are within optimal weight for a real Japanese sword.

The main difference at this stage, other than the weight, is that
the point of balance. The Blood Reign is pretty much spot on at 5″ from
the tsuba while the Bushido Wind Dragon is slightly more tip heavy at
6″. This difference became apparent when swinging the swords through the
air – with the Shogun Blood Reign making a very audible ‘Tachi Kaze’
(literally sword wind sound) while on the other hand the Bushido Wind
Dragons sound is muted and much less noticeable.

However, as far as dry handling goes, both swords perform quite
well with good speed and recovery time. The ‘edge’ (pardon the pun) at
this stage still goes to the Blood Reign, which would be a slightly more
satisfying training sword for kata – but both would fulfill this need
quite well for different reasons (the Blood Reign handles a little
better and makes a better Tachi kaze, but the Bushido Wind Dragon has a
much tighter ito wrap).

Now as far as the actual steel used in both these blades, I
cannot be 100% certain as the exact makeup of the sword is not
advertised (they are simply advertised as ‘thick carbon steel blade,
fully tempered’). However my knowledge of modern sword production processes and pricing assures me that they are almost definitely forged from 1045 carbon steel,
which is the minimum quality acceptable for a half decent blade.

But from here, some obvious differences between these cheap Samurai swords for sale begins to surface.

For a start, it is apparent to me that both of these blades are
made in different forges. Only the Bushido Wind Dragon has the authentic
and characteristic seal of the Musashi Brand (complete with a symbol of
a Double ‘C’ Ring Tsuba, a design attributed to the legendary Ronin,
Miyamoto Musashi) – while the Blood Reign has a generic ‘China’ imprint
(after all, that’s where just about all cheap Samurai swords for sale
online are actually made).

Of the two blades, the Shogun Blood Reign is the prettiest of the two,
with a better overall level of polish (not quite a mirror polish, but
not far off it either) and a thin wavy wire brushed hamon that really
does stand out in the right light.

In contrast, the Wind Dragon does not even attempt any kind of
artificial hamon. Neither of these swords are likely to be
differentially hardened like a traditional Katana – and I actually find
the simple unadorned blade admirable in its straightforward honesty –
unlike most other cheap Samurai Swords for sale which pretend to be
something that they are not.

As you may have noticed from the photos depicting the brand name (and
generic ‘China’ print) on the blades both of these swords have a
secondary bevel, in other words have been sharpened much like a kitchen
knife. While this is definitely not traditional, it is a common feature
of all cheap Samurai swords for sale at this price and not at all
unexpected.

Despite this, both of these swords are quite sharp and capable of
passing the generic ‘paper cutting’ test. But of the two, the edge
geometry of the Bushido Wind Dragon is better, resulting in a much
sharper feeling blade. So much so that even though it is an obvious
secondary bevel, the Wind Dragon feels ‘scary sharp’ while the Blood
Reign’s geometry feels just a little ‘off’…

My suspicions were that of the two, the Bushido Wind Dragon would
be the better cutter. So let’s find out if my suspicions were
correct…

Testing Cheap Samurai Swords

Like I said in the introduction, 90% of all cheap Samurai Swords for
sale under the $100 price point are pretty much only good for display
purposes or cutting the occasional water filled plastic milk jug or
other soft targets like pineapples, pumpkins, etc.

So after having inspected the blades and the fittings, as well as
given them a good dry handling and determining that they were both
sturdy enough to test further (after all, some people had reported some
interesting cutting results with these swords) I broke out some of my
extensive collection of empty water P.E.T. bottles and milk jugs and
proceeded to fill them up with water…

Both handled a series of water filled 2 liter milk jugs and 1
liter coke bottles with ease. And as you can see from the video below,
they also cut much more challenging targets such as 375ml ‘buddy
bottles’ extremely cleanly, indeed – so much so that at this point they
were nearly on par with the famous (and considerably more expensive)
Hanwei Practical Plus Katana.

Not bad for a couple of cheap Samurai swords for sale priced under sixty dollars!

VIDEO: $59 Katana Water Bottle Test Results

As you can see, both the Musashi swords did quite well against light targets

So far, so good. Several dead plastic containers later and both
swords were pretty much neck and neck (though admittedly the Wind Dragon
was just a tad bit better).

But the time for a serious tie breaker was at hand…

“This Next Test Would Separate the ‘Goat from the Sheep’!”

There was really only one test which would truly differentiate these
blades and decide which of the two, if any, was to stand head and
shoulders above the legion of other cheap Samurai Swords for sale on the
internet…

Tatami Omote…

Tatami Mats, also known as ‘Tatami Omote’

Generally a target reserved only for more expensive ‘entry level’
Japanese swords and beyond, if neither of these swords were able to cut
it then up ’till now, they would still be a good deal at $59. But if
one or both of them could handle tatami, that low price would make them
the very best deal on any sub $100 cheap Samurai Swords for sale
anywhere, both on and off line!

Selecting a high quality Mugen Dachi half mat, I rolled
it up and soaked it in the bath tub overnight in the traditional manner.

As you may know, a half mat is a very good test for a swords
cutting ability and perhaps the most commonly used tatami target.

As it
says on the Mugen Dachi website: “The smaller diameter targets show
us more about the quality of our technique because they bend slightly if
something is not correct. In a way full targets are less frustrating to
use, but if you want to see your mistakes, half-targets will tell you
more.”

First up was the Shogun Blood Reign.

To be honest, I had a feeling that it would not make it. There
was something bothering me about its edge geometry, even though it had
nailed the water bottles better than any other cheap Samurai swords for
sale than I had seen before.

My first cut was a diagonal right to left ‘kesa’ strike. But as
if it was a self fulfilling prophecy, the blade simply knocked the
target to one side and while it cut, it penetrated less than an inch.

Just in case it was simply my bad form, I struck out again with a
rising upward cut – one of my cleanest and most powerful blows that has
never failed to sever tatami with such swords as Hanwei or Cheness
Cutlery.

Unfortunately, it still didn’t make it…

The blade bit quite deep this time, at least halfway through –
but it was still performing poorly. A third diagonal right to left cut
also bit into the target, mutilating it but the result was the same –
the Shogun Blood Reign simply could not make it through a half mat…

A little disappointed that the Blood Reign was relegated to the
pile of other cheap Samurai swords for sale you find online, my sense of
dissatisfaction was compounded by the fact that the ito wrap, which I
had noted before felt a little loose – had now shifted and bunched up
quite dramatically during the cuts, exposing the wooden core in three
separate places along the length. While it was easy to shift back into
position, it was quite an inconvenience.

Still, I had to put things in perspective. This sword was only
$59. And as far as a reasonably attractive display piece goes, it’s
still a good price compared to most other cheap Samurai swords for sale
online – not to mention it was also a nice little plastic water bottle
slayer – and handled very nicely to boot.

It just seemed unable to cut tatami omote.

But the tests were not over yet! I was hoping that the Bushido
Wind Dragon would fare better – after all, it felt a little sharper, the
ito was much tighter and it had a better edge geometry…

Straightening up the mutilated yet still intact half mat, I took the Wind Dragon in my hands and struck out hard and fast…

“BANG – lo and behold, the mutilated top was severed away and fell to the floor!”

Now we were getting somewhere! But was this a one off fluke?

Infused with a little hope that it wasn’t, I straightened up the
mat and struck out with a rising cut. Using more force than is
necessary, as I was half expecting it to get stuck like the Shogun Blood
Reign, it severed the mat cleanly with so little resistance that for a
moment my balance was disrupted by the unexpected ease of the cut.

Now with renewed confidence, I cut out with a much more relaxed and
‘normal’ force diagonal cut that sailed right on through the target,
leaving a well defined cut where it severed the mat cleanly in two…

“It was no fluke – the Bushido series Wind Dragon was quite a performer!”

To be fair to the poor old Blood Reign, I gave it one more chance
to distinguish itself from the pile of all the other cheap Samurai
swords for sale on the internet. Winding up like a baseball player, I
struck out with a powerful horizontal blow…

The blade bit yes, but it could not sever the mat – leaving the
stand spinning and wobbling on its axis like a staggering drunkard,
missing me in the process…

VIDEO: $59 Tatami Mat Cutting Tests

Numerous cuts, but only one of the two consistently makes it
through

The Blood Reign was out – and a clear winner had emerged. The $59
Bushido Wind Dragon had truly distinguished itself from the legion of
cheap Samurai swords for sale on the internet…

Conclusion

From a nicer looking box, more attractive fittings and a prettier
blade, initially the Blood Reign came out of the gates ahead – but the
Bushido Wind Dragon closed the gap and overtook it by a mile when it
came time to perform, proving itself to be quite the dark horse and a
true jem shining in a pile of cheap Samurai swords for sale…

True enough the Bushido series Wind Dragon came in a simple
looking box. The blade had no hamon (though closer inspection revealed
that perhaps it actually has a natural hamon!). And yes, it’s
fittings were not anywhere near as flashy – and the level of polish,
though good, was just not quite as shiny.

But like some people in life, the Shogun Series turned out to
style over substance, while the humble $59 Bushido Wind Dragon put all
the other cheap Samurai swords for sale to shame…

Even at $100, the Bushido Wind Dragon would still be worth it –
though if it was priced at this point there would be a few swords
starting to get ahead of it. But the fact of the matter is, this sword
is readily available for a meagre $59. And as such, it’s actually a
ridiculously good bargain – suitable for display and quite capable of
taking on traditional targets without too much fuss at all…

PROS

Decently tempered 1045 carbon steel blade with a well honed edge ready to go straight out of the box

Tightly assembled fittings

Good handling and great cutting abilities

Extremely low price!

CONS

Machine milled and polished (as opposed to hand forged)

Cheap components and fittings are not particularly attractive

WHERE TO BUY

Both of these models were reviewed a fair time ago now and
have since been discontinued – however, the good news is that based on
the feedback in this review and others like it, the overall quality of sub $50 swords has been improved for established brand names (though not so much for ‘generic’ cheap Samurai Swords for sale on the internet).

This makes it easier than EVER BEFORE to get Wind Dragon quality swords at a lower price than it would have been when this sword was initially released!

To begin your own search for your very own jewel in the junk, we have created a filtered link to our friends at Kult of Athena to only select swords at the level of the Wind Dragon or Above under $65. To see what is available, just click the button below:

Cheap Quality Katana at KoA

Click to see every quality sub $65 Katana at Kult of Athena

In addition, you can also find some jewels on their way out at bargain prices in the Swords Closeout Section here at Trueswords.com – between these two options it is almost impossible to go wrong..

I hope this information on these cheap Samurai Swords for sale has been helpful.
To
return to A Beginners Guide to Authentic Japanese Swords from Cheap Samurai Swords: Finding the Jewels in the Junk, click here