Paul Chen

[Kevin Geaslin]

Has anyone purchased the Paul Chen "practical" katana? I am thinking of buying one on ebay, and have read good reviews concerning the quality (for the 200-300$ price range) but I wanted to get some opinions from martial artists rather than just collectors. Any comments appreciated, thanks!

[Chi]

Hi Kevin,

I don't have a PK (but am looking to get one in the near-future, now that I have found a few companies in the UK that sell them!), but I am intrigued... why do you wish to buy one from E-bay, when you can purchase them from online agents such as Bugei (amongst many others)? Is E-bay really that cheap? Or is it second hand... in which case it would have to be _very_ cheap to make up for the fact that it could be an older model and in poor condition (chipped, cracked maybe?)

What are you intending to use the weapon for out of interest? Is it to be a display piece, or for practising Iaido, or for Tameshigiri, or what?

A few general things to note, be careful of getting one of the original line PKs, as they had a copper-coated plastic Habaki which are too fragile if you are intending to use the blade for Tameshigiri. The newer PKs have a brass Habaki, so this doesn't apply... just beware if you are buying a second-hand one!

I've also heard that the blade does not have much of a sori (making it quite straight), which could make it more difficult to draw. Once again, it all depends on what you want to use it for.

I know that Janty Chattaw owns one, so hopefully he will comment on this thread at some point from his first-hand experience on it! (oh, as well as anyone elses of course! :))

Regards,

Chris.

[Firedan]

Sirs there is no need to purchase the practical katana on e-bay as the price would probably go a little too high. Bugei does not sell the practical katana as it is one of Paul Chen's lower end products and Bugei deals primarily with Chen's high end items. I could suggest http://www.by-the-sword.com if you would like to purchase that blade also http://www.swordarmory.com . Please be sure to get one with a brass habaki as opposed to the plastic one.

Dan Fernandez

[BudoPo]

I'm looking to get a decent, basic katana. I'm looking at Paul Chen's Musashi, since it's got a long handle, and is pretty hefty (I like both features). I've heard that the early blades aren't too good. Can anybody tell me their opinion about them now? How about blades from other people for about the same price?

Speaking of which, I found the Musashi for about $400 at knive-r-us (a very tacky name, if I do say so). Has anyone dealt with them? Would they have recently made blades, or blades that have been lying around for a while?

Thanks for your help,
Roger Podob

[socho]

Hi Roger,
for a good discussion of the Chen blades, you might check http://www.swordforum.com ,their online March issue, I think. If you like a long handle, be sure that the nakago (tang) is also long, for safety. I had an early Chen blade(shinto model, I think) and would not recommend it, but I have heard the quality control and the quality of the fittings have improved quite a bit. There are apparently several 'lines' of Chen blades that you can purchase through different dealers, each of which have slightly different requirements. Several people have said that the practical katana is good enough for an entry-level cutter, the price is certainly reasonable.
Good luck,

[BudoPo]

Thanks, Socho. I read the article, and, they tested the Golden Oriole, but mentioned the Musashi as well, since the blades are similar. It seems like pretty much what I'm looking for, and they liked it. Their (and my) biggest concern was the 4" of wood in the handle, behind the tang. They felt that that's a lot of wood, considering that your hands are so far apart with a 15" handle. Also, the wood used was softer than the type normally used, and the tang tapers in thickness, so that it might dig into the wood. They didn't say it'd break; just that it's a concern. They also don't know if Chen's changed the type of wood (which he might have, since the article was written in March, almost a year ago).

I'm wondering, though, if I might be able to have the wood replaced (the pegs, too) with a harder wood, like ash or hickory?

Roger Podob

[budoboy]

In regards to the musashi katana from Chen, I just purchased one recently from Knives-R-Us. I compared it to a friend's which was purchased earlier from a different source.

On the earlier one the tsuka ito was wrapped better (Knives-R-Us doesn't inspect any of their swords). I could see some things in the tsuka that the ito should have covered (namely where the rayskin starts and stops). The dimensions were otherwise exactly the same (length, width of blade, point of balance). The only exceptions were that the one I had did not have as much curvature as the earlier model (I hear that there are differences from blade to blade anyway since they are hand made). Another difference was the polish which really shows off the hamon in the newer model (I kind of like the more subdued polish of the older model though - personal opinion).

The things I did like better about the newer model though was that it felt more stable than the older version. The older model had sort of a woble in the tsuka when cutting in the air. The other thing was that the newer model had a thicker blade (heavier sword overall too) which makes me think it might be a better cutter than the previous model.

As far as cutting goes I have yet to have to have my buddy come over with his stand and cutting mats. My friend has cut a freestanding thick cardboard tube with his Musashi twice and it cut very cleanly with no blade damage. I won't be doing any destructive tests with mine (ala the cow bone cutting test)since I don't have that much confidence in the product and I don't have that much money to throw away.

Jeff Sherwin

[BudoPo]

Thanks BudoBoy and Janty for your help. I feel better about the blade now.

Any recommendations for a dealer? I was going to use Knives R Us, but I'll pay a little more for a place that inspects their swords first.

[BudoPo]

Someone recommended Brightblades.com. Any opinions on them?

Thanks,
Roger Podob