Looking for Good Sowrd maker of excellent rep.

[MartArtsNovice]

The reason I posting this thread, is to find sword makers, I want to start a sword collection, of mostly Asian blades. I want to start my collection with a katana and a knife used in the art of Tameshiri. I have found The Bugei Trading comp. website at www.bugei.com, but I want to shop around to find the best quality and best price. is there any other good sword makers, on the web.

[chrismoses]

1) find a dojo
2) ask your teacher.

Sorry, this is a bit harsh, but this question has been done to death. You might do some searches in the archives.

Good luck to you.

[Charles Mahan]

Matthew, it's not sufficient to put your name in your profile. YOu need to sign your posts as well. The easist way is to edit your user profile and put it in the signature blank. You can do this by choosing the "user cp" button at the top of the screen, then choose the "edit profile" button. You can put your name in the Signature text area and submit the form. That will add your name to all your posts.

[TimothyKleinert]

Are you saying you want to start an art collection? 'Cause there's a whole lot to learn about art quality blades if that's your intention.

But besides that, if you are actually looking for a custom, hand-made Nihonto (actual Japanese-made blades), know that prices start at around $5K, and can go up to $20K. Bugei swords, though nice for martial arts, are not authentic Nihonto. IIRC, they are part machine part hand made in China.

Try checking out swordstore.com. They have a list of martial art grade Nihonto you can check out.

[A. Bakken]

Howard Clark. www.mvforge.com

Pictures of his swords, fully finished:
http://www.summerchild.com/summer.html
http://www.legacyswords.com/spdaishofnl.htm

Old (but great) article:
http://swordforum.com/summer99/howardclark.html

A designer's personal collection:
http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/on.howardclark.htm
http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/atziluth.htm
http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/mysanmai.tanto.htm

[Tim Mailloux]

Originally posted by MartArtsNovice
The reason I posting this thread, is to find sword makers, I want to start a sword collection, of mostly Asian blades. I want to start my collection with a katana and a knife used in the art of Tameshiri. I have found The Bugei Trading comp. website at www.bugei.com, but I want to shop around to find the best quality and best price. is there any other good sword makers, on the web.

Thats easy, Howard Clark is the man if you want a great custom blade that you are actually going to use (or even just to look at!). Also, best quality and best price shouldn't be used together in the same sentance when it comes to custom swords.

[Chidokan]

The question is how much do you want to pay???? My old iaido teacher, Eguchi Soshin,now sadly passed away, spent 55 million on his collection. Nothing was cheaper than 150 grand. And I am talking pounds sterling! For those interested the collection is housed in a museum in Saga, and includes a Masamune blade....I did offer to take it off his hands for a fiver as there was no need for him to have so many swords, after all you can only use one at a time, but he declined the offer for some reason....

[seskoad]

Originally posted by Chidokan
The question is how much do you want to pay???? My old iaido teacher, Eguchi Soshin,now sadly passed away, spent 55 million on his collection. Nothing was cheaper than 150 grand. And I am talking pounds sterling! For those interested the collection is housed in a museum in Saga, and includes a Masamune blade....I did offer to take it off his hands for a fiver as there was no need for him to have so many swords, after all you can only use one at a time, but he declined the offer for some reason....

Hey tim, was he football player like beckham? ...for god'sake 50,000,000 GBP can feed for 7 generations.

[MartArtsNovice]

Hey, to everyone that posted I want to say thanks.

Also, when I said that I wanted to start a collection, what I meant was, is that yes, I do want to have a small collection of certai ntypes of blades, i.e. katanas, and such.

But also I want to find a good beginners blade for when I study the sword arts of japan. I want to find soemthing that is durable, and be usable in practice if I were to use it in a practice situation in a Dojo, under a sensei.

[seskoad]

Hmm...try www.nosyuiaido.com and check for their shinken. My friend said that the shinken they offer are considered as affordable.

[MartArtsNovice]

thanks for the site listings, I give them a try, I want to spend between $500 to maybe $1500 dollars, of American currency. I dont know what it would be in yen, if I bought direct from a Nihonto smith in Japan. I bet its not alot.

[Brian Owens]

Originally posted by MartArtsNovice
thanks for the site listings, I give them a try, I want to spend between $500 to maybe $1500 dollars, of American currency. I dont know what it would be in yen, if I bought direct from a Nihonto smith in Japan. I bet its not alot.

$500 - $1500 can get you a decent iaito (non-steel practice sword), but a true Nihonto is going to cost you more like $5000 and up for what you said you want, "a good swordmaker of excellent rep."

Since one of your goals is "...to find a good beginners blade for when I study the sword arts of japan. I want to find soemthing that is durable, and be usable in practice if I were to use it in a practice situation in a Dojo, under a sensei" then an iaito would be a good choice. Many sensei will not let a beginner handle a live blade in class, and require either a bokken or an iaito to be the first step.

HTH.

[glad2bhere]

Dear Brian:

Your post touched on a couple of bad feelings I have always had reagrding these sorts of strings.

I don't know the originator of this string, which is to say his background, art, or intentions. However, many times I get this feeling when I see these strings (especially over on SFI)not unlike similar questions about firearms. In that case it sound more like "whats the most powerful handgun in the world---- and where can a I buy the cheapest copy." Putting Iai-To to oneside for a moment, I see a "live sword" purchased for the pursuit of the art of swordsmanship as a major investment. I don't see it as something that one considers price-point as a major influence in making a decision. Maybe one saves for it, does research and discusses it with their teacher. Maybe one asks about the various sources and compares one construction approach to another. But I have to tell you that I am somewhat appalled at the number of strings that seem to go on ad nauseum about wanting to save $50 one way or another by buying from this website versus that website.

Now as I say I don't know the originator of this string but let me tell you that there are at least five inquiries a week asking about where to buy swords -- and inexpensively--- over on SFI. I find this disheartening because a simple GOOGLE on "swords" brings up a host of sources. Even Korean swords, which are admittedly more difficult to find sources for, can be located with a little work. I am wondering at what kinds of people we are helping when it seems they are investing so little of themselves to buy a cheap serviceable weapon. Thoughts?

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Brian Owens]

Originally posted by glad2bhere
...Your post touched on a couple of bad feelings I have always had reagrding these sorts of strings....Putting Iai-To to oneside for a moment, I see a "live sword" purchased for the pursuit of the art of swordsmanship as a major investment....Maybe one saves for it, does research and discusses it with their teacher....I am wondering at what kinds of people we are helping when it seems they are investing so little of themselves to buy a cheap serviceable weapon. Thoughts?

I quite agree. That's one reason I suggest that people start with an iaito.

A live blade purchase should only be made once one has some idea of what a good blade -- both in general, and for the individual's needs specifically -- is.

When I see someone posting that they want a genuine Nihonto, made by a reputable smith, and they want to spend less than $5,000...well, I have to restrain myself.

I do feel somewhat of an obligation to educate people as best I can, to counter some of the nonsense that I see spouted on TV shopping channel "knife and sword shows," and also the drivel espoused by the shady dealers selling bad knock-offs as the real deal (we've even had a few show up here at E-Budo, and after a post or two I can get pretty hostile towards them).

So when newcomers post here I remind myself that I don't know that much about swords now, and I knew even less just a few short years ago; so I try to be helpful and steer them in the right direction. That's about all I can do.

[MartArtsNovice]

Im the one, who started this thread. I hae rad your posts, and I want to explain my reasons, I wan tto study the sword arts, for the continuation of my martial arts training. I have studied some karate, and other styles, I just want to learn this to help my understanding of this aspect of japanese culture. I apologize if this thread, has caused you any misgrievances. If it has, then I shall reconsider my next decison on posting a thread of this nature on the forum here. I also have a SI account, I have tried to access it, repeatedly. It seems not to be functioning at this moment. I apologize to you and the other forum users, if this thread has offended anyone. please accept this post, as a token of sincerity. Thank you for the post, though Im sorry it came as a expression of disguist, with me.