This type of sword has been romanticized in movies and television for as long as I can remember. Sometimes in the middle of my day, when I am stressed, I can pick one of these up and be carried off to a fantasy land of daydreams. In my mind I am Toshiro Mifune, ready to save the peasant village of rice farmers. Or I am The Highlander: There Can Be Only One. It invokes childhood stories of Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman. As a child, some kids wanted to be Jesse James, I wanted to be m±ľ ÎäĘi Miyamoto Musashi & üSďwř(tm) Wong Fei Hung. Of course üSďwř(tm) Wong Fei Hung did not weild a Samurai's katana, but this was in the time of Richard Chamberlain starring in Shogun, and the word Gaijin was entering into the American lexicon.
For anyone wanting an artifact, this is not it. Collectible swords run into the thousands, and tens of thousands of dollars. Authentic? If you knew what you were buying, you wouldn't buy this. You're not investing in an heirloom item. Did you think that you were getting something crafted from a thousand year old tradition for a couple of hundred bucks? But for all appearances, you would not be embarrassed to display this on a stand, and you can show it to your friends to impress them.
However, it is also far from junk that you hang on the wall. This baby works. This is a functional, modern tool crafted in the style of a Samurai's sword. It is sharp. Paul Chen's Practical Katana is a daily use sword in schools across the world. Well made and well balanced. This is a work horse. Think of it as the Chevy that you don't mind banging up, and that you learned a stick shift on, but then kept long after you could afford a better car.
This sword is just tough, tough, tough. My friends and I take our swords boar hunting. After field dressing the game, these swords are invalueable tools for splitting the bounty. Hang the dead pig from a tree, take aim, and swing. Wow your buds with how easily you can decapitate a wild animal. What? Never thought to use a sword to cut and quarter game? It's a lot easier to pack them into coolers for transport. Chop those pigs clean in half, then sheepishly grin at your friends as you ask them which half they want.
In the days of fuedal lords, this was one of the best swords - PERIOD. Compare the design, technology, and metalurgy to swords used anywhere else in the world. The Katana stands heads and shoulders above other edged weapons. The Samurai's Katana was brought into battle all the way up into the era of modern firearms. Hanwei is offering traditional styling with modern technology. Other functional swords of this caliber can cost more than twice as much. This is an investment that will pay off for years to come.
Cold Steel Warrior Functional KatanaJade Lion Gim - Cold SteelChinese War Sword, Leather Scabbard