A good katana.?

Question

I'm interested in buying a katana, this would be my first "real" katana, aside from one i bought at a knife show. The rest i have are wallhangers. I'm interested in the Spring steel 9260 katanas, but if anyone has any reccomendations that is much appretiated. I've taken kenjutsu for a while now, then quit and now in the proccess of training myself, due to the fact there arent many kenjutsu teachers in my area, the one i was taking from seemed....less experienced in teaching methods. Thanks.

Answer 1

Katana 172 !!

Answer 2

Try checking out the Cold Steel website. Their katanas are 1022 carbon steel, razor sharp and functional. A bit pricey, but the best production katanas I've come across.

The best of the best though are custom jobs and authentic swords crafted by mastersmiths, but that'll run you into the thousands.

Aside from Kenjutsu, Iaijutsu is a related martial art with emphasis on drawing and cutting simultaneously from the sheathed position. "quick draw strikes" you might find it interesting.

Answer 3

Where are you located? I don't recommend training completely without an instructor.

Recommendations regarding swords depend on the style you are studying and what you plan on doing with the sword.

Edit: Check for a authorized Shinkendo dojo near you... go to www.shinkendo.com.

The cheness blades that you are 9260 are good value and very tough. Their fittings however leave much to be desired. A good alternative is to get one customized from roninswords.com.

The Cold Steel katana are well made, but are not historically accurate in terms of blade shape and form and feel a little clumsy to me.

I recommend finding an instructor - other wise your form may suffer.