Sword Buyers Digest: MAGAZINE!

The New Cheness Cut-lery ‘Delux’ Iaito, de-signed by 8th DanHanshi, Masayuki Shi-mabukuro (MJER)

CHENESS CUTLERYRecently Cheness Cutlery introduced quite afew more products to their line up, includingtwo massive Katana—the O-Katana, a huge 33”long blade, and a 30” Nagasa Katana, bothmade from the revolutionary 9260 Spring Steeland designed for the larger practitioner in mind.

Both of these are trial runs, and while I hearthat the 30” Nagasa will become a part of theirregular inventory, sadly the trial run of theCheness 33” bladed O-Katana is likely to be theonly one, so if you are after a nicely priced andextremely strong ‘Giant Katana’, this might beyour last chance….

Another new development at Cheness includesusing a much tighter tsuka wrap, with an up-graded wooden core and channels to firmly seatthe same panels, resulting in a much strongerand more oval shaped and form fitting tsukaassembly—all done without a correspondingprice increase.

Finally, Cheness have just released a new andgreatly improved version of their carbon steeliaito (steel training swords), the Delux.

Designed to the specifications of respected 8thdan Hanshi, Masyayuki Shimabukuro Senseifrom the world famous MJER Iai-justu Dojosthis would have to be the most affordable andpractical iaito on the market.

With a mean looking black same skin, willowpattern tsuba, bo-hi and tight brown tsuka itowrap, this sword is perfect for the kenjutsu oriaido student on a budget.

All of the above swords are now available at thelowest prices on the net at the new:

SBG Sword Shop

GENERATION 2As of the 15th of September, an old favouritethat was temporarily retired, the Tolkein in-spired Ranger Sword, is now back in stock andgood to go!

Designed with the true‘die-hard’ LoTR fans inmind, this fully func-tional sword epitomizesthe ranger spirit with alook and feel that isboth at the same timeeminently practical yetalso really quite elegant.

With a hand forged1060 Carbon Steelblade polished to a mir-ror finish, the RangerSword (also known asthe ‘Pro Sword’) is,like all Gen2 swords,quite a bargain at onlyUS$239.

But this month only,you can pick up the Ranger Sword from Armsof Valor with a whopping 15% discount.

Simply enter the special time sensitive 15%Coupon Code (SBG-15) next to your namewhen you order and my good friend Jason atAoV will drop the price down to $203.15!

Plus, as always, a portion of each sale earnsSBG referral credits to go towards my next pur-chase of swords to review.

And remember, stocks are limited on this one,so if you like the look of this sword, you hadbetter get in quick.

OFFER EXPIRES 31st October 2006

Sword Industry News: New Products andSpecial Discount Offers!

posed SBG ‘budget’. But when you take a goodlook at this sword, and combine it with ourReliks.com Discount coupon code ‘RELIKS-SBG’ (which brings the price down to US$305.10), you can see why I might be willing tojust let in scrape on in... :-) Definitely a sword Iwill be purchasing to review on SBG, Reliksare now taking preorders on this model, whichwill be available to ship very, very soon:

Check it out for yourself here

Windlass steelcrafts make some very nice highcarbon steel movie swords, with their‘Kingdom of Heaven’ swords previously ac-claimed as some of their best quality pieces yet.

Well, it looks like Windlass may have come upwith another winning, value for money piece...

Their latest venture into the world of movieswords is the extremely attractive and ornatesword of ‘Beowulf and Grendel’. While strictlyspeaking, at US$339, its $39 over the self im-

Windlass Steelcrafts ‘Beowulf’ Sword

Sword Buyers Digest:MAGAZINE!

Issue 1, October 2006

Page 2

“Sadly the trial run ofthe Cheness 33” bladedO-Katana is likely to bethe only one, so if youare after a nicely priced

and extremely strong‘Giant Katana’, thismight be your lastchance…”

Windlass Steelcraftslatest addition:

the Beowulf Sword...

© Sword-Buyers-Guide.com 2006

My personal favoriteRSW—the RSWKatana! :-)

years. Back then we called ourselves "SundayButchers" so everyone who participated got tobutcher someone or get butchered.

Maybe it was around 1998 to 2000 we started togo after realism in the weapons' handling char-acteristic. RSW officially started at the end of2003 where my father got involved to improvethe look of our Sunday Butchers padded weap-ons.

SBG: What is the most common question youget asked about RSW swords?

Lancelot Chan: "Are they sharp?" .... no kid-ding... :D

SBG: Hehe, wow—that’s kind of a scarythought! :-D

But apart from their sharpness, what are peo-ples most common concerns when it comes totaking a serious look at RSW swords?

For example, I imagine that there are a lot ofpeople, especially in the US, who might want toget one are a little worried about overseas ship-ping fees, etc. What do you say to those people,and do you have any plans to produce them inlarger quanties and distribute internationally?

Lancelot Chan: Hmmm locally the other mainquestion was whether they can unsheathe the

sword from the padding... or they don't ask,they just gave it a try and pull the handle! :|

About the shipping charge, it has always been aproblem because RSW is relatively a lot moreaffordable than real swords, yet the sameweight and size made them costing just as muchas shipping real swords do.

So it may take up a relatively high portion ofeach purchase compare to buying real swords.

The good thing is that the more swords a cus-tomer purchase, the shipping charge per sworddrops significantly and sparring swords are al-ways good when comes in a couple or more. Infact, we used to have an exclusive dealer in theUSA before but he quitted for a while.

Recently we are negotiating to restart our op-eration again. Our full production rate is about20 swords per month and I think the waiting listso far never gets too long. If it does, I may hiremore labor to help production. :P

SBG: Of all the RSW swords you have made,which is your personal favourite? Judging froma lot of the videos on your site, I could guessand say that it is the Brescia Spandona ;-)

If it is, what attracts you to this sword in par-ticular (and if not, which one IS your favour-ite?).

Lancelot Chan: My favourite RSW is alwaysthe one I made for myself, the one that modelsafter my real sword. Currently I've two realswords and they are both my favourite swords.Brescia Spadona from Albion Swords was oneof them and the other was a custom made com-plex hilt longsword by Tinker.

I've yet to make the RSW for the latter one, sothe brescia spadona RSW is currently my fa-vourite indeed.

The reasons it attracts me were that it was alongsword that was light and fast. It was alsoextremely sharp, thus requiring less force toinflict cutting and slicing wounds in unarmoredcombat, which we intend to simulate. The guardwas also very wide and easy to intercept oppo-nent's attacks.

These factors combined are well suited for myless-than-healthy body. I can concentrate moreon fine movements.

Interview With the Founder of Realistic SparringWeapons (RSW), Lancelot Chan (Continued)



Page 4

“SBG: What is the mostcommon question you getasked about RSW Swords?

Lancelot: “Are they

sharp?”…. no kidding…

:D”

Lance’s favorite REAL sword,Albion’s Brescia Spandona.


SBG: Here’s an interesting one for you… Ifsomeone who was about to go into a real lifeand death sword fight (with no prior experienceat all) asked you what would be the best thingthey could do to come out of it the other end inone piece, what advise would you offer them?

Lancelot Chan: Try to give up the idea andmake friend with your opponent. Tell the oppo-nent that nowadays, sword lovers are alreadyscarce compare to the old days because it wasno longer a functional weapons in modern war-fare, or a part of the fashion, or readily accessi-ble self-defense weapon. By the same reason,those who are still motivated enough today tofight with real sword were even fewer. So whynot be a good friend by the swords and let theinterests live on instead?

SBG: Hehe, well - that may be true these days,but let's say it is a hypothetical situation a fewhundred years ago, when swords were a stan-dard self defence weapon and duels were aneveryday occurrence.

Let's say that this person had no option but toaccept the challenge and fight (even thoughthey'd rather run away) - and they begged you,a veteran sword fighter, to tell them what theyneeded to do to survive the combat...

What specific technique, or perhaps more im-portantly mindset, would you advise them toadopt to stand a fighting chance?

Lancelot Chan: Hmmm... it would depend onthe sword style involved but generally, I willadvise the guy to stay aggressive and seize ini-tiative.

Present a threat either by the point or by theedge and let the opponent worries about how todefend himself rather than how to attack him.Hit the person, not the opponent's sword. Hitthe hands if possible for they're the closesttargets.

Defensive wise, if he is using a westernstyle sword with a cross guard or plenty handprotection, I will also suggest hide himselfbehind his sword's guard and make sure hissword is always in the position between himselfand his opponent's sword. If he is using an east-ern style sword that lacks of such defensive fa-

cility around the hand, then make sure he is al-ways able to void by backing out of the distanceand retract his hands.

Hands are very frequently hit due to the close-ness to the opponent.

SBG: One of the things I personally like aboutthe RSW swords is that if you get it, it hurts -but doesn't cause any permanent injury.

This I feel adds a certain level of realism into aRSW bout (i.e. if you are all padded out in ar-mor and don't feel a thing, your way of fightingis going to be different than if you risk a littlepain).

But that said, what are the worst injuries youhave seen or experienced with RSW swordsother than the odd bruise (and bruised ego).

And while its pretty much a free for all, whattechniques are outlawed as too dangerous?

Lancelot Chan: We allowed even strikes to theneck and groin and so far ended up with noproblem. Here’s an example:

http://lancelot.servehttp.com/neck.mpg

However, the worst injuries occurred mostly onfingers where the small bones may get fractured(crack developed on bone, not broken though).

It usually recovers in a couple weeks and nomobility was lost to the injured finger. But itmay look flatter. That's why we always suggestplenty protection on the hands.

The forbidden strikes were to use any part ofthe unpadded area of RSW to hit the placeswhere it was not covered by some kind of ar-mor. For example, we allow pommel strike tothe head/face where a hockey helmet wouldcover.

But a pommel strike to the naked neck wouldnot be nice. ..




Page 5

“the worst injuriesoccurred mostly on thefingers… It usuallyrecover in a couple of

weeks… But it may lookflatter.”

Lancelot’s Office, whereevery RSW is hand madewith the utmost care.

RSW don’t just makeswords, check out the

huge spear on the right!


RSW being filmed for aHong Kong Cable TV

Interview

Thus the German style murdering stroke waskinda ruled out unless one can be sure that it hitnowhere but the helmet.... but who would will-ingly let you hit his head with your pommel?

Unarmed strikes are allowed to the semi-contact degree. Full contact unarmed strikesbetter occurred in the rings than on our field. :P

SBG: Final Question, what is in store for thefuture at RSW?

Lancelot Chan: More expert grade models forsure, maybe more axes that were made safer, ahalberd, a spear with side blades...

SBG: It’s been cool having you on SBG Lance,thanks for your time! :-)




Page 6

“Unarmed strikes are

allowed to the semi-

contact degree. Full

contact unarmed strikesbetter occurred in the

rings than in our field

:P”

Lance’s website has a lot more infoon it than just description of all theRSW swords and other sparringweapons (including knives, spears,etc).

For a start, there is tons of videos ofhim and the team in action, as wellas sword reviews, general informa-tion on swordsmanship, sparringtips and a whole lot more.

Check it all out here:

http://www.rsw.com.hk/index.htm


www.reliks.com

Scott Hardy is a sword enthusiast who lovespractical, fast and short bladed swords.

This month, in the first of a 3 part series,Scott will be taking a look at the HanweiForges Main Gauche (pictured below, farright) a short bladed parrying sword de-signed primarily to be used in the left hand.

Hanwei Main GaucheSpanish style, simple model

This main gauche is a model you're not likelyto see for sale very often, it's an older model,much less ornamented than Hanwei's "Taza"main gauche, and slightly less so than theWindlass "Musketeer." A few turned up un-expectedly, and were being closed out byWeapons Emporium at $59 (marked downfrom $127), which seemed hard to beat.

Main gauches differ quite a bit in construc-tion, and some have symmetrical blades, al-lowing them to be used either right or lefthanded. I had rather hoped that it would beone of those, but it isn't at all. The back ofthe blade is purely for parrying, and at nearly1/4" thick, should be able to parry anyweapon you have the strength to stop.

Distal taper is good, and the balance point isonly about an inch in front of the guard, so ithandles about as lightly as a fencing foil.The blade is 17.5" long, and the weapon is23" long overall. Weight is maybe a poundand a half.

It came with an edge which was almost sharpin places, but extremely dull in others, and

required half an hour or so of filing before Icould move on to sharpening proper.

This included only slightly over half of theblade, the edge giving way to 1/4" steel a fewinches from the guard. The sweet spot isabout 5" from the tip. The steel and heattreatment both seemed reasonable, but defi-nitely milder than a Generation 2 swordblade, for example.

Between the balance and the fact that onlymaybe 9" of one side of the blade is sharp,this main gauche is MUCH better suited tothrusting than to swinging. It might make agood stand-alone weapon for a left-handedperson, but the total dullness of the base ofthe blade would mean that it could begrabbed with relative impunity, and theblade-catchers cut into the blade would en-sure a great grip if one succeeded.

Construction seems fairly solid -- the blade isunquestionably so, and you can see that thetang is nice and wide where it enters theguard. It is peened into the pommel, and ap-pears able to stand significant use/abuse.

The guard's bars are nice and thick, and therolled-edge plate seems solid enough. Thepommel appears to be of a different metalfrom the rest of the weapon, which is an un-fortunate, if minor, cosmetic blemish. Thewire wrap on the handle isn't perfect, but it'spretty posh for a $59 blade.

The scabbard seems like an afterthought, it'scheap leather and chrome plated steel, whichseems a few centuries out of place.

Overall, I would say that I really have nocause for complaint at the deeply discountedprice I paid, but it would not be my firstchoice for a practical, stand-alone weapon. Ifyou're a right-handed swordsman who likesusing two weapons, at $59 it's a good valuefor that purpose.

Practical Swords Reviewed: By SBGContributor Scott Hardy—Part 1



Page 7

“The Steel and Heattreatment both seemedreasonable, butdefinitely milder than a

Generation 2 swordblade, for example.”

The Hanwei ForgesMain Gauche.

A historical example ofthe Main gauche in use.

The verdict:Historical accuracy: 5/5 if you throwaway the scabbardFit and finish: 3/5Handling: 5/5Structural integrity: 4/5Value for money: 5/5 at $59, 2/5 at $127


Making your owntsuka handle might betime consuming, but isalso very rewarding...

Those of you have been with me for a while now might know I’ve been running a WIN a FREEKatana in Shirasaya competition for a few months now. And while there were a few enquiries inthe early days of the, it would seem like that a lot of people just don’t know where to begin...

I wish that I had enough time right now to put together a comprehensive, step by step guide, but Idon’t (which is part of the reason I was putting the competition together in the first place! I needsome help). In the meantime though, for those of you want to give it a go but don’t know where tostart, here are a few resources you can use to put the pieces together yourselves (no pun intended!).

ONLINE RESOURCES

http://japantrip.tripod.com/nihonto/tsuka/tsuka01.html

Great little illustrated guide to making a tsuka from a wooden hammer handle.

http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm

Quite a detailed look at how to properly wrap the handle.

http://sayashi.com/project%20pages/shirasaya.htm

Detailed pics and instructions on how to make a saya (Scabbard)

http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/lac.htm

How to properly lacquer the saya.

BOOKS

The Craft of the Japanese Sword

Considered by those in the know to be the best resource on making and fitting a Japanesesword. While it is designed more as an overview of how the masters do it, it obviously con-tains a lot of useful info that even the beginner can utilize.

SUPPLIERS

www.shadowofleaves.com/Recommended as the best supplier of high quality yet reasonably priced tsuka ito, menuki, me-kugi and all the other bits and pieces you might need to complete your project.

DIY: Custom Katana. Resources and Tips forRefitting a Japanese Sword!

sword enthusiasts and the best entry gets a Che-ness 9260 Spring Steel Katana in Shirasaya sentto them anywhere in the world for free - to bedrawn on the 1st of December 2006 (extendedfrom the 1st of November)!

Simply submit your entries and any questions [email protected]

Good luck!

If you want to give refitting a bare blade a tryyourself, why not share your efforts with therest of the sword community and win yourself aFREE Cheness 9260 in Shirasaya for yourefforts!

Simply send in some photos and a walk throughof how you did your customisations that I canput up on SBG to share with other Japanese

WIN a 9260 Spring Steel ShirasayaCOMPETITION: Extended to December 2006!



Page 8

“If you want to giverefitting a bare blade atry yourself, why notshare your efforts withthe rest of the sword

community and winyourself a FREE Cheness9260 in Shirasaya foryour efforts!”

Cheness 9260 SpringSteel Katana inShirasaya: the perfectDIY sword project.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFighting-German-Longsword-Christian-Tobler%2Fdp%2F1891448242%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1159526808%2Fref%3Dsr%5F1%5F1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks&tag=swordbuyersgu-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OCBB0wkQU

I hope you enjoyed this issue of the Sword buyers Digest Magazine as muchas I enjoyed putting it together for you! :-)

Until next issue, stay safe and have fun with swords!

Paul Southren

Bonus FREE Sword Stand

AND a FREE Cleaning Kit

Naturally, since at this price I am liter-ally almost giving them away - this spe-cial offer is strictly limited to ordersplaced before midnight 31st of October2006.

Don’t miss out! Stock is limited and Ihave no intentions of repeating this specialprice, so if you want one, you’d better get inquick…

US$229.99 + $20 Shipping

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Offer Expires 31st October 2006.

Discount valid only on orders within the conti-nental US. Limit of one sword per customer.

With a differentially hardened blade that com-pares favorably to swords twice its modest US$299.99 price tag, the Cheness Kaze is a greatvalue for money sword.

And if you’ve seen my full review of this tradi-tionally forged Katana, you’ll have some ideaof exactly what it is capable of...

Well, now for the first time ever, I am proud tobe able to offer the Cheness Kaze Katana di-rectly from SBG at a ridiculously low price ofjust US$229.99 + $20 shipping within the US!

Not only do you get everything this sword nor-mally comes with such as a display box, swordbag and of course, lacquered saya, but withspecial offer you also get:

SBG Sword Store Special Discount Cheness Katana Offer!(Sorry, USA Subscribers Only)

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscribing to the Sword Buyers Digest isabsolutely FREE, to sign up visit mysubscriptions page here

With a tsuba based on anactual antique and a natu-ral hamon the Kaze is pureclass all the way….

S W O R D B U Y E R S D I G E S T :

MAGAZINE


“That’s All Folks!”

ENQUIRIES

Any suggestions, comments, press releasesor advertising enquiries are more thanwelcome.

Please direct your correspondence to:[email protected]

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=p%2esouthren%40people%2enet%2eau&item_name=Discount%20Cheness%209260%20Katana&amount=229%2e99&shipping=20%2e00&no_shipping=2&no_note=1&currency_code=USD&lc=US&bn=PP%2dBuyNowBF&charset=UTF%2d8

Documents

Sword Buyers Digest: MAGAZINE!