Price on Katanas

I will be traveling to the Tokyo and Kyoto regions. I would like to purchase a real, sharp katana, not one of the souvenir swords that are blunt.

Thank you!

You may find that difficult.
You need a special licence to take a steel sword out of Japan, even if you are able to buy one.
The "art" swords (replicas) are usually made from Zinc, whic I suppose would break if you tried to use it.

There are some places that make replica zinc swords that are sharp.

That's what I assumed.
Thank you very much! ありがとう　ございます！

Hey, a zinc katana would do for me! How much for an average one?

*takes his bank and shakes it*

oops, empty :(

I hear a real sword can run you about $10,000.00 US and up. Then the ones in the 10,000 range I hear are the cheap ones. If you just want any kind of replica, you don't have to go to Japan to get it.

Swords are illegal in Japan. But if your looking to buy:

www.swords-online.com

*points to the other answers and laughs* OWNED!

Thanks for the info RayOfAsh!

I really like that website as well. Know any other good ones?

my sugestion to you is to find a knife dealer near you and have them order your choice of sword from paul chen. I own a few of his katanas and think they are great. You can purchase katanas that are made of folded steel, carbon steel, or both folded and carbon steel. Keep in mind that these are extreemly sharp sharp. Also they are not made of stainless steel so you will have to keep the blade oiled. The cost of these katanas range from $250 to $3000. If you are planning to practise iai-do with your sword then I would sugest the practical plus whitch retails for about $600.
FYI: My prices are in CAD ... US prices will be significantly less.

Heres a link: http://www.swordsdirect.com/paul_chen_professional.html

cheers

Swords are not illegal, but you need a permit to own/export one. These are hard and expensive to get.

There are many people who own replica swords (made mainly of zinc) for use in martial arts training.

Your swords-online site is quite nice. However, VoodooChylde was bit high, but spot on, when he/she said REAL Japanese swords run thousands of dollars.

The swords on your site, while nice, are production line swords made in China, the US, SE Asia or India. I'm not saying they are worthless, but I don't think it is very nice to taunt other posters when we are talking about apples and oranges - both are fruit, but two very different beasts.

Some swords on that site are actual fully functional swords. Theyre just hard to find.

There was this one katana they gave a sharpness of 9/10 and a quality of 9/10. It was around 3,000 dollars.

I have studied and researched swords for a few years now, and no, no sword goes for over 10 thousand dollars (unless its an antique military sword used in the civil war or something like that), thats just ridiculas.

No one in their right mind would pay 10,000 dollars for a modern made Japanese sword! I think we are getting our terms crossed..."Functional" as in able to be used, is not the same (on this thread) as "real." To keep things simple, I have stayed away from jargon like nihonto (even modern handmade ones sell very high) to keep things simple. But I think we know what the other is trying to say.

You are right about the real antiques going for very high prices. If you haven't found it already, have a look at Aoi Art to see what high quality Nihonto go for.

http://www.aoi-art.web.sh.cwidc.net/main.html

Sorry for the confusion, but I thought we were talking about real antiques not modern made ones. As for those I don't know but I hear that people in japan still butthem for special occassions and whatnot.

I too am going to Japan. Im looking for a store there that sells hand folded swords. Im not looking for antiques.

Be ready to pay a bundle. Handmade folded swords outside Japan start at close to a thousand. Handmade is different than machine or production-line "handmade." Each smith has different work times, but the good ones have backlogs of work for three, six or even twelve months.

You could find a genuine handcrafted sword in Japan, but you will need a special license to buy and export it. Your best bet is to find a dealer outside the country if you want the genuine article.

There are plenty of tourist shops that sell dull, zinc-based machined swords for a few hundred bucks. I wouldn't swing them around or anything.

Lots of good sword stuff at www.swordforum.com

As a buyer, maker, and wielder of Japanese swords, I would advise you to avoid ALL Paul Chen products. Manufacturing techniques produce many flaws in steel, and all Hanwei swords will break with very little force applied in a flawed part of the steel. I can say this about ALL of their products because I made the mistake of buying the Kami folded steel katana and testing it on a few tatami mats. I broke the most prestigious sword Paul Chen had to offer almost as soon as I got it. In Japan however, swords are finely made, seeing as it is still considered a religious art by many smiths, including Masamune the 17th. These swords will run you from a Priceless level to the low $100,000s to have made.

My advice: Buy a Chinese acquisition Katana from WW2. The Chinese know nothing of their value and regularly import them for under $300.

I would give the Chinese more credit...there are so many fakes on Ebay said to be from China that it is astounding. Someone knows there are a lot of suckers out there who know very little about swords. They then offer an amazing deal on a "genuine" WW2 sword and they turn out to be complete crap.

Do check out www.swordforum.com - all of these issues have been hashed and rehashed a million times, including the Paul Chen issue.

Plus, you can find American and Eurpoean smith who can custom make a Japanese sword for you that will be every bit as good as you can find in Japan, it just won't be made in Japan.

Hi, Cameron! To get an idea, you can try Yahoo,jp. Type N-KOSEN. Click B, just beneath the words NAKANO INFORMATION. When you get the page, you will see the photos of Japanese swords with prices. If you see the numbers such as 32????(in Japanese words), that means 320 thousand yen. I repeat what someone has already said on the page, that the sword is sold with the official permit/certificate, so no need to worry. Please be sure, if you want a REAL Japanese sword, do not choose a modern one (after Meiji era), but that of Edo. Some swords have a bit of rust (naturally) or serrated (naturally, too). It is pity you do not tell us where you are from, otherwise I could tell you whence country you can obtain one of the best Japanese swords... Good luck.

Thank you for all the information and tips, everyone.

Toshi,
I live in Dallas, Texas in USA.

ありがとう　ございます！

the site www.budkww.com is a good one as far as prices go, but I have only ordered one but it was good. enjoy the site

http://www.japansword.co.jp/
These guys are the real deal-located in Japan
They will ship a sword to you
Ain't cheap though