Hi there.

   I am a sword enthusiast, and have found several good buys here on eBay.The following is to serve as a guide to the person searching for an economical katana here on eBay.

   First off lets make some distinctions.. for the sake of this review we will cubbyhole  katana into 4 catagories: 1)SLO's 2)Production 3) custom 4) Nihonto .

      1)SLO's :  SLO stands for sword like object,and that is the only thing which can be said for theseThey are at best decorative pieces,made to please people (mostly with no sword knowlege) aesthetically.They are usually not tradionally constructed, and are unsafe for anything but hanging securely on  the wall.

  One hallmark of the SLO is Stainless steel construction.440 stainless is a common SLO material.While ok for knives stainless is a bit too brittle for anything the length of a sword, and can shatter ,causing dangerous shrapnel to fly through the air.Another hallmark is the rat tail tang. The tang is the part of the blade which extends through the handle.

. ratail    acceptable tang       

    One  really disappointing and apalling form of  SLO is that of the antique impersonator.These are horrible reproductions from China, made dirty and rusty to appear as true Japanese antiques.They are soft and poorly made.If put to any test of true katana performance they will fail drastically and dangerously.On eBay they come from China and have words such as "wonderful" and "surprising" in the description.They sell for a few dollars ,plus $100 shipping. These are junk, and worse, they are fraud. Remember if it looks cheap ... it is.Real Japanese antiques are stunning art works and cost thousands.

cheap counterfeitnice nihonto

   There is nothing wrong with an SLO per se,if that's what you want... but recent competition has put many functional swords at or below SLO cost, and part of a swords beauty is its functionality.

  2) Production :  Production refers to functional swords made in a mass production enviroment.For 95% of sword users/appreciators,this is the way to go.Production swords should be made of carbon steel,1045 grade or higher.They are dependent upon proper heat treatment to make them functional, and edge geometry to make them usable.Production swords usually run from $200-$2000 , but I have found some decent ones for less than $100 here on eBay.

     Look for  a sword that is associated with a brand name,these have a brand reputation to uphold.Generic swords not associated with a  brand only have to be good enough to fool you with pictures, branded ones depend on good reputation for repeat sales.Some examples of good brand names here on eBay are: Masahiro,Ryumon,Koto,Cheness,Paul Chen/Hanwei/Cas Iberia,Cold Steel,Bugei,Last Legend,Dynasty Forge, Oni Forge,Fred Chen.

    I have had very good luck with Masahiro. They are really as cheap as you will find a functional sword,and are pretty good . The bamboo model is very nice considering the prices they are going for...they are  worth much more.Unfortunately, very few Masahiro models exhibit the same quality, and most should be avoided. Some good places to buy Masahiro are handmadesword,razorsharpkatana, and sunpointusa.handmadesword sunpointusa razorshapkatana  Masahiro Bamboo

  Ryumon is associated with Masahiro, just a little higher end.The Ryumon have now started being offered in price ranges where one has much better alternatives, like Oni Forge,Dynasty Forge, Hanwei, Last Legend , and Bugei. Koto is good,especially for British buyers , also known as Tony Long.Koto is poised to make some exciting changes in the very near future and should make this brand exciting to watch. The distributor for Koto, and a great guy is here on eBay as Volt 24

     An up and coming brand is Cheness .Customer service is second to none,and he incorporates feedback from customers into his business constantly. the brand is always improving, and the 9260 blades have performed amazingly in some independent destruction tests. The proprietor of Cheness, Mr, P.Y. Chen is on eBay as water911 and his store is Cheness sword and sport . Cheness_water911  

   Loren Graves of  Oni Forge  is a great person to deal with,and offers quality products through his ebay auctions at Oni-Forge and also at his home site oniforge . com . Oni Forge are from smiths trained by Fred Chen like many other brands including Cold Steel , but are considerably more refined,with better fittings , mounts and saya  and with much better Quality Control.The same forge makes Last Legend, and  DGuerntin.

  In my personal opinion Oni Forge is the most exciting company to watch now, offering a variety of sugata (blade shapes) impossible to find elsewhere, and introducing more with every generation.The products are well made , and priced nice.

   From time to time I will now be offering slightly irregular or first quality swords from Oni Forge. These are the swords I buy for myself, and I buy extra so they are cheaper for me and you.Please check my auctions for great deals.

  Oni Forge O-tanto

  Cold Steel are extremely tough katana, produced for Cold Steel by Fred Chen trained smiths.They are economical and very practical.

   Last Legend , Bugei , Hanwei and Dynasty forge all come up for auction from time to time , and are all good production level katana.

  Dynasty Forge is supplied by Fred Chen.

 Hanwei and Bugei are supplied by Hanwei Forge, owned by Paul Chen.

 Though unrelated, Fred and Paul are at the apex of the production Katana industry.

 Bugei(Paul Chen, also makes Hanwei)

    The things to look for in production swords are , Steel type(carbon),heat treatment(differential hardening, or through hardening) and an honest ,communicative seller.Avoid sellers who make claims such as "sword can cut steel" and such nonsense,ask sellers questions and guage their answers . REMEMBER:IF THEY WON'T COMMUNICATE BEFORE THE SALE, THEY SURE WON'T COMMUNICATE ABOUT ANY PROBLEMS AFTER THE SALE.

  3)  Custom:    Custom katana are swords made by sword smiths on a one by one basis with careful care and consideration.They will outperform anything in the production world in aethetics, performance... on all levels.The smith takes an amount of time and care with the sword that can never be equaled with mass produced blades. They usually range from $1000 - $7000 .

   Often owners of custom pieces list their items on eBay after being unable for whatever reason to sell their sword through connections within the sword community.As such they are often great deals.I have seen very nice swords by James Raw go for great prices, as well as Tantos by Chris Makin and Andrew Harrington go for steals.These are great blades, directly from their makers going for great prices.

When considering a custom ask the seller questions.Also, most smiths contact information can be found on the web,and most won't mind a polite email to confirm their work.

  4) Nihonto- Nihonto are by definition ,true Japanese swords, made in Japan. They may be modern or antique. Because of the extreme quality , and restrictions by law on their production , nihonto are very expensive.They can cost from $5000 and up. It is not uncommon to see an antique go for $200,000 or more.

                                                               Nihonto

   If You are interested in nihonto, the best thing to do is spend the first few hundred dollars on books, that can be found on eBay or elsewhere.Then study , a lot.Nihonto are a high dollar speculation, and one can get a good deal, but just as easily get burned badly .Remember Nihonto costs thousands, and the people who sell them know what they are worth.You are not going to find a nihonto from a Chinese "antique dealer" for $20 plus $150 shipping.

   I hope this has been helpful.