Sword?

[Don Gwinn]

Sakimaru, I just noticed no one answered you. Bud K Worldwide is the DEVIL! Run AWAY!

 

Does that help? Seriously, it's crap wrapped in tripe. Bad steel, bad grinds, bad plastic crappy grips. . . . bad.

[BlueDragon1981]

The real bended ones are going to cost you any where from 250 to 1000

 

check http://www.swords.com

 

other than that I havent look for the real ones to much....Im poor

 

[Don Gwinn]

Bended=folded? That's OK. With modern steel you don't really need that.

 

The Japanese were very steel-poor when they developed their sword design. They had to smelt iron out of iron-bearing sand and add carbon in a fairly difficult process. This resulted in steel of very uneven quality; if you forged a billet into a blade, you might have a few inches of top-quality steel with the proper carbon content, followed by a few inches with too much of some alloying element, followed by an inch with none of that element.

 

In order to minimize this problem, they developed their famous method of repeatedly folding and welding the billet. Forge welding is not exactly what most people think of when they think of welding with a modern wire-feed welder. Two large chunks can be effectively blended and welded into one piece, not just along a narrow edge where a "bead" is formed. By doing this and then folding it again and welding that fold shut, and repeating the process hundreds (sometimes thousands) of times they would spread out impurities and alloying elements alike and create a more homogenous blend. What strata there were ended up as one or two out of a thousand layers all solidly welded as one chunk of steel. To be able to weld that way--perfect welds along the entire face of a large billet, over and over again hundreds of times in a row without ever creating a cold shut or burning out the carbon. . . it's something. I can weld, which is considered something of a milestone for a smith, but I'm a long way from being able to do that. And all by eye! If you haven't tried it, you can't know how really impossible it seems.

 

Anyway, the point is, a folded sword is well worth the price if you have the money. The smith has put many hours into it with a skill most people will never possess. It took him years and years of apprenticeship and making next to nothing as someone else's assistant just to be able to make such a blade and make a profit on it.

 

BUT. . . . with modern steels, it isn't necessary. If you order a billet of 5160, it's 5160. All of it. You can take it out back, forge it to shape, do the heat treat correctly and have an awesome blade that will be a match for any 500-year-old kahamagane piece. Of course, that's a little like saying you can build your Camaro to be faster than a Corvette. It might be, but the Corvette owner will still prefer his car. It has that "something." So does a truly old sword.

 

As a matter of fact, the persistent myth that Japanese swords were superior to European blades of the same period is also untrue. The European smiths had much better steel to work with and did not generally develop the amazing skill a Japanese smith required to make a good blade, but their swords were good nonetheless and certainly a match for the Japanese.

 

 

[Martial_Artist]

Excellent information Don.

 

 

[Bitseach]

Bit of a rant there Don, eh? Hope you feel better for getting it out of your system. Try an anger management class next time!

 

I don't *hate* anyone who collects knives and swords - if you have taken that interpretation then that is your head translating my words into something that suits your agenda.

 

Of course I do think that it is unhealthy and note that a lot of mentally unbalanced people are attracted to knives and guns, often to disguise some inadequacy in their lives. Case in point the schizophrenic chap that I mentioned who went mad in a Church with a "samurai" sword and nearly hacked someone's arm off and had a good go at cleaving their skull in two. Mercifully, an off-duty police officer as well as other members of the congregation were able to disarm and restrain him. Another madman was recently killed by armed police officers after refusing to drop a sharp katana he was waving around on the streets. Darwin award, anyone?

 

Your comment on kitchen knives is facetious, specious and other words rhyming with "eeshus". IF you so easily wound up by another's opinion, then you are probably not stable enough to own a knife collection.

 

Pax vobiscum, frater!

 

 

[Don Gwinn]

Of course I do think that it is unhealthy and note that a lot of mentally unbalanced people are attracted to knives and guns, often to disguise some inadequacy in their lives.

(One has to worry about people who are too "into" knives, guns, etc surely!!) "pa, can I make him squeal like a piggy?" (cue banjo and guitar, duelling) ;o)

I can think of few legal, sane reasons for ownership.

 

Your words speak for themselves. I for one will now heave a huge sigh of relief that you don't consider the above, technically, to be "hate." Thanks a lot.

 

 

[Bitseach]

Calling someone crazy or mentally imbalanced does not mean that one hates them!!

 

Besides many comments made with tongue firmly placed in cheek. I tried to denote this by smilies etc, but you've chosen to ignore these and to take offence. [shrugs] your choice!

 

Now put the knife down, buddy, back off and try blinking. Uh-oh, his eye's twitching oddly now....better get me coat.

[SKILFighter]

This post violated guidelines and has been edited.

[Athorn4941]

isnt advertising for your own personal gain forbiden on this forum.

[Don Gwinn]

Flinging insults and protesting when caught that your victims "can't take a joke" is a very old and ineffective gambit of bullies and jerks the world over. It fools no one. You make it even harder to believe you by continuing to mock us after protesting what a wonderful guy you are and how nice you've been to all us subnormals.

 

Nothing I say or do is going to stop you, and I'm OK with that. I just don't want you to think that anyone bought it.