>>14691
"Katana" isn't a proper noun. Before you deify an overhyped weapon, you should probably understand what it really is and how to 'use' it if you want to get a "true Katana".

For what you're talking about, you could pick up a shit piece for $5K, since you insist on it being Japanese.

>better steel/carbon or iron

I'm not even going to fucking touch that.

I never got the hype about the katana. Its a blade the Japanese really couldn't innovate out of because the iron in japan is all really bad, so they couldn't really experiment the way people from Europe could. If I collected weapons, I might want a modern reconstruction for the collection though. I'm sure genuine articles are inflated.

Modern or antique?

As far as I know the price range for modern katana of good quality is about 2-10K (and more depending on the swordsmith and the materials).

You can get a decent deal at Bugei (look it up). If you want a more modern katana you could go for the L6 Bainite Katana. If instead you want a more traditional one you could ask Yoshindo Yoshihara for one.

Good luck getting it out of the country.

Swords are actually illegal for the average citizen to possess in Japan. So good luck finding a swordsmith.

>>14692
You're correct its not a proper noun. How about this? 刀. I wanted to use the English terminology as most people wouldn't know what I meant, if I used the Kanji.

And yes I do mean steel/carbon or iron. As importing Tamahagane or true to its' proper usage, たまはがね, is illegal. So I do realize what I'm asking if I want to purchase form anywhere else.

And please don't, "fucking touch that" if you're not going to contribute informational data you fool.

>>14694
modern

>>14695
I saw him make the one I posted in the National Geographic documentary. I would love to ask him in a trip to Japan, but it might be a bit out of my price range unfortunately :(

Thank you for the info though! :)

>>14693

I agree, truthfully I'm only wishing to own one to complete my collection. As said before, it is the warrior not the weapon. If I do make a purchase though I want to be sure of it and think that it would be worth purchasing a modern Katana made through old methods... I don't know yet if I will choose to have it made or buy one at Buegi. I will have to do more research.

>>14698
I mean to say that it's a "katana" not a "Katana". If you want a "true" katana, it wouldn't be made of iron for a number of reasons. If you want to talk about steel we can talk about that all day, but "better" is pretty much a meaningless word in this context. If you want a sword forged in the medieval way then I would presume that you would also want steel that was smelted in the medieval way. This steel is objectively worse than modern steel, but you appear to be after authenticity, so "better" is moot. If you actually want to talk about metal I'd be more than willing to contribute on two conditions; don't call me a fool, stranger on the internet, and stop capitalizing the word "katana". It hurts my delicate sensibilities.

A katana made by a certified smith from Japan would cost at least $5,000. Hell, some bare blades cost $10,000. The Japanese government also limits how many katana are made per year, so good luck getting one.

Seriously, a modern reproduction katana made in China would suffice just as well, if not better for cutting things up/functional use, if that's what you're after . Bugei, Hanwei, Cheness, Dynasty Forge, Ronin Katana, and HSTS all make good katana, depending on the model.

Ronin Katana's Elite line offers katana forged in the fancy lamination styles (if that's your thing) like Gomai, Shihozume, and Soshu kitae styles. Top quality without wasting away thousands on a real nihonto.

If you want something made from tamahagane, HSTS offers their Budo line. Really durable and stupid sharp. Trouble is, HSTS's blades are in such high demand that they're usually sold out.

Unless you're an obsessed sword collector hell bent on getting an authentic Japanese katana, modern production ones will serve you just as well for a fraction of the price.

Very easy. Us collectors buy from Japan daily. Takes about 2 weeks to get export permission and deregister.
A modern sword will cost a lot more than an antique. Modern made by one of the current licensed smiths, from $10K up. Antique, from about $4K.
Good place to start at is check out Aoi Art. Or Nihonto Messageboard. There are also collectors and sword shows in most countries.

Real/antique, good luck. Functional; try Cold Steel. Good but not so expensive that you afraid to fuck it up.

>>14963
>cold steel
mallninja detected

http://www.bugei.com/
Bugei Trading Company

>>14997
Mall ninjas use BudK. Cold Steel makes reliable weapons.

But I digress. When planning for something like a katana, you need to think about the steel being used. Katanas are cutting blades - treating them like a machete is going to ruin the blade. The katana was designed to be "pulled" the moment it makes contact which is why it took significantly more training than something like a claymore, which used its weight to cut.

A katana also needs to be more flexible than most swords. As a result, the metals used tend to be softer, which means they can be easily damaged in untrained hands.

Cold Steel demonstrates the power of their katanas through videos. They bend them, cut pig carcasses, etc. What they don't show you is how to sharpen the blade and how to protect it.

If you sharpen the blade too much it will chip and fold, ruining it. If you don't sharpen it enough, it will be useless without the weight behind it to cut.

Katanas are amazing weapons, but not nearly as simple as common one hand and two hand swords. If you want a katana - and you want to actually use it reliably, get a cheap one at first to practice with. You're going to ruin the first few you use. After that, you can start looking into getting a proper, custom katana. In order to find them, search in knife catalogs for knife-makers. If they can't make swords/katanas, they will likely know someone who can. Master martial artists may be able to help you find someone as well.

not made in japan but i got one through sbg.com it is made of two grades of T10 tool steel and is quite heavy for a more powerful swing at the time it cost me around $400 but the price will have gone up sine then. for a katana it is a good blade but there are better single edge swords out there ( those that bend instead of breaking)

>>15027
Cold Steel is shit. If you look at websites that sell used and damaged weapons, the majority of broken/damaged/flawed weapons are Cold Steel.

Also, on a different note, Katanas are one of the worst types of sword. I can't think of any advantage they would have compared to almost anything else, save for maybe bronze age weapons. Almost no change in design for 700 years, the whole "muh thousand layers" technique is actually antiquated as fuck and was used by the Celts in 300s BC.

And they weren't even used to inflict the majority of damage in battle. That was done by bows, spears, etc. Katanas were pretty much last resort weapons. A good european sword designed for fencing would wreck a katana 9 out of 10 times, all other things being equal.

>>15031
This. Japan has quite literally some of the worst quality iron ore in the world. They invented ideologies and martial arts around mastering the katana when they would just get destroyed by most European weapons.

what you really want is a katana that is made with better metal like T-10 steel not the original iron because the iron was bad quality and they didn't fold it a lot like the myth says, it would actually make them really bridal
now for the advantages of a katana is cutting power, the curve directs other swords out of the way when you thrust and there are others I'm not going to mention but I was a kendo martial artist and plan to be again in the near future. I would recommend these sites for a katana/ sword (and it spans a variety of price ranges)
http://musashiswords.com/shop/product.php?productid=174&cat=36&page=1
http://casiberia.com/product/praying-mantis-katana/sh2359
http://www.ryansword.com/index.php
http://www.chenessinc.com/tenchi.htm
this one tells you a bit more about steel and stuff so read it when you get the time
http://www.sword-manufacturers-guide.com/sword-steels.html

I just ordered a powder steel Hanwei Tonbo sword from the kult for 600 dollars

There seem to be a lot of people here taking pleasure in 'shooting down the myth of the glorious katana'.

But can you back up some of these assertions please?
Like the quality of iron ore, why does that matter? Doesn't that just make the smelting process longer?

Aren't these blades considered some of the sharpest handcrafted blades ever made?

>>15053
Except I wasn't asserting anything, I was asking a question. That's what a question mark means you piss gargling turdfucker.

After learning more about it I learned that my question is still good, but I can revise it to satisfy perpetual masturbators like you.

Doesn't the katana keep its edge better than most swords due to the maleability of the cutting edge?

Also why the fuck would it matter if the design of the sword didn't change for 700 years if it was an excellent design?

No one has answered with any actual information.

Why would european weapons be better? Yes, a heavy sword will break a light one. So fucking what? If it was euros vs japs the japs would already know that and use different weapons.

How does the katana compare to light swords of europe? You can't compare it to heavy swords, that's just absolutely retarded.

>>15054
>Doesn't the katana keep its edge better than most swords due to the maleability of the cutting edge?
No, it loses it faster because of that reason. It was designed for a single strike, it may start sharper but if it's used in a prolonged engagement/repeatedly it rapidly loses its edge and effectiveness.
>why the fuck would it matter if the design of the sword didn't change for 700 years if it was an excellent design?
Why isn't the Colt1911 the main service pistol of today, because it's been surpassed by more modern designs.
>Why would European weapons be better?
See the prior question. The katana is dated back to 1400 (1200 if you're being picky) so you're best comparing it to a shamshir or something from the same era. European weapons have evolved with the battlefield where the katana just can't cut it anymore (literally and figuratively).

As for the resource aspect >>15053 brought up the European battlefield has evolved faster due to an abundance of resources by comparison. There is evidence to suggest that the Far-Eastern battlefield would have evolved in a similar manner to the European one if the two cultures remained isolated from each other but the rate would have been much slower.

Kult of athena has some Kris Cutlery katanas for some awesome prices. I bet they would easily be on par with the ronins and hanweis. I have one of there teutonic longswords and it is very high quality.

You can get something awesome for around 200 give or take if you are not as concerned with the tsuka being real rayskin and silk wrapped,etc.

>>14691

Don't be an asshat. Buy a gun.

>>15027
Cold steel in general makes shite blades, specifically the handles always become loose. Also shitty ceo.