So I'm buying a sword...

[Dopples]

http://www.trueswords.com/nodachi-black-dragon-zatoichis-sword-p-593.html


Well, I've saved up some money, and I've been thinking about getting a sword for a while. So while looking only, I happened to come across this. My friend says it's pretty good for it's price, but I want a second opinion. Can someone tell me if it's worth the 20 bucks?

 

[Kraft]

Well, I personally dont like the look of it...
I would think that a sword would need something like a guard (between the handle and the blade) that sticks out a little...

Sure, go for it, it is cool to own a sword (I have a sword almost the exact same (just smaller) than the one off of braveheart ^_^

They are fun to hold, and play around with, and then they sit there in a corner, or hanging up until a friend comes over and picks it up :D

 

[Kemuri]

There are plenty of cool looking swords you can get for $20, but that's just it, they're just cool looking. They won't be properly weighted, and most have a dull edge and a cheap sheath, but they'll look cool on a wall =P

The website says that one is a nodachi, but actual nodachi's had a much longer blade than 28'' (they were also freaking huge and impractical...even in their time) and a real nodachi would still be curved a little bit similarly to a katana.

It's just meant to look cool. So if you're not actually going to use it, go for it =)

Edit: Oh yeah, and it lacks a Tsuba (guard) which is another reason it's not meant to be used =P

 

[Tim.]

Well, I personally dont like the look of it...
I would think that a sword would need something like a guard (between the handle and the blade) that sticks out a little...

The hilt, you mean? Normally yes, but that there is a Zatoichi, it's meant to be disguised as a walking stick. I'd say its worth about $40-50, (atleast thats what they charge at that shop at the mall..) but $20 is definetly a good deal. Buy it! :thumb:

 

[madmax_vii]

It's a nice straight-katana, take it you're a Zatoichi fan. But preferably I'd go for a more traditional Ivory Dragon-Katana, that or a Chinese Longsword, now those are awesome!


EDIT:

Spoiler: WU JIAN!!!!

http://www.trueswords.com/images/prod/c/TS-TCS88G_540.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Nin]

That looks like the shit. Get it.

 

[Dan191]

Looks Nice, Reminds me of Sasuke's sword after the time skip =D

 

[Tdata]

I'll put it this way, if you pay $20 be ready when i shatters. I'd save up some more and get a quality sword. Personally i would look in to a Gen 2 Practical Katana. That 'sword' is nothing but a SLO. Sworld Like Object. Iw is stainless steel.

Go here. You will learn what i mean.
http://forums.swordforum.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=21

 

[Dopples]

Well, from what I've been told, Carbon Steel doesn't exactly shatter easily. But I dunno. Anyways, I only have 20 bucks to spend, and considering carbon steel swords are usually 50...yeah.



But I'm not going to be cutting much, just gonna maybe whack at some skinny wood, and just use to for messing around.

 

[Cruelty]

Who cares what it's made out? Are you gonna be swingin it at samurai and shit? No.
If you got nothing better to spend 20$ on, well...

 

[Tdata]

If it has as much Carbon as it state, it is very rigid. You hit anything hard and it could shatter. That is why i buy 1040 steel or spring steel swords when i'm going to be hitting things.

 

[FzGhouL]

....
$20? Are you joking.

When I buy my sword I'm spending at least $400

 

[Dopples]

http://www.trueswords.com/classic-saber-with-sheath-p-712.html

What about this one then? I don't need something SUPER STRONG, just something that can take a few hits.

 

[Tdata]

Then, against my better judgment, you should go on ebay and buy one of the 'ninja' swords. The are thick enough that they won't break after hitting something hard.

But to be honest, any sword that is under $100 is most likely for display only.

Also, i have a question for you... Are you 18? If not, you really shouldn't buy one... If so, why can't you wait a bit longer Till you have more money then buy a beginner grade sword? $120 should get you a good beater and you can cut all you want.

 

[Dopples]

I am infact under 18, but I've gotten my parents permission. I have enough enough common sense to not stab/or decapitate myself, considering I can easily use my friend's sword just fine (He got his for about 40 bucks, and it's pretty good at cutting through things.



I would wait to get more money, but the 20 bucks is all I have to spare atm. I gotta replace my PS2, upgrade my computer, buy my dad a gift, and get my girlfriend something nice for her birthday, so I'm a little strapped for cash.

 

[BlueScope]

I say get rid of your girlfriend, saves you one bunch of money XD j/k (well, it WOULD actually save you a bunch of money, but I was joking about the riddance part )

If you want to get it to just toy around a bit and cutting throuh paper, well... I guess the 20 buck swords should do it, but I wouldn't expect it to stay alive any long...
For the sword, it really depends on the thing you want to do with it. If you want to decorate your room with it, and not practically use it, I'd reccomend a sword worth about 100 bucks, because if you get cheaper ones, they might look cheap or get it over the time by oxidation or this stuff.
If you want to buy it for self defense or something, don't buy anything under $300, as you need to rely on it. Then again, if you don't know how to wield a sword, you'd probably be better off with your hands alone.
Finally, if you want it for serios sports competition, like Iaijutsu or Kenjutsu combat, get a real sword, meaning about $4000 to $10000.

I got myself swords for about 100 bucks before, the normal kind... well, the upper nail (Mekugi) broke after a while for the first one, and the hilt got pretty loose for the second one after some time as well. When I got into Kenjutsu, I bought myself an Iaito, which I'm really content with - then again, you wouldn't need to spend about $1000 if you're not swordfighting every week Either way - a Bokuto is the cheapest option if you go for the 'first time sword fighting experience', as you can get a pretty good one for about $15 already (those take about 1000 (parried) hits, which is pretty good for a sword like that).

 

[arcthemonkey]

Oh.
My.
Gosh.

Listen to yourselves, people. What dopples wants is essentially a toy, in the sense he just wants it for being a putz and dancing around and being awesome with a sword. It is MUCH better to do that with a replaceable $20 than an imported sword from a Japanese master swordsmith that costs $41,000 because it's made with your own blood and has ruby inlays.

Also, TData, I'm not sure where you are magically divining the carbon content of this thing, but Carbon Steel isn't especially prone to breaking. I doubt it's ultra-high carbon steel. It's probably around .30% which is great for swords, and cheap.

I say that unless $20 is a lot of money to you, go for it. If it breaks, it's not the end of the world. This is the sort of weapon bought either for display or for practice. It's good for practice, because the weight is more accurate than a boken.

I say get it, realize it will be flimsy and dull (though, if you REALLY want to, you can sharpen it), and if you break it - big deal.

It's $20 - you won't do a whole lot better.

If you just want a practice sword, you can get a good boken for $10. (Bokens are made from wood, btw.)

Oh, and Dopples, I can't believe you've profaned the name I gave you.

 

[BlueScope]

arc, I have to disagree with you on the practicing part... cheap swords aren't any good for practice, if you mean the same thing I associate with that term - one-on-one practice. If you break a sword like that during combat, chances are that it'll shatter and burrow a chunk of metal into your arms, chest, head, ... you get the idea. Plus, the tip might hit someone (you, your opponent, or other people depending on the location), which makes it irresponsible to use anyway.
If you think of practice on your own, it can work, but most likely, it won't, because the blade isn't balanced out and you might get cheap materials (wearing of hilt material, breaking nails, ...) making it almost impossible to use it, and because of the cheapness of the whole thing, impossible to fix it like you could with a real sword.

One last thing, I knew he didn't want buy an experts sword, but there are other people reading this, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to give everyone an idea.

 

[arcthemonkey]

I never had trouble practicing Iiado with a junky sword, then performing it with the real thing. I had to borrow one because I was practically on welfare at the time. My point is that you take what you can get.

Most boken aren't balanced right, either, but that doesn't stop people. I fail to see why people think that a metal used to make springs is going to shatter during light use.

Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[ccoa]

Because it's unlikely to be light use. He's using it as a toy, he wants to "cut stuff." That, to me, screams of the stuff I did as a kid, wacking anything and everything with the sword to see if it would slice through it, and smacking the other person's sword as hard as possible to make them back off or drop their own sword or just because you don't know any better/can't control the blade. (Only I did it with my great-grandfather's heirloom sword, and got my butt beaten for it.)

Also, cheaply constructed swords may have weaknesses in the metal, which could make them break more easily. It's not like it's folded Spanish steel or something, it's forged whole from cheap steel. Just like a cheap wrench can break when you put a cheater bar on it, so can a cheap sword if you're abusing it (and even conceivably under "normal" use).