retalers, and steel

by Ben cooper
(wollongong)

QUESTION: Hey, I was woundering what your thought of global gear and I mean there personally line of chinese made swords.

Secondly I practice iaido and Sei do kan and my main katana is made of 1060 high carbon steel, and I've used othere katanas made of a range of steels but more importantly I've never used a blade made of traditional japanese steel and I was wondering what your opinion was of that steel particulary and if it realy is different from the modern steels and which one is better.

Thaks
Ben

ANSWER: Hi Ben,

I've recently reviewed one of their swords, the Chikara which is a differentially hardened blade, and as you can see from the review, I was VERY impressed. Definitely excellent value for money.

Now, as to traditionally forged Tamagahane steel - the steel itself is not as good a quality as modern steel - indeed, Japanese iron ore was not of a good standard, so to be able to make a decent sword out of it, they had to subject it to a series of processes - from the way the steel was made, to folding and very careful selection of the steel itself.

However, what makes the real difference is the attention to detail and the care made in making it. As such, you cannot compare a modern Chinese made (effectively mass produced) blade to a Nihonto... The level of care and attention to detail are worlds apart (and of course, so are the price tags!).

More info can be found on this topic on SBG HERE

Hope this helps.

- Paul