Sword Buyers Guide Blog

Mar 9, Insert Title Here

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:27:56 GMT

Insert Description Here

Mar 9, New Look Store and Pending Reviews

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:25:16 GMT

Hey folks,

If you haven't visited the SBG sword store for a little while, you are in for a bit of a surprise..

While it is not 100 complete cosmetically yet, it's running smoother than ever before, and has a whole new look that FINALLY matches the main site.

Follow the link at the end of this blog to have a look and see what you think!

Behind the scenes, I've been conducting a lot sword tests this week too - so extensive in fact that it will probably take at least a couple of weeks to put it all together, though some new reviews such as the Cold Steel Bokken Review (where I found out exactly how CUT resistant these things really are, or are not as the case may be) will be popping up ahead of the 'big one'.

Anyway, in the meantime hope you enjoy the new look store!!

Paul Southren

Feb 14, The New Select a Sword System (beta!)

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:29:49 GMT

In my last post on Feb 4 you might recall I mentioned something about a "revolutionary change to the way site visitors can get the absolute most out of the reviews and information on SBG"..?

Well, since we have so many LOOOONG pages on SBG, and I often get bombarded with emails from people asking me what is the best sword for me, I decided that I might as well answer those questions on the site once and for all, and hopefully make it easier for visitors who have the SAME questions, but just don't get around to emailing me!

Introducing, the Select a Sword System (Beta)!

Basically, you may notice that a lot of the review pages now have something that looks a bit like this:

Towards the top of the page..

Well, below this graphic you'll find several statements that (hopefully) describe what you are looking for in a sword, and by clicking on the statement - you are taken to a page of recommendations, primarily based on the reviews on that page.

It's pretty simple stuff, but the general idea is an optional way to 'break up' the longest pages into categories while still keeping the big picture story of each page intact.

I must admit that this idea is not 100 original, I first saw something similar years ago on the now defunct website - Chivalry Steel (you can see it archived in the 'way back machine' here) - and when I saw this I thought, "this is actually pretty cool and not a bad idea" - but never thought about it again until years later and decided to do something somewhat similar..

Anyway, just wanted to give credit where it is due on that - and also wanted to mention that what you see so far is just the beta version - the pages themselves were very hastily written (22 pages in 3 days I think, phew!) - so will be added to and edited as we go, plus there will eventually be a 'central' find a sword system not based on any genre but rather on application and budget, but this is a little way down the track for now (had to wrap it up early and just get what had been done on the site so I can concentrate on a couple more projects!).

Anyway, got to fly - check out any of the pages from Ancient Swords to Japanese Katana to see how it is shaping up! Best, Paul

Feb 4, New Reviews Added

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:12:53 GMT

Hey folks,

Just added 5 new reviews to the site and have adjusted all relevant pages to include them - you can see them all below, and there are a few more scheduled for this month that will be added as we go..

Behind the scenes, I am also about to start work on a couple of new projects, one of which will actually be perhaps the most revolutionary change to the way site visitors can get the absolute most out of the reviews and information on SBG...

More on this soon, but expect to see some more reviews added over the following week.

Paul Southren

Feb 3, Hedemark Viking Sword Review

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:59:24 GMT

Insert Description Here

Feb 2, Musashi Bamboo Katana Review

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:53:35 GMT

The $80 Musashi Bamboo Katana may well represent the next generation of low cost, differentially hardened Katana with real hamon. But how does it REALLY compare to more traditionally priced, traditional Katana? Find out in this review from SBG's Paul Southren

Feb 2, Hanwei Scottish Claymore Review

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:19:26 GMT

Hands on Review of the sub $200 Hanwei Scottish Claymore by Robert Betts, including hard durability testing on a wooden shield

Feb 2, Ronin Dotanuki Katana Review

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:17:34 GMT

Hands on review of the new Ronin Katana Dotanuki Dojo Pro line - model # 003

Jan 30, Valiant Armoury Kreigschwert Sword Review

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:22:32 GMT

Hands on Review of the Valiant Armoury Kreigschwert sword by ChrisA

Jan 20, Quick Update

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:57:18 GMT

Wow, I just realized that it has been over one month since the last post here on the SBG blog, so I had better make a quick appearance..!

Have been run off my feet behind the scenes - mostly with a plethora of emails and dealing with several exclusive SBG projects (you'll see that the News section over at the SBG Sword Store has been anything but quiet (and I also just realized that the latest addition to the site, which is an overview of the NEW Heavy Duty Dotanuki blades by Ronin Katana somehow did not update as it should have, so please do check it out - if you are a Katana lover I am sure you will find it VERY interesting!).

Anyway, some recent news - as many of you are no doubt aware, one of the most reliable (not to mention the most aggressively priced) sword stores - Kult of Athena - recently had their site go down from Christmas eve to a few days ago - and when they came back, they came back with some prices so incredibly low on the entire range of Hanwei swords that I have had to play catch up and update as many reviews with the new prices as possible..!

I'll also be updating most of the main pages over the next day or two (just some minor tweaks), adding a few more reviews here and there and (if time permits) adding a fun new article to the 'community' section of the site (though with the end of the month looming, writing next months issue of the Sword Buyers Digest will of course take precedence..

So yes indeed, crazy busy behind the scenes as usual!!

Talk to you all again soon. In the meantime, Katana fans should definitely have a look at both KoA's new prices on Hanwei swords and follow the link at the bottom of this post to check out the brand new heavy duty Ronin Kats..

Best,

Paul Southren

Dec 16, Sword Questions

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:03:07 GMT

Sword Questions of the Week:

Dec 16, Sword Blog Question

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:39:19 GMT

QUESTION Hello Mr. Southren, This is Michael from the US. I am a daily follower of your blog and a subscriber to your online magazine. I have

Dec 16, Recommendation for a custom sword

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:29:56 GMT

QUESTION I have several sketches of a sword I'd like made. The one blacksmith I've bought from in the past isn't available. I'm looking for a

Dec 16, Looking for a good and cheap Katana

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:11:53 GMT

QUESTION I'm looking for a sword within $60 or so that is functional preferably like the bushido wind dragon do you have any links to buy a fairly

Dec 5, 10 Discount Code at MRL!

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:00:43 GMT

Hey folks, Just a bit of newsworthy news - MRL aka Museuem Replicas Limited have come to the party and have offered an exclusive 10 discount coupon code in time for Christmas on their ENTIRE range of swords, medievel collectibles and other goodies..! This offer works especially well with their closeout and discontinued line, so have look - I am sure you will find some REAL bargains!

Nov 30, Sword Questions of the Week

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:25:39 GMT

(New Revamped section) - Questions and Answers of the week (answered below).

Follow the link below to ask your own!

Nov 30, Which is better quality, T10 tool steel or 9260 spring steel

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:09:23 GMT

QUESTION Which one is better the T10 or the 9260 spring steel? Which can cut better, which can bend and which is harder? Which is all around better

Nov 22, Crecy War Sword Reviewed

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:11:17 GMT

Jason Woodards Review of the Crecy War Sword by Darksword Armory

Nov 22, Infused Titanium Swords by Global Gear

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:54:46 GMT

Paul Southren's review of the G-1000 infused titanium swords by global gear

Nov 20, Overhaul Complete!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:57:51 GMT

Hey folks, Thanks to everyone who has been bearing with me over the last few months as pretty much everything had to take a back seat to the site wide overhaul, which I am pleased to announce is officially complete!

There are still a few more tweaks needed here and there, but the heavy lifting has all been done - and I hope you like the look of the new site!

Speaking of which, since the 13th I have also been cleaning up and overhauling the appearance of the SBG Sword Store.

There is still a fair bit more to do there, but again the heavy stuff is completed and now it is just a matter of tidying it up and tying off a few loose ends here and there.

The store has also seen the addition of a few new features, but most notable is the News Page 'Blog' which I hope will make it easy for visitors to see what is new and what is going on with projects like the SBG custom Katana, etc.

Anyway, time to concentrate on catching up to adding a few new reviews that have been delayed by all this 'construction' - so time to get back into it!

Thanks,

Paul Southren

P.S. Did anyone notice the 'lost' reviews I talked about in the previous blog post find their way back to the main site? For those of you who may have missed them - check out the 'lost' Solingen Rapier Review and the DSA Dark Age Sword reviews (more to come soon!)

Nov 9, Sister Site and SBG Overhaul nearly completed

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:14:05 GMT

Just a very quick post to mention that the site wide overhaul is now nearly 100 completed - and we can start adding some more reviews again..! ;-) But also to say that SBG's sister site is getting a little much needed TLC in preperation for a few more tweaks, updated info, articles and other bits and pieces (follow the link at the end of this post to see it). Anyway, stay tuned for a few new reviews shortly, as well as some ones that were almost lost - but found as I went through page by page..! ;-) - Paul

Nov 4, $330 Custom Katana Now Taking Orders!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:15:07 GMT

As the title suggests, after a 2 month pause we are now taking orders again for our revolutionary $330 custom Katana series!

As always, we don't hold this window of opportunity open for very long, so if you want the forge to make you your own personalized T10 tungsten tool steel Katana, you had better get your orders in quickly!

Oct 27, Medieval Swords Page and $330 Custom Katana Update

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:50:14 GMT

Hey all, I've been frantically working away trying to get the medieval swords page updated and in the new format and am pleased to say that this should be completed within the next 24-48 hours... But the other thing that I really wanted to talk about here was that the most recent batch of $330 entry level SBG Custom Katana from September are all completed and are about to be shipped out from the forge to my agent in Canada for final inspection, sorting and shipping within the next few days..

Here's a few pics of some customer designs that are about to ship:

Who knows, if you are one of the people who has been waiting for your sword to be completed, maybe you can recognize your design above..!! Anyway, for everyone else who is waiting for us to open up again for the next batch, there is not long to go, and as you know - we never hold the window of opportunity open for long, so be sure to sign up to our waiting list! I should have one more post here about the medieval swords page before the next issue of the sword buyers digest, so stay tuned..! Best, Paul Southren

Oct 23, SwordnArmory Interview

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:59:29 GMT

Interview with the guys at SwordnArmory

Jul 21, Sword N Armory Customer Experiences

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:31:28 GMT

The low down on Sword N Armory from past customers and visitors

Mar 24, SBG Custom Katana Waiting List

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:35:26 GMT

Because we make our $330 custom Katana in batches now, we close of new orders until the old ones are ready. To avoid missing out on the opportunity to get one, sign up to our notification list