i don't know what type of sword it is i have.

[Nathan Blackall]

Hi i'm a small time collecter and swordfighter, nothing fancy just a bit of fun really, but it has occurred to me that my favourite (and oldest) sword is a bit of a mystery, that is to say i'm not sure what it's technically classified as, it has the general style of a katana, but it's got a few very key differences; 1. the blade is straight and tapers ever so slightly narrower along its length and has an angular point 2. the blade (for it's length of 65 cm) is quite thick, a full 5mm in fact 3. i had considered that it was a ninjato but the tsuba is small and rounded after the fashion of a regular katana and the handle is not particularly long versus the blade, 25 cm maybe? 4. the handle is not wrapped but just two peices of polished wood riveted to the handle (sandwiched, sort of thing, i'm sure there's a term for this but i don't know it). given all that i'm just not sure what it is, if it indeed truly belongs to any classification, if it helps, i believe it to be around 45 years old, i know it to have been made in pakistan and it is a VERY sturdy and reliable blade. Any thoughts?

[I Fletcher]

Sounds like a ninjato to me, if a rather unusual one. Something like this but with a straight blade?
BTW the grip style is called a scaled grip.

[Nathan Blackall]

Sounds like a ninjato to me, if a rather unusual one. Something like this but with a straight blade?
BTW the grip style is called a scaled grip.

yes very much like that but the tip is very angular 45 degrees or so and obsiously no curvature, thanks for the help, are there a lot of swords like mine? i have had it so long i can't get to grips with using a curved blade anymore, but all the straight sowrds i encounter always have the exteneded handle and midgety blade of a ninjato and never have that reassuring weighty feeling i've come to know and love, i'd like to buy another one (my sword means a lot to me and i'd rather not batter it much more) any suggestions? scaled grip, i'll remember that.

[I Fletcher]

I honestly don't know, I've seen a few things with a similar blade style on ebay but they tend to be katana or wakizashi length. the one i posted above is a ritter steel sword available at kult of athena but I'm not sure if they have a straight bladed equivalent. The best advice i could give you is spend an hour or two trolling through ebay and see if they've got anything suitable.

[Nathan Blackall]

I honestly don't know, I've seen a few things with a similar blade style on ebay but they tend to be katana or wakizashi length. the one i posted above is a ritter steel sword available at kult of athena but I'm not sure if they have a straight bladed equivalent. The best advice i could give you is spend an hour or two trolling through ebay and see if they've got anything suitable.

thanks, you've been very helpful, even though getting another one will be difficult it's sort of nice to know that my blade is a bit obscure

[I Fletcher]

Was just browsing on KOA and saw this http://www.kultofathena.com/product....ed+steel+blade and it made me think of this thread. Might be an idea to look at Chinese dao as a replacement cutter.

[Nathan Blackall]

you know that's not a bad idea, never bought koa, how's the steel?

[I Fletcher]

They're a resale site so it depends on the brand. I got a hanwei from them with no issues, though i hear others have had problems with customer service. In my opinion they are one of the cheaper more user friendly sites around, that being said plenty of sites sell the same stuff.

[Lee O.]

Hi All,
Forget ebay if your a UK buyer for anything other than antique or a mistaken listing,
Idiot's have pretty much blanket banned everything over here even when completely legal,
hit and miss if you can bid outside of the uk on it,
couldn't bid on a pair of sabre guards, managed to bid on a display sword, useless muppets overall,
Your best bet over here,
http://www.oriental-weaponry.co.uk/index.html

good people, excellent service,very helpful,
also, the knights shop,
haven't dealt with them, but good feedback from other who have,
KOA have some cool stuff and very well priced,
But import can be a lot of hassle, plus add 20%++ charges etc, your also charged the 20%+ on the postal cost as well as the item cost, the great prices suddenly aren't so great,
more's the shame as they have some nice kris cutlery pieces, some excellent S/H pieces,
put a pic up of what you have,
could be a straight blade in a shira saya,
also what you describe would be extremely reasonable via a custom maker,

[Nathan Blackall]

thank you both, you've been very helpful

[Nathan Blackall]

i will take a picture when i get home, it's not the greatest blade in the world i'll admit but i've had it a long time and i love my lil chopper.