I know what I want now where do I find a high quality katana for sale?
Now that I have shared my words of wisdom on finding the right sword, where did I find the best prices when searching the web for a katana for sale?
Well I bought from a few places and had various results. Once I know what sword I want, I browse the various merchants to see the reviews but always go back to the same merchant to purchase.
Though it can be easy to just buy from any merchant I learned the hard way that it doesn’t always pay off. Waiting endlessly for something I was supposed to have a week ago and arguing with customer service isn’t really my cup of tea…
The sites I have had great experience with are Swords of the East and Swords of Northshire. A ton of choices and the quality has been outstanding.
My list of sites to find a katana for sale
My Swords of Northshire Review (MY TOP PREFERRED DEALER)
Wait, I thought this page was for katana reviews? I know I know but I don’t want to tell you where to find a katana for sale without letting you know the ups and downs of the places you may buy from.
The site where I bought my first ‘quality’ blade was Swords of Northshire, a great site where the owners place great emphasis in making their swords more affordable than other competitors. You may find a katana for sale here that is a few hundred dollars less expensive than you’d find at all the other retailers.
They specialize in asian swords (Chinese, Japanese, etc.) however they do offer some other forms of swords as well. They work with a forgery in Longquan China to create custom handmade high quality katanas from the ground up.
Swords of Northshire focused on providing quality selections that are more unique as well. You’ll find a lot of custom made and hand forged blades at Swords of Northshire that are produced exclusively for their company.
Something that is amazing with them is they offer the ability to create your own custom katana. You can chose the blade, fittings, color, right down to the saya. You can have your name engraved on it, have kanji, or even a design of your choice (see image below as an example), an amazing perk allowing consumers to have a one of a kind katana at a reasonable price.
Also a major perk to those living in America is that the owner of the business is based out of Texas, USA which eliminates the issue of waiting for excessive delivery times, miscommunication through language barriers, or difficulty in matching up their business hours with time your free if you have questions. I actually used their chat function to track the progress of my swords which made it pretty simple.
Overall this merchant is my favorite and I will continue to purchase from them, especially when looking for a more unique katana for sale. To be honest this really isn’t the best Swords of Northshire review because usually in reviews you mention the pros and cons and I can’t think of any downsides with Swords of Northshire to date and highly recommend buying a katana through them.
Thaitsuki Review
Thaitsuki is a forgery based out of Thailand that was started by an avid sword collector who wanted to create durable swords at an affordable price.
Each sword is handmade and forged by craftsman who knows the art of making a fine blade. Thaitsuki’s CEO Satit Sivarat claims they have continued to make some of the highest quality Japanese swords available for 20+ years now. They offer both wholesale and direct to consumer (DTC) sales, many other sword dealers actually participate in their dropship program to sell their swords. However since they do offer DTC, our suggestion is to buy directly from Thaitsuki so they can better help with any concerns you may have.
Now, if you’ve been in the sword community for a while you may have heard about Thaitsuki and may have even heard some negative comments. Digging into these and various forums it appears that some were frustrated with two things 1) when Thaitsuki would use the terminology “Nihonto” which means “made in Japan” when in fact they are made in Thailand and 2) the price tag of some of the swords. In my opinion price isn’t something to complain about if the quality backs it up, which in this case Thaitsuki’s quality definitely makes it worth the price.
Thaitsuki katanas were even featured in the 2010 movie Yamada: Samurai of Ayothaya, which was based on the true events of Yamada Nagamasa, a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in Thailand and become governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand during the Ayothaya Era.
KatanaForSale Review – New Dealer
Another new dealer I’m noticing offering unique katanas for sale yet haven’t bought from yet is Katanaforsale.com. They appear to offer katanas, wakizashis, samurai armor, and tantos. I haven’t been able to find much information on them around the web yet have seen them showing up in search results lately.
If anyone has any experience with them feel free to let us know on our forum. I’ll be keeping an eye on the web to see what other consumers are saying about them to ensure their quality upholds to be worthy of being on this review site.
SamuraiSwords.store – New Dealer
This site very closely resembles that of KatanaforSale so I’m assuming they are either related or are using the same web design company. They showcase a custom made swords with some extremely nice looking sayas, some made from buffalo horn.
They’ve got a great app you can download to make shopping there even easier. Beyond katana swords for sale, they also sell broadswords, spears, cane swords, and more
My words of wisdom: Get. What. You. Want.
Keep in mind that my advice and reviews here on what I (and my buddies) have for katanas and our opinions on them are just to help give you some insights around what’s available out there and happened to work for us. Talking with a sensei is truly the best way to determine what you will need. Finding the best katana that aligns with your style can be tough and I hope these past few steps of the Katana Readiness Guide have helped you narrow the options down a little.
Whatever you end up with is your decision but make sure you do buy it through a solid merchant. Now on to the final stage of the readiness guide, where to find a dojo.