Frequently Asked Questions

We pride ourselves on our top-notch customer service. We’re in direct contact with you regarding your order from start to finish. We also send pictures of the finished sword for your approval (and excitement!) before shipping. Other companies may accept orders and rush to fulfill them as soon as possible, whereas all of our swords are hand-forged and made to order by master smiths using the time-honored traditional Japanese & Chinese techniques. These swords are not fashioned on an assembly line; each is crafted with the care & respect the heritage deserves.

Our swords are made in Longquan, a small town in China with a swordmaking history that goes back 2,600 years since the Spring & Autumn period. It is believed that Longquan is where the first iron sword was constructed. The legacy of the Longquan sword began when the legendary swordsmith Ou Yezi ou ye zi forged a sword named Longyuan at the foot of Qingxi Mountain, an area with abundant iron ore, cold springs for quenching, and fine stones for polishing blades. The methods of traditional forging and hand crafting were passed down and improved upon from generation to generation, and still today Longquan is famous locally and abroad for the quality of their swords. We work directly with the most trusted swordsmiths and craftsmen in Longquan to bring you the highest quality, fully functional swords at an affordable price. Each sword comes with a certificate of authenticity from the smith.

Sharpened steel swords made in Japan, called Shinken, are considered a national treasure and there are strict laws governing sword production. Each sword must be made in the old traditional process and using the traditional blade material (tamahagane) which takes months including smelting, forging, and polishing. Each smith is only permitted to make a small number of swords each year. Because of these restrictions, real swords made in Japan are a rare and valuable commodity; most Shinken cost over $10,000. Swords in Longquan are also considered a national intangible cultural heritage, but smiths are not bound by the same restrictions – they are free to combine modern & traditional methods and materials to create some of the highest quality, fully functional swords in the world at affordable prices.

We refer to Japanese Quality to emphasize the difference from swords that are Made in China and of low quality & mass produced. All of our swords are fully handmade-to-order in the traditional way they have been forged for many generations. Many Longquan swordsmiths received their knowledge directly from Japanese forges; there is a rich history of information sharing between the two cultures. In these modern times, a Japanese Katana and a Longquan Katana are functionally the same.

Yes, every sword on our website is full tang and functional. The full width of the blade extends into the handle and is secured with two bamboo mekugi pegs. Even our most affordable swords, (1060 high carbon steel) are very capable when sharpened, and can cut through traditional tatami mats easily. 1060 steel is a great compromise between hardness and durability and is the best option for light to medium cutting and iaido forms.

For heavier cutting such as thick bamboo and bone, we suggest selecting one of our 1095 steel blades. It’s high hardness and excellent edge retention make it the best option for heavy duty cutting. We offer mono-tempered 1095 blades (same hardness throughout), or clay tempered blades (differentially hardened) to give the blade the dual benefit of a very hard/sharp cutting edge, and a softer, flexible spine for added shock absorption.

Our swords are constructed with traditional Japanese methods and can be fully disassembled for maintenance. The carved handle and scabbard are made of hardwood from a tree species local to Longquan called DU tree, it’s hard & durable and not prone to issues like splitting. The handles are wrapped with genuine rayskin, and the handle and tang are drilled with two holes (mekugi-ana) which will be used to secure the blade into the handle with tapered bamboo mekugi pegs.

The handle is wrapped tightly with silk or genuine leather ito. The sword can be disassembled by hammering out the two mekugi pegs and pulling the handle and fittings from the blade. Every sword is fitted very tightly and securely with the highest safety standards. When the sword is shaken, you will not hear any rattling of fittings. It can even take considerable strength to disassemble the sword because of how secure the fitting is.

We can ship to the United States, Canada, and Australia with no customs issues. Hand forged swords are perfectly fine to possess in these countries. We’ve shipped to each country hundreds of times before.

For other countries, we can consider using a package forwarding service. Please contact us for more information.

We can also ship to the following countries:

Argentina

Austria

Belarus

Belgium

Brazil

Bulgaria

Cambodia

Cayman Islands

China

Croatia

Cuba

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greenland Island

Guinea

Hong Kong

Hungary

Italy

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Laos

Luxembourg

Macau

Madagascar

Mali

Malta

Mongolia

Morocco

Mozambique

New Zealand

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Pakistan

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

Poland

Qatar

Romania

Rwanda

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Singapore

South Africa

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

The Netherlands

Tunisia

Uganda

Swords are legal to own in most countries, though it’s best to check directly with your local customs office to confirm there are no issues receiving a sword.

Forever guarantee: We stand behind the quality of our swords. After your sword is created at the forge, we will send you pictures and will only ship after your approval. If at any time you have issues with the craftsmanship of your sword, please reach out to us and we will do our best to make things right.

Custom engravings are laser engraved on the blade near the handle.

English engravings are done in a very nice cursive font, except if it’s in all caps – we’ll use serif. We will hand pick a font that looks best for your engraving.

Japanese/Chinese engravings are done in a beautiful stylized calligraphic Kanji. When picking a Kanji engraving option, feel free to submit in English in the engraving box, and we will translate it to Kanji for you. The smith’s name on the blade option is done in Kanji by default

Shipping usually takes around 7-10 days to most countries including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. In some cases bad weather and also the pre-Christmas rush can delay shipping by about 1-2 weeks. We’ll provide a tracking number when your sword ships that you’ll be able to track with both EMS and your national post office. For most orders, we estimate 4-6 weeks from the time the order is submitted to when you receive it. If you need a sword by a specific date or within a shorter time frame, contact us and we can see about prioritizing your order.

Unless indicated otherwise, every sword is hand-forged and made-to-order for a high-quality & unique product created for you. This intricate process takes 3-4 weeks to complete. We’ll send pictures of your sword by email for confirmation . Tanto and wakizashi swords usually take around 4 weeks. Highly customized swords such as blades of a custom length or custom painted scabbards will typically take 4-5 weeks. For most orders, we estimate 4-6 weeks from the time the order is submitted to when you receive it. If you need a sword by a specific date or within a shorter time frame, whatsapp and we can see about prioritizing your order.

Our swords are shipped very securely in form-fitted styrofoam that matches the shape of the sword so it won’t have any room to rattle around, even when abused by post office workers. The foam encasing is wrapped tightly with plenty of packing tape which keeps it waterproof. The package can be opened by cutting down the middle of the thin side.

We ship to anywhere in the United States for free! For all other countries, we offer a flat shipping rate of $19.

Customers are responsible for customs taxes & duties.

You can contact us directly and we can provide an update on your order. Otherwise, we do send finished pictures of your sword for approval once it’s completed.

Yes, you can customize every sword on our website. Even if you’re not happy with the existing options available to you, you can request just about any change you could think of. We can change most fittings, wrappings, and blade coloring (black, red, or blue) for free. These kinds of requests can be made in the order comments section during checkout. If what you need done is more complex and might cost extra, please whatsapp with your request. If you make a request in the comments section when ordering your sword and it happens to cost extra we’ll kindly follow-up and explain the cost difference and send an invoice for the cost if you’re happy with it.

Yes, please contact us for our full fittings catalog which features more options not listed on our website.

We’re able to make simple cut iron fittings if none of the fittings from our catalog suit your blade, though it’s best to reach out to us directly in this case to be sure we can craft the perfect sword for you!

The longest sword we’re able to forge uses these dimensions:

Handle Length: 15.7”

Blade Length: 35.4”

Overall Length: 53.1”

If you’d like a sword of similar dimensions, we can customize the length of most of our swords. You can reach out to us if you’re interested in a custom blade length, we can use any length under these maximum dimensions with no issue.

Yes we’ve recreated many customer’s favorite swords, please send details and pictures to whatsapp and we’ll let you know about the possibilities and quote.

If you want to gift a custom sword but want to leave the customization to the lucky recipient, email us at [email protected] to purchase a gift certificate on file for them.

Not to worry, it’s no defect! It’s possible for the scabbard to swell from moisture during the shipping process, this could make the scabbard fit a bit tighter. You can use more force when drawing the sword the first few times, this will normalize the scabbard fit.