r/iaido 17d ago

Any recommendations for a real katana (traditionally made)

Looking for a traditionally made katana, i don't care so much about the type of steel as long as it's a quality katana but i would like a budget friendly katana, not a fake one that can be sold for like 30 quid. A proper katana, i wouldn't mind even a name of a company that sells good traditionally made katana's.

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u/doveranddoubt 17d ago

Traditionally made and budget friendly don't really go together, with Japanese swords. You can buy good live blades for a reasonable price, but they are unlikely to be made in a traditional fashion... still good enough for practise, demonstration and/or tameshigiri. Tozando and ninecircles are two that ship shinken to most places...

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u/More-Competition-603 17d ago

Thank you, i appreciate your response, but is it really not possible to find a katana traditionally made yet budget friendly? 😥 i see. I'll look into the companies but what about 1060 carbon steel would that not work traditionally made? For a budget?

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u/Beneficial-Shape-464 Seitokai MJER 17d ago edited 17d ago

Traditionally made from volcanic sand. It's a long road from black sand to a polished sword, all done by hand. You can't change the material or the process and call it traditionally made.

You can get differentially hardened monosteel for a reasonable price.

You can get one of the multi-steel processes with modern steels and differential heat treatment. Heck, you can get a Damascus katana.

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u/More-Competition-603 17d ago

Thanks will help