Sinosword (JKOO SWORD) is based out of LiShui city, ZheJiang, China and make beautiful hand-crafted katana for reasonable prices. Their flagship swords are made out of T10 tool steel which has shown to be a good steel for katana. They offer both production and total custom blades allowing you to choose shape, weight, length, and color options. Lead times can vary.

Bugei was founded by Sensei James Williams and produces beautiful, durable production katanas designed for serious cutting. Their swords utilize steels such as ASSAB K120c with a superior heat treat. Sensei James Williams is well known as a skilled tameshigiri (cutting) practitoner and videos of him cutting can be found all over the internet. WATCH HIM CUT WITH THESE SWORDS

Cheness Swords were made famous by their use of 9260 Silicon steel which made for a very durable katana. Adding a spring temper to this steel made them perfect for beginners learning their edge-alignment as the blades will not take a set if a cut is botched. These blades tend to be a bit thicker than others and lack some of the refinement of more expensive katana but are very affordable and will last a lifetime. Made for cutting hard targets such as bamboo.

Ronin Katana has established itself as a standard for many dojos throughout the US. Their katanas are robust and well balanced, good for tameshigiri practice. They are strong enough to be used on hard targets such as bamboo but remain lively in the hand. Their prices range from $140.00-$850.00.

Out of all of the US distributors selling katanas, Hanwei most likely has the longest track record of selling quality blades. They have a HUGE variety of katanas ranging from the $180.00 Price Point to well over $2000 for their L6 katanas. Their swords are well made and are great for cutting tatami mats and bamboo.

Landsknect Emporium is based out of ______ and is well known for making the most historically accurate and durable langes messer swords in the HEMA world. Their blades are made true to historical examples and can come razor sharp for cutting or dull for sparring.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR REVIEW OF THEIR LANGES MESSER

Pavel Moc is sword smith based out of the Czeck Republic. He makes many kinds of European swords from longswords, messers, falchions, and more. His swords are both a work of art and durable. Every order made through him is a custom order and can cost anywhere from $600-1500 depending on the sword. Lead times can take up to 9 months since each piece is hand-crafted.

Ronin Katana makes our list again for selling an amazing line of European blades in their Euro line. These make perfect entry-level cutting blades for the HEMA practitioner on a budget. That being said, these swords come razor sharp and are not wall-hangers! They are lively in the hand, durable, and flex as they should. They make arming swords, viking swords, longswords, and more!

Hanwei has as much skin in the European sword game as it does with the Katana market! Their Tinker longsword is a standard for many looking to get into cutting without breaking the bank. These swords are a bit lighter than our other longsword recommendations which makes them great for smaller-statured fighters (but work well for larger ones too). The best part of the Tinker longsword series is their handles and guards are removeable so can be customized very easily.

Albion is known in the HEMA world to make some of the best sharp swords available at a very high price tag. They are made as close as possible to museum originals but with the highest quality steels and materials. Albion swords can come razor sharp and are prized possessions by any lucky to have one. Most are made to order so lead times can be long and expect to pay over $1200 for any model.

Not only does DSA make battle-ready version of the most popular fantasy swords (Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones), they make amazing replicas of historically accurate European swords. Their blades are durable as they are beautiful and are ready for the toughest of test cutting, be it watter bottles, tatami mats, or green wood.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR REIVEW OF THEIR GOTHIC LONGSWORD