Following up from the December issue, where we added 4 new reviews from my trip to Australia last year, I finally got around to the review of one of the most interesting swords I have seen in years - the Exotic Filipino Panabas from Blade Culture International (pictured).

Lightweight, versatile and frighteningly effective - this sword was a joy to weild. But it is just the beginning of SBG's association with Blade Culture International - we have been kindly invited to visit the forge in Pozorrubio, the Philippines by the famous sword maker there Mr. Hernan De Guzman and will be taking a trip there to see the forge in action in the next couple of months!

We also added two new reviews by Dan Dacombe, the first for what is a pretty typical 'Anime Katana' - the Blue Exorcist replica sword..


And then there is the review of the hardwood, hand carved bokken by Samureye.


Plus Dan also sat down with the founder of this company to do a one on one interview. Click here to read the interview and learn what seperates their bokken from the typical cheap replicas found on the market.

Its a fact of life for Katana collectors - in the summer and winter months the wood of a saya often loosens or tightens from its origin to its destination, often thousands of miles away and in a time span that the medieval Japanese never had to worry about.

But In this short 1 minute video, YouTuber and convention goer Marissa Chow walks us through the fastest and easiest modern quick fix for this decidedly modern problem.

A collection of four of the best and most recent posts and threads from the SBG Sword Forum

What do you get when you buy a $2000 sword?
What is the real difference when you spend 10 times more than the typical entry level swords we kind of specialize in at SBG? See what the forumites think.

Beware at Swords.net
Looks like one of the sites previously owned by Jason Moore from Swords of Might is no more and has taken some peoples hard earned funds with them. Be careful out there guys..

Types of Swords you wish more manufacturers would make
In the good old days of 2005 to 2010 the sword market had a lot more choices than it does now. So what kind of swords do YOU wish there were more of? Forumites have their say.

How far do you travel for sword training?
As sword training centers are hardly on every street corner, how far and for how long are you prepared to travel to train? The shortest time so far in this thread, 2 mins. The longest, 2 hours. How about you?

Almost as soon as they hit the market, the collaboration between John Clements of the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts and Windlass Steelcrafts BattleCry Line is on final closeout..

Always sad to see a new line go, especially one addressed specifically to the sub $300 market. But such are the times we live in, the sword industry is struggling to stay afloat like never before and it has never been harder to launch a new product line..

But if you are in the market for a solid. fully functional beater sword - don't miss this close out sale. There are 9 items in the line up, including two battle axes and a buckler. And don't forget to use the MRL coupon code: sbg-web to save an additional 10% off the closeout price..

While the 'doomsday clock' is closer to midnight than at any time since 1953, we hope the kind of dystopian future where Furia is needed does not happen anytime soon..

But one thing is for certain, the end is nigh for anyone looking to pick up one of these heirloom quality, limited edition collectible swords from Longship Armory and John Lundemo..

Indeed, with only 2 pre-orders available at the time of writing this article and a firm close off date in only 2 days time (2 minutes to midnight, EST Feb 2nd) - this is your absolute last chance to secure on of these amazingly durable, original swords.

Only 20 will ever be made, and as I mentioned - only 2 are still up for grabs.

Or at least - in theory, they could well be sold already..

In our goal to always push the envelope and increase to the variety of swords available to collectors and ensure a vital, vibrant sword community - we recently teamed up with Chris from Scorpion swords to create an affordable, and super tough tactical Katana. It has been put through its paces by Jason Woodard - so stay tuned for this one, it will be a limited edition piece at a price almost any collector will be able to swing. And it sure looks like it will be a lot of fun..