It has been around 6 months in the making, but the full test results, background info and review of the new Tactical Ko Katana by Scorpion Swords and Knives was finally completed February 24th, and the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

Hand made in the USA from start to finish by Chris Palmer, this no-nonsense, apocalypse ready 'evolution of the sword' style project has been a whole lot of fun to be a part of..

And you can plainly see by the test videos of this piece that our friend and resident sword destroyer, Jason Woodard, had a blast putting it through its paces - from water-bottles to tatami mats, trash cans, a metal pole and even concrete blocks - this truly full tang, battle ready beast chewed it all up and spit it out..


In the review you get a bit of a unique behind the scenes look at how it is made, the reasoning behind the design, why we call it a 'Katana' and of course, Jason's hands on review and destructive test results.

Swords have inspired many legendary stories over the years. We all know the tale of King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone. And you probably know some of the legends surrounding Joyeuse of King Charlamane.

But how about the Sword in the Snake, the Kusanagi? Or the 2000 year old sword of Goujian, found in 1965 found in a state of perfect preservation without a touch of rust..

They don't always get their facts right (for example, Rolands sword, the Durandal, is NOT on display at the Cluny Museum.. And they seem to have no idea what is going on with the sword of Masamune). But it is a short and sweet starting point to some further research..

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

Recommendations on a $2-$4K sword..
If you had the money to splurge, what would you get? Here are a few recommendations from forum members. Gotta love that Stormbringer..!

Removing Pitting from Folded Steel
Some tips and techniques to 'suck out the rust' from a pitted sword..

Robotic Cutting Stand..
It's one thing to cut a tatami mat when it is standing still. Quite a different thing to cut one that is running away from you! Check out these videos from SoCal Swordfight 2017.

MRL Sharpening Service Gets Better..
They still have a secondary bevel, but the grind is so even it is barely noticeable.

Since Mugen Dachi went under around 5 years ago, getting a steady supply of tatami mats or goza for test cutting has been a real ordeal.

Then a few months back, I more or less stumbled upon a source of high quality goza mats available to be shipped from California, and have finally been able to offer them to the sword community!

They are not cheap to ship, so international orders - while possible - are a bit difficult. But we can ship them within the USA in boxes of 20pcs for $179.99 plus $15 shipping (works out to be around $8.99 per full mat).

Check them out and some new accessories such as sword cases, bags, cleaning kits, etc here

Not the kind of thing I like to see...

Some of Windlass Steelcrafts BEST medieval and ancient world swords are on final closeout again, including my personal favorite - the European sword (pictured right)..

It would be bad enough if it was just this sword.

But some other true classics are also on their final rotation - including the 15th Century Longsword, the Oakeshott Type XIV, the type XVIII, the Spartan Lakonian, the Sword of Charlemange and many, many more..!

Stock levels are very limited, with under 10pcs of each type available - and prices have been slashed (pardon the pun) - so no joking, if you want to pick up one of these classics before they are gone for good, you really do need to act fast..
And don't forget to use the coupon code: sbg-web to save an additional 10% off the already discounted prices..