Over the last few months I spent some time back in Australia to visit friends and family. Naturally, during this time I also took advantage of the opportunity to test about 7 different swords (as, spending most of my time in Japan, it is not possible to handle anything other than high end Japanese made Nihonto).

The first two reviews of some popular anime swords are already live and have been added to 2 of Dan Dacombes reviews added to the site in September to create an anime sword section for the site.

Check out the new anime sword reviews below, one was a pleasant surprise:

The Ichigo Bankai Sword
A true 'sword like object' - but for $50 and as long as I am tall, was certainly an interesting one.

Sword Art Online Replica
This one drew my eye without knowing much about the anime, and proved surprisingly tough.

There were several standout swords tested during my visit to Australia. But one that really impressed me was the Herald Series Marquis Sword. I will save the best points for the review, but here is one of my favorite pics of the sword, taken out the front of a historical church on the hillside that I always thought of as a "castle" when I was a kid.

Don't be surprised if at some point in the future this pic ends up being incorporated into the SBG design. It was a Euro sword that I literally found hard to put down, incredibly lightweight, exceptional tempering and gorgeous to look at for under $300, making it a SBG classic in the making..

Full review coming soon..

The perfect introduction to the Longsword, both what it is and how to (and how not to) use it is presented by this young, very skilled Polish HEMA practioner and sword maker from "the Swords Path".

Check out their channel for more cool videos

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

Tour of the Citadel Workshop in Cambodia
New forum member Pupenski got off to a great start documenting his visit to the Citadel Workshop in the Kingdom of Cambodia from September this year. A great behind the scenes look at this sword company that has been making swords since 1998.

Why do Katanas take a set easier than Euro Swords..
Never try flex testing a Katana - nor a historical Euro sword actually.. A very lively and interesting discussion that has quite a few eye opening twists and turns.

Why modern sword makers are "hydrophobic"
An excellent thread from the sword making board examining why on shows such as "forged in fire" almost everyone oil quenches their swords, and why so few people these days use a water quench. A detailed, behind the scenes look at the intricacies of sword making.

Adjustable Cutting Stand
SBG member hypurr shares some pics of his innovative adjustable cutting stand. Simple yet versatile, check it out if you are in the process of making or updating your own stand.
 

With Christmas just around the corner, and forge direct swords typically taking 4-6 weeks to be produced and arrive, time is running out.

Added to this time pressure, the Chinese New Year shutdown is coming earlier than ever before, and as sales on Forge Direct Chinese have disappointed the master smiths, after extensive negotiations we were able to secure special pricing on their range of Chinese Swords - but only until the 12th of November..

To make things even more interesting, the master smiths also offered us three new stunning designs, and they are being offered at a special introductory price of 25% off the standard price until November 12th along with the existing designs (the only exception is the new laminated Duan Dao, which is already priced to the bone and they refused to budge even a single yuan on the price)..

The only caveat is, if the sale does not produce enough interest, once orders are fulfilled the master smiths will be shutting down the project. So there is a chance that this may not only be the best chance to pick up these amazing blades, if we are unable to meet their quota, it will be the LAST chance too..!

So have a look guys and see if there is anything there you like - we really hope we can keep this project going because these really are some of the best quality, best priced heirloom quality Chinese Swords ever offered to the West, and we want to ensure as much variety in the sword market as possible...