Paul Chen Raptors - What's in a Name?

We all know the importance of a name. This is why many katana swords are named what they are. It is a symbol of respect, or sometimes, to just show from which period the design came from or what it was influenced by. Many people believe that the soul of the Samurai lives in the blade. This is all the more reason to take special care when naming a sword.

So, let's take a look at a wonderful group of swords brought to us by none other then Paul Chen. The Raptor designs area all based off of some historically important periods where forging technology and designs were really improving. The Raptor lines focused around making a very versatile, wide ranged sword line and that is what was accomplished. These Raptor swords can be used for a wide choice of targets rather then just mats. Hanwei Paul Chen has given careful thought to the way they name their swords and we should always remember that when we are choosing the sword that best fits us. We will look at each sword in the Raptor Series much closer in the next few blogs to come.

To add a Paul Chen Raptor to your collection, go to our site at SamuraiSupply.com and if you have any further questions, please feel free to email us at info@samuraisupply.com

Storm Shadows Sword from G.I. Joe

We took a look at the Snake Eyes sword, but it would not be complete without looking at the Storm Shadows sword as well, as the two really do go hand in hand!

As many of you sword fans already know, Storm Shadow is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe series and television shows and is best known for his history with fellow ninja Snake Eyes. Throughout their history, the duo have been everything to one another from the bitterest of enemies, to the most loyal of friends (and blood brothers of course) who would fight and die for one another.

For those of you who want a bit more information, here you go! Storm Shadow’s real name is Thomas S. Arashikage. Arashi means “Storm” and Kage means “Shadow” in Japanese, which tells you how he got his name. Storm Shadow is the only member of the team to change sides several times as he is conflicted in loyalties between Cobra, G.I. Joe and his strong relationship with his brother, Snake Eyes.

Storm Shadow usually wears a white uniform and a mask and when you do see him out of his uniform, he is usually shown to be Japanese-American with black hair and dark eyes. He is a great ninja warrior and is a covert ops specialist as well, so he is a very useful member - to either side!

This is a great sword for display as it is a stainless steel half white blade that comes unsharpened. It also has a ninja clan symbol engraved on the balde and a cobra head guard and the white handle has twin cobra heads. It also comes with a really cool white scabbard. Check it out further at SamuraiSupply.com and add it to your collection today!

Snake Eyes Sword from GI Joe

Something we have to talk about are some great movie swords that are available. We will talk about many of the different movie swords, so today, let’s talk about GI Joe and the Snake Eyes Sword shown in the picture (SA0280).

Snake Eyes is the code name of a member of the G.I. Joe team and much of his history and information, including his real name, and most everything else about him, has remained classified throughout all depictions of his origin. Snake Eyes is quiet in his movements and is a quick and deadly master of many martial arts as he is a full- fledged ninja master.

Snake Eyes has a quiet personality and usually wears what is best described as a black military type ninja bodysuit along with a balaclava and visor to cover his face, which was disfigured in a helicopter explosion. Of course, since then, Snake Eyes has had a lot of plastic surgery to repair the damage he had to his face, however, he still has a few scars left behind. His vocal cords however, could not be repaired after the deadly explosion.

A description of Snake Eyes out of his uniform, is that he is around six feet tall, with an athletic build, blond hair and blue eyes and of course has his Snake Eyes Sword! This sword is a 440 stainless steel unsharpened blade with partial serration and ninja emblem. There is a cast metal guard, a full tang with a poly grip handle and a speckled finish scabbard with a metal accent. This is a MUST HAVE for all the fans of Snake Eyes and the GI Joe movie!

Visit SamuraiSupply.com today and check out all our movie swords and start collecting your favorites today! If you have any questions, please contact us or if you have a sword in mind that you want and you do not see it on our site, let us know and we’ll do our best to find it for you!

Musashi Toradragon Katana and Yaki-ire Tempering

In our Musashi Katana collection, we have a sword called the Musashi Toradragon Katana Sword (SS761-1). This Katana Sword is a hand forged 1095 high carbon steel blade and is tempered using the Yaki-ire method. There have been a few questions on what the Yaki-ire method is, so we thought we would give you a bit more information on it.

Yaki-ire Tempering:

1)After the forging and the final shaping the blade is covered with clay, a thick layer on the body and a thinner layer on the edge where the Yakiba will be. After the clay has dried, the sword is placed in a charcoal fire until the temperature reaches approximately 700 degrees centigrade (1290 degrees Fahrenheit) on the back and 800 degrees centigrade (1470 degrees Fahrenheit) on the edge. Due to the heating, the blade gains somewhat in dimensions, and the tip curves a little upwards. At this point, it is then plunged into a container with water of a temperature of about 20 degrees centigrade (70 degrees Fahrenheit).
2) In the water, the edge, which has a thinner clay coating, cools off faster than the main body of the sword - the thicker clay, together with the greater thickness of the blade itself, keeps the heat longer than in the edge portion. The material at the edge contracts, and two seconds after the swords has been put into the water the blade curves slightly towards the edge; this is called Saka-zori or Gyaku-zori ("reversed Sori").
3) Five seconds after the blade was immersed in water, the rapid cooling of the edge caused a transformation of the steel structure from austenite (a nonmagnetic solid solution) to martensite (a very hard and brittle solid solution of iron and carbon), resulting in an expansion of the edge. The body of the sword, cooling off slower and losing its expansion which was caused by the heat, crystallizes into pearlite (a mixture of iron and cementite [iron carbide]). In other words: the edge expands while the back shrinks, thus gaining a Sori towards the back, the typical shape of a Nihonto.

We hope this helps out all your questions about Yaki-ire tempering and that we gave you a bit of insight of what goes on behind making this awesome Musashi Toradragon Katana Sword! We have a great sale going on now, so be sure to add this Katana Sword to your collection today! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at info@samuraisupply.com.

Ryumon Okinawa Practical Sword

We could not very well publish an article and a post about Ryumon Swords and not showcase one of their beautiful swords! The one in particular we think you should know more about is the Ryumon Okinawa Practical Katana Sword.

This gorgeous sword is hand forged and folded AISI 1060 high carbon steel blade tempered in the traditional clay method, which produces a hard and extremely sharp cutting edge and a very resilient spine. Of course, this sword is polished by master sword smiths to reveal its beautiful hamon and hada as well and the iron tsuba is very detailed.

This Ryumon Okinawa Practical Katana Sword also comes with a premium sword maintenance kit which is worth $30 and a reference guide. If that was not enough add ons, it also comes with a silk sword bag and an unsharpened training blade with a rounded tip so that you have an extra blade to practice with! This gives you an extra blade - yes, an extra blade!

This is just an amazing sword for the price as we have this Ryumon Sword at an awesome sale price right now! Click on our Ryumon Swords and pick out the one that best suits you now and add it to your collection today! If you have any questions about this Ryumon Sword or any other Samurai Swords, please contact us.

Ryumon Samurai Swords

I couldn't go without doing a blog on these great swords by Ryumon! To start off, let's see what Ryumon means. The word Ryumon translates to erudite or reputable. See, I could stop there and you would know just what kind of manufacturer Ryumon is and how their swords are. Let's tell you a bit more about these sword though! (The Ryumon Phoenix Katana RY3201 is pictured to the left)

The Ryumon line has brought us several different beautiful pieces that compare with a lot of other very well known manufacturers out there. The Ryumon line has tried to stick to a solid quality of craftsmanship as best as they can and among the competitors, Ryumon is considered to be in the intermediate level by sword collectors. I feel that intermediate is very respectable and you get a really good quality sword for what you pay for.

These Ryumon Swords are made by master sword smiths that use old traditional methods of sword making along with some modern knowledge of today. This enables them to put forth a quality hand forged and folded, full tang Samurai Sword that is made of tough, medium or high quality carbon sharpened steel. Each of the Ryumon Swords is fully functional and battle ready and can be used in both full contact sparring matches as well as training.

The best part is that almost all the Ryumon Swords come with a Ryumon signature box, a sword bag and a maintenance kit. I LOVE getting all the extras in my purchase and with Ryumon you are getting a lot of bang for you buck, which is what I look for. Quality sword, affordable prices, and great extras included!

You can add your Ryumon Sword to your collection today and know that they all have a 30 day money back satisfaction guarantee. We want you to know that SamuraiSupply.com stands 100% behind their products. We hope you enjoyed this wee bit of information and if you are looking for more detail on the Ryumon Swords, check out our sword articles. If you have any thoughts or comments on this or any other blog or article, please contact us as we love to hear from you!

Who is Hanwei Paul Chen?

SamuraiSupply.com would like to give you a brief overview of just who Hanwei Paul Chen is because the Hanwei Paul Chen Swords are very popular and very much in demand. Who makes these amazing swords? Where did they get started? Where did they come from?

Hanwei started with a man by the name of Paul Chen. Paul was born and raised in Taiwan and while he was young Paul developed a passion for knives and swords. Paul especially loved Samurai Swords and his passion for them grew strong.

There was a high cost for custom made pieces and antiques so Paul pursued an education into the making of knives and swords and he started to perfect his custom designs. He gained a very good reputation because of his unique designs and is quite successful.

When the demand for swords began to take off, he moved to Dailan, China which is known as the "steel city". He decided to become a manufacturer and he was able to employ many talented workers to bring the designs he created to life.

Hanwei employs over one hundred employees that produce over six hundred items in the sword, knife and weaponry fields. They are always developing new products and coming up with new concepts which keeps them the leader in their field.

Paul Chen's son, Ron Chen has now followed in his fathers footsteps and has studied under the Japanese legend Yoshindo Yoshihara. Ron Chen is responsible for the Tamahagane and the Banitie blades that are being developed by Hanwei and are very popular with sword collectors. There are many great things in store for Hanwei Paul Chen and we are looking forward to adding more of their new swords in our store so that we can bring them to you!

Go and look at the beautiful swords offered by Hanwei Paul Chen and add one to your collection today!