Paul Chen Practical Plus
 

Hello All,

I am currently mulling over buying one of these, I would like a fully functional Samurai sword - Is this a good choice?

And, does anybody have any recommendations as to where to buy from?

Thks

nowthen

It's a damn good sword for the money. Little nicer grip than the practical (non-plus) katana. Are there better ones? Absolutely, but they cost a shitload more.

As to where to get one, I do believe one of our own TFP members sells Chen swords. I'm sure he'll see this thread ;)

Shakran is playin my song!
I do not generaly send unsolicited PM's, so
pm me for info- I can ship anywhere in the U.S.

I've sold a few of em, customers seem to rate them as a worthwile step up from the original practical- Availability on chen pieces can be dicey at this time of year- Sword selling season is getting into full swing, and that means they sell out quick- but generaly chen blades are worth the wait-

WTF??? Is there really a sword selling season?

yes, once the Ren faires get into swing, in late spring through the end of august - scarily enough, this realy effects availability on a lot of blades, from several manufacturers- gets a bit dicey round Christmas too, but nothing like now- Right now I just got in three paul chens that were out of stock for a while, just got lucky cause another dealer had canceled their backorder- and if that had not happened I would have waited till june..... Its not like there arent swords to be had, but good luck getting the realy popular ones - quite a few dealers stockpile em for that reason, something I am gonna have to do at some point- Right now I'd rather sell about twenty different varieties instead of five stacked four deep though....

Which is really stupid considering most renfairs won't let you in with a sharp blade, and even if you have a non-functional sword they still make you tie it to the scabbard with a little pink ribbon, and if you untie it you get kicked out.

Why not just go to a theater supply and get a $30 fake sword?

That is why I stock quite a few "fake swords"- and now some fairs wont even allow peace bonded weapons- Kansas city ren fest now allows only performers to carry, and many of the big ones are following suit- However, "live steel competition " (ie blunted sword fighting) is more popular than ever, and creating a large demmand for the paul chen practical medieval swords and other blunt edged stuff- in addition, more and more fairs are putting on staged fights, creating more demmand for blades that can be blunted down, as generaly only the functional ones will survive on stage.... also, there are the purists that want to own a functional weapon- me, I try to have it all, so I can suit the needs of anyone that comes through my door- that does take up a lot of my time, as its a broad market to deal with-