We think the best customers are well-informed customers, so we do our best to find valuable information and present it in a way everyone can enjoy.  As swords enthusiasts ourselves, we feel such information should be shared freely among all who share our passion.

Thus, in 2018, we worked hard to update old articles and create new ones chock full of information for old and new sword enthusiasts alike, while also making them fun and engaging to read.  Now, at the beginning of 2019, we look back at the results of our undertaking and feature the articles we and you liked the most.

Staff Picks

We asked our team to choose the posts they liked the most and give their reasons why.  Here are their top picks:

Female Samurai - The Onna Bugeisha - "My favourite post for 2018 was the one about the Onna Bugeisha. I am the only female in our team, and learning about Samurai and their history is a great passion of mine, so I was thrilled to learn about the role of women and the courage of some female samurai.

For over half a millennia, women stepped up to the plate to defend their homes and families as the men left for battles. Within their communities, these women became great examples of courage, leadership, and strength. This article shines a light on the less famous, yet equally fierce female samurai." - Silvia.

The Magic of the “Blood Groove” - "I love how the blood groove (aka "Bo-Hi") is woven into the story of Kana, showcasing its usefulness in lightening the blade while also making it a fun, engaging, and personal read." - Tristan

The Ninja vs The Samurai - "I like how the story is engaging while trying to stay as historically accurate as possible, even while creating the unlikely engagement between a samurai and a Ninja.  The information is interesting too." - Ryan 

Top 3 Read

The next three posts were the ones you liked the most, judged by total page views.

Guide to Types of Sword Steel – Everything You Didn’t Know You Needed to Know - No story here, but chock full of information, from the attributes of each type of steels used in swords to whom they are best for.

Norimitsu Odachi: Who on Earth Could Have Wielded Such a Sword? - There is a gigantic sword in Japan measuring over three meters!  Who made it and why? We explore several possibilities.

European Longsword vs Katana? - This question has plagued sword enthusiasts for centuries.  Here we attempt to answer the question while being as fair as possible to both swords.

Popular Reference Posts

We also noticed that a lot our readers (that's you!) looked for the following information, so we thought we'd put it front-and-center.  They have been updated to be current for 2019.

Are samurai swords, katana and wakizashi legal in the UK? - In short, yes, if made a certain way.  See this post for full details.  (All our swords are UK legal).

Sword Maintenance and Care - Chock full of advice for keeping your new sword looking shiny for years (or even decades).