In our opinion, Hanwei has improved light years since we first started using their swords in the early nineties. The forging and polishing of the blades, the quality of the fittings, and the materials and workmanship in the tsuka have begun to approach the quality of modern Japanese shinken, at a fraction of the cost. Here at AJS, we use the Hanwei Meijin Custom Katana primarily for iaido, but also for tameshigiri. - Buy these custom swords at the AJS store.

1. FEATURED SWORDS:
   

2. HANWEI MEIJIN CUSTOM KATANA
   

3. “The Meijin Katana is an amazing testament to CAS Hanwei quality. The blade is forged-folded T10 high-carbon steel with grooves (bo-hi) on both sides of the blade, which makes for a lighter blade and audible feedback on the cutting stroke. The blade is differentially hardened using a traditional claying method and has a beautiful grain pattern (hada) with visible layers. The Meijin has a very sharp edge and is capable of light target cutting. The saya is finished in a beautiful black matte/gloss striped finish extending the length of the scabbard and the sageo is black cotton. The Meijin Katana represents the pinnacle of production quality for Shinken..” - from the CAS Hanwei site.
   

4. These are custom versions of the Meijin Katana, specifically requested by Iaido.Com for Eishin-Ryu practice. We asked Hanwei to custom make 9-inch tsuka for these swords instead of the standard 12 1/4-inches.
   

5. The saya is finished in a beautiful black matte/gloss striped finish the length of the scabbard. The handle and fittings are from Hanwei's Practical Plus Iaito, featuring "genuine Same (Rayskin) on the Tsuka. The . . . tang is double-pegged for security. The fittings of the Practical Plus are decorated in a Japanese Dogwood motif with lion dog menuki, and the handsome Tsuba is of an iron sunburst design with a brass habaki."
   

6. Buy these custom swords at the AJS store.
   

7. See the custom Practical XL Light Katana.