Question about a Korean sword vendor

[howard]

Hello,

Has anybody out there ever dealt with a company in Seoul called Authentic Korean Swords? (website: www.shjmdragon.com)

I'm considering buying a practice sword from them, and would be grateful for any info anybody has.

Thanks, Howard

[James O'Neill]

I don't have any first hand experience with them but reading about the materials & construction (forging) methods from their website it looks like they have some very high quality offerings.

You may want to check on the sword forum over at the bladeforums.com website - maybe someone there has some experience with the company...

[howard]

Thanks James... I'll do that.

Their website is pretty impressive, and they seem to be legit - they explain all of the Korean customs clearance procedures, and they take care of all that for you. So I wouldn't have to go thru the nightmare I went thru when I ordered a custom sword from a Korean swordsmith... the sword ended up in the custody of a freight forwarder at JFK airport, and we ended up having to go out to JFK in person and go thru all kinds of bureaucratic nonsense (and pay some fees, of course) before we got our hands on the sword.

Thanks again, Howard

[Sapphire]

umm... I hate to say this, but those look more like Japanese katanas than Korean jingums. Several things make me say this. Firstly, Korean swords do not traditionally have bloodgrooves; bloodgrooves were later added by the Japanese. Secondly, the tip is not as rounded as a Korean Jingum.

Compare:
http://shjmdragon.com/ChoSunSaeBeobPractice.htm

http://www.martialartswords.com/shop...products_id=37

The one on martial arts swords is an authentic Korean Jingum. They also describle the differences between Japanese and Korean swords somewhere on the site.

[howard]

umm... I hate to say this, but those look more like Japanese katanas than Korean jingums.

Sapphire, no worries... I certainly have no problem with your saying this. I happen to agree with you. In fact, the Korean swords we currently use are extremely similar to katana.

btw, I e-mailed the company with some basic questions three days ago, and have not yet got a response. Guess I'll have to e-mail them again. I did hear on another forum that their swords tend to vary in quality, but that their customer service is very good.

[Paul B]

I really didn't care for their product at all.

It looks like they just ordered a bunch of bare blades and put them together with whatever would fit,came up with a "Korean-esque" name..and are trying to sell it as an honest-to-god shimgum.

In particular the fittings look slapped together and everything looks a little "loose" and sloppily done...a bigtime no-no with a live blade,neh?

For the price they're asking,I think you would be better off going with a Bugei Shobu Zukuri,which is pretty darn close to a Korean ye-do.IMHO.

[WMKS Shogun]

i could not get a link into the site to work. hmmmmm... that is a little scary. maybe it is just my browser being stupid.

[KSWolf]

Nope. Their site is gone now.

[howard]

Yep, it's gone alright... tried to access it about a month ago. Nothing.

Oh well, look on the bright side: I can remove a defunct bookmark from my desktop.