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Mantis Katanas - Anybody heard of them?

by Jake Christie
(San Diego, CA.)

I have my eye on this ebay auction for four (4) katanas; two have black sayas (scabbard), the others have sayas with a gold "crackle" finish. The sageo on the katana with the gold saya is gold over a white tsuka; the other sword is the more tradional black sageo over a white tsuka. The seller claims these are "Mantis" swords made of 1018 steel, but the two display pieces are sitting on a Masahiro sword holder. It's one of those "no reserve, .99 cent" auctions and the guy is liquidating his stocks. The seller has a 100 percent rating. Any thoughts?

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Mantis Katanas - Anybody heard of them?

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May 18, 2008
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		mantiss swords
by: beowulf

mantiss is a company based in maryland . they offer everything from entry level to high end japanese weapons and armor ! I`ve dealt with them and was very happy with their service , I purchased a dynast forge kogarasu maru at a very good price and it is well made and very functional ! unless the deaer you wrote of was from the state of maryland it isnt mantiss swords , dont buy from them ! look up the real company online and check out the products they offer !
Jan 29, 2008
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Rip Off
by: Anonymous

A rip off in my opinion, but then again, I may be wrong and it depends on what you expect for your dollar. I would not reccommend buying any swords on ebay unless you plan to do nothing more with them than use them as props. Ebay has become a breeding ground of cheap and dangerous knock offs, not that Masahiro swords are that great of quality to begin with. If you do buy one of these I reccommend saving yourself a trip to the hospital by NOT trying to cut with it.
Dec 30, 2007
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		.99 auctions
by: Sal

Well, sometimes you will see these auctions on ebay.It mostly means that the seller is just using his/her account for a short period of time to sell of there merchandise. They will start off with 100% feedback, and then it will decrease over time if someone is not totally satisfied. That may be why they have that rating.

Regarding the swords however, They are rather nice practice and display swords, take them apart to see if there are any cracks in the tsuka or a welded-on tang. If so, do not use that sword. 1018 isn't very good steel, low carbon content means the absence of hardness. So, this steel will most likely break or take a permenant set.

All and all, they are very nice swords, they are meant for taking apart and practicing your maintenance skills essentially.

Hope this helped

Sal

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