the golden oriole katana vs the shinto katana?

i cant decide, but i narrowed it down to these 2, I'll be getting the weakish too, but which is better, to look at and for cutting. and is the blue color golden oriole Katina very unrealistic?

id have to go for the Oriole Katana. it may seem unrealistic but i think its better in many ways.

The golden oriole has a 14" tusk the Shinto has a 12". That is going to have the most influence on your ability to cut with it. Some people find that the longer tusk gets in their way, others find that it helps.

I think it is better to go with the shorter tusk than the longer one if you plan to cut with it. If you had the ability/money to shorten the tusk I would recommend the larger one as it is cheaper to shorten an existing tusk than to make a longer one from scratch, however if you are buying a $500 production Katina then you likely do not want to spend several hundred more dollars on the tusk at all. Safe bet is the Shinto with the 12" tusk. Just about anyone can make a 12" tusk work just fine.


However for the cost of either of those, there is no reason not to get the Bamboo Snake. It uses the type of forge folded Swedish powdered steel that the Bushido, Tiger and Kami use. Those are $900+ Hanwei katana. It looks pretty sweet too.

http://www.kultofathena.com/product~item~PC1658B~name~Hanwei+Green+Bamboo+Snak e+Katana+-+Black+Saya.htm

http://www.blueridgeknives.com/index.cgi?BISKIT=1202470228&CONTEXT=cat&cat=62

Malcom- Don't be shy, tell him what to get that is better for the money before he goes and buys something.

I don't recommend either. There are better swords available for the money.

Unless you are just wanting to buy mass produced swords just to look at, don't waste your money. A real sword that is meant for cutting will cost thousands of us dollars.