All about the steel: Part One -> Practical
Topic: The Shinken Reports
I recently have been working with Loren Graves of Orochi Shinken Sword Store in order to produce a "consumer report" documentary about the value of certain Japanese Styled swords. The intent of the documentary is to show the consumer what kind of sword one gets per the manufacturer and for the money. I also intend to put the spotlight on Mr. Graves as well to see what kind of proprieter the consumer was dealing with.

So far all my dealings with Mr. Graves has been more than professional. He has treated me and my dealings with him as a valued customer. All my questions regarding himself and his service have been answered promptly. So far as I can tell, His customer service is top notch.

I received the first set of swords in short order from Mr. Graves (His shipment arrived very quickly). I was actually surprised they arrived so fast from the left coast (as I am on the other side). They were expertly packed and when I checked for movement in the packages I heard the slight rattle of packing in one and nothing from the other.

Opening the packages there was no damage to either item and they arrived in pristine Condition.

The first sword that he sent was the Paul Chen Practical Katana. My first impressions were that the sword seemed sturdy and all of the handle wrapping and furniture seemed to be tightly bound with no play in any of the fittings. The handguard was firmly set and there was no lateral play. The blade collar seemed solid and fit it into the scabbard well. A few heavy swings showed the handle to be tightly set with no play. Eyeballing the set of the blade revealed it to be straight with no defects. The curve of the blade was more toward the end rather than the belly of the blade but it's ballance seemed to be ok. I was very satisfied with the way that this sword appeared and am looking forward to putting it through it's paces during cutting excersizes.