"So, why is Sword Buyers Guide.com actually SELLING swords?"

The sword that prompted us to start the SBG Sword Store, the Cheness Kanbai

When I first started to create Sword Buyers Guide in February 2005, I had no idea that eventually I would be selling swords myself...

...Sure, I had hoped of getting a few good sponsors to help pay for my (rather high) expenses - but actually selling swords? It was certainly not something I had planned...

Unfortunately, the whole sponsorship idea never quite eventuated...

Yes, I WAS approached by a quite a few sword sellers... But at the end of the day there was only a handful that I could comfortably recommend as good, professional people to do business with...

Then one day I received an email out of the blue by a visitor to my site (Jeff Daniels, who later posted a review of the Cheness Higo Katana on my site) asking my opinion about a new sword manufacturer and seller on the block, Paul Chen from Cheness Cutlery...

At the time I was a hardcore, never-say-die fan of the 'other' Paul Chen (from the Hanwei Forge) and his classic entry level sword the PPK - so my response was along the lines of a generic 'from what little I know, these new Cheness swords seem ok, but I'd personally stick with Hanwei'...

Over time though I started to hear more and more good reports about this little known seller. And as the word spread of Cheness Cutleries serious commitment to make the best quality/lowest price Katana blades - little by little my conviction that the Hanwei Practical Katana line were the only half decent sub US$300 Japanese swords began to weaken...

Only to be completely blown apart when I actually bought some of the Cheness swords to see what all the fuss was about!!

I was so impressed by the "price to quality" ratio and how their views on swords complemented what I was looking for in a sub US$300 price point Katana - I just knew that I had to team up with them somehow...! So after some discussions with Paul Chen he said 'why not stock a few in the SBG Sword Store?'

I was reluctant at first, but we needed a better funding model - and as I personally thought these swords were the best at the time, I could see no reason why not. After all, it would also offer me a window into the OTHER side of the sword business and give me a balanced view that was impossible as only a sword buyer and reviewer..

Thus, the SBG Sword Store was born with a view to learn more about the industry and keep my margins as tight as possible so YOU get the best deal, funneling profits back into the site to keep it healthy and vital.

Expansion

Since that fateful expansion, both the store and the site have gone from strength to strength. Without exception, our credo has been to only stock swords that I would personally buy myself - so the selection is limited, there is no fluff and filler, we pre-narrow down the selection for you.

Over the years, we have also created several products ourselves when no-one else on the market has or seems willing to go and hope to lead by example.

Anyway, I hope that you will support my site by buying one of our range of cool swords- it really is a WIN-WIN situation.

YOU get the best value for swords at a ridiculously low price, and I make just enough profit on each sale to keep my site going, and growing, into the future...

I really have formed some very exciting partnerships and I very am proud to be able to offer you these 'personally approved' swords on my site! :-)

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