Imperial Armory - Paul Chen Swords

        Paul Chen is one of the most trusted and well known names in quality marital arts weapons in the world today. Well known for their well made and fairly priced swords, the Paul Chen, Hanwei Forge sword line, distributed by CAS Iberia has become the leading manufacturer of swords. Paul Chen offers a large variety of swords that range in quality, price and class; catering to every martial artist's needs. The most common are the most affordable Practical Series of swords listed below.

        Although only a few Paul Chen swords are listed on our site, we offer the full Paul Chen line distributed through CAS Iberia, at the minimum advertised price of 10% off of the suggested retail price, as set forth in the dealer terms of CAS Iberia. We can order any sword listed on CAS Iberia's website. Feel free to search their website and place your order through us remembering to take 10% off their pricing.

        Please Note: There are many websites selling "Paul Chen" swords below the MAP of 10%, please be aware that they are most likely not buying direct from CAS Iberia or are most likely selling knock offs or are reselling returned or less then perfect swords. When buying a Paul Chen sword from us you can be sure that we will fully inspect the sword before sending it to you and give a full 1 year warranty through CAS Iberia.

The Practical Katana gives the martial artist the opportunity to own and use a Hanwei sword at the cost of an economy sword. The blade is forged and differentially tempered, using simular process as the more expensive blades and producing an HRC60 edge and HRC40 back. The temper line may be faked, but it is prominent. Cost savings are effected by using fittings which, while making no claims to authenticity, are very strongly built to withstand the rigors of cutting exercises in the dojo.

The upside is the Practical Katana is an inexpensive cutting sword and is ideal for a student that is just starting out and doesn't want to risk damaging a more expensive sword or for a collector looking to buy a katana that can cut. The down side is the tsuka is glued to the tang and needs to be destroyed and rebuilt if you want to repair or upgrade any of the fittings. Since the tsuka can not be removed it makes it more difficult to polish and sharpen the blade, ultimately making this an eventual wall hanger.

Practical Katana Size:
Blade:	Tsuka:	Overall:	Ave. Weight:
27 ¼"	11 ¼"	39 ½"	1.8 kg
Retail: $259 Your Price: $229

The “Practical Plus” Katana provides a very economical cutting sword as dependable as the above Practical Katana (1070-GT), but using more traditional fittings and construction methods. The blade is forged and differentially tempered (HRC60 edge, HRC40 back) and the hamon is fake but still very prominent. The Practical Plus features genuine Same (Rayskin) on the Tsuka, with a wrap (Tsuka-Ito) specially developed for its gripping qualities. The tsuka is removable and the long tang is double-pegged for security. The fittings of the Practical Plus are decorated in a Japanese Dogwood motif with dragon menuki, and the handsome Tsuba is of an iron "sunburst" design with a brass habaki.

The Practical Plus Katana is about $100 more then the Practical Katana and is worth the extra money in the short run. The difference in fittings and materials will last longer, the katana can be disassembled for full maintenance, repair, polishing and sharpening. The ability to remove the tsuka is a major advantage over the Practical katana.

Practical Plus Katana Size:
Blade:	Tsuka:	Overall:	Ave. Weight:
27 ¼"	12 ½"	40 ½"	1.8 kg
Retail: $379 Your Price: $339

The Bushido Katana (SH1210) has a hand-forged & folded K120C powder steel blade, differentially tempered using a traditional claying method to produce an HRC60 edge, HRC40 back. The temper line (hamon) is evident and prominent and the grain pattern (hada) shows distinct layers. The saya are deeply lacquered in gold with inlaid brass cherry blossom (sakura) flowers. High quality ray skin (same) is used on the tsuka of the katana and wakizashi, while the tsuka of the tanto is a gold-plated brass with a battle-scene decoration in relief. The tsuba of the katana and wakizashi is of blackened and bronzed iron, with detailing in gold and silver and a battle scene decoration. The tsuka-ito on the katana and wakizashi and the sageo on all three pieces are woven from premium Japanese cotton. The fuchi and kashira are of blackened bronze with brass detailing, and the kojiri, koiguchi and kurikata are of polished buffalo horn. The blade collar (habaki) is a one-piece brass construction. The katana and wakizashi blades are un-grooved, while the tanto blade is grooved (bo-hi) on both sides. The katana and wakizashi have medium-length (chu) kissaki. Matching wakizashi and tanto are available.

The Bushido Katana maybe expensive, but is well worth it. The blade is forged and folded from Swedish powder steel which is one of the most durable and purest types of steel you can use to forge a blade. Even though the quality of the steel doesn't require it to be folded, it sure doesn't hurt.

Bushido Folded Steel Katana Size:
Blade:	Tsuka:	Overall:	Ave. Weight:
28 ½"	11 ½"	40"	1.5 kg
Retail: $1,199 Your Price: $1,079

The Orchid Katana (SH1207) has a hand-forged & folded K120C powder steel blade, differentially tempered using a traditional claying method to produce an HRC60 edge, HRC40 back. The temper line (hamon) is evident and prominent and the grain pattern (hada) shows distinct layers. The saya are deeply lacquered in blue. High quality ray skin (same) is used on the tsuka, and the tsuka-ito and sageo on all three pieces are woven from premium Japanese cotton. The tsuba of the katana and wakizashi is of blackened iron, with an Orchid and Butterfly decoration inlaid in silver, brass and copper. The scabbard mouth (koiguchi) and cord knob (kurikata) are of buffalo horn, and the fuchi, kashira and kojiri are of bronzed iron with silver and gold detailing. The blade collar (habaki) is a one-piece brass construction. Matching wakizashi available.

The Orchid Katana like the Bushido katana, maybe expensive, but is also well worth it. The blade is forged and folded from Swedish powder steel which is one of the most durable and purest types of steel you can use to forge a blade. Even though the quality of the steel doesn't require it to be folded, it sure doesn't hurt.

Orchid Folded Steel Katana Size:
Blade:	Tsuka:	Overall:	Ave. Weight:
28"	11 ½"	40 ½"	1.4 kg
Retail: $1,499 Your Price: $1,349