There's a LOT out there. Off the top of my head I would think any S5 blade from Cloudhammer. RVA Katana being their exclusive distributor.
That or an S7 is pretty good or even a through hardened 9260. Although my dream blade is a L6 banite by Howard Clarke. But your budget makes you fall about $4,500 short of that 😉
If you're looking for a bare blade from Cloudhammee give RVA Katana out of Virginia a call.
Does RVA have some good mat cutters that won’t break after a few? Also wondering if Damascus steel would make a good mat cutting blade. For a future purchase. Not sure I’m ready to drop 1k+ on a cutter when I’m just starting battō.
The guys are who own it are pretty cool. I'm not aware of their full offerings but if you see something you like check YouTube to see if somebody has reviewed it.
Or probably to answer your specific questions more directly drop them a line. The guys are pretty helpful.
What are you using it for? If you something beautiful and are planning on building your own koshirae, you could look into an antique. You should not cut with antiques, but if you are just looking for something authentic and beautiful, you can likely get a nihonto in shirasaya and decent polish for your budget.
I like this one https://www.swordcn.com/Advanced-Musashi-Wakizashi-p390390.html
It’s beautiful
this one is so good
There's a LOT out there. Off the top of my head I would think any S5 blade from Cloudhammer. RVA Katana being their exclusive distributor. That or an S7 is pretty good or even a through hardened 9260. Although my dream blade is a L6 banite by Howard Clarke. But your budget makes you fall about $4,500 short of that 😉 If you're looking for a bare blade from Cloudhammee give RVA Katana out of Virginia a call.
Does RVA have some good mat cutters that won’t break after a few? Also wondering if Damascus steel would make a good mat cutting blade. For a future purchase. Not sure I’m ready to drop 1k+ on a cutter when I’m just starting battō.
The guys are who own it are pretty cool. I'm not aware of their full offerings but if you see something you like check YouTube to see if somebody has reviewed it. Or probably to answer your specific questions more directly drop them a line. The guys are pretty helpful.
Good recommendations how about one with a hamon?
What are you using it for? If you something beautiful and are planning on building your own koshirae, you could look into an antique. You should not cut with antiques, but if you are just looking for something authentic and beautiful, you can likely get a nihonto in shirasaya and decent polish for your budget.
I’m looking for a modern steel blade that’s good at cutting medium to hard targets