Help buying a sword

[Raptor]

Hi everyone, i'm new here and let me say you have great swords,so i want to buy one,but i dont want to spend a lot.
i found some interesting swords but i don't know wich one is the best for me.
I want a good sword for cutting(sharp edge) and good looking for hanging it on the wall.
Well,these are my options:

-Kawashima warrior katana or snowfall katana(i noticed that warrior,daishou,practical,kumo are the same except for the snowfall cuz is 1060 ant the otherones are 1065 whats the difference?)
http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=605

-Musashi wind dragon
http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=422

-Bushido dragon or sakura katanas
http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=53 -->wind dragon
http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=437 -->sakura

-Masahiro white shadow or last samurai
http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=36 --->white shadow
http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=439 ---> last samurai

thanks for helping

[Taygrd]

Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here and hopefully we can answer all of your questions.

"Kawashima warrior katana or snowfall katana(i noticed that warrior,daishou,practical,kumo are the same except for the snowfall cuz is 1060 ant the otherones are 1065 whats the difference?)" -Raptor

1065 and 1060 differ only in the molecular level. High carbon steel is high carbon steel. Most of these steels heat treat the same. The 1060s are spring steel and you would not be able to tell the difference in a sword between the two. High carbon rusts so care must be taken to keep the blade clean and you fingerprints off.

As far as the blades go there are as many opinions out there as there are forum members. I do not have any of the blades that you are looking at, however I do own Musashi and Masahiro blades. I found the heat treat on the Musashi to be great for cutting and it seems that they have improved the furnishings (koshirae) within the last year. Masahiro has a nice fit and finish but may need a good edge put on it. Kawashima is fairly new but they look like great swords for the money. I do not have a Bushido sword so hopefully someone who does can chime in.
There is one review for the White Shadow and here is the link
http://swordsofmightforum.com/showthread.php?t=318
Honestly all of the swords you are looking at would appear to meet your needs and it may come down to just your personal preferance. Jason will give you an honest answer to any of your questions-ask anyone who has dealt with him and they would agree. So feel free to ask him.

Again welcome to the forum. I am sure there will be more suggestions for you once the guys find this post.

[Brian Brazier]

Welcome to the forum Raptor, I have to concur with my colleague Taygrd in that all of the swords you have noted will cut and look good on the wall, it is really up to what you like the most. Of the swords you picked, the Bushido Sakura (floral with purple sageo) and Kawashima Warrior, would be my picks, and that is purely on looks, I am sure the performance of both will be very similar. I am quite confident that you will be pleased with any of the swords that you have listed.

[Richard Johnson]

That is such a subjective thought.
ALL of theswords you find here will look good on the wall. Some people have specific artistic preferences though which controls that. I dislikethe overlong handles and prefer a simplier design. others like fancy. It's a matter of taste.

As for cutting... One niice thing about SoM is that people can send in reviews ofthe swords that are posted on the ad, good and bad.
So read the reviews that the buyers post and see what they think.

I have a last Legend Mark II I got elsewhere and loved the way it cuts so much I put a part of the pool noodle i cut on display.

Anotehr time i was teaching a friend how to fight (cheap ss Bud-K swords as we didn't want to get hurt) for a play and got bored with the rehersal so I handed him my hanwei Viking and he loved cutting with that. (I had sharpened it myself)

So everyone has an opinion and the best thing, as I mentioned, is to readthe reviews of those who cut and see what they say.