Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Warlock on February 18, 2003, 06:43:01 pm
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I'm looking to replace my Shinai, but I'd like to get one a bit better quality than what's generally found here in the US. Can any of our members from Asia (or that have been there and might know) let me know roughly what prices are reasonable ? I've seen everything from $19 for a cheap one to $100. I know enough to realize half of what's online is most likely had it's price jacked up pretty far.
Thanks in advance.
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Depends what you intend to use it for. Just general practice of katas and similar motions and styles or for full contact practice between 2 people or more, it is these which cost a lot as they have to survive the beating.
Generally a practive bokken will cost you around $15-$25 for a moderate decent one. Really you shouldn't need to spend any more than that on one.
A general use half decent shinai will cost around the same price as a bokken for the same use, around $15-$30
If you are after something higher end quality then you are looking at paying something upto roughly $65-$70, asuming that the thing is properly crafted and high quality. Typically you'd be looking to stay around $45-50 though. You shouldn't really be spending high than $70 since it'd be a waste of money. The only time you should be spending more than that is if you want to fork out on something just for showing off and boasting about (which is generally a waste of money in the long run).
And the only time you want to be buying a high end shinai is for frequent practice purposes (ie, cus it's last unlike the cheapo ones) or for proper desomstration purposes. The general purpose ones mentioned before should be fine for the casual martial artist.
Most of the prices are conversions based on UK prices (since I live in the UK) and from what info I could find on japanese and US prices. But generally they are about right.
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The Internet prices are actually pretty fair, provided you go to the right place. They'll skin ya if you wanna get the real, not-for-practice article (a feckin' $300 tanto?), but shinais, etc. aren't as inexplicably faddish, so they've got reasonable prices.
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Thanks guys. It's been years since I've practiced and my original bokken just isn't what it used to be. Plus my GF wants me yo teach her, hence my reasoning for a Shinai instead of another bokken,...there a bit easier on the tissue if you slip ;) (And lord knows she'll slip quite a bit with me LOL)
Again thanks for the info guys ;)
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This is probably a stupid question, but what is a shinai?
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Sorta a practice sword. I haven't actually seen one (played with a bokken once, but mostly I'm of the school where the real thing's the only training), but they appear to look vaguely like combat umbrellas.
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or you could do the smart thing and buy a western-style sword.
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or you could do the smart thing and by a western-style sword.
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Pah. No fun. Heavy, unwieldy, graceless... the double-edged ones you're liable to cut yourself on as much as anyone or anything else. Machetes are one thing, I can practically juggle my machete and come out fine, I wouldn't trust one of those Scottish-type swords for anything.
Plus you can't get as good a slashing action as with a shortish samurai sword.
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(http://www.weaponsemporium.com/WE-Gladius.JPG)
^ seksi
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Roman swords? A bit... stumpy, no?
The whole point of a knife or a sword is to have backup if you can't afford, can't score, or can't use a gun due to short range. THAT would kinda defeat the purpose.
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no, the whole purpose of having a sword is that they're cool.
...and it takes making coleslaw to a whole new level.
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No, that's the purpose of having a H&K CAWS.
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he said coleslaw, not sauce
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I like mine extra crispy. Got a problem with that?
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no...
it depends on personal tastse i guess..
now where did i put that non-eutactic blade (been playing too much deus-ex)
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Eh, got the same thing going with Blood. Which is more than a little strange, since normally I find FPSes to be about as mindless as you can get...
EVERYONE DIES!!!!
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Meh, got blood 2 that's fun..
THAT'S RIGHT, WHO' LAUGHING NOW!!!!!
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Me, I couldn't get the sound to work in it. Or much of anything else. I extracted the sound file, and had some good fun with the Evil Dead references, but something tells me that's about as much as I'm ever gonna get out of B2.
Plus, it's not nearly as funny as the original.
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true...
undying's good scary fun.
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heh
actually for me it's an entirely different reason to have one, practicing is one of my most effective means of stress relief. Its a great focus of sorts.
and I can't practice with my Katanna (for one my GF has a heartattack if I even LOOK like I'm going to use it lol)
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My katanas all have blunt blades. I plan to have kids someday, so... :p
Only really dangerous thing I have at home is a crossbow, but I removed a part of it so it can't work.
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heh luckily I've only been cut once :D
Not bad when concidering just how sharp this thing is :D
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Yeah, my bro has sharp ones too. Seen that scene in bodyguard with the handkerchief? I thought it was a joke. Well it's not :blah:
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Heh ,.. I had mine out once, while cleaning the blade up I slipped and the blade fell about 14 inches into the arm of my counch,...sliced through 3/4 of the support in the arm.
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Hmm... screwed up exactly once with my machete, was trying a trick recovery and my hand slipped. Didn't stop bleeding for days, and I still have a hugeass scar on my hand. That was about the point where I gave up on any technique not practical.:D
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LMAO!
Remains me of the last time I played with FFF grade black powder as a kid :D
Torched my hands and never noticed the 2 inch hole in my leg until one of the guys I was with point out the blood on my jeans,...was kinna freaky,...didn't hurt yet you could actually se bone and the muscle moving when I moved my foot.
Walking a mile home to go get it stitched up wasn't much fun thou :P
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Ow. Never had one like that, I've had a healthy respect for high explosives since I was a little kid and my leg caught fire in a barbecue pit.
In retrospect, it musta been a pretty funny scene, me as an eight-year-old running around screaming with flames coming out from the middle of my leg. But I think I was pretty much aware of it at the time.;)
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hehe yea looking back on things like that is always funny as hell.
What I recall most is out of the 3 of us ,... I got glass in three places and the hole in my leg, the guy RIGHT beside me got NOTHING ,...and his brother 30 feet away on the porch got showered in red hot glass shards.
Least it was the bottle we kept the powder in blowing and not on of the CO2 cartrige bombs we made then :) Being we turned a steel30 gallon trash can into a flower with one.... that would have been bad.
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Next time, you should use that guy as a protective shield. He's obviously not gonna get hit by anything, so if you stand behind him...
Yeah, the stuff will pass right through him without touching him at all and hit you. :D
A glass bottle, though? Yeesh, you were dumber as a kid than I was. Which is probably a good thing, as I had blueprints for some KCl time bombs back then, and probably woulda taken out the whole block.
You know what's fun? Lightbulbs. They've got an inert gas in them, but if you make a pin-sized hole, fill 'em with gasoline vapor or purified hydrogen, and cover up the hole... fun!
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Swords Online (http://www.swords-online.com)