The Bizarre World Of American Katanas (BUDK)

#sword #review #katana
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Swords used in this video:
Shinwa Regal Purple Damascus Steel Katana
www.budk.com/Shinwa-Regal-Pur...
United Cutlery Samurai 3000
www.budk.com/United-Cutlery-S...
Black Legion Atlantis Sword Set
www.budk.com/Black-Legion-Atl...
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For business inquiries email me at [e-mail]
0:00 BUDK commercial
0:54 Intro
1:42 Shinwa Regal Purple Damascus Katana
2:44 History of Damascus Steel
4:01 Shinwa Katana Pros and Cons
5:22 United Cutlery Samurai 3000
6:55 Black Legion Atlantis Sword Set
9:51 Shinwa Regal Purple Damascus Katana cutting test
11:36 Black Legion Atlantis Sword Set cutting test
13:57 Final thoughts on cutting test
15:24 Conclusion
16:21 Endcard

[@Shwarmageddon]

Huge props to you D to have the confidence to film this on that rooftop where anyone could watch you. Love how you embrace the goofiness that comes with this kind of content.

[@kbimmy]

It's great but it's also funny you say that when it's getting out on KZbin where anyone anywhere can watch anyway

[@suoquainen]

@@kbimmy It's about confidence.

[@dnsv08]

Lowkey--- D is finally was able to afford these knives and swords and fulfilled his childhood dreams

[@charlesfuzak]

Yooo I ordered so much stuff from BudK back in the early 2000s as a dumb little preteen. Coolest part, you could order dangerous items at any age by getting a money order and sending in the little order insert from the magazine. My mom had no idea my brother and I were buying giant swords, throwing knives, blow guns, all kinds of crap. Majority of it was junk but some of it was okay. All of it was super cool to a 12 year old.

[@Cerberusarms]

In middle school nothing beat it, except maybe Airsoft guns but you needed a friends older brothers credit card for that haha

[@gourdguru]

@@Cerberusarms budk had you covered there too. airsoft, crosbows, blowguns, hell i think they even started selling black powder firearms at one point.

[@britsunvaar9297]

Budk got me into swords. 8 - 10 yo me trying to clean cut limbs off trees or split some small stick or whatever I just saw in a movie. Then I got pissed that I kept breaking them so I went and learned what a good sword was. I wouldn't call myself an expert but I got buddies that will bring me stuff and I just laugh showing them how they just bought mall ninja crap for $300. Now I know budk is good for pretty things you hang on the wall.

[@t.a6159]

Fun times with weapons...😂

[@randysavage1]

Their solid steel stuff is good for the price. I have those Atlantis swords and went tree branch chopping to test it out..tested on thick branches with no problems. Throwing knives are actually decent too.

[@tomaarten]

it makes sense that the swords were dull, the target audience is mostly teenagers (like you said), so it's probably best for the company to keep them dull as to avoid users causing damage to property, others or themselves (either by accident or on purpose). it sounds like a liability thing.

[@Riceball01]

That would make sense if BudK were the manufacturer of these "swords' but they aren't, they're just retailers and most, if not all, of their products are made by other companies and simply sold by BudK. The most likely case is that the manufacturers just don't want to take the time and effort to actually sharpen them or sharpen them well. Which is not exactly an uncommon practice, a lot of more expensive swords with proper high carbon steel blades come unsharpened while others come sharp but can be much sharper.

[@gourdguru]

1. like riceball said, budk buys in bulk and redistributes, all the products were sharpened by respective manufacturers, not budk, except for a very small selection of knives budk does manufacture themselves. 2. a dull blade is more dangerous, it's more likely to bounce out of a cut, meet resisyance, which increases likelihood of self harm, and it increases stress on the blade, raising the chances of a catastrophic failure and a blade snap.

[@thelyonslions]

Fun fact: damascus steel has indeed been recreated by some metalurgists (john Verhoeven et al.) in the modern era. Verhoeven wrote a neat blog post detailing the whole story in 2016 or so

[@fransthefox9682]

Actual fun fact: Damascus is not a steel, but a specific forging process that involves folding and twisting multiple grades of steel together.

[@CAMSLAYER13]

​@@fransthefox9682thats modern Damascus steel, "Damascus steel" from Damascus was famed for its quality and properties in the past and the process of making it was lost to time.

[@Purpmaster]

Fun fact: both these comments are just regurgitating what was said in the video. 😁

[@WarlordEnthusiast]

@@CAMSLAYER13 Eh, I'm sure way back then Damascus steel was the stuff to use but nowadays I doubt it compares to modern steels. Metallurgy has advanced dramatically over the past century, we have steels and alloys that are an order of magnitude stronger than older steels.

[@CAMSLAYER13]

@@WarlordEnthusiast yea, its probable we have long exceeded what they made

[@MrDeathSloth]

The united samurai sword brings me back. My friend Matt bought one and we broke the handle the same day, we eventually jerry rigged it and used it more until the blade shattered. Was awesome in its own way. Matt passed away last year but this video triggered those memories instantly. RIP Matt

[@ZaberZlayer7]

My condolences. Matt sounded like a pretty cool dude.

[@Mephistopheles9]

hope you’re ok brother, RIP Matt

[@gogarith]

Rest in peace, Matt. Sounds like a helluva guy

[@Daestos]

🙏 Thank you for explaining what "Damascus" is. Too many people think it's better than it actually is.

[@petoperceptum]

I think part of the problem with Atlantis swords is that you weren't spinning enough. Clearly user error.

[@oldschooldos6850]

I read the title and I had exactly one sword from that magazine in my mind and by god did I immediately see it in the intro. You are living the dream D. I need to find my copy of Street Sword by Phil Elmore to brush up on my gun+sword katana moves.

[@Cerberusarms]

A man of culture I see!

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

When I was like 8 or 9 in the late 90's my best friend and his brother ordered some katana's from budk. We got into a fight and I ended up putting the sword through their moms couch on accident... That couch was $3000 in the late 90's. Its a long story but I tossed the sword at the floor but it tumbled and bounced, stabbing the couch. Sounds way more dangerous than it was.

[@ElricX]

Yep! an awful lot of us went through a "mall ninja" phase lol! I never bought anything from BUDK but as an adult I picked up a Schrade Priscilla "brush sword" to scratch that itch. It's not horrible and was only around $30 so maybe check it out?

[@jackthemagiccat4571]

My grandfather could be wrong but he's an smithy and I've done research on it too but we actually can make Damascus steel pretty much 1:1 of the original, the technique was never actually lost just rare but it was the composition of the said materials that was needed to create the 1:1 copy that was lost but it was "recently" discovered in 1998 by J.D. Verhoeven(he has a paper if I remember) if I remember correctly the reason most don't use it anymore is because it's expensive, pretty hard to make and just not worth the time if it's a show sword when you can use similar materials and weild them to be cheaper and just as pretty etc we have way better materials for weaponsmithing these days my grandpa said he made one in 2003 for a Japanese parade but I could of misheard but I remember him saying how he tried to get the 1:1 materials could of just been a fantasy he had haha But I could be talking out of my ass with false memorys or the research I did at school etc was just based of incorrect sources but this was 2013 using papers from 1990s to 2000s so take it with a grain of salt plus been a while since I was in the forge or picked up forge based reading material. Still collect swords and such doing my research still there haha

[@RebelHound]

looked this up and according to the first few results you’re not wrong apparently

[@aaftiyoDkcdicurak]

Damascus isn't as strong as a lot of modern steel but I'm not sure you would want to make a sword out of steel like D2. But I think a lot of swords don't have much room for improvement like how making a katana blade harder will just make it brittle. I think the rapier is one sword that really improved with modern steels.

[@TheDarkStigmataVA]

There are typically 3 types of 440 stainless steel. •440a (lowest quality, the kitchen fork and spoon quality steel) •440b (Don't bother) •440c (Ideally, if it's made by a reputable knife maker or company in the U.S., similar quality steel is AUS-10a steel) When a website or online retailer doesn't state what type of 440 it is, it's certainly 440a stainless steel from China.

[@The_Borisaurus]

Great video. Loved all of the comedic wit, Brynne behind the camera quipping at you, the tatami exercises, and last but not least the Blade quote! "Come on, what are you looking at her for? You need permission?"

[@reproducable]

Brilliant intro! great reverb. Always a good time when you upload on any of the channels!

[@lau6438]

I was just looking at your videos, wondering if you had uploaded again, and to no avail. Funny enough, 5 minutes later, a notification for you pops up on my phone. Love to see it!

[@Silveredge99]

D! I remember seeing your interest in swords in the old Node vids growing up, but I did not know that you turned this channel into an awesome sword channel. I will definitely be coming back to this channel when I see new uploads. And holy crap, doing the Node channel and this one, that is more than a full time job. Keep it up dude.

[@terminusarms113]

Dude the face you were making in the endcard took me back to watching Freddie Wong back in high school when I was just getting into bingeing Node videos. Good times. Funny, informative yet engaging and (most importantly) relatable video.

[@jimipolkerman8266]

Just found your channel recommended after watching a video from Corridor Crew with you in it, after watching this video, I immediately binged your other sword videos and I just wanted to say that I was simply captivated by your video's, they were super chill to watch, incredibly informative and highly entertaining. I truly hope to see more videos from you, You've for sure earned my sub :) Kind Regards

[@Cerberusarms]

Thanks that’s high praise! Glad you enjoyed the videos

[@Frog_Lord85]

Great to see you uploading again

[@mbrown4520]

I just found this channel and I’m loving it.

[@russellwirta6753]

Awesome vid. I also remember flipping through the Bud-k magazines. It would be cool to see more “mall ninja” products tested.

[@paritoshd]

I was hoping for the Taron Malicos dual wield in out combo, unfortunate that these blades weren't sharp.

[@Prussian_Tsar]

incredible video, thank you D.

[@leytondrapier6787]

I'm in the UK and I love showing my mates the budk site, their reactions are hilarious.

[@JediSamson]

BudK is basically Skymall but for knives. Not all of their products are bad but the good stuff is usually branded and costs $500+ like Cold Steel (I'm gonna regret saying that here...) or its gimmicky like their Stun Guns or Manriki Gusari; possibly useful but highly situational. My advice? Kult of Athena, Windlass and (for those with a bit more money) Albion Swords are all better options for your melee weapon fix.

[@ValTek_Armory]

Man, haven't thought about BUDK in a while. This is a blast from the past

[@Zoraxon]

We had Cold Steel and SMKW, never bought anything but they were fun to look through.

[@Rscapeextreme447]

I still get budk magazines lol I’ll sometimes just get something fun for Christmas. Loved this video.

[@theroomofhiddenpredispositions]

Love your intro :D

[@MatthewMcFly]

Bud K is based out of my small home town! Pretty cool seeing you talk about them.

[@zonkedtrippy]

you just unlocked a memory at 1:22 I had that exact sword/dagger when I was a kid

[@ConnorPriola]

KZbin unsubscribed me from your channel so I missed this when it came out, but great vid as usual. Surprised the katana didn’t dull much from the cutting, expected it to be smooth after three cuts.

[@ethanialP]

You fill the same void that Zombie Go Boom did for me when I was younger, thank you D for appearing on node so now I can follow your successful and awesome career.

[@BelmontClan]

The people who make zombie go boom and stopped are idiots, they make guys like Johnny Knoxville look like a Rhodes Scholar by pure comparison. I remember zgb tried to do the last of us scissors pipe mod they screwed up the design and made it shorter and than like an idiot Charles Fultz swings it under his arm like he’s pretending to be Xena and cuts 2 giant gashs in his arm, and fails to take himself to the hospital to be treated. The head idiot of zgb Chuck Mere has no first aid items on hand like at all and he’s letting his toddler daughter be around the stupidity as it happens. Proving they are about as zombie survival enthusiasts as an untrained 4th grader getting his white belt at a mcdojo in the local strip mall. While countless comments on their videos by those trained in martial arts critique and criticize the 2 hosts rampant stupidity and obvious lack of any real training in anything.

[@XanderKage9999]

😂god bless you guys great content sir. Health and longevity to you and the camera miss.🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽.

[@dryued6874]

Watching D work these twin swords made me realize how much of a bummer it is that he wasn't present at Corridor's sword twirling session.

[@Cerberusarms]

There’s a reason I wasn’t invited lol

[@jamesaaron6973]

I bought a few Honshu blades from budk cause I knew they were just quality enough for what I wanted without hurting my wallet too bad. Honestly I really like them, though I won’t pretend they are the best. Do your research and know what you’re paying for, and have fun. I would not grab a sword to defend myself against an attacker given the choice, but chopping things up is fun every once in a while.

[@Cerberusarms]

The Honshu line look fine for backyard cutting. Definitely seem sturdy enough

[@jamesaaron6973]

@@Cerberusarms They definitely are, I have experience, lol. On the two swords I have from them the handle is held on with bolts that go through the tang, so I feel no worry of it coming apart in my hand, even if there is a bit of rattle. Shadiversity has a video in which he uses a Honshu sword (among others) to cut down trees.

[@EvilMrFoo]

can't remember how i found this channel but i'm soooo glad i did. 🍻✌

[@OasisTypeZaku]

The mall ninja magazine! I love looking through their catalogs even today though ive never ordered anything.

[@mistermaky01]

Would be fun to sharpen the Atlantis swords and see how they work

[@MalificPlaza]

7:04, unwrap the handle and see if its a full sheet of metal, saw a DIY channel make a resign model of one of these cheap ones and unwrapped the handle and saw a "throwing" knife cut out of it lol

[@brightlord-ov7cm]

Mall ninja thumbnail extraordinaire!

[@ThePirateburke86]

I appreciate that in the demo you're dressed like a villain from a Jet li movie on vacation

[@nom-cha]

your intros are inspired 🤌🤌🤌

[@evanmurphy4344]

I’m impressed that your glasses stayed on with the Atlantis swords! 😂

[@ainteasya]

I legit was just on the toilet browsing an old budk catalog I found under the sink.

[@Cerberusarms]

The perfect use for a BudK catalogue

[@terribledeal]

I got a shinwa sword off a guy on craigslist a few years back for 50 bucks. Now you got me wanting to dig it out

[@JC-gv6sq]

Man hearing BUDK brought me back, haven't thought of that mag in years.

[@BelmontClan]

It’s interesting how you’ve only just started reviewing swords and gun myths within the last year but have only exclusively done video game play throughs.

[@azraelcales]

Ah the nostalgia. I definitely looked forward to getting those magazines back in the day. Purchased a few things from them. Some were actually fairly decent which I mostly chock up to when they were made. On a side note I have a katana that I picked up for a decent price that actually came with some information but only enough to add more questions. How would I go about checking it to gauge quality? Thank you for any help you can provide.

[@joule7256]

Love mall ninja stuff. Not to own but it looks cool to see. I have my zatoichi "damascus" replica that feels really nice and works great for me cause i need a walking stick sometimes and swords are legal to open carry in my state.

[@kirill2525]

well thats why i have a sharpening station to sharpen burk stuff. after i sharpend a karambit on both sides, it was very impressive

[@dragonpjb]

Anyone else remember "The Edge Company"?

[@StudioMod]

I got their magazines like all the way to around 2010 I think from 1996. They were awesome for cheap but cool looking stuff. They were easily the most entertaining magazine.

[@mysticmarbles]

Lol at those speed holes. They still send me a catalog every month because I bought a scabbard for a Lord of the Rings wallhanger (they are the only ones still selling the scabbards). It's always worth a laugh.

[@blacksmithcosplay743]

I remember buying a few at a gunshow over a decade ago, fixed two a while back but the tang under the wrapping and wood scales was hollow, as in someone cut metal out of it. Luckily they didn’t break, but almost a decade later i now make my own blades.

[@spidygav3125]

I remember a modern rogue video kind of in the same vein as this video and they had the awesome name of mall weapons for stuff like these

[@Bobcat173rd]

I had that samurai 3000 sword. It was pretty neat looking.

[@th00perman_]

Imagine looking out your window to see a ninja chopping mats with rainbow swords on a roof.

[@karottensteak2404]

1:40 don't know if you noticed but you missed on that swing

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

1045 swords like Shines, Misha, Onikiri, etc are sometimes ok for the low price. They will bend easier & dull faster than more expensive swords but to learn to cut with & not worry about ruining a sword they are not too bad. Also they will bend & take tons of punishment without the blade snapping so if someone does something stupid they are less likely to get hurt by a blade breaking & flying off.

[@jaysal_dies]

SO sick and also cool

[@dragonfire232323]

Fork jump scare got me

[@dominiclapinta8537]

I bought some j2 stainless steel swords from ebay once. If stainless steel is forged right, it can make a good blade. Mine were the no name brand Aragorn ranger sword and the anduril. Now, they did come with a rat tail tang. Although, it was a better rat tail tang and so the blades did hold up decently before the handles began to bend. So what I did, because the blade itself was long enough, was do some grinding, and make them into functional blades. They have a perfect spring temper and have not broken, no matter what I have used them on. I own a brinks home safe and have tested them against that and various hard and soft woods. I have had these swords since high school. Some places in Pakistan, seem to be able to make a good blade out of stainless steel. Now, all they need to do is to stop making blades with a rat tail tang and make them full tang. The blades are good, but its the handles that they need to do right.

[@liggerstuxin1]

12:46 “I don’t care about technique” *focuses intently*

[@Deeznutz002]

Need to study up on crucible steel, woots is being made again high valadium in the iron sands they used. Pattern welded swords like those in Japan and Europe where made using bloomery furnace's. Mostly

[@Cerberusarms]

Wootz is being made but Damascus it’s the same as regular crucible steel. There’s more to it than just how it’s forged.

[@liggerstuxin1]

10:35 this part here, when he was proud of himself. Not too shabby.

[@AlphaA070]

we got our monthly upload🥳

[@JamesReborn2023]

Only product they sell that I stand by is the expendables kunai set. I’ve had them for years and put them through more than most would put a knife through, even used them at construction jobs for many uses, including prying out crating staples and nails. Many times I’ve been surprised to not break the tips. Very durable

[@Watch_Dog-13]

From my experience as a blade smith, I can say that Shinwa does use decent steel, like low end spectrum of decent to good, but they cheap out on the fittings to keep prices low. The rest of the selection is just hot garbage.

[@braydensaxon5876]

Worth the purchase if you plan to upgrade the fittings

[@ExelArts]

cant believe budk is still around

[@pAtosaursRex]

I like that shade of purple on the first sword though

[@Thatgamingyoutuberisme21]

The modern Damascus steel is made in a process called galvanising and it’s melting different steels together mix them and solidify it to make the pattern so it adds no valve

[@ihcterra4625]

Pattern welding is the term. They don’t actually melt the steels. They soften them and forge weld them together. The problem is the layering adds inclusions and the boundaries are often weaker than a mono steel would be. True Damascus is a mono steel that has elements that form a carbide precipitation in a pattern when the proper forging techniques are used.

[@apex_prey]

I literally have the Samurai 3000 and it's gorgeous.

[@QKsilver58]

13:35 HE SAID THE THING

[@sleepynex1710]

Actually thought something would come off on the Katana. I'm surprised too

[@naruomi9477]

I feel like most people who get into swords come across these types of swords first.

[@zipbob90]

I honestly don't know if any of them can take on an edge, but did you try sharpening the blades? I know some swords ship dull for safety reasons.

[@MrLiam272]

I brought a Teutonic hand and and a half sword that was 750 nzd and it feels amazing , i also got a red Damarcus Katana for 650 and it feels cheap.

[@redguardgaming4625]

"It will not keel" 😂😂

[@faceheadman]

i spent many study halls doodling pictures of these swords as a kid. im genuinely shocked any of these survived hiting the mat and not instantly snapping in half

[@bloodlove93]

I spent many years imagining similar swords crashing down around me like meteors,obliterating everyone in class....i hated studying, but i could easily imagine people vanishing into dust. damn im glad I've been done with school for a long time now. staying quiet gets boring eventually.

[@faceheadman]

@@bloodlove93 thats the edgiest thing ive read in a long time

[@Will_Parker]

I won Anduril in one of Budk's raffle giveaways. I will always love that site lol

[@GarC170]

Y2K era I had so many of my Budk catalogs confiscated in middle school. Riding my bicycle up to the gas station to buy money orders oh man the memories lol. No idea Budk still existed hadn’t thought about them in over a decade

[@brian770]

i will say the red sword looks FRIKIN SWEET !!!!!!

[@CreatorCade]

I use to be subscribed to this magazine BudK had a lot of cool stuff other than just swords. ⚔️

[@nekote9735]

id love to see how they all perform when properly sharpened

[@lorddemonoss3945]

I owned that piece of shxt samurai 2000 sword. I got it for under $30. I own a shinwa straight katana. With a celtic guard design.

[@p0tat0slay3r6]

I used to watch BUDK videos all day

[@TenchiBushi]

Tameshigiri is awesome!

[@monkiplatts9224]

D is back in town

[@TexasRy]

HA, gotta get me some "little me steel"! Not sure how I started getting these magazines but I have bought a few knives, where else can you get a MONSTER Rambo Survival Knife for $25, HA! Some of the stuff is fun to play around with, throwing stars and knives but definitely on the LOW END of everything. Still, I did get a couple of fun things that I use while camping but yeah, I don't think you would ever go into battle/war or even a low end street fight with these things. A FEW of the knives are decent but definitely not name brand....mostly :-) LOVE THE ATLANTIS SWORDS, GOTTA GET ME SOME OF THEM, might be good in a Zombie Apocalypse or fighting off a pack of Racoon's who are descending on your hotdogs in an overnight camping trip! Thanks for the fun video!

[@davidlong3696]

Please make a video about using a Maguro Bocho in combat.

[@DavidMartinez-wf5jg]

Hey brother you should check out the Honshu Boshin katana and Naginata, been doing martial arts for 30 years and honestly they are pretty decent did need alil sharpening though

[@Cerberusarms]

Really not a fan of swords with molded plastic handles or double bevels. Plus I have currently no shortage of katanas.

[@stillcantbesilencedevennow]

Tnf, BudK has GREAT training aids for purchase.

[@jennastorms1]

This guy and ranton would be hilarious

[@S0773H]

Not gonna lie. 8:12 had me like, "I Should call her".

[@HistorysRaven]

Honestly, concerning the "Black Legion Atlantis Sword Set", I'm more offended they just weren't honest that they are machetes more than anything.

[@Badassest]

My question is do you think one of those atlantis swords would be able to hack a zombie head off or is a tatami mat equivalent to limb density pretty accurate. I dont want an already hungry zombie more angry. Or should i just carry the new BUDK quick dispense snickers holster?

[@leooh29]

That intro is literally my cyberpunk 2077 character rn lol

[@stevenbolstridge596]

I used to have a couple of cheap katanas, but ever since I actually started doing a sword martial art (iaido) I got rid of them and now I have a decent shinken and two great iaitos.