SBG Custom Katanas!

"Instant" SBG Custom Katana? Kind of...

2012-01-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes customers of the SBG custom Katana, having waiting 3 months or more for their personalized design or having decided so at the start, decide not to actually use these blades to the full potential of the cutters that they are.

This fantastic photo sent in by one of the batch 17 custom Katana shows that many are intended for functional art or display swords (real swords behind glass, a LOT different than a purely decorative sword as any serious collector knows).

The customer that sent me this photo asked me about the other recent SBG made blades available ex stock, the blinged up SBG prototypes - but these swords again are just a little too nice to just use as a daily cutter.

So I am pleased to offer him and everyone else a solution.

It's been on ice for a few months as I didn't feel comfortable releasing it until batch 17 was wrapped up properly and batch 18 well underway - but here it is now:

Introducing...

The SBG "Black Dragon" Katana - a basic SBG custom Katana based on a popular design configuration, premade and in stock!

This basic design first appeared in the SBG custom Katana gallery, and since then has proven very popular - with at least 2-3 orders with every batch (and quite a few more that are similar). No real surprise actually, as they are some of the coolest fitting sets on offer.

Basically, it is a 28" blade available with or without bo-hi with P2 brass Dragon tsuba, C10 Dragon fittings and all black ito wrap/rayskin plus a black glossy saya.

Rather than explain it all again here simply click the link below to read the full story.

SBG Black Dragon Information

Hope you like them!

- Paul

It seemed to take forever...

2012-01-08T03:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it seemed to take forever, but it looks like batch 17 is now finally dealt with - there are still 2 or 3 swords that we are guiding in but for the most part they are all in and the feedback is what makes it all worthwhile..

Emails such as "Your customer appreciation and dedication is something that seems to a lost art nowadays. My katana has arrived and it is beyond all expectations. Thank you and your team for all of your hard work" and "The tsuba and hardware are incredible and the color scheme on the tsuka is better than I expected! I really appreciate the work done here, it is without doubt fantastic! Can't wait to 'clear some brush!'" make my day and though it sounds corny, they make the hard work behind each batch worthwhile..

Anyway, from now on all updates will be about batch 18 which is currently in production, and of course the next opening in Feb/March (batch 19) - though stay tuned as there may be one more special offer very (very) soon.

- Paul

Boxes finally made, tracking information to follow

2011-12-23T18:40:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update for those customers from batch 17 who have been waiting patiently for the boxes to be made, even though they were a day late with it I am pleased to advise that the boxes are FINALLY made and that some tracking numbers will be issued to everyone shortly (though it may be a day or two after Christmas).

Thanks for your patience - I'll be in touch with everyone individually soon.

- Paul

Delay on the last of batch 17 shipments

2011-12-17T21:15:00.001-08:00

This is definitely extremely frustrating - the last few batch 17 Katana are stalled due to a very annoying issue..

While most swords have been shipped out, a couple of weeks ago we ran into a problem with the shipping boxes. As you probably know, the swords are shipped within a form fitting styrofoam box shown below:

The problem is that we also need to ship this box with an external cardboard box, but the company that makes them for us ran into a delay and then seemingly got overwhelmed by the general Christmas rush, so the most recent update we have is that the boxes will be ready by the 22nd of December..

To say this is extremely frustrating is an understatement, and while we have shipped or are in the process of shipping several swords that were intended as Christmas presents via Express on our dime to cover it, the last few are still stalled and all we can do is keep pushing this company to hurry up and deliver the boxes..

Anyway, I truly am sorry for this delay - we are doing our best and once all the smoke has cleared I'll be looking at some ways to try and offer something more tangible than just an apology to everyone who ended up waiting longer than expected.

- Paul

Phew!

2011-12-05T03:08:00.000-08:00

Well, the batching process for batch 18 took a little longer than expected..! The amount of correspondence was pretty hard to keep up with (I answer each and every email personally), but apart from a few emails which I am still trying to find the time to answer batch 18 is locked down, the forge have all the instructions and will start work within the next couple of days (there was also a lot of formatting work, cross checking and double checking to make sure that everything is exactly as specified).

Batch 17 is currently around 20% shipped, with another 50% about to update with a tracking number in the next 2-3 days and the last 30% should go out approx 1 week afterwards (rest assured, my agent and I are working overtime to make sure these go out ok).

At the same time we received with batch 17 a very special delivery of ready made swords from the forge. While the timing does indeed stretch our resources to the maximum, I had to get the main ones listed though batch 17 orders get priority shipping (which messes things up for offering these in time for Christmas, but my priority is on servicing EXISTING customers)..

Because of all that is going on at the moment I don't have much time to post a lot about them here just yet, but they were previewed in the most recent edition of the Sword Buyers Digest so I'll just add in a couple of quick large size pics (click for the full size pics) and give you the link if you are interested.

You can find both of these listed on the SBG Custom Katana page here

Sorry for the ultra rushed post, there is more going on behind the scenes than you can poke a sword shaped object at!

- Paul

Batch 18 now closed

2011-11-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

Just a very quick update - batch 18 has just reached the forges maximum production capacity and over the next few days I will be reviewing each order, formatting them and batching them together to send to the forge.

I am still corresponding with some of the customers who ordered within the past couple of days and will be ensuring that all orders are properly addressed before we send them all through to the forge, so if you have an order in at the moment and wish to make any last minute changes before we lock them in NOW is definitely the time to do so.

I'll post again once everything is batched up and we are good to go - apologies to anyone who missed out on this round, hopefully most people were able to get theirs in quickly enough.

Got to get back to it - if anyone has any questions please email me as usual and I'll do my best to get back to you as quickly as possible.

Looking forward to bringing these cool designs to life (and there are some VERY cool designs in this batch!).

- Paul

Nearly time to close off

2011-11-25T03:42:00.000-08:00

What a marathon..

I've just spent the last goodness knows how many hours making sure that each and every email enquiry for batch 18 has been personally answered, but as of this moment we are at 95% capacity for this batch so I'm afraid that there will be some people who weren't able to move fast enough on this one..

I wish there was something that could be done, but to accept more orders than the forge can handle is not in anyones best interests, so if you want to get in on this batch NOW is definitely the last roll call..

Now all I want to know is if there is a place online that sells shockabsorbers for fingertips as I am all emailed out..! (ouch).

Blog again soon.

- Paul

The official GO signal!

2011-11-21T02:08:00.001-08:00

Wow, what a weekend..

Even without the official launch, the response to our ‘unofficial’ opening has been nothing short of spectacular. I can clearly see the kind of pressure that builds up for these swords in between batches, and I must admit I always took a little bit excited when I start seeing people's designs and corresponding with them about what they have in mind..

Anyway, the official launch is now underway – so please bear with me if you are waiting on an email response, I promise I am doing my best to stay on top of things, both with regards to enquiries to this batch, processing and confirming incoming orders and also coordinating the shipment of the previous batch (not to mention all the usual SBG stuff). So if you are waiting on something, rest assured a response is coming, it just might take a day or two longer than usual as I work through everything as systematically as possible.

Gotta go – I’ll be posting another update soon!

Click here to order

P.S. If you have been waiting to get an order in with this BATCH – NOW is definitely the time to do so. At this rate, we will be closing this batch off by the end of the week, so don’t miss out! Get your order in now..

Quick an unofficial update

2011-11-18T22:22:00.001-08:00

Ok, just wanted to let people know where we are up to as the 18th has nearly been and gone and we haven't given the official 'go' signal for batch 18..

First off, the previous batch (batch 17) has started being received by my agent in Canada and he is opening up the cartons and beginning the sorting and inspecting period over the weekend. People with batch 17 orders should be receiving an official update on this shortly, but right now I am having some kind of technical glitch and cannot log into the store to update the appropriate files which is a bit of a pain.

Unofficially though we have 'taken the brakes off' and we are NOW able to accept new custom Katana orders even though the official announcement has not gone out yet.

I am doing it this way to try to ensure there is not a massive rush and we end up closing off before people who have REALLY been waiting patiently for this (i.e. people reading this blog!) gets a fair chance to do so as they sell waaay to fast for their own good. So for those of you who just cant stand the waiting and anticipation any more and are dilligent enough to check this blog - well, you can get in as an early bird now (it DOESN'T effect how soon you will receive your sword by the way - they all get made as a single group remember. It just gets you a high prized place in the batch)..

To everyone who is waiting for a response via email, please bear with me - I'm answering them personally and my answers are rarely short ones.. I'll get back to you as soon as humanly possible.

SBG Custom Katana

Thanks all,
- Paul

FAQ added

2011-11-13T00:21:00.000-08:00

Just a very quick update - I've been going through and answering as many of the SBG emails and enquiries that have build up over the last couple of months and decided around halfway through, 'why not write a FAQ here'..

So here it is - the SBG Custom Katana FAQ

Otherwise, everything is going fairly smoothly for both batch 17 (incoming) and batch 18 (about to start taking new orders on the 18th of November at this stage).

More updates soon!

- Paul

暫くですね　It's been a long time..!

2011-11-10T00:49:00.000-08:00

Man, I can't believe that it has been two years since I last posted on this blog.. But then again, I have been doing almost all the SBG Custom Katana correspondence pretty much directly through the SBG private mailing list, but recently I've been toying with the idea of creating a blog and linking to it from the site as a lot of new visitors will have no idea what has been happening over the last 2 years, creating something of an information gap.

Anyway, I am rambling as usual - the point here is to say that the blog is back - at least for now - and I have quite a bit of news to share so let's get it happening..

Current project status

A quick snap from the most recent batch

Our most recent batch of SBG custom swords (batch 17) is currently on its way from the forge to my agent in Canada for sorting and inspecting before shipping out to each swords new owner, so while it is still a few more days before I can tie up all the loose ends and make sure this shipment goes out as smoothly as possible, the next batch (naturally enough, which we will call - er, batch 18) will be taking orders within the next few days so that the forge isn't just sitting around twiddling their thumbs.

Since batch 15 we have been offering some 'optional extras' to the basic $330 custom Katana design, such as folded steel, engravings, etc and this time around we are trialling two more - an optional battlewrap:

And also a cool black leather wrap option:

I've actually wanted to add a leather option for a long time but was originally told we can only do it on orders of 100 swords at a time, which didn't really suit the project of course.. But the forge was able to find a good supplier so I am really pleased to be able to offer this for the first time..

So anyway, we are definitely gearing up and while incredibly busy doesn't even begin to describe what is going on behind the scenes at the moment, if all goes to plan we should start taking pre-orders within a week!

As places fill up faster and faster each time the custom swords are offered (last time we reached the swords maximum capacity in a week) it is highly recommended to sign up to the news notification list here because this will be the last batch for 2011 and the next one is not likely to open until Feb/March 2012 (as stated elsewhere, it typically takes around 90 days from batching the swords until they are shipped out to you - but this batch may be slightly longer than this due to Chinese New Year occuring in January - an event that pretty much closes down the entire country for 1-2 weeks, so will likely add AT LEAST this additional time to the production.. We may not be the fastest option, but as far as value for money goes and reliability, I don't want to sound immodest here but this project has been going for several years now and just keeps on getting better and better with each generation)..

One more thing - A Sneak Peak

As you are probably well aware, SBG is involved in a lot of projects, and one of them is to showcase just how far we have come since I made the first SBG custom Katana prototype in 2008..

So this secret project was to recreate the original two prototypes I had made to see what the forge could do - the two swords you see tested on my site here: The original tests

Here's a picture of one of the original designs:

And here's a very quick preview of the "Dragon Claw 2.0"...

Ok, well I know you can't see ALL that much - but let's just say that the new design is what I would have made the first time (if it was possible back then)...

Only a VERY limited number of these are being made as commemorative pieces, and they will have a lot of the new upgrades that were offered since batch 15.. So stay tuned for this one..!

Time to wrap up this post as there is an absolute ton of work that needs to be done, so I'll post again as soon as I get a chance.

Thanks for reading.

- Paul

Jan-Feb orders ready to ship, but small problem with A2 ito color

2009-05-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Thanks for your patience - I am pleased to let you know that the orders received in January and February have all finally been completed and are being packed to ship out from the forge within the next couple of days.

They are still a couple of weeks away from delivery as they still have to be sent to by agent in Canada by air, clear customs and then be sorted and inspected for final delivery, but we will do everything we can to ensure that it all moves along as smoothly as possible.

The only problem we found is with people who ordered swords with the A2 ito color (and if you can't remember, I've let you know in the email I sent you if you are effected or not) - but for everyone else, I'll be in touch with tracking numbers soon. But for people who ordered A2 email, please read below for a situation report.

A2 Ito Problem

The big problem is that the A2 ito color in the original stock photos doesn't really look anything like what it turns out to look like in real life.

Here's a pic of the A2 ito from the Custom Katana design page:

And here is what it looks like in 'real life':

As you can see, what at first looks like a nice golden ito turns out to be a rather pumpkin colored orange... Some people might like this sure, but if you were expecting the original ito color shown in the stock photos, you might be in for a bit of a shock...!

Anyway, to rectify this the forge has been scrambling to find something that better suits the stock photos (which really is more a fault of the component supplier than the forge) and we have come up with three alternative ito colors...

The first one is truly quite golden - which I call selection one, looks especially nice with a black same background I think:

SELECTION ONE

The other two still look a little orangey, but not as much as the original color:

SELECTION TWO:

SELECTION THREE:

Anyway, please have a look at the selections above and let me know as soon as possible what ito color you would prefer. Of course, you can still select the A2 ito color as shown above or any of the other ito colors from the original Custom Katana Selection here - but please confirm your selection as soon as possible as I've had to hold back these particular A2 swords out of the shipment rather than have them come in and lead to surprise or disappointment.

Sincerely,

Paul Southren

Status Update

2009-04-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

Ok folks, a few bits of news in the one post.

The first thing is that after some additional unexpected delays, 98% of the custom Katana from October->December have been shipped out and you should have received and email with the tracking information by now (the main delay was everything was inspected, sorted and handed to a third party shipping agent - who failed to send them out promptly! Naturally, we weren't very happy with that - but now they are definitely on the way).

The second bit of news is for those people waiting for their Jan-Feb orders. These swords are very close to completion - with only 1-2 weeks before they leave the forge and start flying across the world to my agent in Canada. This means that, unlike the October-December orders, we are pretty much on track (I really can't believe how long the October-December ones took, hopefully that will never happen again!).

It does seem that this project tends to stray outside of the optimal 90 days from ordering to receiving that we have been aiming for, but we are refining all the time. Speaking of which, the third bit of news is that as soon as the Jan-Feb orders have left the forge, we will be opening up again for another batch - which with several hundred people already on the Custom Katana Waiting List may not be open for long before we get too many swords to be able to fulfil within the allocated time frame...

Anyway, everything does finally seem to be coming together - so to everyone who has been waiting for one thing or another, thank you so much for your patience. I have definitely been doing my best, and this is most certainly a very time consuming project, but oh so worth it when I read the feedback from customers who receive their own, one of a kind differentially hardened T-10 steel Katana for around the $300 mark...

Thanks again everyone,

Paul Southren

Finally!

2009-04-09T03:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks for bearing with me guys.

I am pleased to let those of you who have been so patiently waiting for your swords since October to December, they have finally cleared customs and are with my agent in Canada being sorted for delivery very early next week..! (I'll be in touch with you all individually soon, so look out for my next email!).

The good news is that it looks like the QC policies that we implemented that were partly responsible for this slowdown were well worth it, as he reports that the quality overall is even better than the very first swords (one of the first ones pictured below)

So hopefully it has been worth the extra wait to you all (though again, I apologize for how long it took).

The other current Jan-Feb orders are progressing along nicely, and that means that very soon, to all the people who have joined the Custom Katana Waiting List that once I am certain that it's all going smoothly, we will be again opening up for new orders.

Be in touch again VERY soon (and I must admit, I do feel very relieved that they are finally here, the pressure and responsibility has weighed heavily on me as I don't take the trust you put in our store buying these lightly!), but as always should you have any specific concerns not addressed here just let me know.

And happy Easter too!

Paul Southren

Shipping has commenced

2009-03-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry it took so long to get to this stage, but I am pleased to let you know that we have finally started shipping the swords out from the forge after pre-inspection.

We had some delays with the shipping boxes and it seems that some of you will be receiving them in the old style 'display boxes' and others may be getting them with the new form fitted styrofoam, wont know for sure who will be getting what yet until they arrive at my Canada agent for a final inspection and shipping.

Hopefully customs will not delay our airfreight shipments too much, my Canadian agent will be doing everything possible to get them through so we can get them out as I know some of you have been waiting 2 months more than the originally stated delivery time, and trust me, this has caused me considerable stress as I pride myself on taking my responsibilities very seriously and to say that it is frustrating is no exaggeration.

Because of this, I haven't taken any new orders for some time - getting these orders cleared is my top priority! For casual readers of this blog though, I have created a 'notification list' where you can sign up to be notified by email when we have things back under control again here:

Custom Katana Notification List

Finally, for those people who placed an order in mid-January to early February - your swords are still on track for delivery in May. I will most certainly close off on taking any new orders any time close to new years though (both occidental and oriental) - that is for sure...

So apologies again to those people who have been patiently waiting, I assure you that your orders have definitely NOT been forgotten and I will be in contact with you again soon once your sword comes in, has been inspected, and is shipped out to you with the relevant tracking information. But in the meantime, as always, any questions or concerns please contact me directly.

Sincerely,

Paul Southren

All mounted up and nearly ready to go

2009-03-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Some good news, the swords are all mounted up and good to go!

After so many delays with this batch, from halting production to fine tune our procedures, New Year holidays (both Gregorian and Lunar!) and a whole heap of messing around trying to get them moving fast - but not so fast that the quality was compromised, I feel very relieved to have reached this stage.

To be perfectly honest, the pressure of meeting my obligations to you guys who ordered it and sorting out these teething troubles had me seriously reconsidering the whole project and it has taken quite a toll as I am the kind of person who takes my responsibilities VERY seriously. But seeing some of the pics of the finished swords from the forge makes me feel it is all worthwhile...

Have a bit of a look, maybe you'll see YOUR design!!

Definitely looking good: I am sure that you'll find them to be worth the wait (though I do admit, I still feel very bad about how long this batch has taken compared to the first one, but we are getting better and smoother!).

The only thing holding us back now is that we decided to change the shipping boxes.

Instead of the usual 'display boxes' which look good, but sometimes fail to properly protect the swords while in transit, we decided to use a tight form fitting sytrofoam case boxed in cardboard:

This will slow things down just a little as each one has been cut, but I think it is better in the long run to avoid shipping damage and keep all the fittings nice and tight and avoiding exposure.

So please bear with us just a little longer, and rest assured that we are now doing everything possible to get these swords out to you within a reasonable time frame.

More updates to follow soon, and as always if you have any direct questions or concerns just drop me a line.

Paul Southren

So far so good

2009-03-06T23:40:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Just a quick update on the orders from the 17th October to 5th of December - I heard from the forge that they have nearly finished mounting every blade and that they should be all finished within the next 3-5 days.

I was going to post this along with a few pics of the swords being mounted, however they were too busy actually doing it to take a photo, but with my next update (which should be VERY soon) I hope to include a pic or two of what's been going on.

Any specific questions or concerns just send me an email as always.

Thanks again for your patience.

Paul Southren

2009-02-22T00:39:00.000-08:00

Hi guys,

First off - welcome to the new SBG Custom Katana blog! This blog was primarily designed to update existing SBG Custom Sword buyers as to the status of their orders, but also to advise when we will be opening up for new orders - as well as information on other SBG custom Katana projects in the works.

Anyway, the meat of this post is to update customers who placed their orders between the 17th of October to the 5th of December 2008 - because as you know we are running behind schedule due to New Years and then CHINESE Lunar New Years Celebrations, plus a whole heap of other delays and complications that we have thankfully sorted out (it hasn't been the easiest project, I can tell you!).

The blades of all of your swords are now well and truly finished, and we are now just waiting on a few components to come in to finalize the mountings in your custom selections. But while we are waiting, I thought you might like to have a quick peek at what has been going on.

First off, the actual forging:

Followed by the filing and shaping of the blade:

And finally, the polishing and sharpening - all done by hand of course:

So now, all we have to do is get them ALL mounted up (some have been done already, but unfortunatley to be able to offer them at the price we did, we have to wait for them all to be completed before shipping) - quality inspected at the forge, and then sent by air to by agent in Canada.

This is pretty much on track with my last email update to you - but again, my apologies it has taken so long - I did not anticipate the disruption the holidays would have on production, or the necessary pause to help to the forge implement a Quality Control system to ensure that each sword had EXACTLY the same components as ordered (no-one has really done this kind of thing before, sometimes being a pioneer is a bit of a headache!).

But hopefully we will have them all mounted up in march and get them moving to my agent in Canada for final sorting and shipping.

Will keep you posted!

Paul Southren