I want to buy my husband a katana samurai sword?

It's really hard to tell without knowing what art he practices, what his personal preferences are, and what your price range is. Since he's talking about steel type and rockwell hardness, he's probably fairly serious about what he considers 'functional'.

Anything at http://www.thesteelsource.com/html/hanwei.htm should be okay, even if it doesn't fit quite right. It's near the low end of what's widely considered 'good'. They're made to be used to cut tatami and are generally well made, but they don't cost a fortune. As far as which to get, you get what you pay for.

Getting something that's better fit for what he needs would take a lot of research. There aren't many production katana that are higher quality, and custom usually means $2,000 US minimum (in practice, 4-6,000 is more likely and over 10,000 isn't unheard of) and a couple years wait time. There are some cheaper functional sword makers, but you really get what you pay for and safety can become an issue with some of them.

edit- I agree with idai. Cheness is also very good. Sometimes people complain about quality control issues, but those were resolved a couple years ago and the owner ALWAYS takes care of his customers. They tend to feel a little heavier but, like he says, they're tough, which is good for a 'first sword'. They're also a little less costly. Some people prefer the plainer look, and the tsuba and maki can always be replaced if your husband wants a little more 'flash'. I don't know why I forgot about them.

Hi there

Check out these guys. They make real live blades that are hand made in a forge. They don't look special but the blades are as tough as old boots and are designed for tatami cutting exercise.

http://www.chenessinc.com/yamakami.htm

Read the sword guide on their page. It will explain the difference between the katanas that are used for kata and the ones for cutting. Plus it breaks down the metal types used.

Best wishes

idai

You're a wonderful wife.(do you have a sister?)

The 1040-1095 are carbon steels,(1050),that stand up well to actual use.HRC 60 & HRC 40,are in reference to hardness.The body,back,and spine of a sword blade is heat treated to aprox. 40 Rockwell (C scale),for flexibility and strength.The edge is held to aprox. 60 Rockwell (C scale) to impart "good edge holding capability"

If the entire sword was heat treated to 60 Rockwell it would be to "brittle" and would snap under use.

60 Rockwell (C scale) is aprox. the hardness of a ball bearing,(or a roller bearing).

I made a purchase from Cheness and it is a nice unit for the price and very usable.

I have a gut feeling your husband already has a least one unit made by this outfit as 1040 & 1095 steels are used very often by them.

We have not talked about your budget.

Your husband would get a big kick out of a unit made in Japan.(any unit),but budget and shipping time to arrive before Christmas is a concern.

http://home.earthlink.net/%7esteinrl/nihonto.htm

The link above has a good deal of info.

Paul Chen puts out a good unit,(he also owns Cheness)

http://paulchenswords.net/index.html

You can also consider having a nice display cabinet made so your husband can display his collection.

(I will search for a link I have for nice units from Japan)

EDIT: These units are made in Japan

http://www.swblades.com/jamaka.html

Best of luck

There is the practical series from Cold Steel that is comparable to Cheness in price (you'll probably pay at least $300-$400 as a starting price for quality blades) Here's the link: www.coldsteel.com

Good luck!

Be Prepared to pay a lot of money even if you can find an original sword.They are not made for just anyone.Beware a lot of fakes are out.

whoa