I am looking to acquire a high quality Chinese straight sword, preferably one used in Tai Chi forms. I know very little about eastern swordsmanship, least of all where I can get either an antique or a modern piece of high quality.
Can anyone direct me either to a reputable place on the internet where I can make a purchase or to an actual dealer, preferably in the NYC area?
Many thanks.
On the off-chance that you have no joy here, try rec.martial-arts. There’s loads of hits and, if you repost this question with details of why you want it (i.e. training (I suspect not 
), display etc.), then I’m sure that someone will help.
One of the best supply houses in the US is Brendan Lai’s in San Francisco. They seem to be able to get as high a quality of merchandise as you are able to pay for. When I lived in the Bay Area, I used them alot for practice-quality weapons (dull blades, not combat-quality steel), but I believe they handle authentic weapons as well. AFAIK, they don’t have a website, but if you know what you want you could probably handle it by phone. Sorry I don’t know anyone similar on the other coast.
Brendan Lai’s Supply Co.
2075 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel: (415) 626-8850
Fax: (415) 626-3410
Thanks for both recs. I am hesitant to try Usenet, well, for obvious reasons. I will give Brendan Lai a call. Perhaps he has a catalogue.
Actually, I think Bromley’s recommendation of checking Usenet is a very good idea. I wouldn’t buy directly from someone on Usenet, but if you post this same query to rec.martial-arts or, better yet, rec.martial-arts.moderated (if that’s still active), you’re likely to get very good answers and if anyone recommends a scammer, you’ll likely get a deluge of rebuttals. While the signal-to-noise on rec.martial-arts may be lower than it is on SDMB, they also have a much higher number of martial artists, so you’re more likely to find someone who knows a reputable vendor in your area.
If you’ve done any looking you probably know this, but…high-quality = high-carbon spring steel. Avoid stainless if you want quality and/or usability.
Usability, Kilt-wearin’ man? For what, exactly?
try www.swordsonline.com - they sell a wide range of oriental, western and fantasy blades (including the ‘blockbuster’ blade from final fantasy… awesome…) can’t recall having seen that specific type there, but they can do custom jobs too
the above is a link to swords online’s ‘Emperor’ Tai chi sword - there were a couple of others, too
Training and fencing. What else?
Thanks for all of the tips.
If Maeglin wants to demonstrate the sword as a weapon by actually doing some cutting, it would be really embarassing if his blade got damaged, snapped, or simply didn’t cut. That’s what I mean by usability.
Besides, you never know when you might have to fight off a horde of Mongols.
Some collectors of bladed weapons place great value on knowing which pieces in their collection are real weapons as opposed to simply having “wall-hangers”. I happen to be one, and I got the feeling from some of his comments that Maeglin is one as well.
I recommend 2 places for “real” swords, that are also affordable without being the kind of garbage you’d find at most mall cutlery stores like Excalibur:
Their swords are somewhat rudimentary from a fashion/beauty perspective, but made with combat quality, great balance. I love them.
Also very high quality, as well as beautiful showpieces to look at. They can also ship unsharpened so you don’t lop your ears off while practicing
Museum Replicas are weapons of staggeringly bad quality, especially since the operation was sold to Windlass Steels, Ltd., out of India. Very, very dangerous to practice with.
But thanks for your recs.
I’m actually a fencer, Kilt, so I’ll sooner spend top dollar on a weapon that works and will last rather than a decorative piece. I know where to get well-crafted western weapons, but I don’t know the first thing about quality eastern ones. The tai chi sword, btw, is going to be a gift.
The recipient probably won’t be able to tell whether it would be safe to train with. But the person is close to me, and I have too much self-respect to purchase a piece of junk. If I were able to view it in the flesh, I would probably be able to assess its value. But since I doubt I am going to be able to find a dealer in my area, I am looking especially for someone over the internet or via mail order whom I can trust.