[freediscountplanrrxip]

I agree with Hai Hai. If you're going to put it on the wall, buy whatever you want.

I can clear up a couple of other things though. The tsuka is made of wood. The tsuka maki (handle wrapping) is pretty poor quality though.

As David said, they aren't safe for cutting. Not because of the mekugi (pegs), but rather because the blades themselves have failed and broken in several instances. This means that you would never know if you are fixing to sling a razor missile at your neighbor's gut.

Acid tempered is a misnomer. Tempering is the act of taking steel to an intermediate temperature after it is hardened to relieve internal stresses. The Hanwei forge uses acid in polishing their swords though. It makes the hamon visible without having to go through the expensive act of traditional polishing. Since the edge is harder than the rest of the sword, the mild acid attacks the steel differently. They then use metal polish to remove most of the oxides created and presto! ... instant hamon showing. Their swords are hardened in the traditional manner by applying clay, heating to critical temperature, and quenching in water.

I just have to say that I am NOT a fan of the cheap Hanwei swords. Too many corners are cut to get the price that low. The problem with Japanese style swords is that they are very labor intensive to produce. This makes them expensive. Production forges cut corners in order to bring the cost down. The lower the price, the more corners have been cut.