Hi Bill,
After Rich's post very little can be said.
However I'd like to add a little condiment to it.
Many of those who collect contemporary made katanas that are not nihon-tô, do not like production stuff. And like me, some at my Forum are moving from Katana to Dhas. But then that's another story.
Production swords have been for long overpriced. You pay over 1K for a serial piece that costs in the origin not more than $150. The rest is profit margin with a little for shipment in bulk. And what you get is something similar to the next guy plus all the hype. I learnt my lesson the hard way.
And the proof is the PPK series which is made of steel (cheap or more expensive, it takes the same amount of work) is much more affordable.
I know of a Thai company whose owner spoke to me and said they were making katanas out of laser cut blanks and had a very special way to add a hamon etch without any quench.
All this is scary to me. But then it all depends on what you want it for.
I don't dwell into the nihon-tô area, but have many smiths with who I worked and continue to work. Here are some FYI
My
Oar Saya Katanaby Jesus Hernandez
Buckeye Burl Katana by Walter Sorrells
Mino Den Uchi-gatanaby Anthony DiCristofano
SHIBUMIby Howard Clark
Katsujin-ken by Rick Barrett
Seasoned Katana by Joe Walters
Athziluth by Howard Clark
But then all of these have been designed by me. That is the pleasure of owning stuff that would not fit into traditional concepts. I'm mainly politically incorrect
