Striking Cobra Twin Ninja Full Tang Sword Set with Shoulder Scabbard

I bought these for self defense. As a polio, I have put an elevator into my bedroom. There are now six ways into and out of the house which is great for escaping from a fire, but leaves a bit to be desired for home security. I screwed the nylon upside down next to the bookcase by my bed. The sheath comes with a velcro holder strap and so far neither blade has fallen to the floor. They were fairly sharp, but I purchased a sacrificial ceramic sharpener at a local discount store and took the edge up a bit. The price was incredible, something like $19.99 this allows me to use one to practice with and one for defense. On good days when I can walk well, I wander the property and use the practice set for pruning. One of the great things about Seattle is every two weeks you can put out an enormous can of yard waste to be recyled. So for the full tang practice blade has held up well. Before the polio started to screw with my balance, I used to study a martial art called Escrima. Mostly you use sticks, but they are teaching knife fighting. I learned how to handle two blades at one time which is what this set is. The biggest takeaway for me from those years of training is that in a confined space such as a home, a shorter blade works better than a longer blade. All things being equal, these blades should defeat a swordsman with a Scottish Claymore inside 9 out of 10 times. My one complaint is that they stick in the sheath a bit. Since the defense pair are upside down this actually a slight advantage, though I prefer very fast draws. I bought a can of spray silicon and soaked the heck out of the defense pair and sheath and it seems to have helped, though not perfect. The bottom lines: many people feel AUS 6 is an inferior steel, but it sure is easy to put an edge on. For the practice set I use for trimming I have a carbide sharpener and it seems to do a fine job taking the damage to the edge away. For the money I paid and for the reasons I made the purchase, I am happy.

For the "averageness" of this set it still surprises me how much I love these blades. I love how the sheath can go around the waist or shoulder (though I use the shoulder sling), but I hate how the blades hang up when you try to sheath them. The blades themselves are barely average on the slash and thrust against compressed cardboard, but they are sturdy and take the abuse extremely well. I have had this set for over ten years and have used them in all kinds of weather and conditions and I still use these for camping and hikes (they are too light to effectively chop wood!). They are light and fast and just "feel" good in your hand. Most of my buds actually like these blades as well. They are not "survival" swords, but at the same time something about these blades impresses me enough to recommend them to folks on a tight budget!