New and improved!
The Practical Plus Elite Katana returns better than ever! We took one of our most well loved blades and gave it a complete overhaul, while keeping the spirit of the sword the same.
We kept our promise of upgrades by using new tooling for all of the furniture. Giving it that fresh look that the originals had when this katana was first released. The tsuba, fuchi, kashira and menuki are all defined and crafted as close to perfection as possible. We are using 1566 steel for the blade, while keeping the same tried and true blade geometry for its superior cutting perfomance!
In the mid-2000s, we expanded our extremely popular Practical Series, as we wanted to include more options for martial arts practicioners. This led to the birth of the Performance Series, a group of blades that dispensed with superfluities of high-end katana while keeping the same cutting ability. We were able to bring swords that had high end cutting geometry to our users at a lower cost. We added the XL, XL Light and Elite katana blade profiles and geometries, giving users the option to choose from light to heavy cutting profiles at better prices!
The Practical Plus Elite Katana was designed for versatility and to be an all-around cutting workhorse for various styles of targets . Keeping the furniture of the Practical Plus Katana and the upgraded natural components of the tsuka, the blade features all the benefits of the Shinogi Zukuri blade geometry. Allowing for a variety of cuts on diverse targets, the Elite design offers the practitioner the ability to take advantage of cutting light or heavy targets with one sword. The 1566 steel and differentially hardened in the traditional manner, producing an edge hardness of HRC60 and spine hardness of HRC40. Cut with speed and accuracy with the Practical Plus Elite Katana.
The Performance Series remains a standard in the Japanese sword industry since its introduction in the mid-2000s. Being the go-to cutting katana for practitioners, our newly updated Performance Series katana will maintain their place in the sword market. They are highly imitated but never truly replicated by the competition. You can purchase with confidence in CAS Hanwei brand swords with our four decades of knowledge and expertise in manufacturing.
Made formerly at the legendary Hanwei forge that closed in 2024, the famed artisans of Dalian at the Dragon King forge take the mantle of this legendary brand. Former protégé of Paul Chen and original engineer of the manufacturing of the Hanwei brand, Frenchie Jin knows these swords better than anyone else as he was a part or their original conception. The CAS Hanwei brand couldn’t be in better manufacturing hands for the future.
Please note: the katana, wakizashi or tanto’s sageo (cord) on the saya (scabbard) may not be wrapped as pictured. Sageo color may vary.