Japan’s weapons laws have changed a great deal over time, although I’m not sure how they’ve changed recently (I’m not from this century) or if they vary by district.
Incidentally, perhaps unrelatedly, unsharpenable swords are an actual thing - if you try to sharpen them, you’ll just ruin (or ignite) them without ever achieving a usable edge. I have occasionally seen katanas sold for iaido and kenjutsu that could not be sharpened, but I can’t imagine who buys them, since most aspiring kenshi will want to do tameshigiri at some point and you have to be sharp for that. ¯\(°_o)/¯
One of my schlagers was originally assembled by Paul Chen (I modified it somewhat, replacing the blade and pommel). When I bought it I had never heard of the name before, and it’s obviously nothing like a katana, but it’s certainly been a serviceable piece and reasonably good looking.
@Donald_Petersen, others, I understand what you are saying, and I am sure the others you’re addressing understand as well. I just don’t agree. The good facets of the restricted area were good, but they didn’t need the restrictions in order to exist (you could make a functional “welcome newbies” or “hey rube” thread right now with very little effort, the tools are all here) and tiered segregation of the commentariat was an enabler of psychologies and behavior I personally don’t like. Perhaps I’ve read too much Zimbardo.
I think I’ve said all I care to on that subject, though, and the die has been cast in any case. Give it some time, see what happens.
