Like the last reviewer, I like short swords, so I had to buy this. The sword is thin, not a lot of chopping power but it is very sharp and penetrates well. The cord handles on the throwing knives came off immediately, and as stated by the last reviewer the knives are too light to work well. My biggest complaint and reason for 4 stars, is like most of the "value" knives/swords sold by Bud-K and it's derivatives, the sheath is low quality. I have threads coming out all over the place and the stitching that holds the shoulder strap came out immediately. Called customer service and replacement is on the way .. At least the customer service is solid!

#1... At this price point ($20!), none of the following is really a "complaint", just observations. I like mid-short swords. Gladius, wakizashi, etc. This "sword" looked like a fun add on. So, to the review: The sword is almost too light to use. It is made of stamped and ground steel quite literally 1/2 the thickness of my Honshu Boshin Wakizashi. The cord wrapping on the grip is only one wrap, which is at least one to two wraps too little. In short, it is frankly unusable without adding a wrap or two of paracord. The throwing knives are also too light to have any real penetration.... but that's another story. The sword itself is nicely made and flexes reasonably. I would be most inclined to use it like a Rapier rather than a Cutlass as it really does not have sufficient mass for good slicing (plus, the edge is only 3/4 sharp... it will take some work to bring it up to even Honshu sharpness) It is very light and quick (see Rapier) and if wielded that way could be very effective. Out of the box I think it is a reasonable Fantasy/CosPlay blade, but not a "fighting" blade... even in the modern milieu. But, again, for $20, I really can't complain about needing to do some work to make it "useful to me".

This was a great item with only one problem. The sword and knives were not blue as they seem in the picture. They were more aqua colored rather than deep blue. Otherwise great product and great company!!

Did come sharp but well balanced. Will sharpen BUDK never disappoints. They bring the best knifed an swords

BEST SWORD EVER! :) THANKS!

The sword is very cool. The blade isn't as sharp as I thought it would be. The string comes off of the handle pretty easy though