CJ
Saved for months to be able to…
Saved for months to be able to customize and order a custom katana from their custom builder service. About a month before I was able to have enough money, they completely changed their system and made it impossible to customize your blade (things such as length, blade profile, what kind of bohi/fuller you want etc. If you want these options now, you have to step up to their premium line which includes their higher end fittings and drives the prices way up. This is terrible for people like me that wanted a nicer blade and didn't care about the fittings (I make my own).
Response from SwordisDec 29, 2025
Hey CJ, We were a bit surprised by this review, so we wanted to clarify a recent change we made. The ShadowDancer custom builder was split into two options: Lite and Pro. The Pro version is exactly the same as before the change, with the same features and the same prices. The Lite version was created to be more affordable. We also reduced the prices of the fittings in this version to make customization more accessible. In short, nothing was made more expensive; on the contrary, we introduced a more affordable option. If the ShadowDancer version is still outside your budget, we also offer HanBon Forge, which is even more affordable. Again, our goal was to make the builder more accessible, not more expensive. I hope this clears things up. If you’d like more information, our customer service team is always happy to help. Thank you, David



