UK law regarding the purchase of curved blade samurai swords

Updated May 2021

The UK law on the purchase and ownership of samurai and other curved swords with a blade longer than 50 cm is clear, and has been for a number of years. An act was brought in on 6th April 2008 banning the sale of these types of swords, but with some exceptions included. They were legally allowed to be purchased only if they were antiques, or were to be used by martial artists, or in religious ceremonies or historical reenactments, as long as there was the proper licensing.

An amendment in the act was brought in later that year (August) broadened these exceptions to say that samurai and other curved swords with a blade longer than 50cm are legal to purchase without a license as long as they are handmade using traditional forging and/or production methods.

All of the swords we produce for sale are fully hand polishing and the blades are hand forged using traditional methods. This means that they are legal to buy in the UK without a license, according to the exception to the law that was brought in back in August 2008.

(Updated delivery record in May 2021)

Any and all blades that you see on our website are legal to buy in the UK because they are made using these traditional methods. There are, however, some restrictions on who can buy the swords and how they can be used. Firstly, you must be over the age of 18 to buy a samurai or other curved blade sword. In our terms and conditions, we also restrict their use. By purchasing from our website, you are agreeing to abide by these terms and conditions, including never taking your sword out in public.

You can really see the difference in our quality hand-made swords when you compare them to a low-grade and rough toy sword that you might get from a mass-production centre. And you never have to worry about falling foul of the law because there is nothing on our website that isn't legal to purchase in the UK, due to our traditional production methods. You do not need to obtain a license in order to buy any of our swords.


You also don't need to worry about customs charges when buying one of our swords. While they are imported to the UK, we have a well-established transfer centre/warehouse in Colchester that has been running for a number of years, and our colleagues there are happy to handle dealing with customs clearance, as well as paying customs duties. These duties will never get passed onto you, so you won't incur any extra cost regardless of how much the customs charges are. You can rest assured that the price you see on our website will be the price that you will pay.


We appreciate all of our customers' ongoing trust and support and we look forward to helping you again in the future. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.