Dangerous Sword?

I get many requests from web surfers asking me what I think of various swords. Normally, it's about one of the better imported replicas, such as the Furuyama, the Paul Chen / Hanwei and Last Legend swords. As of late, I've been e-mailed by some in the Austin, Texas area asking me what I thought of this sword. I have never seen one, much less used one, so I did some research. Here are my results:

This is the Maxam SKSW1 Samurai Katana Sword. It retails for about $26.00.

If you Google "Maxam Samurai Sword", you'll find it all over the web, normally selling for about $14.00. Most of the time, the ads claim this is a carbon steel blade, but fail to mention which alloy it's made from. Still others claim it to be a stainless steel import from China, using 402J steel. EBAY is flooded with this sword with many bids starting at $2.99. Some sites retail this sword for $16.70.

The most common description for the Maxam is:

Product Details: Maxam Samurai Katana Sword. The authentic carbon steel blade is battle sharp. The hilt is encased with a black and red nylon wrap. The top of the scabbard is wrapped with black and red nylon which matches the hilt wrap. Measurement from the blade point to the guard is 27-1/2" and blade point to pommel is 37-1/2". Rack not included. Lifetime warranty.

I still can't find what this warranty covers. It does not say "unconditional". The next problem was finding a dealer with a 1-800 number to ask what the warranty was all about.

I did find some onsite reviews, however. From what I read, there are no reviews concerning how well it cuts and performs in training.

More than one reviewer mentioned that they had to tighten down the handle when it became loose. I am guessing this means it has a threaded rat tail tang with a nut on the end.

This sword is so inexpensive, I have serious doubts as to it's usefulness for tameshigiri (sword testing), and suemonogiri (sword cutting skills).

I am concerned that the user might receive serious injury or death if the blade snaps off during cutting. Since I have none to test, I'll just have to ask if someone would care to send me one. The main complaint was that it rusted, so it is likely carbon steel.

The highest price I've seen is from spiritwarriors. This is from someone that I have seen in person that knows little, if anything, about the nihonto.