Hi I'm looking for a pair of Sai , which is not a weapon I have ever used before.
So my spec is 21.5 inches long, steel preferably octagonal and under $50. Amazon
has only 1 supplier that lists this spec but Customer Reviews say they actually deliver 19inch
Sai. Academy of Karate /Martial Arts Supermarket has them , does anyone have experience
of them ?
http://www.martialartssupermarket.com/index.cfm?action=moreinfo&itemid=2556
Probably will get 2 pairs to be able to do 3 Sai Okinawa techniques where the
3rd Sai is thrown at the opponents feet.
Militis
What are your intended uses? 3 sai suggests actual use as a weapon and that means 90% of the sai out there will be substandard for your application. This is especially true of octagon blade models which will bend much easier than round blades assuming you don't end up with a pair where the blade is actually hollow.
Shureido makes an excellent sai but they are far out of your budget around $300.00
Most things like this are made in China these days and they are for decoration or simple demonstration only. Back in the 80s the budget sai were made in Japan and were of much higher quality. You could try to find some vintage sai stamped "Tokidu" but they can prove hard to find and will usually be out of your budget.
I recently tracked down a presentation grade pair with engraved dragons but I had to buy about $500 worth of stuff to get them and a few other items I wanted. The sai by themselves would have cost me about $100 so you can expect any decent, vintage sai to run you about that much.
I have a pair of round corded 21.5" sai that are actually pretty decent and come in at almost 2 lbs. each. Because of the weight I use them mostly for kata so they are still in excellent condition. I'm running out of room for weapons lately so if you were interested I'd give them to you for $60 + shipping.
http://www.freestyleforum.net/index.php?topic=18260.0They aren't vintage, certainly aren't "Tokidu", but they are still better than most of the budget sai I've seen lately.
