Great place to buy knives. The guy who works the counter is very knowledgeable about the knives they sell. Love their selection of benchmades. read more

I came across this store when I was visiting San Fransisco and I really enjoyed this shop. It has an awesome collection of swords. Some swords are very expensive (greater than $400) and some cheap (around $25). I bought one of the swords and asked them to ship it, since I lived across the country. After receiving the sword, I realized it was bent and cracked during shipping. I sent an email with pictures of the damage to the owner of the store and told him what happened. He was very quick and was very respectful when responding to my email. He quickly said that he would send me a new one. He kept his word and I received the new sword. I would highly recommend this store. read more

I was in San Francisco las April on a business trip. My friend and I came across Katachi during one of our outings. I absolutely loved this store. I had been looking for a stainless steel sword with a dragon on the handle. I hadn't found anything I liked in any other place. As soon as I walked in at Katachi, I saw exactly what I was looking for. And whats even better I found it on sale. The guys there were really helpful. They even offered to ship it to my house ( I live in orange county). They went through the trouble of turning the box inside out so the airport would reject the package. I really recommend this place. read more

Awesome and knowledgeable staff. I probably come here way too often. Always very helpful; and carries a bunch of high end knives. They also have a pretty good sharpening service when I can't be bothered to sharpen my own knives. read more

This is a place for japanese/anime replica swords, and a limited selection of full-tang, functional swords. Don't come here for anything else- tea sets, silks, even knives- it's not what this place is for. The tea-sets and silks are cheap and low quality, and the knives are going to be toys if you grew up playing with kershaws, milanos, and spydercos (like I did...) The sword selection is 90% replica/non-functional swords, with rat-tail blades glued into the handles. These are for display purposes only, but you'll find your favorite weapons from Naruto and Bleach (yeah, you'll see Zangetsu, Benihime, and the like). I've bought several swords here and I'm pretty happy with the Sode no Shirayuki I picked up here. They also carry a limited selection of high quality, full-tang (battle-ready) sharpened swords if you want something functional. All full-tang models are 60 dollars and above, but if you want something super durable you're going to be spending a whole lot more than that, and you may want to look at Cold Steel Weapons or some other manufacturer for that type of thing. Katachi is still a novelty store first, and a great one at that. read more

Great stop for souvenirs for the kiddos! A very nice store owner, fun location and there is a Penny Press on-site - great SF souvenirs.

This place is always on my "To-Do" list when I go to San Francisco. A great selection of knives, swords and other things Nippon!! The staff is awesome and very friendly. If you regret not picking up that item when you were in the store, you can always go to their website at https://katachisf.com . Thanks again for another great experience!! read more

This is by far my favorite shop in Japantown! If you're ever in Japantown you have to visit Katachi. They have a huge selection of swords, knives, Samurai armor, Japanese Katana's, tea sets, Japanese art work, Chinese swords and knives, martial arts weapons, cool gadgets, the list goes on and on. Everything is very inexpensive. The best part of my experience at this shop is the service I received. Victor, was very welcoming, informative, attentive, and friendly. I bought a sword from him and asked If I could leave it there while I had lunch. Unfortunately I forgot to pick it up, and was flying back home to Hawaii the next morning. Victor went out of his way to ship my sword to Hawaii. This will definitely be regular stop for me on my visits to the Bay area. Thanks again Victor for your help! Aloha from Hawaii, Jesse read more

This is the only place in SF where I could buy swords. Gotta cut them some slack for being one of a few suppliers around for combat ready swords. Very helpful staff and very knowledgeable of what they are talking about. i would buy from them again when I have more money. read more

Swords...gotta love them. They range from decoration 440 stainless steel katanas to hand made 1095 folded high carbon blades. If not katanas then look at the benchmade and other well made knife brands. Its amazing! read more

Gotta check out the sword collection they have. I came in one day and made a purchase for a set of swords. The prices at Katachi was excellent compared to the same set of swords I saw at another store in Oakland. Victor was very knowledgable and friendly. Thanks for the steal. I'll be back soon! read more

Is this the sibling shop to the Jar Jar Binks of metalurgy We Be Knives? It must be, because for a "Japanese samurai swordshop", this place carries many many products that blatantly have the label "made in China" on them. What makes it even more hilarious is the fact this place does not even carry Musashi blades, despite being a Japanese armory in the heart of Japantown. I considered giving them an additional star but in the end I elect not to because for a place lacking in authentic craftsmanship should make up for it by having a wide-array of fantasy arms- which again, this place does not. To all people reading this review, if you want to purchase authentic Japanese war armaments complete with certificate of authenticity at half the price of the shabby toys in this place, the respectable International Spy Shop by the Wharf is the place to go. A reputable security company, they even have a certified Musashi, which sadly Katachi does not. Katachi might as well relocate to Chinatown or 6th street to join the rest of the flea markets and pawn shops with subpar mass-produced beautiful looking yet faulty blades that'll snap faster than a Mord'sith trainee breaking at my agiel's touch. read more

This place is a little bit overpriced and they do have your run of the mill selection of crappy throw-away knives and $20 katanas but the swords on the top shelf and the knives in the glass case are pretty decent quality. Also for what it is I think it doesn't have a rival in SF. The swords are a bit of an issue for people because they aren't made in Japan but the problem is that it is illegal to export swords out of Japan now so they are notoriously unavailable unless you buy an illegally smuggled one. The Hanwei stuff they sell is made in China but it is made observing the traditional practices of Japanese swordmaking and they even have a couple that were made completely traditionally even down to the hand-smelting of the steel. The knives they have under the glass case at the register are also of very high quality. CRKT (Colombia River Knife and Tool), Benchmade, and Spyderco (which are actually made in Japan!) to name a few. On top of all that the staff that I encountered was VERY friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. In spite of the slight price mark-up (what can you expect really, they gotta make money too) I will definitely be going back and definitely be buying some decent cutlery to shank the fuck out of the next unsuspecting would-be mugger! read more

I heard of this place from a friend, who claimed this was the most entertaining store in the entire mall. Whenever I would look up a sword online and discuss getting it, he would always boast "Oh I'm sure Katachi has this!" or "You should check out Katachi and see." So I finally decided to go for myself. Now being a big sword fanatic myself, I am not afraid to say that I have fairly high standards when purchasing swords. The moment I came in, I instantly knew this place was THE place to shop. The selection of swords were huge! I was flabbergasted by this place and how I never knew of it before! The prices on swords were fair, making this place a prime target for serious sword fans. They sell great quality blades that have actually been forged and or folded. I have been coming here quite frequently ever since to buy swords for training and for display as well. This place is by far my favorite store and I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about sword collecting for any use. read more

I've been religiously going to Japan Town once or twice a month for fun, and I'm just a little sad I didn't discover this little slice of Nihon heaven sooner! I was thrilled while looking at the merchandise, they have a great array of VERY affordable sword sets, switchblades, knives, and daggers!! It's become a bit of an addiction, I'll admit.. And besides the astounding array of weaponry, they have the cutest Japanese lamp nightlights, awesome Bruce Lee figurines, sake dish sets.. I was definitely thrilled to be in there!! The man at the counter is so sweet, he is always friendly and helpful when I set foot in the store. The prices are AMAZING as well!! And they have Tokidoki items. I'm very pleased with this little store and I love coming in here every time I hit up San Francisco. :) read more

This was our first visit to SF for my girlfriend and I, and we made it a point to visit Japantown. As we were browsing around, we came across Katachi. What a cool store! All kinds of sword displays, knives and other neat things like decorative Japanese artwork, dipslays, gadgets, and other things too. I have always wanted to purchase a sword display for our home and after small talking with the owner, I was convinced to make the purchase. What made my experience here more memorable was the fact he went out of his way to assist us with our purchases, especially for the swords. There were a lot of other places which I could have bought them, but because of the level of customer service we had here, it added more value to my purchase. Through this experience, we also made a new friend in Katchi SF. I will definitely recommend this store to all my friends who come to visit SF and those who read this review. You will not be disappointed. read more

i was there opening day and even gave the dude a hug for opening the store. their great at what they do and have alot of variety of blades that i havn't seen anywhere so far. Their friendly and they even ship the item that you want to you which is cool too. they even look for a certain weapon your looking for. not only do they have blades they also have decorative stuff for your home from small fountains to small statues of samurais and ninjas. they even phone charms. read more

I am a sword and knife collector and was looking for a high quality katana (long samurai sword) as a gift for a good friend. Victor (owner) was very responsive and knowledgeable about all the swords - I inquired about a particular model, left a message and he called me right back. They also have a great selection and good prices. They do have lower quality "display" swords, but I was looking for something that was functional for a real practitioner and collector. I was impressed with the time and attention Victor gave me and finally decided on a Mushashi sword. I was very happy with the purchase and I'm sure to be back to buy one for myself. They also have an amazing collection of high quality knives - Benchmade, H&K and Syderco. This place is one-of-a-kind in the Bay area and I feel lucky to have found it. read more

This is a great store good customer service know what they are talking about. The product that they carry is kind of harrd to come by too.

I love this place. For Christmas I got all of my shopping done at one time. They are so many neat things there for people young and old. It also helps me build up my collection of swords and knives and is also responsible for lack of boyfriend (boys get scared when girl has knives everywhere)., it's ok though still love ya Katachi. read more

Allow me to preface this by saying that I do NOT write reviews. I loathe anecdotal evidence and make absolutely no decisions based on anecdotes. However, I created a Yelp account for the specific purpose of publically complimenting Katachi. I had no idea that this was a chain store. Judging upon that manner in which it was run and the service my friend and I recieved, I would have guessed that it was a local business. The first thing that attracted me to actually buying something was the price selection. Everything is low-to-mederately priced, with the exception of some of the more elaborate swords (but, really, they're swords; of course they'll be expensive.) However, the less elaborate swords and the dagger selection and other weapons were well priced. The second thing that attracted me, was of course the service. I went on a crowded day (The day before Bay to Breakers) and still recieved excellent service. No one was unhappy to be working and eveyone had a smile on their face. That sounds to me like the way someone would run a local business. And until I googled it, I had no idea that this was a chain. But I'm not that into Japanese fighting or whatnot, so go figure. In regards to the one bad comment made about this store: Common sense would dictate that if one wanted to find a hand-crafted, state-of-the-art sword, one would not go to a mall to find it. One would probably visit an actual sword maker. This suggests that perhaps the swords were made for ametures, of for people who want a pretty decoration n their home that also doubles as a security system in case some loser is dumb enough to invade your house when you're there. (Not that I believe that a sword is the only security system one should obtain.) Therefore, I would like to suggest that someone looking for a sword with which to fight goes to someone who doesn't take residence in a MALL. Use common sense. I know, as humans we have to be reminded to do so, but still, when degrading a mall chain, think of the children -- the ones who like to play with swords. They are not samurai and neither are you. So get over yourself. Thanks, and keep up the brilliant work, Katachi! read more