You get what you pay for
This is a case of getting what you pay for.  Service was excellent and prompt from the seller, but the sais themselves were a disappointment.  The advertisement showed these had been marked down from $105 to $29, leading one to believe these were one of the better-quality pair of sais that had been marked down on sale.  The balance is not quite right on them, making it awkward to flip them out.  They are a bit too heavily weighted on the handle for the length of the blades.  The handle itself has cheap plastic wrapping it, not leather.  The bend of the two little side-prongs is not as depicted in the photo (they are bent at a right angle, making it difficult to do anything except a basic underhanded flip, not a graceful curve as shown in the photo).  If you are only doing basic sai katas, it won't be a problem, but if you plan on using these for some of the more advanced showboating used at Extreme Martial Arts competitions, these sais won't do the trick.  When you clash the sais together (a test of the quality of the steel) they make a dull-sounding hollow clang, not a nice crisp ringing like quality sais make.<br /><br />Overall, for $23, I feel I got a pair of $23 sais (not $105 ones that had been marked down on sale).  I am going to pass these down to one of the younger students to learn basic forms on, but will keep looking for an upgrade for myself.
Rating: 2 stars