I have a Cheness 9260 which is the Scrapyard of katana's. Because there are so many people who want a real carbon steel katana (the 9260 is cheap tool steel)
the chinese make some with decent blades for really cheap. You can get a decent carbon steel wak for 99$. I saw a vid of the little chinese guys forge a sword by
hand with 2 guys taking turns hitting the steel. They make those blades by hand.