if u want i can sell u a striker for 17k. IGN mangaroo

I find the striker a great weapon to use with shields, since you can swing fast and shield instantly. Also good to get behind puppies or those big slow trees and finish them quickly. Could be coupled later with a damage bonus set like Skolver, or go faster with a Vog Cub set. The charge attack is not the most useful, though.

Well said Kaybol. Every sword has its advantages and disadvantages so you have to base your choice around how you like to fight. Now before anyone flames me I will say this is my personal opinion and nothing more and I realize I am in a minority.

I personally find the Calibur line slow and plodding. It deals great damage and has a powerful charge attack. I personally can't get past the lack of speed. It is a great budget weapon and since it is a standard line you can find recipe upgrades from Kosma. It's biggest drawback comes from one of its best features the 360 spin attack. Not very useful in close quarters. The tendancy is to rely on the 360 spin which means that you have to charge a mob and let fly. Problem is if you miss or get hit setting it up you can be hosed in a hurry.

The Cutter series is arguable the fastest sword in the game but each hit isn't a particularly powerful strike. It does have the Vile Striker and Dread Venom Striker if you like to fight the JK but I have found that it keeps you in close contact with monsters longer because it takes more hits to kill.

I personally favor the Spur line. I know I'm in a major minority. What I like about it is that it is a great balance of speed and strike damage. I also like that it carries you forward on each slash pushing monsters in front of you. It can help you extracate your self from a danger room mob which even the calibur can't help with much and if you miss with your slash you are often carried past the attacking monster so that he doesn't hit you. It has a wider attack arc which makes it easier to take on monsters that tend to bunch up like spookats. The disadvantages are that the charged attack isn't very good but neither is the cutter's. It doesn't have a 5* version but I have been effective with an Arc-Razor in T3 but then I tend to Solo and take it slow trying to fight monsters 1-on-1 or 2-on-1. It also takes some getting use to. In that you have to learn when to Single, double and triple slash before shielding. The step into each slash can also get you in trouble in close quarters especially if there are thorns or spikes around. I also haven't upgraded to the Winmillion as I'm not sure about that projectile on every slash. I'm leveling a plain arc-razor to upgrade to protect the UV on my main arc-razor until I see if I like it or not. I suspect that I'll have to use single slashes on monsters that tend to dodge projectiles.

I haven't tried the other swords but I'm sure they have their areas of effectiveness. The best advise I can give is to try out swords that sound like they match your play stile well and don't be afraid to leave them behind if you don't like them that well.

My first sword was a Cutter, and I loved it. The 3-hit combos of the other swords were boring to me, and a 10-hit combo seemed fantastic. It was, and I eventually crafted it into a Wild Hunting Blade, which IMO, is one of the best swords in the game, especially with Vog Cub armor or Increased Attack Speed. You can also go into shield almost immediately within any of the first four swings, as well as after doing a charge attack (literally going into shield in the next frame).

But, lately I've been using Brandishes and they aren't bad.