What do you look for in your sword?

Howdy all,

I've held a friend's polypropylene katana, about a year ago. He's a beginner, but he's huge, so I was surprised at how small the sword was.

I'm not beginning kendo anytime soon—I've just dipped my toe into swords at all, and I'm a curious fella. I have a 29"-blade training dao, the one in my profile photo, that I call the butter knife, and a Chinese straight sword that's intentionally a bit oversized for me, with a 37" blade and space for both hands on the handle.

Do you have a rule of thumb, a principle, or a good resource for sizing a katana? I know, you match the tool to the job, and for a beginner, the job is training. Even still, I'd love to hear how you select a sword when you can choose based on feel.

Much obliged 🖖

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