Entire process of making a katana sword is delicate as the object itself is of high value and respect. Once these things have been completed, the sword is cooled and then sharpened to the extreme level.
The sword is then decorated and handles are added to it. There are also ornaments and fittings which are added to the Katana sword which further increases its value.
The end result is a unique katana worthy of respect and admiration. This is just a short and fairly unimpressive description of how a katana is forged. For a more detailed overview I suggest you watch the videos below.
The following videos are unfortunately of low quality, but well worth watching! The dark line - known as the 'hamon' - down the middle of the blade represents the point at which the harder but more brittle steel on the edge meets the softer but more flexibile steel on the spine. Besides leading to the curved shape, it is this combination that lends the sword its strength and resilience Credit: Getty Images.
To read more, follow the link in the introductory text Credit: Alamy. Future Now. The amazing craft of samurai swords. The distinctive whooshing sound informs the wielder that the edge alignment is correct. Another step in the traditional process of making a real katana is for the smith to add their mei signature. The sword then goes to a polisher whose responsibility it is to define the geometry and edge of the blade. The image above is of katana blades being kept in plain shirasaya for storage during transport.
The polisher starts the shitaji-togi rough polish with a coarse stone called a uchigumori. He rubs the sword against it, shaping the blade and getting rid of any scratches or marks from forging.
He then washes the sword off, moving to a finer grade of stone to start the shiage-togi fine polish. The nakago is not polished, nor should it ever be cleaned because doing so decreases the ability of the hilt to hold the blade in place with friction. To polish the edge and the hi groove if there is one, the polisher uses uchiko , a type of powder used to clean a real katana. The finished blade then goes back to the smith, who inspects and corrects any errors.
The sword can then receive its koshirae furniture , which is made by a range of different craftspeople. One aspect of the katana that sets it apart from other swords is its modular construction. The blade is the true heart of the sword. The creation process of a real katana can take almost three months for a single sword. Even with weaker steel, the swordsmiths of ancient Japan were able to use this forging process to create a weapon worth its reputation.
I also study various martial arts disciplines and have an interest in ancient mythologies. Are you enjoying this article? Sign up to our Free Weekly Newsletter. Please check your inbox to activate your subscription Thank you! Asserting that medieval katanas both Western ones and Oriental ones were heavy and clumsy is just a myth to dispel.
Actually this is absolutely false and even the bigger blades used by western knights during the Middle Ages weighed on average from 1. In some army corps were equipped with the famous Zweihander that weighed more than 2 Kg. Building a solid katana is not difficult, the difficult part is building a blade strong and lightweight at the same time and at this the Japanese people stood out due to their refined metallurgic techniques thanks to which they transform the Nihonto katanas into extraordinary weapons.
The steel of a samurai sword forged according to the traditional procedures, observed closely, shows a more or less thick interlaced design of lines and dots that, all together, form the frame Hada.
There are different kinds of frame Hada that are called Jitetsu frame type. The experts use them to date a blade and, in some cases, to ascribe the katana to a specific school or to a particular forging master.
A very important thing to consider is that the steel of the sword is always smooth despite the granular appearance of the frame Hada. This is quite important because if one tried to fake an authentic Hada for example by etching there would form some imperfections on the blade, easily recognizable, which are completely absent on the steel of a real samurai sword.
In order to observe and to evaluate the Hada of a katana in details, we have to remove the oil layer that covers it and only after cleaning the metal surface completely we can appreciate its smallest details. In the picture above there is an example of Hada frame the Jitetsu frame type of which is a mix of Itame and Masame two technical terms which indicate a particular kind of frame that recalls the venations of a log with some straights parts and some others knobbly.
The hilt of the samurai sword is called Koshirae and is composed of the Tsuka handle , the Tsuba hand guard and the Habaki a stiff copper stripe that wraps the blade up near the Tsuba. The Japanese people named every single little sections of their katanas, even the most insignificant ones. The Tsuba hand guard is basically an iron disk artistically decorated.
Some exemplars of great value can cost as much as the sword. Often, in addition to the principal hole, we can find other two little holes on the sides.
They were traditionally employed to keep a small multitasking knife Kozuka and a big pin Kogai that was probably used to fix the hair and prevent it from being an obstacle for the Samurai during the battle. In general the more ancient Tsuba are the less elaborated. When Japan was finally unified under the Tokugawa Shogunate and the wars were no more on the agenda, the beauty and the quality of the katana decorations became a genuine form of status symbol.
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