KATANA
Historically, katana (刀 or かたな) were one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (日本刀nihontō) that were used by the samurai of ancient and feudal Japan. The katana is characterized by its distinctive appearance: a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands.
GENERAL DATA
OVERALL LENGTH: 103 cm / 40.6 inch
BLADE LENGTH: 70 cm / 27.6 inch
TSUKA LENGTH: 26 cm / 10.24 inch
BLADE WIDTH: 3.2 cm / 1.26 inch
BLADE THICKNESS: 0.7 cm / 0.28 inch
BLADE HRC: 58
BLADE CRAFT
BLADE CRAFT: fully hand folded forged by 15 times (32786 layers), hand polished, clay hardened, water quenching
BLADE MATERIAL: folded 1095 carbon steel
BLADE SHAPE: shinogidukuri
NAKAGO: full tang
HAMON: real hamon, clay hardened line
SHARPNESS: ★★★★★
MIRROR EFFECT: ★★★★★
MOUNTINGS
HABAKI: brass
TSUKA(HANDLE): rosewood
SAYA: rosewood
PACKAGE
1 sword with saya
1 black cotton bag
NOTICE
Manual measurement error range 1-2 cm
The display stand is not included in the package.
SHIRASAYA
A shirasaya is a plain wooden Japanese sword consisting of a saya (scabbard) and tsuka (hilt), traditionally made of nurizaya wood and used when a blade was not expected to see use for some time and needed to be stored. They were externally featureless save for the needed mekugi-ana to secure the nakago (tang), though sometimes sayagaki (blade information) was also present. The need for specialized storage is because prolonged koshirae mounting harmed the blade, owing to factors such as the lacquered wood retaining moisture and encouraging corrosion.
Such mountings are not intended for actual combat, as the lack of a tsuba (guard) and proper handle wrappings were deleterious; as such they would likely never make their way onto a battlefield. However, there have been loosely similar "hidden" mountings, such as the shikomizue. Also, many blades dating back to earlier Japanese history are today sold in such a format, along with modern-day reproductions; while most are purely decorative replicas, a few have functional blades.
CLAY HARDENING
Before being quenched, a special clay mixture can be applied onto the blade to harden the edge and obtain different hardness on the blade. The clay mixture was a special recipe and considered a crucial trade secret, guarded protectively by sword making masters. It would contain such things as feathers, powdered bones, grass, etc. and would be applied to the edge of the blade before being quenched. During quenching, a chemical reaction between the clay mixture and the hot steel occurs during the sudden temperature drop and carbon is fed into the blade in high amounts, creating an extremely tough edge. A clay hardened blade can only be quenched in water, thus increasing the defect rate even more.
Another way for clay tempering is to apply clay along the blade but let edge exposed. Thus, while quenching the blade into water,the uncovered edge will cool down suddenly, but the rest of blade will cool down slowly. Such differential temperature change results in the different hardness of the blade. So the edge is tough enough to cut, where the back of blade is soft /flexible enough to absorb the impact during cutting. Such quenching process usually will leave beautiful wavy tempered line on the blade, as known as "hamon" in Japanese swords term.
FOLDED STEEL
This means that the carbon steel is folded by 15 times to produce 32768 layers. The higher quantity of layers provides more unique and mystical hada patterns, which defines and displays the craftsman’s experience and knowledge of traditional metallurgy passed down from generation to generation. Only the utmost skilled bladesmiths (Toushyo) and polishers (Togi-shi) can bring out the beauty and life from the Shinsakuto live blade. During the forging process, all of the slags and impurities of the steel are burned off and folded forged to an uncompromised strength with an sharp cutting edge. The final carbon content is 1% and the hardness is an impressive HRC 55°on the Rockwell Scale. This high quality blade can easily cut through tatami straw mats or bamboo for Tameshigiri or Batto-do use.
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USAGE IN MARTIAL ARTS
Katana were used by samurai both in the battlefield and for practicing several martial arts, and modern martial artists still use a variety of katana. Martial arts in which training with katana is used include iaijutsu, battōjutsu, iaidō, kenjutsu, kendō, ninjutsuand Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū.
STORAGE AND MAINTENANCE
If mishandled in its storage or maintenance, the katana may become irreparably damaged. The blade should be stored horizontally in its sheath, curve down and edge facing upward to maintain the edge. It is extremely important that the blade remain well-oiled, powdered and polished, as the natural moisture residue from the hands of the user will rapidly cause the blade to rust if not cleaned off. The traditional oil used is chōji oil (99% mineral oil and 1% clove oil for fragrance). Similarly, when stored for longer periods, it is important that the katana be inspected frequently and aired out if necessary in order to prevent rust or mold from forming (mold may feed off the salts in the oil used to polish the blade).