THE

SAMURAI SWORD
GUIDE
Learn what to look for when planning to buy

www.samurai-sword-shop.com
JAPANESESWORDBUYINGGUIDE
Withtheinceptionofthepowerfulandhighlymodernized
internet,searchingforandbuyinghardtofindgadgets,
gizmosandwatchamacallitshaveneverbeeneasierthanit
was10yearsago.

Andthisincludesfindingagoodkatana.Ifonewantstobuya
katanawaybackinthegoodoldays,hehadtogooutand
lookforabrickandmortarstorewheresomeactualkatana
swordswerebeingsold.

Butsometimes,afterhavingtraveledquiteadistance,the
storeownerwouldtellyouthattheydonthaveanykatanain
stock!Whatabigdisappointment!

AllofthesehavechangedthoughwiththebirthoftheWorld
WideWeb.Nowyoucanfindtenormoredifferentkatanas
withjustafewclicksandinjustafractionoftime.

Youcanquicklycomparekatanasthatrangefromaslowas
100eurouptoafewthousandeurowhilearealnihonto
wouldprobablycostaround10.000,20.000andupto
+100.000euroandmore.

Well,dontbeshocked!Evenasimpleantiquetsubacan
actuallycostmuchmorethanaregularsword!

Nevertheless,theemergenceofmoderntechnologycannot
quitereplacetheactualbuyingprocessthatwehavebeen
earlierexposedtoonethatallowsustoexaminecloselyand
eventouchandsmelltheproductbeforewedecideifits
worthyofourpenny.

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 1

Itsreallyhardtotellifthekatanaonyourcomputerscreenis
worththepriceandifitsreallywhatyouarelookingfor.

Itslikebeingoutsideofashopwhereyoucanlookatallthe
displaysbehindtheglassandadmirethemfromadistance
butthatsallyoucaneverdo,Imafraid.

Youcankeeplookingatthatswordforaslongasyoulikebut
youwontgetanyotherdetailintheprocess.

Butdontdespair!Thereareindeedwaystoensurethatyou
havemadeawisedecisioninpurchasingonlineitems.Ihave
comeupherewithaguidewhichImsurewouldhelpyouout
inyourjourneyandwouldgiveyouabetterideaofwhatyou
maybesearchingforintheweb.

Hopeyoullfindituseful!

Dave

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 2

CONTENTS
Introduction
LetMeCheckMyWallet!
WhyDoIWant/NeedAKatana?

WhatdoIneed?
ImaSwordCollector
ImaMartialArtist
IneedanIaito
Ineedakatanaforkataandoccasional
Tameshigiri
ImdoingalotofTameshigiri(CuttingExercises)
Iwanttopracticeathome
Imnewtothisjustliketoownakatana!

Whatisimportant?
WhatshouldIlookforwhenbuyingakatana?
Thesteelthathasbeenused.
DifferentiallyorThroughHardenedBlades
Whatsupwiththepolish?
Thefittings&otherpartsofakatana

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 3

LetMeCheckMyWallet!
Ifyouonlyhave$20inyourwallet,thenyouwouldsurelynot
gotoahighclassrestaurantbutinsteadyouwouldruninto
thenearestMcDonaldstosatisfyyourgastronomicalurgings,
right?Wellsamegoestrueforonlineshopping.yourchoices
willalwaysdependonhowmuchmoneyyouhaveinyour
pocketasonecannotspendmuchmorethanwhatonehas.

Sodontgetcrazytryingtobuyakatanathatcostsfarbeyond
whatyoucanafford.Thereareperhapsmuchmore
importantthingsthatyouneedtospendonratherthan
splurgeyourbucksonsomethingastrivialasakatana.

ArealJapaneseNihontoandsomereallygoodcustommade
swordswillcostyousomefewthousanddollars.Although
occasionallyyoumayfindsomegreatbargainslikeafew
antiquepiecesand/orcustomkatanasthatsellforjust$3000
$4000.

However,ifyouonlyhaveafewhundreddollars(whichis
mostoftenthecase)orprobablyjustathousandbonesto
Dontget
spare,thenwhatyoushouldbeeyeingoutarethoseChinese crazytryingto
madekatanas.99%oftheproductionkatanasthesedaysare
buyakatana
actuallybeingmadeinChina.
thatcostsfar
Believeitornot,therearesomereallygoodandamazing
piecesofkatanasthatarebeingproducedoverinChina.But beyondwhat
wellgettothatlater youcanafford.
Meanwhile,youshouldalsobeawarethatsomeJapanese
swordcompaniesjustbuytheirproducts(orswordparts)in
China,labelthemwithOriginalMadeinJapan,orsomething
tothateffect,andthenraisethepriceaccordingtothe

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 4

prevailingJapaneseswordrates.Ifnot,youmightjustendup
spendingalotmorethanwhatyoushouldhaveforsome
productionkatanasthatweremadetolookliketheoriginal
Japanesekatanas.

WhyDoIWant/NeedAKatana?
Thisisactuallytheveryfirstquestionyoushouldbeasking
yourselfbeforegoingouttheretobuyakatana.Incaseyou
haventfigureditoutyet,thenyouneedtofindoutwhatyour
personalmotivesareforneeding/wantingtohaveakatana.

Areyouaswordcollectorwhowouldliketoaddsomereally
finepiecesofswordsinyourcollection(definitelynotthe
cheapwallhangertypeofsword)withouthavingtospend
yourhardearnedcashforsomeexpensiveswordsthatcost
likearealJapanesenihonto?

Ormaybeyouareoneofthosemartialartistswhoarelooking
tobuytheirveryfirst(orprobablytheirsecond)katanato
beusedduringtrainingsessionsatyourdojo.Ifso,thenyou
havethechoicebetweenanIaito(bluntedandlighter)katana
andarealshinkenwhichcandefinitelyhurtyouifyouare
doingthewrongmotionsoryourenotconcentratingatall.

Thenfinallythereisthispossibilitythatyouhavejustrecently
watchedTomCruiseinTheLastSamuraiormaybeevenKill Never,ever
Billandsuddenlyyoujustcrackedupandthoughtofgetting
yourveryownSamuraiswordincaseyoumightneedit(for
forgetthatyou
protectionincasetheenemyarrives:D)ortoputonyour arestill
tableanduseitforsomeoccasionalcuttingeverynowand
planningto
then.
buyaweapon!

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 5

ImaSwordCollector

Ifyouareaswordcollector,thenyoumostprobablywantto
considerhowclosetotheoriginalkatanayouwouldlikeyour
swordtobe.Thepriceofakatanaispredominantlybasedon
thetypeofsteel,thequalityoffittings,andthepolishing
processused.Iwillsharewithyoulatersomeuseful
informationaboutsteelandpolishsojustkeeponreading.

IfyoulikeaswordthatresemblescloselyarealJapanese
Nihonto,thenyoumustgoforaTamahaganesteel(Jewel
SteelinEnglish,orYuSteelinChina)bladewithatraditional
stonepolish.

Althoughtherearesomeswordsthatcomereallyclosetothe
lowerpricedNihonto,noneofthesecanbecomparedtothe
15,000NihontomadebyafamousJapaneseswordsmith.

Theswordsweightandbalancewillprobablynotmatterthat
muchifyouareaswordcollectorsinceyoumostlikelywont
useitanyway.

Youprobablydontwanttogoforanypieceintheraptorserie
sincethatismorethefunctionalstuffmadeforpractitioners
anddoesntfeaturethetraditionalclayprocesstohardenthe
bladeandsotheydonthaveahamonline(whichmostofthe
collectorshighlyappreciate).

SamegoesfortheIaitoSerie,theseswordsdontevenhavea
realsteelbladeandthehamonissandblastedsoyoucanskip
thoseonestoo.

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 6

AlloftheswordsinthePracticalserieofPaulChenareokto
startwithbutthejustokfittings,thestandardpolishandthe
yokotelessbladesareprobablynotexactlywhatyoumight
lookingforinacollectorpiece.

TheswordsfeauredintheForgedSeriearedefinitelyworthto
takealookat.Theydohaveanicelookingbladeandhamon.
Thepolishiswaybetterthanthoseinthepracticalserieand
theydohavehigherqualityfittingsandanoverallfinish.

TheShintoKatana,GoldenOriolekatana,3monkeykatana
andTeaCultureKatanadoeshaveaverydetailedfuchi,
kashiraandtsuba.Thelatteronealsofeatureakatatemaki
(battlewrap)onthetsuka(handle)andistheonlyoneinthat
serieyouwillfinditon.

Alloftheaboveswordsdoesfeatureoneofthebetterfittings
inthewholePaulChenrange.Ofcourseitdependswhatkind
offittingsyouparticularlylike.Somepeoplehaveanlessis
moreattitudewhileothersliketoseesomespectacular
Theswordsin
things.Imnotheretodiscussabouttaste,yourebigenough theforged
tofigureoutyourself:o
seriearea

TheFoldedSwordsarewheremostofthecollectorsliketo goodplaceto
passby.Intermsofoverallqualityandfinishtheyareonthe startwhen
samelevelastheirforgedbrothersandsisters.Thebiggest
differenceisthefactthatalloftheseswordsarefoldedand lookingtobuy
forgedwhichresultsinabladewithanicehada(pattern)and yourfirst
isofcoursemuchmoreattractivetotheeyeasamonosteel
blade.
katana

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 7

Dontbefooledbysomeonewhoistryingtotellyouthata
foldedbladeismorebetterandstrongerthanamonosteel
blade.Bullshit!Infact,monosteelbladesarejustwaybetter
touse.ThesmithsinancientJapanhadtofoldtheirsteel
becauseofthepoorqualityofitinthattime.

Itwasdonetogettheimpuritiesoutofthesteelinorderto
createabetteroverallquality.Iftheywouldhadhavethe
samesourcesofsteelaswehavethemnow,theywouldnever
everthoughtaboutfoldingablade..justawasteoftimeand
energyButitiswhatitisandbecauseofthefoldingprocess
theyinventedbackinthegoodolddays,theycreatedavery
strongandvisibleactivityinthestructureofthesteelwhichis
knownasthehada.

Inordertogetasimilareffectnowdays,theyarefoldingthe
bladestoonottogettheimpurityoutofthesteelbecause
theresnothingwrongwiththesteelthesedays.Theonly
reasontheyredoingthatistogetasimilarlookasthe
ancientblades.Andtheresstilllotofroomtodiscussthatbut Sayingthata
letskeepthatforanothertime:o foldedblade

Inthefoldedbladesyoucanmakeadistinctionbetween:
isbetter
thana
1. foldedbladeswherebilletsofmodernsteelwereused
toforgetheblade monosteel
2. foldedbladeswheretheforgemadetheirownsteelto
startwith.
bladeisjust
bullshit!
Whentheymaketheirownsteel(usingironsandasbase)we
cantechnicallyspeakabouttamahagane.PaulChenonlyhas1
pieceintheirrangewheretheyusetheirownmadesteelbutI

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 8

dontofferitbecauseitsjusttopricy(readoverthetop)and
youcangetbetterstuffforlessbones.Ifyoureallyneedthat
PaperCranekatana,shootmeamailorcallme,Icanstill
orderitforyou:o

SoalloftheswordsintheFoldedseriearemadeofmodern
steelwithaMirrorpolish:

Roninkatana
BushidoKatana
Tigerkatana
OrchidKatana
KamiKatana
PrayingMantisKatana

Ifyouwanttoseeanaturallookinghadaandespeciallyan
attractivehamon,youneedtogoforastonepolishedkatana.

TheonesIvejustlistedabovedonthaveastonepolish.Only
thePaperCraneKatanahasbutitstilllooksugly..sorrymy
honestopinion.

ButwedohavethefoldedbladesfromZhuiFengwhoare
madeofmodernsteelandwhodoeshaveastonepolishfor
farlessthanthePaperCraneanddoeslook1000times
better

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 9

ImaMartialArtist

Afteryouhavesetyourbudget,functionalitywillmost
certainlybetheprimaryfactorthatwilldetermineyourchoice
ofsword.Aestheticsmightnotevenbeatthetopofyour
prioritylist(althoughIstronglybelievethingsratherthan
someuglyanddisgustingstuff!)thateachofusprefertohave
nice

Withfunctionalitytoconsider,younowhaveachoice
betweenthebluntandlighterIaitoandthesharpShinken.

Ortomakethingsevenmoredifficult,youcangofora
Shinkenwithabluntedge!

Ineedaniaito
MostIaidokaarelookingforaniaito.Inotherwordsitneedto
belight,notsharpandavailableinvariousbladesizes.Inthat
caseyouneedtogotoourIaitoSection.

Mostofthebladesareavailablein4sizes(measuredfrom
tsubatotip):

1. 68,5cmorapprox.2,24shaku
2. 71,5cmorapporx.2,34shaku
3. 73,5cmorapprox.2,41shaku
4. 75,5cmorapprox.2,47shaku

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 10

Ineedakatanaforkataandoccasional
Tameshigiri

Forthispurpose,anIaito(asdescribedabove)wouldbethe
recommendedswordasitismuchlighterthantheShinken
anditsbluntedgeislesslikelytocauseanyinjury.

Asharpswordisdefinitelynotagoodchoiceifyouwantto
useitfortrainingpurposesunlessyouareanadvanced
practitionerand/oryourSenseihasgivenyouthepermission
todoso.Usingasharpswordforpracticewillonlyputyou
andyourfellowstudentsatthedojoindanger.

SomestylesofSwordArtspreferalivebladebecauseevery Asharpsword
nowandthen,tameshigiritestsareperformedinthedojoor isnotagood
theyjustliketohavetheweightandfeelofa'real'one.
choiceforyou
Ifyouwanttodoalotofkata,thengoforthelightweight
katanathathasitspointofbalance(POB)nearthetsuba.It
ifyoudont
willcertainlybemorecomfortableforyou.Soifyouare haveany
lookingforalightweightblade(900gram)thereistheShinto
experience
Katanaandthe3MonkeyKatana.

Bothofthemareverylightandabletodosometatami
tameshigiri.Whenlookingforakatanawithalongtsuka(38,5
cm),theMusashikatanaandtheGoldenOriolekatana(34cm
tsuka)arelightweightkatanstoothatcanhandlesome
cutting.

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 11

Theonlynegativepointhereforpractitionersisthatthese
PaulChenswordscomesinaonesizefitsallsonochoicefor
youtochoosethelengthoftheblade.

Ifa1000gramswordisstillokforyou,youmightconsiderour
newZhuiFengMonosteelSwordswhicharespeciallydesigned
byandformartialartspractitioners!

MostIaidokaorothersworddrawingartpractitionersprefer
thekatanawithahi.Thehi(orthegrooverunningalongthe
backofthesword)createsapleasantsoundwhenperforming
yourexerciseandallowsyoutodetermineifthemovementis
donecorrectlyorifitispoorlyexecuted.

Forsomeoccasionallightcuttingsuchastatamiorbeach
mats,thenthemostappropriateswordwouldbetheShinken
withahi.Justmakesurenottouseitonhardertargets!

ImdoingalotofTameshigiri(Cutting
Exercises)
Nowformuchhardertargetslikethetatamiwithabamboo
centerorjustplainbamboo,makesuretochoosethekatana
withoutabohiandwithitspointofbalanceleaningtowards
theblade.Thesametypeofswordshouldbeusedwhen
doingalotofTameshigiriasakatanawithitsPOBnearthe
tsubacanbeveryuncomfortable. ZhuiFeng
However,itwouldcertainlyrequiregreatereffortonyourpart swordsare
asitisquiteheavierandcanindeedslowdownyour
movements.Awelltrainedswordsmanthoughcanmoveas
designedby
fastasapractitionerusingalighterkatana. andfor
practitioners

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Whenperformingalotofcuttingandorheavycutting
exercisesatyourdojo,thepreviousPaulChenswords
mentionedabovearenotagoodoption.Thoseswordsaretoo
lightandnotconstructedtoabsorbheavyblows.

TheZhuiFengswordshoweverarejustfineforthejob,butwe
dorecommendthatyouarechoosingabladewithouthiwhen
heavytargetssuchasbambooareyourmaintargets.

IfyouwanttogowithaPaulChenswordwecanrecommend
youtheseswords.Keepinmindthatanonhiversionis
probablytheoneyouliketochoosewhenbambooandother
hardtargetsareonthemenu:

PracticalPlusEliteKatana(nohi)
PracticalPlusXlLightKatana(hi)
TeaCultureKatana(hi)
TsunamiKatana(nohi)
Wind&ThunderKatana(nohi)
RaptorShobuZukuriKatana(nohi)

Wanttopracticeathome

Okyouhappentolove(Japanese)swords,havenomartialarts
experiencewhatsoeverandyouneedsomeworkoutevery
nowandthentogetridofyourinnerstress:oSoyougointo
yourgarden,armoredwithbottlesofwater,beachmatsand
orothertargetsinonehandandyourswordinthe
otherreadytohavesomecuttingfun!

Weallhaveourownhobbiessonothingwrongwiththatbut

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 13

beforeIcontinue(andImsureyouvehearitalready100
times..)dontgotoocrazy,youstillholdingaweaponthat
canhurtyouorsomeoneelseverybadly!

Thisbeingsaid,whatsthebestchoiceforyou?

Ifyouareonalowbudget

Letsconsideralowbudgetanywherebetween200400
euro..Goinglowerisalwaystrickyandasyouknow,youget
whatyoupayforandsinceyouwanttobuyaweapon,you
betterthinktwiceorsafesomemoremoneytogetsomething
better.

Now,ifyoujustliketocut(everynowandthan)smallbottles
ofwater,cardboardtubes,13beachmatsorsomeothersoft
targetsyouwillbefinewithanyswordwithinthePractical
serieortheRaptorserie.

Thelatteronewasespeciallydesignedforthesekindof Dontforget:
practicessotheyshouldbeagoodchoice.
youarestill
Thebiggestdifferencebetweenthese2seriesaretheway holdinga
theyhavebeenmade.Alloftheswordsinthepracticalserie
aremadeofhighcarbonsteelanddoesfeatureahamon,
weaponthat
whichmeanstheyaredifferentiallyhardened.Thesamekind canhurt
ofprocesstheyusedtoworkwithinancientJapan.
somebody

TheRaptorserieswordsaremadeof5160steelandthrough elsevery
hardened,sonohamonlinethere.5160Steelisanalloysteel badly!
thatcontainsChromiumandSiliconewhichmakestheblade
morerustresistanceandharder.Thelittlesiliconepartadds

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 14

moretoughnesstoit.

IntheRaptorSeriesyouwillfind:

ShobuZukuriKatana(cantakehardertargets)
MorohaKatana(normalstuff)
UnokubiKatana(normalstuff)

InthePracticalserieyoucanalsodrawalinebetweenthe
standardandtheperformanceserie.Theperformanceserie
hastheseswordsinthatcategory:

PracticalXLLight
PracticalPlusElite
PracticalPlusXLLight

Andtheseswordsareespeciallydesignedforcutting
exercises.Theyhaveastrongerblade(bladeisalittlewider
andalittlethickerthanitstraditionalcounterparts)which
allowyoutocutmoreeasilyanditdoesntgetdamagedas
easywhenyouhappentoperformabadcut.

Ifyoujustwanttocutsomewaterbottlesorbeachmatsevery
nowandthan,youwillbefinewithoneofthesehere.They
arenotasstrongastheonesIvementionedhereabovebut
theyarestillforthoselighttargets:

PracticalKatana
PracticalPluskatana
PracticalProKatana
Ninjato

TheZhuiFengSwordsweofferarestillwithinthelowbudget
classandidealcutters.

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 15

SowheresthedifferencebetweenthePaulChenandthe
ZhuiFengkatanas?

Thebiggestdifferenceisthatwehavefullcontroloverthe
productionprocessoftheZhuiFengSwordswherewehave
absolutelynonewithPaulChen.Sowelistenverycloselyto
thefeedbackwegetandadjustwherenecessaryinorderto
geteverylittledetailright.

Afewdifferencesthatcometomymindrightnow:

Uniquedesign
Differentlengthsofblades
Nicelyshaped(Rikko)andstrongtsuka
Highqualityfittings,itoandsageo
Realyokote

Thefeedbackwegotuptoknowfrompractitioners,every
singleoneofthemplacedtoZhuiFengsabovethePaulChen
katanas.

Ifyoucanaffordsomethingmore

Youbetterspenditonsomethingelsethanaswordifitsjust
forhavingsomecuttingfun!Imaverybadsalesmanasyou
canseebutIdontthinkyouwanttospendatonofmoney
justtohavesomefuninyourgarden.

ButincaseyouwanttohavecuttingfunANDanicecollector
pieceinyourhome,youcanconsiderthepiecesImentionin
thepractitionersguide,being:

TeaCultureKatana(hi)
TsunamiKatana(nohi,goodformoreheavytagrets)

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 16

 Wind&ThunderKatana(nohi,goodformoreheavy
tagrets)
MiyamotoMusashikatana(hiandlongtsuka)
GoldenOriolekatana(hiandmediumtsuka)
ShintoKatana(hiandveryverylight)
3MonkeyKatana(hiandveryverylight)

Ifyourecrazyaboutfoldedblades

Ineedtosaythattheyarenotstrongerorbetterintermsof
qualityandcuttingabilityifwecomparethemwiththe
monosteelswordsbutofcoursetheyarebetterlookingand
animportantfactorifyouliketodisplayitsomewhereinyour
houseandoryoujustloveakatanawithahada(patternin
steel).

TheseherearetheonesIwouldrecommendoratleasttakea
lookat:

Roninkatana
BushidoKatana
Tigerkatana Foldedblades
OrchidKatana
KamiKatana arenot
PrayingMantisKatana strongeror
ZhuiFengwithstonepolish
betterin
Acustommadekatana
termsof
Ofcoursewecanalsoofferyouacustommadekatanawhere
youcancomposeonebychoosingonlythecomponentsthat
qualityand
youreallywant/need.Justkeepinmindthatyouwillneedto cuttingability
havesomepatiencethere..thedeliverytimeisusuallyaround
810weeks.

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 17

Or..wecanalsochangeastandardmodelforyouoverhere,
whichgoesmuchfasterofcourse.Usuallywecanfixthat
within1weekandwecan:

Changethefittings(fuchikashiramenukitsuba)
Changethecolorofrayskin(sam)
Rewrapthetsukawiththecolorofito(cotton/silk)you
like
Changethesageo

Imnewtothisjustliketoownakatana!
Wellthen,welcometothewildbutawesomeworldofJapanese
swords!Firstthingyoushouldknowisthatyouarebringingina
sharp(anddefinitelydeadly)weaponintoyourhouse.Akatana
isnotsomethingtofoolaroundwithsodontjustleaveitin
placeswherekidscangetaholdofthem.

Soafteryoudecidedhowmuchbonesyouliketospendonyour
firstkatanaitstimetoaskasecondquestion:WillIeverusethe
swordorisitonlytodisplayandgiveitaniceplaceinmyhome
?

Ifyouliketouse,doyourhomeworkfirstbeforegettingoneof
thesesharpswordsandstartoffwiththebokken(wooden
sword)whilegettingyourselffamiliarwiththerealthing.Ihave
includedsomereallyusefulinformationaboutthekatanainthis
guidesojustreadalong.

Youcanpracticewithabokkentostartwith,asitisamuchsafer Somepeople
substituteifyouhaveneverhandledakatanabefore.Iveseen arenotaware
somevideosinYoutubeofpeoplewhomusthavegonecrazy
withtheirkatanaorwhoweresimplynotawareofhow ofhow
dangerousthisswordcanbe.
dangerousa
swordcan

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 18

Incaseyoualreadyhaveakatanaandwouldliketotestitsreal
cuttingpower,thenuseappropriatetargets!Dontevertryto
cutatreewithyourkatana(wehaveaxesforthat),aimforthat
metalbin,orevenhuntdownyourneighborscat!

Andonemorething,makesurethatthereisnoonearoundyou
whenyouretryingtopracticesincetheysurelywonttakeit
lightlywhenthekatanasuddenlyslipsoffyourhandorbreaks
andasharppieceofyourswordfliesrightthroughtheirarmsor
legsoranyotherpartoftheirbodies!

Themessageisloudandclear:BERESPONSIBLE!

Incaseyoujustneeditfordecorationorstartingacollection,
scrollbacktotheswordcollectorpart.Ifyouareacollector
andwanttouseitfromtimetotimebecauseyoujustdont
wanttokeepitasawallhanger,wespokeaboutthatintheI
wanttopracticeathomesection.

Ifyouarestillnotclearoritshardtomakeupyourmind,just
sendmeamailorringmeat0032477903612(yeahIdo
speakEnglish:o)

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 19

WhatshouldIlookforwhenbuyingakatana?
Goodquestion!Whendoingonlineshopping,oneofthemost
difficulttaskswouldbeproductinspection.

Thingscanlookthesameonscreenmakingithardforabuyerto
determinethedifferenceofacertainproductwithanotheror
distinguishanyflawitmighthave.Thatiswhywearemaking
detailedandhighresolutionphotosofalltheswordswehavein
stock.

Mostoftheotherswordshopsusethestockimagestheyreceive
fromtheswordmanufacturers.Thesephotosdonotshoweach
swordpartindetailandthereisnowaytotellifitisindeedwhat
youarelookingfor.

1.Thesteel&constructionthathasbeenused.

Thereareprimarilythreemajorcategoriesofsteel&
constructionsusedfortheswordsblade:themonosteel,the
foldedandthelaminatedblades.

Monosteelbladesarebladeswhereasinglepieceof
metalhasbeenusedformanufacturing.Themost
popularpiecesofsteelusedtodayare:

10xxseries(1045,1060,1070,1095,etc)
T10steel
9260steel
L6steel
SwedishPowderSteel(ASSABK120C)

Foldedsteelbladesarebladeswheretwoormore
differenttypesofsteelarebeingfoldedtocreatethe
blade.Mostproductionbladesouttherearea
combinationof1045&1095orsomethingsimilar.

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 Whenlookingatafoldedblade,youcanseethehada(the
steelpatternproducedbythefoldingprocess)veryclear.

Therearesomeforgesuptothistime,,whoarestillusing
therealtraditionalforgingmethodjustasthefewJapanese
swordsmithsstilldotoday.Theymaketheirownsteel
(calledTamahagane)inordertoproducetheirfoldedblades.

Theydostartfromscratchwithonlyironsandintheirhands
whilesteelbarsarebeingusedwiththeregularfolded
blades. Pictureontop
Sincethetraditionalforgingprocesstakesconsiderabletime isaFolded
andrequiresgreatereffort,thenexpectthattheseswords
wouldtobemuchmoreexpensivethanthestandardfolded
blade(forged
swords. bytheZhui
Fengforge)
Laminatedsteelbladesarebladeswhere2ormoredifferent with
typesofsteelarebeingusedtoproducethebladebutthe
bladesthemselvesarenotnecessaryfolded.Youcaneither traditional
havemonosteellaminationsorfoldedsteellaminations. stonepolish

Copyright 2010 www.samurai-sword-shop.com 21

Thefollowingshowsthemostfrequentlyusedlamination
methods:

2.DifferentiallyorThroughHardenedBlades

Oneofthemoststrikingpartsofthekatanaisundoubtedlythe
hamonline,theendresultofthedifferentialhardeningprocess.

Theprocessstartswiththeswordsmithcreatingaclaymixture
ofash,water,clayandafewothermaterials.Thenthismixture
isappliedthicklyoverthespineofthebladewhileonlyathin
layerisspreadalongtheedges.Thisparticularmethodisvery
importantincreatingaverystrongyetresilientsword.

Afterapplyingtheclaymixture,theswordbladeisheatedover
redhotcoalsduringwhichthecrystallinestructureofthe
bladesmetalundergoesmodificationproducingamilkwhite
pattern.

Oncetheappropriatetemperatureisreached(determined
throughvisualinspection),theswordbladeisremovedfromthe
heatsourceandimmediatelyimmersedinatroughofwater.

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Thisispreciselywhatcausesthechangesinthecompositionof
themetal.

Themetalbeneaththeswordspinewherethemixtureis
thickestcoolsmoreslowlyandresultsinacompositionthatis
softerandmoreflexible.Meanwhile,theswordsedge,cools
veryquicklywhichresultsinaveryhardcomposition.

Mostofthetime,youwillfindanindicationlikethis:

HRC40onthebackofthesword
HRC5860ontheedgeofthesword

Whilenotmanyswordswillactuallyhavethesenumbers,they
areusedveryoftenandalmostastandardthingtomention:o

Alternatively,therearealsoThroughhardenedbladeswhich
doesnotmakeuseoftheclaylayeringmethodandtheHRC
(measurementofthemetalshardness)ofthebladeisequalall
throughout.

Youmightbewonderingifthistypeofbladeisbetterorworse
thanthedifferentialhardenedblades.Theansweris,NO.Some
ofthesebladesevenprovetobemuchstrongerthanthe
differentialhardenedbladeswhensubjectedtoacuttingtest.

However,whensomethinggoeswrongwhilecuttingsomehard
objectsandalotofpressureisappliedontheblade,thethrough
hardenedbladewouldnormallybreakwhilethedifferential
hardenedbladecanbendandabsorbtheshock.

Anotherdifferencewouldbethepresenceofarealhamonline.
Throughhardenedbladescanthavearealhamonlineunlikethe
differentialhardenedblades.Forthisreason,some
manufacturerswoulduseafake/etchedhamononthethrough
hardenedbladesjusttomakethemlookbetter.

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Theresreallynothingwrongwiththatalthoughyouhaveto
bearinmindthatthesearenotreal.

Twoexamplesofafakehamon:

Sincethrough
hardened
bladesarenot
3.Whatsupwiththepolish? differentionally
Thepolishiswithoutadoubtoneoftheprimefactorsthat hardened,they
influenceaswordssellingprice.Sincethetraditional
polishingprocessisveryexhaustiveandcantakeweeksto canneverhave
arriveatthefinalstage,apricetagof$1500/1200ormore arealhamon
forabladeisnotunusual.
line
Ontheotherhand,akatanathatcostsaround$300/250
willmostlikelydonthaveatraditionalpolish.These

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productionkatanasarepolishedbymachineorbya
combinationofmachineandhandpolish,thelatterbeing
doneatthefinalstagesofthepolishingprocess.

Althoughthedifferentialhardenedbladedoeshaveareal
hamon,mostofthemanufacturersusesomekindofacidto
furtheremphasizethehamonsincetheydonthavethe
resourceswhicharenecessarytoproducethewhite/milk
effect.

Nowyourchoiceofpolishwoulddependonhowyouplanto
useyourkatana.Ifyouareaswordcollectorandwouldjust
liketodisplaythekatana,thenyoumightwanttohaveawell
polishedblade.

ButifyouareaTameshigiripractitionerwhodoesalotof
cutting,thenatraditionallypolishedbladeisntforyou.It
wouldbeashametoleavesomemarksandscratcheson
thesemirrorshinybladesandeventuallyruinyourvery
expensivepolish

Hereareafewdifferentkindsofpolish:

Monosteel
bladewith
standard
polish.

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Monosteel
bladeswith
standard
polish.

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Ontop:
monosteel
bladeswith

traditional
polish.
Folded
bladeswith
standardpolish

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Folded
bladeswith
traditional
polish

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4.Thefittings&otherpartsofakatana

Imnotgoingtogothroughallthedifferentpartsofthe
katanasoifyoudontunderstandaparticularwordorname,
thenjustscrolldownandyoullfindadiagramofakatanathat
showsitsdifferentparts.

Fuchi&kashira&menuki

Thecheaperswordsfrequentlyuse(red)copperandmost
ofthetime,theyarenotveryclearandthelinesarenot
thatcrisp.Copperfittingswerealsoutilizedinancient
Japanbutthisrequiredgreatertimeandeffort.

Ontheotherhand,themoreexpensiveendfittingsare
madeofironorsilver.OneexampleisPaulChensswords
whichuseironfittingsandthoseofZhuiFengswhichare
importedfromJapan.Takensidebyside,itseasytosee
thedifferenceinqualityamongtheseswords.





Leftpic:
QualityFuchi


&kashiraset

Rightpic:Set
ofmenuki

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 Tsuba

Similarly,thecheapesttsubaaremadeofcopper(easyto
copy&cast)whilethehigherendonesaremadeofsteel.
Moreandmoremanufacturersareswitchingfromcopper
tosteeltsubabutunfortunately,onlyfewareableto
producesomereallyniceworksofart.Worldrenowned
PaulChenisrecognizedforhisexcellentfittingswhichare
furtherattestedbythefinalpriceofhiskatanas.

Ito&Samekawa

Letsstartoffwiththequalityoftheito.Nowadays,there
areonlyahandfulofmanufacturerswhousehighquality
cottonitoontheirtsuka.Asamatteroffact,theonlyones
IveknowntohavetrulyexceptionalitoarePaulChenand
ZhuiFeng.ChenmakeshisownitowhileZhui Fengimports
hisfromJapan.

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 Asidefromthequalityoftheito,itisalsoimportantto
notethequalityofthewrapitself.Averytightwrapis
definitelyarequirementifyouareamartialartist.

Imsureyoudontliketofeeltheitomovinginyourhands
whiledrawingyoursword!Butifyouareacollectororif
yourenotplanningtouseyourswordveryoften,thenthe
itostightnesswouldnotmatterthatmuch.

Thenyoualsohavethehishigamiwhichisrarelyusedin
thecheaperswordsasitistimeconsuming.Hishigamiare
thesmallpapertriangleswhichholdtheitoinitsdiamond
foldedshapesandbasicallylocksitinplace.

Ito&Samekawa

Anotherthingtoconsideristhequalityoftherayskin
(samekawaorsamegawa).Therearealotofimitations
outinthemarketbutagoodlookatthesizeofthenods
andpatternswillhelpyoudetermineagoodqualityray
skin.

Youshouldlookforthosewithanicebigemperornode
asshowninthepicturebelow.Thesetypesofrayskin
wouldusuallycostover$100/100sodontexpecttosee
somegoodqualityrayskinintherangeof$200300
swords.

Keepinmindyoualwaysgetwhatyoupayfor!

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 TheTsuka(handle)

Averyimportantpartoftheswordthatveryoftenis
overlooked.Butweallknowifthepieceofwoodthat
youareholdinginyourhandsandwhereyour(sharp)
bladeisattachedtodoesntdoitsjobverywellyou
haveaBIGproblem.

Sobeforeyoustarttopracticewithyourkatana,
doesntmatterifonlyforkataandorcuttingexercises,
removethebamboopin(s)fromthetsukasoyoucan
takeitapartandinspectthequalityofit.

Duringthelastyears,Chineseforgesimprovedthe
qualityoftheirbladesbutareoftenpayingverylittle
attentiontothetsuka.

FinalWord
IvesaiditbeforeandIwillrepeatitagainhere,nomatter
whyyouwanttobuyakatana,alwayskeepinmindthatitis
still a weapon so use your brains !

ThisistheFirstversionoftheguideandthereare
somemorechaptersiliketoaddinthefeature.SoI
wouldappreciateyourfeedback ! Letmeknowhere

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