![]() That's a safety thing as a bruise to the ego is better than a cut to an artery.Īnd finally, be wary of Ebay sellers or vendors who over-emphasize that they sell "real samurai swords" without disclosing info about the steel used or how it was tempered. Professional instruction is preferable if you can find it, and most Japanese systems will start you out on a bokken anyway. Each steel has a place and a purpose.Īlso, if you are knew to Japanese swords and their use, I'd recommend ordering a wooden training sword (called a bokken) and plastic saya (or sheath) to practice with before handling a live blade. Lots to choose from, and the only "right" answer depends on what your needs are. 1045 is often considered the minimum that will do. That is not a material to be used in a cutting blade. I have an old Hanwei iaito which is made of dual-hardened swedish powdered steel and gorgeous, but I believe they have only been making iaito out of stainless steel for years now.įor sharp blades, read up on the articles on SBG about the pros and cons of various steels. I'd look at tozando and seido shop if going that route. The blades are made of aluminum or other metals never intended to be sharpened but the furnishings are very good. If sharp doesn't matter, there are Japanese companies that make and sell very high quality iaito. Do you really want a papered, Japanese forged blade? Does it HAVE to be dual-hardened to show that line along the blade (called a hamon)? Does it have to have an edge, or are unsharpened iaito of high quality beautiful and useful to you? Many people have different requirements for what they want in a katana. So, what makes a katana real? That is hard to say. For a well reputed custom shop that doesn't break the bank, many of us look at Motohara/Evolution Blades. These range from around $1500 to (sky is the limit) depending on the metal you choose, the smith, and complexity. Then there are higher end smiths who make customs swords outside of Japan. My personal favorite katana right now is a Munetoshi Viper, made of through-hardened 1075, for example. In fact, many recommend a through-hardened blade made of 9260 spring steel as a first cutting sword as it will survive poor cuts without taking a bend much better than entry level dual-hardened blades. These are not inferior bladesM if made from the right steels. You can also get swords made of modern metals that are mono-tempered (sometimes called through-hardened or TH for short). The purpose of this is to produce a blade with hard steel on the edge (gets sharper and stays sharper longer) and softer steel on the spine (to increase durability as hard steels can be more brittle*). You can get them clay-tempered, which is what produces that line along the edge delineating the different crystallization of the steel (what we call Dual Hardened, or DH for short). The longquan region in China has many forges and is the origin of most "production" katana on the market. Other countries do not have the same regulations, however. So, the consequence is a good, Japanese forged Katana is going to cost any where from a few to many thousand US Dollars. Live swords forged by a Japanese smith will also come with official papers documenting it. It takes many years of study to become a smith as well. Japan has laws and regulations in place specifying the number and type of live (sharp edged) blades a smith may make in a year. I don't know about the shipping situation to Sweden but I thought I'd offer my 2 cents on the question of "real" katana. What do you guys think about it? Does "temper line" mean that it's been heated, or whatever it said in the beginner's guide? Would this be a proper sword, good for beginners? The functional sword comes with a beautifully lacquered wooden scabbard, together with traditional eyes (Kurigata and Shito-Dome)." The blade is continuous almost to the end of the handle and is secured by two mekugis. ![]() The Akito blade is made of clay hardened 1045 carbon steel with real hamon (temper line). ![]() In order to perform cutting tests, a very high quality, sharp and edge retaining blade is needed. Suitable not only for kata (forms of exercise) or Iaito (drawing exercises), but also for tameshigiri (cutting tests). ![]() "The Magnum Akito is a genuine functional sword. I've found another one on that same site where I purchased my previous katana. Now I'm looking to buy a real one, made for cutting stuff so I can have some fun with it too. I've read the beginner's guide on this site and my katana is made from carbon steel and everything like that but I do think that it is in fact more of a decorative sword than a "real katana". At first, I was very pleased with it (still am) but after doing some research (and reading here) I've come to realize that it's not a real katana. I'm a total noob when it comes to katanas and swords, but I did recently buy a katana.
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