Top rated hand-forged swords supplier? First of all, you can focus on customizing your blade… And it all starts with whether you want your blade sharpened or not. Afterward, you have to choose the blade’s metal, which comes in 6 main types. Then, you can choose whether you want a beautiful, Clay-Tempered Natural Hamon on your blade, available in 8 distinct styles. Afterward, you can add a Blood Groove (Bo-Hi) on the blade, add a colored microplating with one of our 5 available colors, and also engrave your katana’s blade. After the blade, you can focus on the Habaki & Seppa, then the Tsuba & Fittings. These two pieces make the hard finishing of your blade, and there are hundreds of options to choose from, especially for the Tsuba, Koshira, Menuki and Fuchi. Use the filters above the options to filter through our more than 100 types of tsuba and fittings for your custom katana. Find even more details on custom katana.
Every single piece of the sword must fit together perfectly. A functional, balanced Japanese sword is the end-result of the Assembler‘s work. Finally, the blade has to be sharpened. Initially, rough, low-grain grindstones are used to sharpen katana blades, and then progressively, finer, higher-grain grindstones are utilised. Once the blade’s entire length is sharpened, the Togishi has to work on the tip (the kissaki), and uses a different technique to make it extra-sharp. Once the saya and tsuka are built, the handle has to be assembled along with the handle guard (tsuba), and blade collars, fuchi, menuki, etc. The handle is held in place to the tang by Mekugi (two small wooden cylinders).
Tamagahane steel is always created in a Tatara, a traditional Japanese sword-steel smelter. There aren’t many Tatara functioning in Japan today, and even fewer that produce steel with the grade needed for swords; the Tatara is where Tamahagane is actually manufactured. The foundation costs of making Japanese swords are significantly more expensive than utilizing a flat bar of contemporary steel because of the high costs associated with creating Tamahagane and its limited availability. Tamagahane is distinguished by having a larger carbon content than standard steel, giving it some unique properties. However, using too much carbon would result in a brittle blade, so swordsmiths must discover the ideal ratio. Today’s Tamahagane steel is made with between 1% and 1.5% carbon. In contrast, it often contains between 3% and 4.5% carbon in feudal Japan.
When buying a katana or a functional sword – the type of steel used is of paramount importance. Good metal workers know any kind of metal has a special purpose. We can’t use the same steel as we do in industrial machinery in a sword. The goal of good steel is to have a perfect balance of toughness and hardness. While certain types of metals are good for staying on a wall and being looked at, others are good to cut trees and bamboo, all while remaining strong and impenetrable.
While Stainless steel sounds like a good idea because it requires little to no maintenance, it is not, in fact, ever used to create functional swords. It is only used for wall-hangers and unsharpened swords that are in many cases not even fit as bokken – for martial arts practice. This is because these swords are too hard and brittle – they can easily break at the worst moments. The chromium content helps maintain the blade’s quality – but it is not fit for the battlefield or any kind of longer blades. Therefore, stainless steel is a good idea for maintenance and wall-hanger swords, and also for small cutlery and knives. However, it is not fit for true, authentic Japanese swords – such as those here, at Swords for Sale.
In ancient Japan, katanas were very rare and valuable. They were made with special techniques and metals – more specifically one – Tamahagane steel (also called Jewel Steel). This is a special type of steel issued from iron sand smelted in the traditional Japanese low furnace. Tamahagane steel swordsmithing is not completely extinct nowadays, but nearly. This is simply because the traditional methods of smelting, forging, and refining a blade is extremely expensive. Moreover, the special ore (Tamagahane) required for the traditional process is very rare – and thus expensive. Moreover, swords are actually illegal in Japan, so it’s very hard to get any of these so-prized pieces of art out of the country. Read additional details on https://swordsfor.sale/.