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The formation of each cold weapon has a certain relationship with the social history of the time. In the forging process of the Japanese sword, it was discovered that the scimitar was more suitable for cutting and more flexible. For the Japanese samu..

The standard contemporary katana size is around 40 inches. However, the practical applications of the forms require a specific length or combination of lengths. When choosing a sword, you'll need to check for the measurements of three different parts..

* The nagasa is the most important specification of a sword (blade). This is considered the blade length, despite it's not the full length of the sword. The nagasa is measured in a straight line from the mune-machi (back of the blade which sits insid..

The tang (NAKAGO) is the end of the blade opposite to the point which usually contains information regarding the date, signature of the maker, owner's name, school/village, result of cutting test etc. Another distinguishing factor on various Samurai ..

Once the mekugi (two bamboo pegs) have been removed, the tsuka (handle) is ready to be taken off. Our katana sword's handle is only fixed by the mekugi, no glue or others inside. Please draw the saya out of blade at first. With the blade tip pointed ..

  鍔 (鐔) Tsuba glossary   当金 Ategane  A metal plug placed inthe Kozuka or Kogai-ana. Also refered to as Ume ( 埋 )   縮緬 Chirimen  AA crape paper finish.   土手耳 Dote-mimi   A rounded raised rim.   覆輪 Fukurin      An outer rim cover on a ts..

The tsuba is the guard around the handle of katana’s sword. Tsuba can be made of metals like iron, gold, copper and silver, or alloys, which can stand up to actual repetitive use in combat. Tsuba can be found in all kinds of shapes, both regular and ..

Boshi is the hamon temper line that extends to the blade tip (kissaki) on Japanese Swords. Boshi is the hardened edge section of the tip. Swords that have not been differentially hardened do not have boshi. An ideally shaped boshi follows the rest of..

1. Lightly align the palm root depression with the tiger's mouth above the handle ridge.         2. Grasp it gently with the radian of handle. Do not hold tightly. The front hand does not touch fuchi, and back hand does not touch kashira, an..

1. Buy or find a piece of steel about 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide and 5 inches (1.27 m) thick, slightly over 3 feet (0.9 m) long. 2. Heat steel in a furnace or open hearth. You must heat the material to a temperature close to 1600 degrees Fahrenheit (8..

The shape of the tang is known as "Nakago-Jiri". Most tangs which are "suriage" (cut off or shortened) will have "kiri" nakago-jiri. Followings are shapes of tang tips of katana swords.     * The Kurijiri is a rounded tang tip. Composed primari..

There are two and nearly equal parts to a Japanese sword, the polished blade and the nakago. The tang or the part of the blade that goes into the handle (tsuka) or pole is called a nakago. The shape of the nakago and the style of filing has distinct ..